5 Top Tips for PAs When It Comes to Booking Travel
Posted on Friday, February 7, 2020 by Top London PA — No comments
Whether you’re temping in London and have the responsibility of travel or you’re a seasoned PA; knowing how to make short work of travel bookings is essential. As a PA recruitment agency in the capital, we know that booking travel is often a vital part of PA roles. We also know that it can often take up a ridiculous amount of time despite being only one of your tasks. Here, are our top five tips to make it easier and faster:
- Be prepared
It’s time to channel your inner boy scout and repeat the mantra “be prepared”. Business travellers are notorious for needing their plans to change multiple times before they even put the first item in their suitcase.
How you handle this partially depends on the type of transport your executive needs. Where possible, a good solution is to make the booking as soon as plans are made but choose the most flexible option available.
You may also find that with some aspects of travel—for example, when the transport is private hire—you can book the outward journey, then confirm the return times once plans are more fixed.
- Be efficient with your systems
If the itinerary you’re planning is complicated, then you need to make things as efficient, streamlined, and simple as possible. One of the easiest ways to do this is to use one booking platform for as many aspects of the itinerary as possible. Choose one that brings together the best results from multiple providers. By choosing accommodation, hire car, and flights all at once, you can make sure the whole itinerary ties up.
Another important trick is to create a folder in your inbox for each trip. All confirmation emails go straight to this folder so that you can find them quickly. You may also find it useful to use a spreadsheet to keep track of bookings and outstanding actions.
- Know your traveller
This may be harder for those doing temporary jobs, but to prevent problems it’s always good to take some time to find out about your traveller. In PA jobs in London, it will become second nature. You may find it useful to keep a spreadsheet with this information in, especially if you’re making bookings for multiple people. For example, you can make a note of whether a particular individual prefers a certain brand of hotels, or like to drive themselves to the airport.
- Standardise things
Set up a standard travel request template and use it whenever you’re asked to make a booking. This will help the executive think through everything they need, and hopefully prevent you having to go back to them with multiple questions.
- Have everything to hand
Lastly, keep a secure record of all paperwork and documentation. This should include passport numbers and expiry dates, flight numbers, driving licence details, insurance, and more. This way you can make bookings more quickly without having to check back and forth.
Hopefully these top tips for booking business travel will help you in your PA job, making it easier to get on with the other elements of your role!
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