Author: Chris

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Chris

How to make the most out of your business trip

If you have to travel for work, you may be used to living in and out of a suitcase, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways in which you can make the experience more enjoyable and easier. Firstly, make sure that when booking a hotel that you stay close to the venue or places you need to visit. This will allow you to cut down on travel time when you are there and give you more free time to see the sights or simply have a lie in. Ensure you do your research too. If it is a place you haven’t been to before, make sure you know where it is and how to get there.

Try and be organised and have your outfits prepared. If they need ironing or steam cleaning you may be able to request this at the hotel to save you time on finding a place to do it for you.

Try and travel light, after a few trips you will probably start to figure out what you do and do not use. Try to avoid taking unnecessary items as this will just be more for you to carry.

Ask the hotel for a wake-up call and even to prebook you a taxi if you need one to go to a meeting.

Is it still ok to take business trips abroad?

At present the government has banned all but essential travel. Essential travel can be a little bit flexible as what one person may class as essential, another may not. If for example you are needed to travel for urgent medical care then this would be essential however if it was for cosmetic surgery which does not need to be done straight away then this may be seen as non essential.

When it comes to business trips, at the moment most are being classed as non essential. If the meeting can be done over a Zoom call or postponed until a later date then this should be done. Anyone who go’s abroad and is found to have gone for a non essential reason can be fined up to five thousand pounds. They will also have to stay in an isolation holiday which cost another £1200-£1500 pounds on top of the fine. For many, it is simply not worth the risk. Most businesses are finding that they can adapt very quickly and that they don’t always need to have face to face meetings with all their clients to enable them to do their job correctly, sometimes a video call will suffice.

Isolation hotels to come in to force over the next few weeks.

Although this has been discussed for a little while and many of us have known it was coming, isolation hotels will be launched very soon. Due to the spread of Covid and the government wanting to try and ensure no other variants are being bought in to the country, they have decided to make everyone arriving in the UK from a number of countries isolate in a specialist hotel. Anyone arriving from these red listed countries will need to isolate in a designated hotel for ten days and not only that but will have to pay in the region of £1750 per adult for the duration. There are currently 16 hotels on board and more may be set up if needed. This is a huge amount of money and will add an additional £3500 to the cost of a holiday for two adults. Most people simply will not be able to afford this and therefore will choose not to travel.

There are massive fines for those that do not follow the rules of isolating in these hotels and even the possibility of a jail sentence of up to 10 years. There are over thirty countries in the list at the moment, but this can change as and when needed so it is likely more will be added.

Travel quarantine hotels to open up across Britain

The Prime minister has now confirmed that there will be a number of quarantine hotels opening up across the country. Anyone that is returning from one of the 30 listed countries so far, will have to stay in quarantine in a designated hotel as part of measures to try and stop the spread of Covid. Not only will you have to stay in one of these hotels for 10 days you may also have to pay to stay there. It may cost up to £1500 for your stay in a hotel which will include meals served to the room and security on the doors. This which certainly put many people off going abroad this year as this can very easy double the cost of your holiday if not more. You may also not be able to get an additional 10 days off work, so it is unlikely your holiday will be authorised by your company.  

These hotels or isolation facilities are already been used in many parts of the world, but are they a step too far?

The government say the reasons they are having to take these steps is because when people are asked to isolate or quarantine, not everyone is doing so. For this reason they felt the need to enforce it to protect the health and wellbeing of others.

Booking a business trip for 2021

If you have to travel for work you may of found that many of your trips abroad have been put on hold this year. There have been times when all but essential travel has been stopped and even when travel did start to open it, it was advisable not to go unless you really had to. So many people and businesses are hoping that next year will start to show signs of improvement and we may get part way back to some sort of normality.

If you have a trip that you have been putting off then you may consider rebooking it for 2021. Ideally toward Easter time is going to give you the best chance of being able to go as it is likely that we will enter another sort of lockdown in the new year.

When travelling for business, try to reduce the contact you have with people. Try and conduct some discussions out doors if possible and use a large room of having a conference so people can spread out. You need to be prepared that you may have to self isolate upon your return to the UK and even upon your arrival to your destination. This can add a huge amount of time on to your trip, so if a video call will suffice, then it may still be better to do that it at all possible.

Can you barter on the price of a holiday?

