[mb100349@aol.com]

I've done very little travel arrangements and I'm not familiar with doing international travel. Let's say that my boss wants to go to Singapore for a week. What are the steps to setting up his travel arrangements?

[lilysunshine]

1. Passport and Visa! No passport no visa, no travel. How much you have to do on that front will give you a good timeline on how far in advance to book his trip. For my boss' most recent trip to India, we discovered he needed two full pages free in his passport - which he did not have. That required me to apply and get extra passport pages put into his passport before we could even move on to getting his visa.

His visa required letters of intent from companies he was visiting in India, as well as an itinerary of his travel plans, so I had to factor in the time it would take to set and confirm many of his appointments before I could even secure his visa.

2. Air and Hotel - my boss had never been to India. So we were really unsure of where to put him up when he stayed, or where things were in relation to where he needed to be. Lots of research on map sites, lots of emails to companies in India, and a few checks with colleagues or acquaintances that had gone previously. I took a hotel recommendation from them, and followed up with a search on online reviews.

I also arranged for his transportation between airport and hotel, hotel and meetings, everywhere he needed to go. I do this for all his trips, but especially for those where there is any sort of language barrier. Knowing he won't be stranded in a foreign country with no idea how to call a cab gives us both peace of mind. Generally we go with an affiliate of the car service we use stateside.

3. Health Concerns - depending on where you travel, vaccinations, prescriptions, and other health recommendations are necessary. A quick google search led me to either the CDC or an embassy website on travel to India, and the necessary requirements for all of the above. I'd say it took about 2 weeks to get those straightened out, but that's because my boss had had all of the shots thanks to a trip to China 8 months prior.

4. Customs, dress code, etc. - I also did research on Indian business customs, courtesy expectations, things of that nature. America is VERY different when it comes to what is considered polite or acceptable, and let me tell you, I'm glad I looked into it. I found articles about what to do when offered refreshments, what is acceptable and not acceptable in business meetings, what would be considered polite and what would be considered essentially a slap in the face. My boss can be very boisterous and outspoken and a packet to read on the plane provided some necessary etiquette.

5. Registering with the Department of State - you can register your trips with the state department (if you are in the US) in case of accidents, emergencies, detainements, etc. Thankfully we did not need this, but I register him for every trip he takes internationally, just in case.

6. CONFIRM EVERYTHING. I can't count the number of times I have gone to confirm a flight, or a car, or a hotel and there is SOMETHING wrong with the reservation. So I always without fail confirm his reservations about 3 days before departure. That gives me enough time to fix things if they've gone wrong, while being close enough to the travel date to give me peace of mind that things won't screw up in the meantime.

7. Miscellaneous - I always try to include a few safe tourist-y things for him to do that might fit into his schedule location-wise and time-wise, but that's mostly so I don't lose him while he tries to find something fun on his own.

[Robert Ball]

This is great advice lilysunshine! I used to travel extensively across Europe and Asia, and I wish I'd had you to guide me. A couple of thoughts on a few of your points:

Originally Posted by lilysunshine

1. Passport and Visa! No passport no visa, no travel.

The visa requirements are the most often overlooked (been there, done that), and the folks you are going to visit won't be very sympathetic when you cancel the appointment (which often need to be made way far in advance) because you didn't know.

Originally Posted by lilysunshine

2. Air and Hotel - my boss had never been to India. So we were really unsure of where to put him up when he stayed, or where things were in relation to where he needed to be. Lots of research on map sites, lots of emails to companies in India, and a few checks with colleagues or acquaintances that had gone previously. I took a hotel recommendation from them, and followed up with a search on online reviews.

I also arranged for his transportation between airport and hotel, hotel and meetings, everywhere he needed to go. I do this for all his trips, but especially for those where there is any sort of language barrier. Knowing he won't be stranded in a foreign country with no idea how to call a cab gives us both peace of mind. Generally we go with an affiliate of the car service we use stateside.

I can't agree more... the level of detail you need to go into cannot be overstated. To go a step further, I would love to know what hotels your boss liked/disliked, the name of the car service, etc. I'll add your response to my favorites and look to use it one day. This is exactly the sort of advice and help we hope becomes a big part of the value of OA, so I hope that everyone will contribute to the knowledge base so we can all benefit. Recommendations from trusted sources are key.

