5 Tips for Navigating Business Travel in Times of COVID

Meeting planners have it increasingly complicated when organizing meetings and business travel in times of COVID, as they have to take into account the continuous changes in the COVID related restrictions policies when traveling to other countries.

If it was already difficult to take all the data into account, now there are new problems, since it is not only a matter of leaving the country, but of re-entering the country of origin, since new tests, forms or quarantine periods that were not planned at the beginning are often required.

1st tip: Check the travel restrictions before organizing the trip

You may find yourself with the situation in which you have organized the whole trip, but you have not taken into account all the attendees or the policies that govern their countries. Because it is not only about the countries to which you travel, but also the countries to which you have to return.

In addition, there is a lot of paperwork related to business travel in times of COVID, as well as documentation that needs to be provided. We talk about PCRs, forms or requests for vaccination certificates, among others.

Therefore, having visibility about the requirements is a ‘must’ when planning meetings, and finding a tool that offers this data, the answer to the problems that meeting planners suffer.

2nd tip: Make efficient the total duration of the trips

It is of little use to save on costs if it is going to take twice as long to reach the destination. Or if factors such as the wellbeing of business travelers have not been taken into account. We recently commented in a post that half (56%) of organisations intend to increase spending on both mental and physical health support in business travel in times of COVID, and it is vitally important to avoid employee burnout.

3rd tip: Take the environment into account

We all know that saving our planet is in our hands, and in everyday things like organizing a trip we can make a difference when it comes to reducing our carbon footprint. But for this it is necessary that there are tools that allow us to carry out measurements and comparisons, since otherwise it becomes a long and tedious process.

In these times of remote work and meetings via Zoom, Teams or Webex, to name a few, the meetings that used to take place so regularly have already been largely avoided.

But as we have discussed previously, you cannot detract from face-to-face meetings.

That is why, at present, we are looking in more detail if this meeting is really necessary, since the paradigm has changed.

4rt tip: Minimize costs as much as possible

Although it is true that it is one piece of information among many others, the cost is sometimes decisive when thinking whether a meeting is going to take place. And much more in periods of crisis, in which these actions are looked at with a magnifying glass.

Planning meetings with time and with the most up-to-date data will allow meeting planners to make these processes as efficient as possible.

5th: Gather all the data and compare

Having the data alone does not make the process efficient, because between gathering and comparing it, an eternity can pass; much more if you have to go to various sources to access them.

That is why having a tool in which all these results can be visualized is of vital importance. And currently, there is only one that does it: TROOP.

TROOP enables a scientific, algorithmic and data-driven approach to planning the most effective global meeting and events for your team, saving time and money while significantly reducing your carbon footprint.

Events and travel planning need to take all kinds of risks into account, and TROOP provides the means to not only mitigate those risks, but also minimize the possibility of any negative consequences, whether in time, cost, travel restrictions or any COVID related aspects.

Besides, TROOP has just announced a new COVID 19 related functionality that will make meeting planning easier. This new functionality adds a COVID 19 data layer to the existing map that showcases outbound and inbound travel restrictions for all attendees, travellers and participants, making meeting planning even more efficient.

Do you want to know more? Don’t hesitate and book a meeting with our team now!