The 7 Main Types of Business Travel

For many organisations, building relationships forms the crux of their business operations, which is why business travel is so important. Relationships are far easier to maintain through face-to-face interactions as it breeds genuineness and builds trust between business associates. 

It’s important to understand what kinds of trips you can expect when you’re asked to travel for business. In this post, we’ll take a look at the different types of business travel commonly practised in the corporate world. 

Why Do Different Types of Business Travel Exist?

Travelling for business is an essential part of managing distant business entities and makes clients, suppliers and other associated parties feel as though they are a key part of the organisation those travelling represent. 

Companies may also emphasise specific aspects of business relationship building, the scope of which is multifaceted. Different types of business travel, therefore, apply to different business relationships, which is why an array of travel types exist. 

Types of Business Travel

Different types of business travel fulfil different purposes for a company or business. Understanding the different types of business travel means that you can extrapolate optimal value from business trips you take yourself or send your team members on. Below, we’ve broken down the kinds of interactions you can expect to encounter when you travel for business. 

Conferences and conventions

Travelling for conferences is a great thing to do when you’re looking to conduct market research, understand a particular client base, market your product or service, or simply network with other experts in your field. 

Some of the factors you have to consider when travelling for a conference or convention are value added to the company after attendance, ticket costs, whether you’re going as a guest or as an exhibitor or speaker, how you and your employees will get there, and any accommodation requirements if any. 

Before travelling for a conference or convention, you should take a look at which other organisations are planning to attend the event. This will allow you to develop a strategy to optimise how you and your team will spend time there. 

Business meetings

Business meetings are an essential part of ensuring that your business continues to expand and grow positively. A business meeting does not have to only centre around clients but can also be between other business entities like suppliers, meetings with the board, and prospective investors. 

You may also be required to travel to present to another business if you are giving demonstrations of a particular product or service, in which case you will be travelling for the sake of sales pitching. 

Corporate events

If you have established yourself within the corporate world, then you may have to attend corporate events. This would include attending awards ceremonies, private or internal events like office parties, seminars, training sessions or product launches. Not all corporate events are open for every employee. It’s likely that you will only travel for corporate events if you are in management, client relations, or a C-level position within your organisation. 

Team-building activities

If you’re part of a company that has a group of staff members, it’s vital that you ensure the morale within a team remains high. One of the best ways to do this is through team-building activities. Team-building has many benefits, including developing communication skills within the team, forming an understanding of members’ expertise and speciality areas, and enabling networking with other departments and across the employment hierarchy. 

Bleisure travel

With the rise in remote working, the concept of bleisure travel is becoming more and more well-known. If someone is required to travel for business, it is now common practice to add some time onto the trip for some personal time. 

The person travelling may wish to use some of their allocated leave to enjoy some of the sights and attractions located in the same place they have travelled to for a primarily business purpose. Bleisure travel integrates travelling for business and for leisure and is a great way to incorporate a holiday away from home.

Transfers and offshore work

In today’s business world, many companies have global branches and entities worldwide. For example, companies that manufacture and sell products may have their manufacturing facilities located in a different country. There may also be offices worldwide that specialise in different departments. 

A work transfer may be offered if a company feels that value will be added to them if they send staff members to international locations. Transfers entail sending staff members away for extended periods to allow them to enhance their skills in other areas. With this kind of business travel, the company may be required to organise the employee’s accommodation and provide them with a live-out allowance.

Site visits

Businesses that operate within industries that own major plants often have their corporate offices located separately from these sites. For example, a major power supplier will have an office based in the city, while their power plant is located in a more rural setting. 

Members of the corporate office are often required to visit these sites to gain insights into business operations and get an overview of other aspects like outputs and performance. Site visits, therefore, form an integral part of certain business interactions and require businesses to allow for travel to these sites. 

Choosing Accommodation for Different Types of Business Travel

Organising accommodation for those travelling on behalf of your company is an essential part of corporate travel management. Accommodation only needs to be organised if it is impossible to return home on the same day that travel is required. You also want to ensure that your representatives attend meetings feeling refreshed and prepared, which should influence the type of accommodation you book for your staff. 

For client meetings and sales pitches, booking a hotel for representatives will allow staff members to freshen up and get a good night’s sleep before a meeting. If business travel is only for a short period of time, the accommodation such as a hotel is more than sufficient. However, for more extended business travel purposes like offshore work or transfers, serviced apartments may be more appropriate. The accommodation you choose depends on the nature of business travel. 

The Role of Serviced Apartments in Business Travel

Serviced apartments are the perfect accommodation solution for those travelling for business who require a bit more privacy and agency. Having a serviced apartment means business travellers will not have to worry about aspects such as cleaning, but they do have the option to do laundry, cook for themselves and relax in a more homely environment than a hotel. 

For this reason, serviced apartments are often better suited to contract workers or those required to take extended trips for business. 

All apartments available on TrustedStays have been pre-vetted against our high quality and safety standards. This gives business travel organisers peace of mind that the accommodation aspect of the business trips is well-taken care of. With serviced apartment options in many locations, get in touch today to see how we can help you plan corporate trips.