I regularly travel to Europe for business and try to take at least one foreign holiday each year. Recently our favoured destination for family holidays has been the United States and I decided to take a leaf out of my business travelling book and use the same facilities and resources to make my holiday travel less stressful.
Our flights to the U.S. from Gatwick often leave really early in the morning. When travelling on business I always have a hotel room booked for the night before an early morning flight so that is exactly what I did for our last holiday. We took two adjoining rooms in an excellent Gatwick hotel and started our holiday even before we’d embarked on our flight. The children really loved the facilities provided by the hotel and it felt like we’d started our holiday early.
Another service I always use is parking. I often need to hop on a flight to Europe, sometimes at very short notice. Also, I can often find myself returning late at night. Parking at the airport means I can jump straight in my car and be on my way home without having to worry about trains and taxis. When time is really tight I get my personal assistant to book meet and greet parking as that saves loads of time, avoiding the need to transfer to and from the car parks. And when I return from Frankfurt, Rome or Madrid my car is cleaned and ready for my drive home as soon as I have cleared customs.
The last time I went on holiday I was able to combine our Gatwick parking requirements with our hotel. Comparing services and then pre-booking online gave me some fantastic savings of over 50% on the normal prices.
The internet is not only good for finding the best deal, its also a great tool to save time and aggravation. When travelling on business I always use the online check in facility from my office, saving me loads of time at the airport. I just turn up with my boarding pass and hand luggage, ready to board the plane.
A service that I haven’t yet used when travelling for pleasure but I have used when travelling on business is using a baggage handling company to transport my bags. This avoids the need for me to lug heavy baggage through the airport and worry about checking it in etc. And no need to stand and wait by the baggage carousel wondering if my bag has made it. The baggage handling firm takes reponsibility for ensuring that your bags are waiting at your final destination.
Another service that I routinely use when travelling on business is I will have my personal assistant book space in a Gatwick airport lounge. Airport lounges are a great place to meet colleagues before taking to the plane and maybe have a little pre-trip planning meet-up or simply relax with a nice coffee and newspaper, in comfort. Although I didn’t use this service on my last family holiday I think I will for the next one.
I am certain that if you follow just one or two of these suggestions you will experience far less stress and a far more enjoyable trip.
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