Booking travel for executives, with complex itineraries and last-minute meetings, can be a challenge. Our tips here can help.
Whether it’s smoothing out the details of a merger or launching a product to industry leaders, when executives travel, the stakes are often high. And to deliver results, senior leaders must arrive at these crucial meetings rested, relaxed, and ready to perform. This is why well-organised executive travel management strategies are so important.
When booking travel for executives, you’ll need to think about their comfort and convenience at every touchpoint. Corporate VIPs expect top-tier services, from personalised itineraries to business class flights and lounge access during layovers. So, how can you best meet their needs throughout the journey? In this guide, we’ll give executive travel tips to help you balance first-class service with efficient decision-making, so that your business can support its leadership during important work trips.
In standard business travel, employees travel from point A to point B in comfort and efficiency, but what is executive travel and how is it different? Executive travel comes with perks that elevate standard work trips to a more luxurious, personalised travel experience.
Access to premium lounges, upgraded first class or business class seats, and priority boarding make the airport experience more comfortable, while membership in programmes like Global Entry and TSA PreCheck make travel more efficient by streamlining the security process.
Chauffeur services ensure smooth connections on the ground to save time and maximise productivity. Loyalty programme benefits and flexible booking options create a more personalised travel experience tailored to a business leader’s needs, all of which we’ll take a closer look at below.
Executive travel management focuses on the needs of high-level business travellers. For busy executives, premium travel services offer more than just luxury – they also save time. Business class travellers must maximise in-transit productivity with access to workspaces. Plush reclining seats give them a chance to sleep comfortably on the plane, so they’re rested enough to walk straight off the plane to a high-stakes meeting.
When you’re managing the needs of corporate VIPs, you’ll need to consider aspects including:
Executive travellers have packed schedules that change frequently, so flexible bookings are essential. They’re also under a great deal of work pressure and need to know that every little detail has been taken care of with a personalised itinerary.
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When booking travel for executives and corporate VIPs, here are the key challenges you’ll need to address.
Overcoming the challenges above while meeting executive travel needs may seem daunting, but you can get started by creating a detailed framework for planning each trip.
Follow these strategies that focus not only on facilitating productivity and privacy on the road, but also on anticipating executive needs with a proactive approach.
The first step when booking travel for executives is considering their personal priorities. Do they prefer window seats while flying business class? Is gym access important to keep up with their fitness routine? Use digital solutions to manage and store these preferences for future use, creating a more efficient, tailored itinerary.
You’ll need to be agile when booking corporate VIP travel. Senior leaders are always on the move, and their schedules change frequently. When you start creating an itinerary, build it around the trip’s main objectives, whether these involve client meetings, site visits, or industry events. Using these as a starting point, you can start adding flights, meals, and transport into the itinerary.
Consider delay-causing factors like local traffic to build in some cushioning time between itinerary points. You should also consider the impact of jet lag in international travel – ideally, your executive will sleep on the plane but it’s best to avoid scheduling the most important meeting immediately when they arrive.
Always have a contingency plan with alternative flight and hotel options. For built-in flexibility, choose refundable business flights and hotels, or at the very least make sure they permit date changes without penalty.
Like everyday business travel management, executive travel planning involves solving logistical issues. But it also means creating a premium, high-touch travel experience. An executive’s itinerary should be packed with end-to-end perks like the following:
Wellness treatments: With 82% of C-suite executives more likely to stay with a company that supports their well-being, it’s important to build in time for treatments like massages that reduce stress and improve focus
Using online travel solutions like Tripeden.com for Business, you’ll be able to book and manage executive-level hotels, corporate car rentals and business class flights from a single platform, ensuring a premium travel experience at every touchpoint.
Frequent business travellers are usually members of airline and hotel loyalty programmes according to their preferences. Make sure you book travel options with these companies where possible and enter in membership numbers while booking so that travelling executives receive top-level perks and rewards. Example perks include things like late check-out, business lounge access, and flight upgrades.
Executive travel management involves more than planning an itinerary and booking high-end services. It also means being available to provide on-the-ground support throughout an executive’s journey.
Provide updates regarding itinerary changes, upcoming meetings, and hotel check-in details as needed. You’ll need to be available to troubleshoot issues like flight delays and make restaurant reservations for last-minute dinners with clients, providing proactive concierge services.
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When arranging travel for senior executives, it’s helpful to have a specific document to refer to. An executive travel policy follows the same outline as a regular company travel policy, including sections for things like approved vendors, preferred booking tools, and travel expense reporting. But corporate VIP travel needs are different to that of the everyday business traveller, and your company’s policies should reflect this.
A key component of executive travel is security. While all company travel policies will include contact details and emergency procedures to manage risk, high-profile VIP executives may require additional levels of security and risk management. For example, to reduce risk, many companies limit the number of executives allowed to travel on the same flight.
Flexibility is also important when crafting an executive travel policy. Build freedom of choice into your policies to improve compliance. Catering to personal preferences when it comes to business flights and hotels not only improves employee satisfaction but can help with high-level talent acquisition and retention. And with CEO departures rising 16% year-on-year in 2024 alone, it’s important to find ways to cater for preferences and reduce turnover. You can use our travel policy builder to get started with creating a custom solution.
Today’s travel technology helps ensure a seamless travel experience for employees at every level of an organisation, including corporate VIPs and executives. With Tripeden.com for Business, you’ll be able to take full control over the corporate travel management process from start to finish, booking business class flights, high-end hotels, and corporate car rentals from a single platform.
Flexible booking options give executives and their assistants agility needed to modify itineraries according to evolving organisational demands. Gain access to over 3+ million properties, including serviced apartments for additional security and privacy. When travelling executives need assistance, free 24/7 support is available from our travel specialists to minimise any disruption. And travellers benefit from integrated airline loyalty schemes and hotel loyalty programmes to maximise rewards. Simply add membership details into your Tripeden.com for Business account to automatically earn loyalty points on every journey.
Corporate travel planning involves flexibility, adaptation, and a proactive, tech-driven approach. You’ll need to anticipate the needs of busy executives, while maintaining an open line of communication and providing a seamless experience at every stage. When successful, executive travel management takes care of all background logistics, empowering leadership to focus on what matters: meeting their all-important organisational objectives.
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