Navigating the Map: Managing Multi-City Travel

Mark has a Monday morning meeting in Missouri. On Tuesday, Tom will join him in Toronto for a meeting at 2 p.m. Wendy will meet both Mark and Tom in Wisconsin on Wednesday for a meeting at 1 p.m. And, on Thursday, Wendy and Mark will return home, while Tom heads to Tennessee for a meeting at 10 a.m.

And you've been assigned to coordinate it all! Lucky you.

Sounds like a nightmare, right? Managing multi-city travel can be a challenge to say the least - especially when it involves multiple people. Recently, I spoke with OfficeArrow's own Business Operations Manager, Robin Holtson, a travel planning expert with more than 25 years of experience under her belt. I asked Robin to share her most valuable tips for managing such horrendous travel schedules and below, I'll share what I learned with you.

Travel Requests

Ensure all travel requests are made in writing (use our form available here). You'll notice that the important information has to do with the meeting(s) for which travel is necessary. As the travel planner, you'll need to know the date, start time, duration and location of the meeting(s) to ensure all parties can arrive on time.

Notice that the traveler's preferences are not the main concern here. While you're bound to deal with various travelers who only want to fly at night, or only want to drive to their destination, or only want to stay in a Hilton, the critical responsibility of the travel planner is to ensure the traveler can make it to the meeting. Depending on your company policies, you may be able to meet other requests made by the travelers, but typically, the priority will be containing costs. If you're also looking to meet the specific preferences of each individual traveler, your task will be significantly more complicated. To collect preference information, use one of the user-submitted templates available here.

Timing

The critical component for planning multi-city travel is the timing. As mentioned above, you're primary responsibility is ensuring that the travelers can make it to the meeting. In many cases, this means you need to research the amount of time it will take to get from the airport to the meeting location, factoring in the time it takes to collect baggage, catch a cab or rent a car. (Tip: For extremely tight schedules, stick with cabs or car services.) Additionally, you'll need to consider possible delays due to weather. Remember Murphy's Law - anything that can go wrong will - and allow some leeway, especially during the winter months.

For early morning meetings, it's typically a better bet to schedule travel the night before. While this may boost your overall costs (adding in a hotel stay), and the time spent on the road will increase for the traveler, this option is usually beneficial. For example, it helps avoid problems caused by delays, and the traveler won't be forced to wake up at a ridiculous hour to catch an early flight. Additionally, the extra time in the evening and morning may allow for some pre-meeting prep that might not have occurred otherwise.

Changes and Flexibility

This kind of travel planning requires a certain amount of flexibility. After all, meetings get rescheduled all the time. A tight, multi-city trip can be completely thrown off course by just one small change. As the travel arranger, you need to demand (respectfully) open communication regarding the meeting schedule. Otherwise, if last minute changes are made and you aren't aware, serious problems can occur. If changes happen frequently, consider booking refundable tickets to avoid change fees.

It's important to note that a multi-city trip that is booked on one airline record is impacted by the outbound flight. This means that changing the initial outbound flight can void all subsequent plans. If a change needs to happen, call the airline (or your travel agent) immediately.

Travel Agents

Whenever possible, using a travel agent to arrange multi-city travel will significantly improve the process. Changes are handled much more efficiently and, because you're able to speak directly with an agent, you'll feel confident that your needs are being met. For more information on using travel agencies, read our articles on the topic: The Benefits of Using a Travel Agent and 5 Tips for Finding a Travel Agent.

International Travel

When planning multi-city travel around the globe, you'll have some additional considerations:

• Be mindful of the International Date Line. It can have a significant impact on your timing.
• Determine the Visa requirements immediately. This is especially important for foreign nationals, but also for U.S. citizens. For specific information, call the local embassy of the country for which you're arranging travel.
• Allow some adjustment time if needed by the traveler. Depending on how experienced the traveler is, he or she may need as much as a day to feel focused enough to engage in business. Discuss it with him or her prior to making arrangements, and always be cautious of planning a tight timeline.
• Don't deal with rental cars. It's often difficult for a traveler to maneuver through foreign cities and roads. Instead, stick with cabs or car services.
• Cellular service providers must be contacted prior to travel. Some cell phones must be "enabled" for international use.
• For intra-country travel (to various cities within a foreign country), encourage the traveler to book locally with regional carriers.
• Encourage the traveler to exchange a small amount of currency at the airport or hotel for incidental expenses, such as tipping. Everything else should be expensed on one credit card and receipts held for reimbursement or reporting.

While planning a multi-city trip can be a difficult task, it's also an opportunity to let your organizational skills shine. Share your tips for planning these nightmarish trips with the rest of the OfficeArrow community!