From packing work documents and formal clothes to making reservations and creating an itinerary—there are a lot of things to remember while preparing for a business trip. And when you’re in a rush, it’s easy to forget some.
Even though a packing list will help you take care of all the essential items, a more comprehensive checklist will ensure that you cover all your bases and don’t miss anything that might spell trouble for your business trip. But if you’re not sure how to make one, use the basic checklist we’ve shared below as a reference and customize it to create the ultimate business trip checklist as well as a 2-day business trip packing list for yourself!
Make Your Reservations
Most companies have a travel manager who handles all the reservations for business trips. If you have one, then make sure you check these steps off:
- Share your itinerary with them beforehand to avoid any conflicts with booking dates and times.
- Let them know if you’d prefer a specific time to take your flight in case it’s possible for them to accommodate it.
- Get the reservation details from your travel manager and keep an offline copy on all the electronics you’ll be carrying as well as on the cloud.
If your company doesn’t have a business travel manager, then you will be expected to book your flight tickets, accommodations, and rental car yourself. Here’s what to put in your business trip checklist in this case:
- Go through your company’s travel policy and find out the expenses that are covered under claim back and their limit.
- See if there are any restrictions on airlines, hotels, and rental car companies because some businesses have partnerships with them to reduce costs.
- In case you travel internationally a lot, sign up for Global Entry and TSA PreCheck to make the security check-in process a little faster and your business trip checklist a little shorter the next time you travel.
- Plan your arrival and departure to ensure you have enough time to rest and get refreshed before attending a meeting.
- Book a rental car or a cab that you can take straight from the airport.
- Book accommodations as close to the place of business as possible.
Prepare Your Travel Documents
- Ensure you mention all the necessary travel documents such as a visa and any immunization records on your business trip checklist. It’s best to check your destination’s travel restrictions in advance and prepare accordingly.
- Check the validity of your passport and identification cards.
- Check your credit cards and phone number as well to ensure they will work overseas. Let your bank know that you’ll be traveling to avoid having your card blocked.
Prepare Your Business Materials
- Make sure you have your presentation materials and any other relevant business documents such as contracts ready to be added to your 2-day business trip packing list. Mention them separately on your business trip checklist.
- Store all documents on your laptop as well as the cloud for safekeeping and share them with your colleagues to avoid any mishaps during critical moments.
- Look up all the people you’ll be interacting with on a professional platform like LinkedIn to stay ready to strike up conversations.
- Review all your business materials once to ensure you haven’t missed anything.
Create Your Itinerary
- If you don’t know your schedule already, then check with your travel manager to find out.
- Create an itinerary to go along with your business trip checklist that will tell you when you’ll have to attend meetings, business dinners, or any other corporate events.
- Mention the venue and confirm whether they’ll have any equipment you might need for the program to be held smoothly. Otherwise, mention the equipment on your 2-day business trip packing list.
- Keep your itinerary in an easily accessible place so you’ll always be aware of where you’ll have to go next and can prepare accordingly.
Learn More About Your Destination
- Get a little familiar with the culture and traditions of the place you’ll be visiting. Find out if your dates will coincide with any popular local events or festivals. If you’ll have some time for yourself after work hours, the knowledge will help you explore the place better.
- Another thing to add to your business trip checklist is finding out more about the socio-political scene of the region along with any endemic diseases or health hazards you’d have to get vaccinated against or be careful of.
- If you know someone who has visited the place before, ask for their insights. Or visit public forums to get some helpful tips from locals and tourists alike.
Buy Necessary Travel Insurance
- Check your company’s travel policy to see whether you’ll be covered by travel insurance. If not, then invest in one in addition to a travel health insurance plan.
- Consider buying a travel life insurance plan that covers all types of transportation accidents.
2-Day Business Trip Packing Checklist
If you’re an experienced traveler, you likely have a traveling toiletry kit ready with all the basic traveling essentials. If not, we highly recommend making one so you can save time. Here are a few other items to add to your business trip checklist for packing:-
- A durable luggage bag, preferably one with charging ports.
- Your electronics (laptop, phone, external drives, etc.) plus a universal port adapter.
- Basic first-aid kit.
- A few sets of formal and informal wear.
- A few sets of loungewear and undergarments.
- Travel documents: Passport, boarding pass, vaccination card.
- Business documents and note-taking stationery.
- Driver’s license and any other ID card.
- Some local cash and your credit/debit cards.
- A water bottle.
- Spare face masks.
Before Leaving Your Home
- Share your itinerary with your family, friends, and colleagues.
- Turn off all switches and electronics.
- Check locks on doors and windows and the security system.
- Take pictures of all your important documents to keep on your phone.
- Clean the refrigerator and dustbin.