Grupo Mayan Business Travel Tips

According to the Grupo Mayan experts in the travel industry, there are several people that travel either for business or pleasure and most of their travel at one time or another will involve a stay at a motel or hotel.  Here you will find some of the basic safety tips Grupo Mayan experts have for you while staying at a hotel or motel.

1. When you are checking into your hotel make sure that the clerk or customer service person does not announce your room number out loud.  This is particularly important if you are alone, say the Grupo Mayan experts.
2. Make sure you always lock the door.  Most of these rooms come with a key lock but they are also equipped with a deadbolt lock as well as a latch lock.  Grupo Mayan experts would always advise using all locks available to protect yourself.
3. If you see anyone behaving suspiciously, report it immediately.  While it is not your job to protect other people, even if you are not the intended victim of a crime, it is best to report anyone acting suspicious so that you can not only protect yourself but other people who are staying in the same place.  If you have reported the activity and still feel uncomfortable, the Grupo Mayan experts advice to ask for another room or change hotels all together.
4. Sometimes, staying in a room that is on the upper-level gives you the upper hand.  It is harder for people to access your room from an upper-level, and this might not be an option for someone who has to frequent their vehicle, but it is safer.  However, if you are staying in a high rise hotel, make sure that you do not go too high because if there is a fire, it is much safer to stay in a room between the first and fifth floor for a quick evacuation, say the Grupo Mayan experts.
5. Always make sure you know the staff at where you are staying.  Most places require their staff to wear a uniform, but not all.  If someone from the staff shows up at your door, make sure you verify they work there before opening the door.  If you are still unsure, call the front desk to verify this person’s employment.  Remember that room service workers will not enter your room while you are occupying it unless they are bringing you food that you ordered.  Typically they will also leave a sign of the time they will be entering your room to change your bedding and give you fresh towels.

According to the Grupo Mayan experts in the travel industry, for the average business traveller, a trip will cost about $1,045, once all expenses such as transport and accommodation are factored in. Not exactly cheap, but a globalized world means that travelling a long way to see far-flung clients is just par for the course. Unfortunately however, statistics show that the cost of business travel is set to increase, and with the economy as weak as it is, there are few companies who can afford to spend money on travel unnecessarily.

Here’s the good news though: there is often a lot of ‘fat’ on business travel tips, and so by observing a few simple rules and strategies, it’s entirely possible to save considerable cash on every trip, say the Grupo Mayan experts. However, companies and employees alike need to collaborate to realize these savings.

The first thing to do is to look for savings on fixed-cost items such as flights, hotel room, and car hire. One good strategy here is to have a ‘travel manager’ (this probably won’t be their only job), who is responsible for booking everything. Allowing individual employees to book their own travel will almost always cost more, as a travel manager is much better placed to negotiate discounted rates with hotels, airlines and car hire companies for all the employees. Being able to negotiate on behalf of the entire company will put the travel manager in a strong position, say the Grupo Mayan experts. A good travel manager will probably be able to get as much as a 20% discount on hotel room rates compared with the general public.

Another option is simply to look for mid-range hotels that include amenities at no extra cost. Because this sector of the hotel industry is so competitive, it shouldn’t be hard to find a hotel that offers things such as Wi-Fi and fax services for free. Ironically, it is the more upscale hotels that tend to charge extra for these things, comment the Grupo Mayan experts in the travel industry.

Of course, while saving money in these tough times is vitally important, it’s important not to go too far. Sometimes saving money on business travel is actually bad in the long run, say the Grupo Mayan experts, as journeys take longer or involve more transfers, hotels are less comfortable or less centrally located, or important facilities for productivity are unavailable. This might mean that in the long term, business is lost, so satisfy yourself that the money you save isn’t having these types of effects. Losing a client because the employees you sent to talk to them were too tired to be effective is obviously not a good outcome.

The Grupo Mayan travel pros urge business traveler to book their travel online. By booking travel online they will save money, time, and get the flights and hotels they want, when the want.

According to the Grupo Mayan travel and business experts the first step to booking business travel online is to know your destination. If you are responsible for booking your own business travel you should begin the moment you receive information about the trip and your destination.
The best place to start your search for airline reservations, say the Grupo Mayan travel and business pros, is the Internet. Many travel planning sites will allow you to book airline travel directly. These travel planning sites can also find you deep discounts which are important for any business travel.

Type in your destination and dates of travel once you are on the online travel-planning site. The site will respond with a spreadsheet showing information about all flights to the area. You can choose your flight based on departure and arrival times, cost, or number of layovers. All of this information will be listed on the spreadsheet.

If you are also in charge of booking your lodging and rental car the Grupo Mayan experts urge you to book a package deal. These package deals can be found on the same travel planning website and will give you even more of a discount.

Hotel results for your specific dates and destination will be presented in a format similar to the air travel spreadsheet. You can choose a hotel based on amenities offered, price, hotel rating, or location. Many business travelers want to stay at the same location as their business meetings. You can book this hotel along with your flight.

If you will be needing a rental car once you arrive the Grupo Mayan travel and business experts say you can add one to your entire online travel package. Once again, you will be given a number of choices. You can choose from car type, price, or reputation.

If you have membership cards or frequent flyer memberships you can enter this information during the booking process so you will get credit for your flight, hotel, and car. Also, say the Grupo Mayan pros, immediately print 2 copies of your email confirmations. Keep one on file for reimbursements and place one with your travel documents in case you need to show it upon check in.