Stressfree Road Tours Article

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Stressfree Road Tours

Business professionals who travel for a living understand how stressful it is planning and organizing road tours. This is an informative article on how to plan the tour so the result is stressfree.

Author: Jan Foster

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Book signings, radio tours, speaking tours and other types of road tours can be very stressful if not organized properly. Going out on the road without a plan is a sure way of courting disaster. On the first road tour that I planned, being the compulsive person I am, I was disappointed to find that it didn’t go perfectly. That was my first lesson - things happen. However, because I had spent the time to anticipate and plan for all the details of the tour, it was a successful tour in both my eyes and my client’s.

So, the first thing to do is have a plan. In order to have a plan, you have to know where you are going. You will either have your publicist arrange your appointments or you will do them yourself. It is best if you try to do your tour in as small a geographical area as possible or if it is a nationwide tour, to book your appointments in alignment. This will save time between engagements, thus saving travel expenses.

Once you have your appointments and dates, it is time to develop your itinerary. I would suggest that when booking your appointments, you are mindful of the time required to get from point to point, time to eat and rest, and extra time for the appointment (you never know.) For instance, on a radio tour, you are most likely going to be driving from city to city and it is very difficult to schedule more than two or three appointments per day.

The next things to schedule are your travel arrangements. This is probably the most time consuming part of planning the tour. Depending on where your starting point is, you will need either airline reservations or a rental car. It is suggested that you never take your personal car on a business trip of this sort, for various reasons. You will also need to make hotel reservations for each city you will be staying in. My concept is to always try to stay in the same hotel chain. Not only do you earn frequent guest points, but you are more likely to get a better room and a better room means better rest.

If you can, have a driver or driver/personal assistant with you on your tour. You will then be able to rest while they drive you to your next destination, arriving fresher for your appointment. They will also handle any hotel changes, problems on the road, meal planning and last minute schedule interruptions. I was on a radio tour last year and even though we had a pre-planned schedule, things kept coming up that required changes in our travel plans. I handled those issues while my client relaxed in the passenger seat. A personal assistant will act as a liaison, introducing you to your host, taking care of you and making sure you arrive at your appointments on time.

Even though planning, organizing and going on a road tour is very complex and time consuming, if done properly, it does not have to be stressful and can even be enjoyable.

To learn more about road touring, go to:
www.RoadTourManagement.com

About Author

Jan Foster is President and Founder of Road Tour Management, a division of Foster International LLC. This company plans, organizes and executes road tours for professionals and is especially economical for persons new to touring. Jan is a writer, speaker and long time business professional.

Article Source: http://www.1888articles.com/author-jan-foster-15665.html