Top Tips for Successful Business Travel in Luxury Coaches
It is not uncommon to find a company that has hired a coach to take their employees to a seminar, conference, or simple social event, but has subsequently been disappointed with the results.
Here we will examine some of the common causes and their solutions.
Poor participation / response to invitation
This is a commonly expressed frustration in many organizational departments.
Ignoring mechanical causes (such as miscommunication from the “we were not told” variety or insufficient notification), this can often be attributed to:
- low morale in the company;
- lack of interest in the event in question;
- conflicting priorities (your event has been scheduled at a time that collides with other things).
There is no easy answer to this and simply making attendance mandatory is not likely to be the answer. You may need to analyze the causes in more detail.
Dissatisfaction with the quality of transport
In the 21st century, professionals expect corporate transportation to be modern and comfortable.
If an “old” coach of a coach arrives early on, then his session is already in trouble because he has created the wrong impression.
Be prepared to spend a little money here to get a comfortable limo bus.
Impacting personal lives
Today, most people expect and demand a balance between personal and professional life.
So, anticipate dissatisfaction and disgruntled attendees if they had to get up at 4 a.m. to make their planned departure time and / or won’t be coming home until the wee hours of the morning.
A luxury coach can help alleviate some of this through travel comfort, but it will not, in itself, be the solution.
Impacting professional lives
In a similar theme to the previous one, asking people to come home very late, while they wait for them to be back at the office at 8 a.m. and fire at full blast, is probably a recipe for discomfort.
Provide or organize refreshments.
If people have been asked to get up unusually early and have been on a bus for some time, then it’s really good psychology to provide (or stop for) some snacks.
A little caffeine and a calorie boost can ensure that people arrive at their destination wanting to get started rather than being tired, jaded, and looking for reasons to complain.
Railways
Ideally, your corporate event should be so desirable by its very nature that your colleagues should fight for the opportunity to participate.
Only use “attendance is required” approaches as an absolute last resort, as mentioned above.
If you see a lack of interest and willing participation, something is wrong and you need to think again. People generally don’t respond well to being forced to attend company events.
Relate to the rest of the world
Remember that many will see a corporate event in a much larger context of the broader business world that you share with your colleagues.
So expect a very negative reception for (for example) a company team building exercise conducted in an expensive off-site location, if only a few days before the company announced significant ancillary benefit cuts for employees due to the prevailing economic circumstances.
