Business travel can be stressful. Not only are you concerned with meeting clients and colleagues, giving presentations, and managing your day-to-day work on the road, you also have the stress of travel on top of it. During these business trips, it’s important for you to have a haven where you can feel comfortable to rest and reboot after a long day. This is where finding the right hotel for your needs comes into play. When you are selecting a hotel room for your business trip, there are certain considerations you want to make to ensure you have the best experience possible.
Location, Location, Location
Just like real estate, choosing a hotel is all about location. The first thing you should do to narrow your search is determine where you want your hotel to be located. Chances are, you want your hotel as close as possible to the most relevant venues to your trip. For example, if you are attending a conference, you want to be as close to the conference center as you can. While this might seem like an obvious tip, it’s common for businesses to choose their hotel booking based on price without much consideration for distance. This can create an issue if you need to scramble across town to get to a meeting. Make sure your hotel is as centrally located as possible while still being within your price range.
Review the Reviews
One of the best places to start when you’re looking to book a hotel is by researching the reviews online. What do previous guests have to say about these accommodations? Getting an idea of what the experience will be like at a hotel without even walking through the door is one of the major advantages of business travel in the digital age. This is particularly important for assessing the level of customer service you can expect. If the reviews complain about unresponsive front desk staff and you will need an early morning wake up call, it’s better to go with a hotel where you know you can rely on excellent service. Don’t hesitate to take advantage of technology by researching the best hotels in your destination.
Find A Place with Business Facilities
When you’re on the road, it can be frustrating to be away from your usual business station. Without a computer, scanner, printer, and copy machine, it can be challenging to complete your work when traveling for business. If you are going to need any of these accommodations, make sure that a hotel has a business facility before you book your room.
Assess Access to Transportation
Regardless of how close your hotel is to the venue you will frequent, you want to make sure you have access to transportation. Check if there is a nearby taxi rank, bus stop, or train station. This ensures that you have access to all forms of transportation that may aid you during the course of your trip.
Factor in Food
At the end of a long day, you will probably not want to go running around town to locate a place to go for dinner. That’s when a hotel restaurant can be a lifesaver. Do some research to determine whether or not your hotel has a restaurant and, ideally, room service. That way, if you’re too exhausted to leave your room, your dinner will come right to your door.
Consider Quality and Cleanliness
The last thing you want when you’re traveling for business is to stay in a beat-up motel with dingy facilities and a dirty bathroom. We have all heard horror stories of bed bugs biting hotel guests, or allergic reactions due to unhygienic conditions. Particularly if you will be meeting your clients at your hotel, you want to make sure it is high quality and cleanly. Take special care to research these elements of the hotel online before you book your room.
Think About Loyalty
When you are traveling for work often, something you miss a lot is coming home to the familiarity of where you live. By choosing to be loyal to one hotel chain, you can not only save money through travel rewards, you can also have somewhere familiar to come home to at the end of the day. While the actual hotel will vary, the brand will have the same basic atmosphere and aesthetic, whether you’re in Indiana or Spain.
Look for Leisure
Finally, after a long day in and out of meetings, you want your hotel to be an oasis for you. Consider what leisure amenities are offered by the hotel and whether or not they will meet your desires. Would a dip in the pool help you relax, or would you rather sit in a sauna? Maybe you are a fitness junkie and will need a good workout to help cleanse your mind at the end of a long day. Regardless, make sure that your hotel will have the amenities you need to get much needed relaxation at the end of the day.
As the first choice in wireless internet hotspot for international business travelers, we at Sapphire are familiar with all the ins and outs of business travel. We hope this blog helps you find the right accommodations for your needs. In the meantime, if you need a wireless internet router that will keep up with all your jetsetting, invest in a Sapphire MiFi device.