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Winter Business Trips: How to Plan Accordingly and Beat the Weather

Business travel, even under the best of weather conditions, can be a gruelling experience to plan, but travelling during the height of winter… that’s a different sport altogether. You’ve to contend with weather conditions, delays and unpredictability as the risk of sudden snowstorms and fog is quite high. Your plane never arrives. Or worse never lifts off. What now? Things progressively get worse, if you haven’t packed appropriately or scheduled your time appropriately.

The following guide introduces you to common mistakes when planning for a winter business trip and how to counter them. Whether you’re a fresh hire tasked to represent your company at a new event or a veteran traveller who’s amassed free miles, there’s still something new to learn. Nobody deserves to freeze off at an airport, stressed and uncomfortable.

Make smarter travel your resolution for the year.

WEATHER & LOGISTICS

The biggest risk with winter travel is the weather. More precisely how the weather can trip you up — hazardous road conditions, flight cancellations, train delays. The works. You can never tell when it’s going to happen to you, but you ought to plan as if the weather will work against your favour every single time you roll your suitcase out the front door.

What’s the weather going to be at the time of your departure? You better check your weather app at least a couple of days before departing. Monitor the weather on your end and your destination so that you notice sudden changes in weather patterns, and act accordingly.

You should also install your airline’s app on your phone and enable flight alerts. It’s stressful to stay on top of flight information, and the flight schedule display at the airport might not be the most reliable source. The app will notify you about any last minute changes to schedule, status or change in gate.

Now there’s not much you can do, if you haven’t laid down the groundwork.

What we mean by this is to plan your business trip with time buffers in mind. Be sure to arrive a day before the actual event, preferably earlier in the day, to guarantee you’ll not be late for the event you’re attending. If you’re close enough to your destination that you have alternative ways to reach it, then look into rain or bus schedules. Flights might get grounded, land transportation may still operate according to schedule. Backup options are good to have even if they’re not optimal. Hopefully, your time buffs are enough to make the trip with alternative transportation.

If you’re a long-distance traveller and flights are the only option, then you should make your company invest in flexible tickets. Airlines are well aware that winter travel can be hit or miss and flexible tickets mean free cancellation or rescheduling options. Although you initially bite the cost, it will cost you less in the event that you cannot fly on your original flight. Plus, you do not have to go through hoops to reschedule.

WEATHER & HEALTH

Airports are breeding grounds for viruses and even the smallest conference can effectively be a superspreading event. COVID-19 might not be as big a threat as it used to be, but you can still get the cold, the flu and every other kind of virus. Health equals productivity under these specific conditions. You have to take all the precautions to protect your wellbeing.

You shouldn’t go out without a mask while travelling, at least when you’re most surrounded by people in the airport and on public transport. Be sure to wash hands whenever possible and keep some hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes at hand. This way you reduce risks when touching your face or eating on foot. The disinfectant comes handy when you board the plane (wipe your tray tables) and check in your room (wipe the remote, phone receiver, door handles).

Wear appropriate clothing. Be sure to account for temperature drops and when packing clothes think first and foremost of layers!

But let’s say that the worst will happen and you will fall sick. Never leave your home without the right health essentials:

● A COVID test. The worst of the pandemic might be over, but that doesn’t mean COVID has gone away. A COVID test will give you an indication of what you should do next. You still have a responsibility to protect your colleagues and peers. Plus, you do not wish to be known as patient zero for a small outbreak.

● A thermometer. Monitoring fever is crucial.

● Over-the-counter medicines for cold and flu symptoms. Favour the powder form (think Teraflu) over pills as the body absorbs the active ingredients this way.

● Vitamins. Ideally, you should be taking them during the trip to boost your immunity.

Do not underestimate the power of home remedies to bring comfort. There are reasons why a hot cup of tea with honey and a bowl of chicken soup are recommended time and time again.

WEATHER & ACCOMMODATION

As we’ve established, winter is not the optimal time to travel, and the same can be said about the commute to and from your hotel. When it comes to selecting accommodation, there are several very important questions to consider:

Does it have a direct link to the airport? Some hotels offer shuttle bus transfers. Others sit right next to a metro or bus that goes to the airport. Or you can organise your own shuttle bus transport (our team will be most glad to be with this). Learn the schedule of all public transportation before you depart to your destination.

How close is the hotel to the event? It’s common advice to book hotels close to a conference hall or an exhibition centre, but it’s never more important than during the winter months. The closer you are, the better your chances to arrive on time every day even when faced with the worst of weather conditions.