Anyone who's had the privilege of getting people to and from the airport knows the frustration of business travel. Between flight delays, trip interruptions, and communication breakdowns, keeping a group together while traveling can be more work than...work! Is there an easier way to keep everyone moving forward?
Believe it or not, there are very easy ways to make sure your team stays together, no matter how they arrive at their final destination. Follow these tips, and getting your group to and from the airport can be easy.
Coordinate schedules upfront
The first key to keeping your party moving to and from the airport begins well before anyone even boards an airplane. Instead of waiting until the travel is pending to get everyone together, trip planners can start by taking inventory of every travelers' schedule during the trip planning process.
While every traveler will have their personal preferences (some like taking direct flights as others enjoy taking the longest possible connections), it is critical to get everyone's schedule connected up front. By coordinating schedules as a starting point, everyone on your trip knows not only when to expect each other, but (more importantly) when they are expected to arrive. As a result, everyone knows on when to expect the team members, and when to start making contingency plans.
Maintain a common meeting place
A common meeting place goes beyond the buddy system, or having everyone call each other when they land at the airport. Once schedules are coordinated and everyone knows what time the limousine is arriving, the next step is having a very specific meeting place for everyone involved.
By selecting a specific rally point, like "luggage carousel number six" or "exit door three," everyone on your team knows where they are expected in order to catch their ground transportation. If you are not sure what an airport offers or what kind of layout to expect, talk to your limousine provider, as we can recommend places for your entire party to meet their friendly driver.
Have a backup plan in case of emergency
Even the best laid plans can go awry. Either someone oversleeps and misses their plane, or a flight gets diverted to Albuquerque for a sick person on board. In any event, the result is the same: your team is now missing one person or more, with the limousine arriving at any moment.
First and foremost: do not panic. Instead, make sure everyone on the traveling team knows the backup plan. Make one person in charge during the travel day, and insist they have the phone numbers of everyone traveling, as well as the ground transportation providers and hotels. If someone gets stuck, have them call the travel leader to make alternate plans. Keeping calm can help everyone travel on, both to and from the airport.
Planning business travel does not have to be a major headache. Instead, keep your team moving forward by following these three simple tips every time they take to the open skies.