In the UK we do not tend to haggle much on the price of goods and services although in many other countries across the world this is common practice. Many of us have had to cancel or put our holidays on hold this year due to lockdown. You may find that you have had some of your holiday refunded but not the rest meaning you don’t have as much money to book again. So can you barter on a holiday to get it for a cheaper price? The answer is yes you can although not all travel agents will be flexible on prices. Many will shop around and find you a cheaper price if you are willing to change the date you travel by a few days but they may not then reduce the price further. You may have more luck with independent travel agents who may have more control over the discount they can offer although they will often not have as much profit to be able to play with as some of the larger companies.

You need to find a good price online that you can use as a comparison for haggling with. Be sure to find out exactly what is included in the price such as luggage allowance and transfers. Once you have this  you can then go in to a travel agent and see if they can beat the price you have been quoted online.

Taking a holiday during the winter months

With so many summer holidays being cancelled or delayed, we are likely to see an increase in holidays over the winter this year and going in to next year. If you want to go somewhere hot then you may find that there are only a certain number of countries that you can go to in the winter months that will still have the temperatures you are looking for.

The southern hemisphere is usually hotter at this time of year so places such as Australia, South America and the Caribbean should be top of your list. These places are all quite a distance from the UK so you can expect longer flight times and also more expensive holiday costs. They do offer beautiful beaches, plenty to do and often quite predictable weather though.

Many places in the Caribbean cost between £1500 and £3000 per person for one week. These types of holidays are certainly not cheap, but if you can wait and book last minute you may be able to grab yourself a bargain, although if there is such a high demand this year, you may find that there are not many bargains around.

You will need to keep up to date with the latest advice from the UK foreign office to ensure that the place you wish to go to is allowing tourists from the UK and if there is any isolation rules in place upon your return.

Want to go on holiday but don’t want to leave the dog behind?

The amount of dog owners has increased dramatically in recent times with a staggering population of nearly ten million pet dogs within the UK. Some people are happy to put their pet dog in kennels whilst they are on holiday but for some the idea of doing this is inconceivable and they would much rather find a holiday destination that allows dogs but how easy is it to take your dog on holiday with you?

To answer this question simply it depends on the type of holiday you are taking, for instance if you have a touring caravan or own your own static caravan it is easy  as your caravan is simply an extension of your own home. Most campsites are fine with well-behaved dogs that are kept on a lead or in an enclosed pen and usually provide a field for dog walking always reminding people to be responsible dog owners and to pick up after their dog.

If on the other hand you are staying in self-catering accommodation you will need to check that the property owners allow dogs. Hotels rarely accept dogs unless they are assistant dogs where different rules apply but it is certainly worth checking especially if your dog is a small breed.

Have you ever tried a foodie holiday?

If you are looking for a change from the normal holidays that you take you may want to try an idea that a growing number of people are opting for that is a foodie holiday in the UK.

We all enjoy dining out when we are on holiday so imagine the pleasure that you will get from basing your whole break on food and drink.

There is a huge selection of destinations in the UK that offer this type of holiday some are city based and others are on the coast each destination offers a different foodie experience.

The range of activities that you can get involved in varies and depending upon your preferences you could sample homemade wine in a vineyard, forage for wild mushrooms in a forest or even make your own butter and cheese in a dairy. Whichever destination and activity you choose you will be guaranteed an unusual holiday experience.

If you enjoy meeting new people with similar interests to you when you are on holiday a foodie break is a good way to do this as some locations offer group cookery lessons and banquet dining experiences. If on the other hand you prefer to spend your time with your own party, self-catering accommodation is available.

Staying safe during the holiday season

With the summer holidays fast upon us, we all need to consider how to stay safe in the sun. Unfortunately this year has been a bit of a nightmare to say the least and many of us are still in lockdown meaning we are not able to leave our homes to stay away overnight somewhere. Lots of people are concerned about booking holidays as there is still so much uncertainly about.  Unfortunately the UK has not been blessed with great weather of late, but you never know when Over the last few weeks we have been very blessed with some great weather, and with not much else to do but sit outside, many of us have been topping up on our tans. Sometimes it is hard to tell how strong the sun is and its easy to get sun burnt without realising it.  The way to check is to establish the UV factor, this will then tell you whether it is safe to be outdoors in the heat and also if you should wear sunscreen whilst outside.
Children and the elderly people are especially sensitive to the sun, so they should be kept covered as much as possible and sunscreen applied regularly.