That moment when a recruiter calls to tell you that you’ve been accepted for that new project you wanted in New England is quite exciting! The not-so-exciting part of it is realizing that you are in Arizona and have to get to New England in a week to start your new project.
Here are a few tips to help you plan your travels quickly and efficiently:
Work with a travel management service provider as soon as possible to organize and coordinate the cheapest flights, car rentals, hotel rates, etc.
Keeping a designated credit card solely for the use of business travel will help you track your expenses. This will make it easier for you to itemize your expenses report for submission. (There’s also an app for that!)
While we’re on the topic of expenses, be sure to keep all of your paper receipts together in one secure location. This will keep you organized and able to quickly reference any charges.
- Utilize your smart phone! There are many apps for iPhones and Android that are great for frequent travelers.
- TripCase (available for iOS, Android, and Blackberry) is a free app that helps you stay in the know about your trip with updates and flight alerts delivered right to your phone. Plus, helpful tips and tools when you need them every step of the way.
- AwardWallet (available for iOS and Andriod) is a free app that keeps track of all your loyalty programs on the go. AwardWallet keeps you hotel and credit card points, frequent flier miles and all of your log-in credentials locked in a single hub.
- Expensify (available for iOS, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone) is another free app that can be used for seamlessly tracking all of your expenses from a single app. You sync all of your credit and debit cards to Expensify, and the app takes care of the rest, tracking each expense as you go and compiling an easy-to-navigate expense report at the end of your trip (and email it as a PDF if you wish). If you pay with cash, scan the receipt using your phone’s camera and the app will file it.
- Utilize any corporate discounts for national hotel chains that your staffing agency may provide. You will end up saving yourself a few extra dollars!
- We understand how time consuming and difficult it can be to plan and organize travel arrangements when beginning a new assignment. We hope that our consultants can utilize and these tips to make their travels to and from assignment more efficient and enjoyable.
As always, please don’t hesitate to contact our Contractor Services Representatives at any time throughout your assignment! If you would like to find out more about our travel management service provider or any national discounted hotel rates that Black Diamond provides please contact me at [email protected] or 978-474-9980 EXT: 9752! I would be more than happy to help you!
