With careful planning, you can create free time and enjoy fun, personal experiences during a business trip.
d3sign/Getty Images
Insider spoke with three experts on how to extend a work trip to include personal travel.
Changing accommodations and including family members will help you feel refreshed after a business trip.
This article is part of “Work + Play,” a series about blending business travel with personal experiences.
Last year, Kelly Ferraro arrived in Paris four days before the Paris Blockchain Summit where she would network and learn more about blockchain technology. She spent the extra free time sightseeing and visiting Disneyland Paris and the Eiffel Tower with her family.
By the time the summit rolled around, the cofounder and CEO of River North Communications said her body was fully adjusted to the new time zone, and she was on her “A game.”
The practice of mixing business and leisure travel is gaining popularity, especially as employers are being more flexible with remote work, but it takes some planning and communication to pull off. If you’ve ever thought about adding a few personal days before or after a business trip, Insider got some expert advice on how to extend a work trip to include personal travel.
Check with your higher-ups first
If you’re not self-employed, the first thing you should do is check with your higher-ups to see if adding days to a work trip is an option. “Thirty to 60 days is a fair notice period for employees,” Ferraro told Insider. “If one of the folks on my team wants to enjoy an extra few days in a city like Barcelona, for instance, I need to ensure we have coverage for that period.”
Start communication with your supervisors early, and don’t book any activities or additional accommodations until you’ve been approved. Essentially, treat your added days the same way you would a regular PTO request and follow company policy. And if there are flights involved, it’s also important to discuss if your workplace will be covering all of your transportation costs. Your modified flight may cost more, and you may be asked to cover the difference.
Consider the pros and cons of when you take your PTO
Adding days before or after a work trip have both advantages and disadvantages that need to be considered. “Given the opportunity, I prefer to have some personal days before a work event to explore and enjoy myself,” Ferraro said. “Also, know your body clock and circadian rhythm, as time zone changes can affect people differently. If I’m traveling across time zones, I’m my best self when I have at least 36 hours to adjust.”
Others treat their added days as a reward at the end of a work trip, but there is a possibility that work responsibilities can cut into your PTO time. “I generally like to add days at the end of a trip, and I always like to make sure the work gets done before I take time off to play,” said Mark Herschberg, author of “The Career Toolkit, a book that offers guidance on developing professional skills. “However, if you’re self-employed, or work for a company that doesn’t have clear PTO boundaries, it’s possible that some of your work responsibilities can cut into your vacation time.”
Squarespace consultant and digital educator Tanya Moushi said she sees work trips as a way to explore places that she may not have considered before and likes to sandwich time off before and after work trips. “I recently flew to Savannah, Georgia, for work and wanted to stay an extra day to explore the city, and it was lovely. It’s a place I would have never been otherwise,” she said. “I recommend arriving one day before in your new city to get settled and then at least one to two days after to get a feel for the city, take the opportunity to explore, and meet people.”
Change accommodations for your leisure travel
Though you may get a discounted rate at your work hotel, experts recommend changing accommodations for your extra days to designate between work and leisure travel. “Honestly, I try to avoid staying at the same hotel and utilize Airbnbs when possible. I like to separate myself from work when the day is done,” Ferraro said.
Though packing up and checking into a different hotel or Airbnb can be inconvenient, another thing to consider is running into coworkers at the same hotel, which may dampen the vibe of your personal travel time.
“You may be getting a special rate at the hotel through your company, or the event may have a special rate that will be valid for a few days before or after,” Herschberg said. “But be careful about staying at the same hotel if you’re going to socialize and don’t want your coworkers to know about it. You could easily run into coworkers in the lobby.”
Consider including partners or family members
If you’re planning on including your family or a partner, the same rules apply when it comes to communicating with your employers: Start early, and be transparent. Some employees will have their families stay with them during a work trip: However, if your company allows it, think about how much time you’ll be spending on work-related responsibilities with your family there. Be clear about your work responsibilities and how present you can be with your family as it may be easier to include your family members after your work trip is over.
Also, if you decide to include family, book their flights and hotel as early as you can as hotel and flight costs can quickly escalate, and you’ll be paying for these costs out of pocket.
While there’s some extra planning involved, Herschberg said that companies can build goodwill with employees by being flexible with work-sponsored travel. “Companies should recognize that travel can be taxing on employees,” he said. “In addition to the physical effort of all the cabs and planes and changing time zones, there’s the work and personal items piling up back at the office and at home. Letting employees tack on some personal time on trips often has little or no overhead and becomes a great perk.”