Planning a Conference? Give your Conference Attendees a Great travel Experience.

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Are you in charge of planning a conference? You are probably excited to be involved in organizing the event but you may very well also feel overwhelmed by the responsibility. Perhaps you are wondering how you can make sure that conference attendees have a great travel experience. Here is how GTI Travel corporate event travel services can help:

Creating Extraordinary Experiences

Making an event go smoothly for everyone in your corporation requires expertise in many areas of planning as well as wide experience in handling any difficulties that can occur along the way. For over 25 years, GTI’s Corporate Global Travel Consultants have arranged a wide variety of exciting and innovative corporate travel experiences, such as:

Business Conference Travel

  • Dinner on the beach.
  • Dancing under the stars.
  • Interactive team-building events.
  • Fun incentive trips.
  • Corporate planning meetings.
  • Educational events.

Whatever the goal of your meeting, GTI Travel has the expertise to take your vision and make it a reality.

Sports Travel Planning

Do you need a special type of sports travel management event? We have extensive experience in creating unique events. We have handled conferences for Major League Basketball, college teams and also scouts. Let us know what you want and we can design an event for you.

Transportation and Lodging

As business travel managers, we specialize in being able to create a seamless travel experience by:

  • Using our access to thousands of prime meeting locations to help you choose and compare properties.
  • Negotiating air and ground transportation prices that are the lowest possible.
  • Helping you to choose the best hotel location for your type of event and using our connections to get the best rates.

Smooth Conference Registration

Our business travel consultants in Philadelphia can arrange for groups to register online easily through our proprietary web registration system. Our system allows you to track the number of attendees as well as helping individuals and groups to complete the registration process simply and easily by phone, tablet or computer.

Cost-Savings Reporting and Analysis

Keeping track of all of the details of a conference can be a headache, especially if there are cancellations or a last-minute rush of registrations. With GTI travel management assistance, you will have the help of:

  • Rooming lists
  • Arrival and departure reports
  • Cost-savings analysis
  • Follow-up assessment tools

Help Available 24/7

No matter how carefully you plan, emergencies happen. Sometimes the weather causes delays, baggage is lost or there is a medical emergency. When you choose GTI Travel, you have a partner to help you no matter where your corporate travel conference takes you. We have a live person on call 24/7 to handle your emergency and get you the help you need when you need it.

GTI Travel Offers Conference Attendees a Great Travel Experience

Ready to let the experts at GTI Travel take care of planning your conference event? When you let us take care of all the headaches of planning, you will be sure to have plenty of accolades when everyone has a wonderful time.

You may also find this article useful – Top 10 Conference Destinations in the USA

The Top Ten Conference Destinations in the USA

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Getting ready to plan a conference for your corporation? Corporate travel managers can help you manage your event. Here are the top ten conference destinations in the USA to consider:

1. San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio is fast becoming a favorite new recommendation of business events planners because of luxury hotels located on a beautiful Riverwalk where attendees can eat excellent food and easily walk to the convention center.

2. San Diego, California

With beautiful beaches, a lovely old downtown, and nearby attractions like Sea World and world-class zoos, San Diego is a prime choice for conferences, especially if spouses and families travel too.

3. New York, New York

Popular Conference destinations

Nothing compares to New York’s size and availability of transport. With 594 hotels and three airports along with plenty of rail transit, New York can be a good choice for a big conference. Although it is expensive, the availability of space is high.

4. Orlando, Florida

A favorite destination for many because of the proximity of Disney World, Universal Studios, Sea World and Gulf Coast beaches. Orlando has good temperatures year round but can be crowded with tourists. Before you choose a date, be sure to consult with an experienced corporate travel consultant.

5. Portland, Oregon

For a quieter, less expensive West Coast location, consider Portland which has an interesting culture and is surrounded by natural beauty. Adding flavor to the many interesting places to shop, fantastic restaurants, and the country’s largest used bookstore, is the fact that all purchases are sales-tax free.

6. Tucson, Arizona

Offering a desert setting with a scenic backdrop of mountains, Tucson is an affordable conference location. Ranking among the least expensive cities for hotels and meals, Tucson does have some resorts, hiking, and historic sites, but also offers a place where conference attendees can stick to business.

7. Los Angeles, California

With the highest concentration of dining and entertainment establishments in the U.S., Los Angeles offers glamor and attractions that are hard to beat. Since the city center is 20 miles from the airport, you will want to make sure that you consult your travel agency for efficient transportation services.

