Most consultants travel to their client every single week. This means you will spend a lot of time every week on the road and in the air. But how to optimize this time? Here is a selection of 5 travel hacks experienced consultants like to use:
1. Keep a separate set of toiletries in your cabin luggage
You want to optimize your packing times every weekend? Easy: Simply buy a second set of toiletries and other drugstore items you can keep in a designated bag inside your cabin luggage all the time. That way you won’t need to unpack everything once you come back home just to repack on Sundays. Trust me, this approach will save you quite a lot of time and you are sure to never forget something at home.
2. Choose your security queue wisely
You might already know this from the movie “up in the air”: Never wait in lines with a large amount of older people or families with children. Trust me: They are always slower. Quickest queues are typically those with many business people and especially Asians. But I also have an additional tip to add to that: Don’t go to the business class line just because you can. Especially during typical consulting travel times like Monday mornings, the queue at the business class / priority line is often a lot longer than the economy queue.
3. Loyalty often helps
Make sure to choose your preferred airline and hotel chain quickly and then stay with them. That way you will quickly be able to build a status with their loyalty program and enjoy perks such as lounge access or free upgrades. Also, collecting miles & points is always great to enjoy free vacations in luxury resorts & hotels.
4. Finding the best room
While most hotel rooms look the same, you will quickly realize that the experience is not always the same. Some rooms will have more noise from the street or from close-by elevators than others. In some, you will have a bathtub instead of the desired walk-in shower. Some beds are more saggy than others. I highly recommend you to call the hotel upfront of your stay to request a quite room away from the street and at an upper floor. Once you have found the perfect room, upon checking out I ask to receive the same room during my next stay. Normally, that’s never a problem. Trust me, especially if you have to work long hours every night you don’t want to be woken up in the middle of the night by your noisy hotel room.
5. Store an additional bag at the hotel over the weekend
Traveling for a week with just your cabin luggage can be tough. Especially if you want to bring some stuff to do sports during the week or a second pair of shoes, this will quickly be limited by the available capacity of your cabin luggage. Please remember: You won’t create a good reputation in the team if you and your colleagues need to wait for your checked-in luggage every week. But there is a simple solution: I like to pack an additional bag with these items at the beginning of a new project and then store it in the hotel over the weekend. This is normally never a problem and that way you can still have everything you need during the week without being required to travel with a big bag.