For instance, I can tell you from personal experience that the Palace Hotel in the Otemachi district of Tokyo is great (a bit dated), but a mere two blocks away the Tokyo Station Hotel (same price) was the worst hotel experience of my life (thankfully, at least for others, it is now closed and under renovation and expected to reopen in 3 years). But that's only if most of your business is in that part of Tokyo. If your business is in Shinjuku, stay over there (at the Park Hyatt if you can afford it). I can also tell you that the airport limousine bus service (it's a bus, period) from Narita airport works best for most hotels (and is far cheaper than a taxi) but depending on where you stay in the city the train from Tokyo Station to Narita airport works just fine.

Originally Posted by lilysunshine

4. Customs, dress code, etc. - I also did research on Indian business customs, courtesy expectations, things of that nature. America is VERY different when it comes to what is considered polite or acceptable, and let me tell you, I'm glad I looked into it. I found articles about what to do when offered refreshments, what is acceptable and not acceptable in business meetings, what would be considered polite and what would be considered essentially a slap in the face.

Overlook this point at your peril!

Originally Posted by lilysunshine

6. CONFIRM EVERYTHING. I can't count the number of times I have gone to confirm a flight, or a car, or a hotel and there is SOMETHING wrong with the reservation. So I always without fail confirm his reservations about 3 days before departure. That gives me enough time to fix things if they've gone wrong, while being close enough to the travel date to give me peace of mind that things won't screw up in the meantime.

Again, huge point. You don't want to have someone travel 18-24 hours only to find out that the person they were meeting with thought it was a day/week later. As an aside, also check to make sure that you aren't showing up on a holiday. More than once I showed up in a foreign country with a full agenda only to find out that the day after I got there was a country holiday.

I hope this helps. If you have specific questions about a particular destination, ask them too and hopefully the answers will flow. I'm happy to give my thoughts on those places I've visited.

[Liuginsac]

Oh my God!!
Thank you Lilysunshine for all these explanations. I am a new member and I will work for the first time as executive assistant..in fact, I have a lot of things to research about to succeed in my career.

You have given my such a relief with your article.

Thank you,

[pauline]

I am an Executive Assistant having experience only in domestic travels. This is my first time on this site and already I've learned a great deal. As I continue my quest to find my next job, I noticed that alot of C-Level Executive request that the EA have experience in international travel, although I have none but if I should need to book international travel, I will refer back to the great advice. Thank you.

[lilysunshine]

Totally belated response, Robert, but my boss enjoyed the Oberoi Hotels in Mumbai, Dehli, and Bangalore.

Generally, I try to book him with a chain we are familiar with. The Park Hyatt is a standard go-to, as well as a Hilton or Ritz Carlton. International trips especially are already so expensive that we don't see much point in skimping on the cost of a hotel if we're not positive it won't wind up being less than acceptable.

For car services, we use Carey Limousine. They will assist in booking international travel with one of their affiliates as well, which is a relief, as they already know my boss' preferences, and have proven reliable when it comes to showing up when and where we want them to.

I have been known to double book pick-ups from hotels depending on where he is staying. We were not able to use Carey Limo for his initial arrival in India, and had gone through an unknown car service on the recommendation of one of our business associates there. Thankfully I also booked with the Oberoi hotel, because the car service never showed.

[lilysunshine]

Liuginsac - don't stress! International travel is such an intensive process that it really only takes one big trip to sort of be an expert at it. My first time planning an international trip was awful - the first leg of the flight out was delayed due to weather and I had to arrange for a last minute car to drive my boss up 3 hours to another airport in order for him to catch the second leg, or he would have missed an entire day's worth of meetings. The first hotel tried to stick he and his business partner in one room with a single bed, and his partner misplaced his passport 3 days before departing for home (thankfully he found it in his laundry bag an hour before their flight was to leave). Nothing is ever going to go perfectly, so you just have to be prepared to roll with the punches. (International trips have proven to be the best stories to tell later on. So much goes wrong that afterwards you just have to laugh.)