8. Las Vegas, Nevada

With three of the largest convention centers in the U.S., this city offers plenty of trade show, meeting and event space. Imagine how you can dazzle your attendees with an evening event or show. Pick this city if fun is your main objective.

9. Columbus, Ohio

This middle of the country city is a good choice for conferences that have attendees from both coasts. Although not as well-known of a conference site, the Ohio State football games draw over 100,000 fans and so hotel facilities are well-developed and plentiful outside of football season.

10. Chicago, Illinois

If art and architecture are important to your convention goers than Chicago is a good choice. Lots of outdoor venues, interesting culture, and many transportation options are highlights of this city.

Taking care of all the details of arrangements is a difficult undertaking. GTI’s Corporate event travel experts can help you make all of the conference arrangements no matter what size of a meeting you are planning.

 

10 Lifehacks every Business Traveler Needs to Know

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Whether you travel a little or a lot, you know that business traveling can be stressful and hurt your productivity if you aren’t prepared. Corporate global travel consultants suggest 10 lifehacks that every business traveler needs to know:

1. Plan Early

business traveler life hacks travel management tipsWith business travel worldwide on the rise, the best flights and hotels can get booked up quickly, especially to the most popular destinations. While sometimes you can’t help but arrange a last-minute trip, when you can, plan your trip arrangements early.

2. Auto Reply

Don’t forget to set your email reply to “out of the office” if you will be unavailable to handle your email for a few days.

3. Be Flexible

Between the hassle of security checks and flight delays, sometimes frequent flight routes can cost more time than they are worth. Let your travel agent know you are willing to consider alternative transport options like:

  • Travel by train.
  • Renting a car.
  • Flying a day or two earlier or later.

4. Photograph Documents

Losing or misplacing your tickets, visa, driver’s license, passport, hotel and flight information can be a nightmare. Take a few minutes to use your phone to photograph everything and make sure it is backed up to cloud storage as well as on your phone, especially when you travel internationally.

5. Keep Powered Up

If you travel outside the U.S., it pays to invest in a multi-region power adaptor and mobile device power pack. That way, you won’t have to worry that you can charge up all your devices no matter where you are going.

6. Trust Professionals

Letting a travel management company make all of your travel plans is the best way to reduce your stress because an experienced management company:

  • Knows the best itineraries.
  • Has access to up-to-date safety information
  • Provides live, personal assistance 24/7 when you need it.

8. Bring Extra Clothes

Spilling something on the clothes you planned to wear to a business event can ruin your day. Save yourself embarrassment by making sure you bring a spare outfit just in case.

7. Carry On

Checking your baggage is a nightmare if you end up with lost luggage. For most business trips, carry-on luggage should have enough room. Remember that if you forget something, many hotels offer supplies of personal items and can even pick up other essentials for you or direct you to a place you can find it nearby.

9. Download Uber

Before you go, download the Uber app so that you can get transportation wherever you need it on your trip and don’t have to rely on finding a taxi.

10. Know Company Policies

Play it safe with your business travel expenses by being sure you understand your company’s travel policies. This is easier if your company employs corporate travel planners that can help you understand what you need to do.

With globalization making travel more complicated, it is more important than ever to have assistance in making your trip go smoothly. GTI Travel agents provide corporate travel assistance to make sure you get to your destination, attend to your business fully prepared and rested, and make the trip home again safely.

What do Female Business Travelers do Differently from their Male Counterparts

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What do Female Business Travelers do Differently from their Male Counterparts

While not everyone fits into a stereotype, and no one practice is better than another, it is important for travel managers to know that female business travelers do things somewhat differently than their male counterparts. Here are some of the differences in travel habits that tour operators and researchers have uncovered:

Women Pack Sooner and Bring More Stuff

What do female business travelers do differently

Typically, a female business traveler will care a lot more about what they bring on their trips than men in the same office. Statistics from hotel research show women:

  • Care more about what they pack.
  • Plan their outfits ahead of time.
  • Pack twice as much as men.
  • Get their suitcases packed more than 24 hours ahead.

What this means for a company travel manager is that they can eliminate stress from their female business travelers by making sure they know their travel arrangements as far ahead as possible so they can pack accordingly and feel prepared.

