How To Guides

The How to guides help travel program managers and business travelers navigate the ins and outs of traveling for work. From packing and preparing for trips to booking, budgeting and managing expenses, our guides cover a range of topics to help make business travel as seamless and successful as possible.

Latest guides

5 ways buyers and travel managers can deal with airfares and inflation

Soaring airfares are an unexpected effect of pandemic recovery. Prices are now above pre-pandemic levels. Advito research shows fares from Europe, North America and Asia are currently up about 15% on intercontinental flights in the business cabin compared to the second quarter of 2022. Economy cabin fares are also increasing, especially from Asia and the Southwest Pacific (more than 30% compared to 2022 for domestic, regional and intercontinental markets).

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Risk management and safety tips for travel to high-risk destinations

8 ways to prepare for travel to high risk areas

Travelers face threats each time they travel but trips to high-risk destinations increase the chances that an incident may occur. Proper preparation can make the difference between a successful trip and a stressful one. BCD’s Global Crisis Management team suggests these eight ways to prepare for travel to a high-risk destination.

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6 tips to fight inflation in your hotel program

The hotel industry looks different after a few tough years. New hotels open as fast as others close. Demand is on the rise and finding staff is difficult. Everything is more expensive, including the goods, services and operations needed to keep hotels running. Inflation is climbing – and your hotel program won’t remain unscathed. Here are six tips to help you beat rising costs.

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How to get ready for international business travel

Planning to travel internationally for business? Read these tips for managing visas and passports, vaccines, testing requirements, currency exchange and more.

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4 ways to tackle business travel program data

How to transform data into actionable insights that help you make good business decisions for your managed travel program.

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How to stay cyber secure while traveling

Staying cyber secure in a world where we’re constantly connected can be a bit tricky, but it's not impossible.

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How to be good to your dog while traveling for business

(Yes, this is a real blog article from BCD Travel. No, we’re not kidding. But we are having fun.)

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How to get the most out of a business travel convention

We asked some BCD Travel convention veterans how to make the most of a show experience. Their advice: make a plan, step outside your comfort zone, enjoy the festivities (but not too much) and rest.

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How to manage bleisure travel requests

Here’s a short guide to help you manage requests for personal travel extensions during business trips.

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How to beat jet lag: Help for business travelers

Flying halfway across the world can affect your business travelers’ wellbeing and productivity, especially if they’re new to long trips or just resuming them following a travel hiatus. While there’s no easy way to beat jet lag, there are a few things travel teams can do to help ease traveler journeys.

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How to spring clean your business travelers’ profiles

Spring cleaning isn't just for your garage. Now is the time to give your traveler profile database a good scrub down. Updating traveler profile information should happen at least annually. This will require action from travelers and travel managers.

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How to write a travel policy

When it’s time to travel for business, employees need to know what’s allowed, when to book, what supplier to book – and most importantly, why. A well-crafted travel policy provides a consistent, safe, managed and cost-controlled framework that leads to wise travel decisions. Here’s the BCD Travel guide to writing a travel policy for your program.

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How to build surveys business travelers will actually take

Asking business travelers what they think is an effective way to get the insights you need to build a strong travel program or improve policies already in place. One of the simplest ways to capture traveler voices? A survey.

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Unused airline tickets – Travel managers, here’s what you should do

Managing unused tickets and spend isn't easy, but it is achievable. Here's what you can do to make sure few or no unused tickets are left behind.

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See all our resources.

Visit our business travel management resources page. Here, you'll find a variety of tools and information to help you plan and manage your company's business travel.