Business trips are traditionally arranged months, sometimes even over a year in advance. Whether you’re travelling to attend a convention relevant to your industry, a business meeting or another type of conference, you can rest assured your tickets will be in your pocket for a while before you need to use them. But sometimes a business trip needs to be organised with only weeks to spare. If that happens, don’t worry – it’s still possible to not only take care of everything but to do it without breaking the bank!

Compare Flight Ticket Prices

Most people tend to set up their travel through an agent or directly with a particular airline, but for last-minute flights, that’s not always the most practical option. Аirlines tend to hike up ticket prices in the weeks leading up to the flight, so you’ll likely end up paying a lot more than you would have, had you booked six months ago. When looking for late bookings, it’s a good idea to use a service like Google Flights, which allows you to view several flights between destinations of your choice on particular dates. That way, you get to compare prices and could potentially find a much cheaper flight from a different airline than the one you usually use.

When travelling internationally, it’s a good idea to look up not only flights directly from your city, but also those from any nearby airports. Sometimes you can find a much cheaper flight with fewer stops just by taking a relatively brief bus trip to another town. Google allows you to look up flights departing from several destinations at the same time, so definitely take advantage of that! Another advice, we can give you, is to do all your searches in Incognito Mode so that no information is stored on your computer. Some airlines hike up ticket prices if they see that you’ve repeatedly looked up certain destinations and events, so it’s better to browse for tickets anonymously.

Be Smart about Booking Your Hotel

Finding last-minute hotel rooms which are not only affordable but also in a convenient location can be an art in and of itself. It takes an entire team of Fair Point pros to find the best possible accommodation deals for our visitors, and while we’d be more than happy to do the work for you, we can also give you a few pointers on how to find the best deals. Most people make the mistake of picking accommodations, then going directly to its website and booking a room from there. This is a great tactic if your goal is to overpay for a room. If you’re looking to minimise your budget, a smart strategy is to directly call the management and politely request a better offer than the one listed online. Of course, if all rooms are already full due to a popular event happening nearby, the chances of getting one are low. But if there’s a lot of vacancies, you’d be surprised about just how often you’ll get one! For the hotel, renting out a room at a discount is better than not renting it at all.

If you’re travelling to attend a convention or business event (for example, a major conference), finding last-minute hotels in the proximity of that can be difficult. After all, you’re competing with hundreds, maybe even thousands of people for limited accommodations – and the hotels know it. As a result, there’s a chance that you might not even find accommodations in proximity, and if you do, they might be a lot more expensive than in the offseason. Consider expanding your scope and searching for hotels that are a bit farther away from the event but will allow you to reach it without too much hassle (for example, half an hour away by car or public transport).

Renting Is Expensive – Try Car Sharing

A big part of the revenue for rent-a-car services comes precisely from people who haven’t thought much about it in advance, so they simply walk into the nearest rental service at the airport to request a vehicle. Naturally, doing that can be expensive since car rental companies believe they have a monopoly on the market – what else are you going to do when you urgently need a car, ask a stranger for theirs? Well… Why not? Car sharing is a relatively new business model which allows you to rent and use cars owned by clients rather than the company. Using car-sharing apps, you can very easily find cars close to you (even at the airport) and then rent them directly from your phone.

Naturally, this doesn’t always work. Altho car-sharing apps operate in all cities, there is always a chance you might end up with no vehicle in sight. In those cases, there is no choice but to rent traditionally, but it’s worth trying the more affordable option first. Just be aware that some apps require a bit of preparation (for example, validating your driver’s licence), so it’s best to take care of that at least a week before you depart.

Don’t Forget Insurance

A big part of the world – including all of Europe – has free, universal healthcare, even for foreigners. As such, there’s a misconception that you don’t really need insurance. After all, it’s free anyway, right? Well, as it turns out, a lot of countries, including 26 European nations, won’t let you in without travel insurance. There are also countries like the USA that don’t legally require medical insurance, but can bankrupt you with hospital bills should you happen to need emergency services. If you’re planning to visit any foreign country, even on short notice, your priority should be to see an insurance agent and get yourself insured.

Just be wary of insurance that can be offered when you don’t really need it. There are half a dozen different types of travel insurance, of which medical is only one. Some might be useful, for example, travel protection (which will reimburse you for a trip if you had to cancel last-minute) and baggage protection (which will compensate you for lost luggage). But do you really need emergency evacuation or accidental death insurance if you’re visiting a trade convention in Hamburg?

Hopefully, you were able to find some useful advice, or at least we gave you something to consider! Now go and start preparing for your business trip. You have a lot of work to do! Good luck!