Female Business Travelers Care More About Safety

When traveling alone on a business trip, women are much more concerned about the hotel that they are staying at and other travel arrangements. Since a business is responsible for the safety of their business travelers, using a travel management company to arrange travel can be an additional level of security for female travelers because:

  • Someone is available to call 24/7 in emergencies.
  • The management company will handle re-routing travel in case of interruptions and delays so the traveler or company doesn’t have to worry.
  • Hotels, flights, and other transportation will be arranged with highly-rated services that have been vetted by in-country travel agents.
  • Secure transportation arrangements can be made for in-city travel to business meetings.

Female Business Travelers May Spend More

A survey by International Currency Exchange (ICE) found that women tend to spend more money while traveling. While some of this spending may be personal money used for shopping, a company might want to make sure that business travel expense policies are clear so that all travelers know what is expected of them. Travel management by GTI can help a company manage business expenses and track ways to make more effective use of business expense money.

Female Business Travelers Feel Under-Prepared

According to the Women in Business Travel Report, one third of women encounter sexual harassment while traveling and over two-thirds of women feel unprepared to deal with what they encounter. Corporate travel management can help address these needs by:

  • Making sure travel policies prepare all travelers for the possibility of crime while traveling.
  • Ensuring suppliers for travel pay particular attention to the needs of female travelers.
  • Providing live, personal assistance to travelers worldwide day and night by phone or email.

Assisting Female Business Travelers is Important

Business travel by women is increasing. According to a survey by Maiden-Voyage, 47% of female travelers are traveling on business and 80% of travel is managed by women. In a risk-filled world, corporations need to be mindful of caring for the needs of all their employees. Choosing GTI Corporate Travel agency to manage your corporate travel is a wise choice to make sure that female business travelers get safely to their destinations and safely home.

How is Business Travel Different from Personal Travel

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How is Business Travel Different from Personal Travel

Business Travel vs Personal Travel

Personal travel allows people to visit friends and family, explore other places and cultures and experience freedom and personal growth. While some business travel also provides some of the same experiences, the motivation for the business traveler is primary attending a business event rather than touring. Here are some other ways business travel is different from personal travel:

Corporate Needs Determine Travel

When you travel for pleasure, you can create your own itinerary and interests in traveling. Business traveling, on the other hand, is determined by company guidelines about whether the trip is revenue-generating. If the outcomes of the trip can be achieved by other means, the company may decide the travel isn’t necessary. Travel management companies can help a corporation evaluate their company guidelines about travel to determine whether they are effectively using travel to increase business.

Business Travelers Must Follow Company Travel Policies

While some companies allow business travelers to book their own flights and accommodations as they would for personal travel, business travelers still need to follow company policies about travel. Corporate travel agents can ensure that company travel policy dictates are followed correctly and eliminate the need for travelers to spend additional time at the end of a trip filing extensive business expense reports.

Business Travel is More Complicated

Because a business traveler often has a short trip with specific deadlines of when they need to arrive at destinations ready to work, planning business travel is more involved. Business travel agents are more experienced at planning this sort of travel than the individual who usually plans only leisure trips or goes with a tour group. In addition, business travel agents can save your corporation money because:

  • They have access to a network of travel providers and discounts that are not available to individuals.
  • A professional travel management company can ensure that a business has thoroughly reviewed their travel policies for efficiency and cost-savings.

Company Responsible for Business Traveler Safety

A leisure traveler is responsible for their own safety, but companies are responsible for the safety of their business travelers. Corporations need to consider the possibility that:

  • Trip interruptions can cause travelers to miss business meetings.
  • Flight delays can leave travelers stranded.
  • Businesses will need to find assistance for their travelers when they lose luggage or have problems with accommodations.

Help in Planning Travel is Cost Effective

You might save money planning your own personal travel but getting help from a travel management company like GTI Travel is cost effective for companies because they:

  • Offer 24/7 personal assistance to travelers needing help.
  • Arrange new flight when one is canceled.
  • Have offices around the world.
  • Provide supplies to a traveler whose luggage is lost or delayed.
  • Make sure accommodations are safe and within easy travel distance from business meetings.
  • Arrange for help in medical emergencies.

Corporate travel may also be something that the traveler enjoys but can also cause a lot of stress. Choosing to have a corporate travel agent arrange the travel can create a better travel experience for the traveler as well as making travel expenses more profitable for the company.