As a corporate traveler, you relish your time on the road. You love that you get to see the country on someone else’s dime as you make business deals like the boss you are. But like anything else, there are downsides. You miss your friends and family in your home town and feel left out when fun activities and life events are going on when you’re away. But this list is just getting started.
Delays
You know how it goes. You arrive at the airport two hours before your domestic flight, only to learn that it’s been delayed. And delayed. For all you know, you’ll spend your first three hours on the road stuck in the airport. Or you’ll arrive just a tad late and get held up in security. Those lines are long and sometimes there’s nothing you can do about it. But you can at least mitigate this all-too-common problem with a travel app that sends a push notification if there’s a flight delay, or sign up for email alerts from the airline so you’ll be notified if there are any changes.
Weather
The only thing worse than delays is bad weather. Especially as winter approaches, you know to be wary of delays or cancellations. Worst case scenario: you’re stuck on the tarmac for hours or your flight is cancelled. Again, you can help yourself deal with this problem with a weather app that checks your destination city. If your native weather app isn’t good enough, there are others to choose from to help you navigate foreign storms.
Lost Luggage
You dress in your finest sweats when you’re getting on a plane. But you’ll need sharper clothes for your board room meeting. And if the airline looses your luggage, you might end up having to shell out for some brand-new business duds when you land. Make sure you aren’t left completely without – wear or pack clothes that you’ll need for the first day or so of your trip.
Car Rental Snafus
If your flight’s delayed and if you don’t arrive within the specified hour to pick up your car, the car rental company might give it away. You can always call them ahead of time, but it can still be hard to get a vehicle. Fortunately, services like Uber and Lyft have made it possible to get where you need to go in many major cities, but short of having a friend in that city who can loan you a car you might still be stuck trying to snag a ride at inflated airport prices.
Forgetting Items
You make packing lists. You tie strings around all 10 of your fingers, but every traveler knows they’re bound to forget at least one thing. Missing deodorant or a toothbrush can be remedied with a quick trip to the drugstore, but that report you were supposed to bring might not be as easy to replace. Email important files to yourself or store backups using Dropbox or other cloud storage.
Getting Sick
Coming down with an illness is one of the worst things that can happen when you’re traveling for business. You’re probably meeting with clients and want to look your absolute best. But it’s hard to do when you’re fighting a cold.
Questionable Hotels
Sure, you read those Yelp reviews, and it looked great online. But then you arrived. Maybe the sheets were dirty. Or the room smelled like smoke. No matter your complaint, you’re bound to stay at a sketchy hotel as a business traveler at some point. And if you’re unfortunate enough to be traveling for work in a city that’s accommodating a major event you may not even be able to switch rooms or hotels. To prevent staying in less than stellar places, contact PC Housing to reserve a guaranteed-comfortable and cozy short-term stay apartment.
Image: Pixabay