3 Things you should NEVER do on a Business Trip

Jeremy B

5 years ago

3 Things to Never Ever Do on a Business Trip

Are you grinding it out on the road? Flying out on a Monday and back on Fridays? Welcome to the business traveler club. There’s a lot about busines travel to like, and a lot that isn’t so fun. For newbies it can be challenging to find your way, but we got your covered. And for our salty travel veterans…who knows, maybe you’ll find something valuable here too! Here are 3 things to NEVER ever do on your business trip.

Be sure to check out all of our “Things you Should Never Do” series, including our popular, 3 Things you Should Never Do in a Hotel!

Never do these things on a business trip!

Business Travel. Fun little phrase, there isn’t it? At least for those of you have caught the wanderlust bug and yearn to get out on the road. One neat little benefit of business travel is that you aren’t paying it! Of course, there are downsides to work travel, too. But, what should you be doing while traveling for work? And more importantly, what shouldn’t you being doing?

We share 3 things you should never do while on a business trip, giving you a quick and easy guide to stay inside the lines while on the road. Here’s a quick summary before we dive into them in more detail.

Violate company travel policies
Get drunk
Lose your cool / get too stressed

Let’s dig in. By the way, there are a few additional ideas of what to avoid doing while traveling for work at the end…

Violate Company Travel Policies

I once had a boss who used to tell me, “if you are looking for reasons to fire someone, just investgiate their travel claims, you are bound to find something.” He’s not wrong.

Companies are pretty fussy about their travel policies. After all, travel can be a very expensive cost. As such, many companies implement highly restrictive travel policies. And it’s always wise to follow them.

As someone who spends a fair amount of time traveling for work, I always make sure I have a clear understanding of what’s allowed and not allowed while on the road. From booking policies, to credit card use, meals and per diem policies and more, the company travel policy is your bible to traveling within the company law.

Read it, learn it, use it.

Get Drunk

I have a two drink maximum when drinking as part of a company event. It’s served me very well over the years. If you want to watch your career go down in flames get hammered at some company related activity. This includes business travel.

Often, business travelers are with customers or other colleagues and in a social environment. I cannot count the number of times in the last year I’ve been on business travel and been with a customer or colleague where we were having a drink.

However, you’ve really got to be careful here. I always stick to a two drink max rule and usually do a water in between. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have a drinking problem, and I can hold my liquor (after all, I learned how to drink in the Marine Corps where it’s kinda part of our default setting…), but I’ve just learned to keep a clear head.

I also rarely drink on planes, although occasionally, if in first class, I may have a drink, but only if I am heading home or heading to the hotel right after landing.

Lose your cool or get too stressed

Business travelers have seen it all. Delayed flights, smelly passengers, engine trouble, bed bugs, and so much more. When you travel for work on a frequent basis its important to not let the occasional travails of travel get under your skin.

Instead, relax, take a deep breath and roll with it. So what if you have to hang around the Denver airport for 3 more hours because you missed your connection due to fog in Boston. No need to stress or lose your cool.

The savviest business travelers usually just roll with it.

Some additional things to avoid doing on a business trip

Like the Lord of the Rings there can only be one ring to rule them all, although in our case, it’s just three. Yep, three things to avoid doing on your business trip. However, we have a few other’s worth noting as well and have summarized them (high-level, anyways) for you below:

Forget to submit your expense report. This sort of counts as a company travel policy violation, but man, it can get you in trouble. Doing expense reports is NOT fun, but it’s a necessary evil. Don’t forget to get them done quickly once your trip is over.
Renting from Avis. This is a joke, of course, but we are not fans of Avis and think they have a lot to go in the customer service category. We much prefer National who sets the gold standard, as far as we are concerned, for business travel car rentals.
Check a bag. This is a bit controversial for some, but as a business traveler we are firmly in the “never check a bag” club. Carrying you bag on the plane gives you tremendous flexibility with the vagaries of business travel and it saves time allowing you to move faster and more efficiently.
Research your destination and enrich the experience. Business travel can take you to some fascinating locations, sometimes even exotic. It can also take you to places that are, well, less thrilling. But…something interesting has happened just about everywhere if you take the time to look it up. Not spending a little time researching your destination, however obscure or exotic, might cause you to miss something interesting!
Get in some Bleisure from time to time. How often are you going to visit New York on the company dime? Occasionally, bring your loved ones with you on the trip and stay over a long weekend. Sure, you have to pay their travel out of your pocket, but your travel is covered by the company. It’d be a mistake NOT to do it every once in a while.
Make cutie face with employees or colleagues. Danger Will Robinson! Danger! You might be tempted to flirt with a colleague or employee, or even your boss, but be careful. This can take you dangerously close to the line with company policies and it’s usually not worth it. (this tip, btw, was inspired by a commenter, below!)
Miss out on your points & miles. Depending on your company’s travel policy you may be able to use your own personal credit cards while on company business. This is an opportunity too good to miss. After all, the company is going to reimburse you so you might as well get the points and rewards. Also, be sure to sign up for all of the travel reward programs you use when traveling for work (e.g. Hilton Honors, etc) – you might as well collect the perks!

The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is one of the top credit cards for Travel!

**Chase Sapphire Preferred Card: excellent for business travelers**

How about you? What do you NEVER do while traveling for work? Maybe it’s never stay at Hampton Inn (haha…) or maybe it’s never do a layover shorter than 45 minutes? Drop us a comment, below, or tweet us!

Vaya Con Dios, Biz Traveler

Thanks for stopping in, business traveler. May your upgrades be plenty, your delays few, and your rental cars be Camaros!

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