What should an executive assistant include in a travel itinerary?

A comprehensive executive travel itinerary should include flight details with confirmation numbers, hotel reservations with check-in/check-out times, ground transportation arrangements, meeting addresses and contact information, restaurant reservations, emergency contacts, expense procedures, and any relevant visa or entry requirement documentation.

How far in advance should executive travel be booked?

Executive travel should ideally be booked 4-6 weeks in advance to secure preferred flights and accommodations at competitive rates. For international travel or peak seasons, booking 6-8 weeks ahead is recommended. Last-minute bookings are possible but may limit options and increase costs.

What documents should EAs prepare for international executive travel?

For international travel, EAs should prepare: valid passport (with at least 6 months validity), necessary visas, vaccination records or health certificates, travel insurance documentation, copies of all booking confirmations, emergency contact information, company duty of care policy details, and local currency or payment method information.

Work travel 101: The essential travel checklist for executive assistants

From finding compliant arrangements that will please the boss to handling unexpected itinerary changes. For an executive assistant (EA), overseeing travel for work can bring many challenges.

An executive assistant travel checklist is a structured guide covering pre-trip planning, departure preparation, in-trip support, and post-trip tasks to ensure seamless business travel for executives. Overcome the overwhelm of organizing company work trips with a straightforward checklist. From pre-departure planning to post-trip tasks, this comprehensive guide will relieve all the stress of arranging future work trips.

Checklist categories at a glance

This executive travel checklist covers four essential phases:

Pre-trip planning: Gathering traveler information, verifying documents, and booking travel arrangements 4-6 weeks before departure.

Pre-departure preparation: Finalizing itineraries, briefing travelers, and preparing for contingencies 48-72 hours before the trip.

In-trip support: Providing real-time assistance, monitoring travel alerts, and handling unexpected changes during travel.

Post-trip tasks: Managing expense reimbursement and collecting feedback to improve future travel experiences.

Pre-trip planning

Gather intel for your upcoming trip

Before booking anything, it’s important to gather info from the travelers you’re responsible for. . Begin collecting traveler information 4-6 weeks before the departure date to allow adequate time for bookings and document verification.

To stay on top of changes and ensure a smooth travel experience, start by getting as much detail about the trip as possible, including key information like:

Destination and dates

Planned meetings and trip objectives

Stakeholders

The executive’s travel preferences

Time zones

Currencies

Travel legislation and restrictions

Full name (as it appears on their passport or driving license)

Home address

Cell phone number, email address, and a designated family or friend to contact in emergencies

Membership numbers for any loyalty programs they belong to

Any activities or restaurants they would like to try while in their destination

💡 Consider the purpose of the trip alongside other restrictions such as budget and dates. For example, if the main reason for traveling is to secure a new client, it might pay to convince your executive to travel the day before rather than risk unexpected delays that jeopardize their pitch.

For overseas travel, make sure your executive has a valid passport - verify passport validity at least 6 months before the travel date, as many countries require this minimum validity period for entry. Check any necessary visas needed to get into the country and any transit destinations if required. They may also need to organize or show proof of various vaccinations. Government travel advisory resources such as the U.S. State Department or UK Foreign Office can help verify current entry requirements.

Key takeaways - Pre-trip planning:

Start early: Begin gathering information 4-6 weeks before departure

Verify documents: Check passport validity (6+ months) and visa requirements immediately

Document preferences: Record traveler preferences for faster future bookings

Be the assistant superstar. Manage travel with ease and keep your team happy.

Craft an itinerary

Now you have all the details you can get to work booking flights, hotels, trains and everything else your traveler will need. Trawling through different websites trying to find the best prices can be seriously stressful. And we all know the heartbreak of carefully calculating your planned itinerary costs only to find the price has increased while deciding between the options.

But thankfully there are new online tools that can streamline this search for you. With a solution like Perk you or your traveler can book all the elements you need in one easy-to-use platform. Plus, you can integrate company policies into the process so you always know you are choosing from compliant options. And, rather than chasing separate receipts, you receive just one streamlined invoice.

When booking flights on a budget, it's worth taking a look at bulkhead seats.
You often get that extra legroom without the higher added cost of upgrading to Premium Economy.

Samantha Perkins, Executive Assistant , Situ

Work trips for executives have tightly-packed schedules which can easily get derailed—even by minor miscommunications. After booking your travel arrangements, creating an itinerary that includes all the details of their upcoming work trip can prevent the dreaded flustered phone calls from an executive stuck at an airport or missing a crucial meeting.

I find factoring in down time for my Executive when travelling is key, jetlag can take it's toll and make a business trip less effective. When booking an overnight flight, I take time to research what seat types airlines can provide such as lay down seats without the full upgrade to Business Class

Samantha Perkins, Executive Assistant, Situ

When working on the itinerary, ensure you:

Balance business and personal time: among networking dinners, in-person meetings, and industry events, be sure to weave in some downtime for your executive. Recharging and relaxing are just as important to a smooth travel experience.

Pre-book high-demand restaurants and activities: organize bookings for the restaurants and activities they would like to try ahead of time. Be sure to have a hold of reservation numbers and follow up on bookings made.

Include useful information: clarify hotel check-in and check-out times, luggage allowances for flights, any confirmation numbers, addresses for meetings, and contact details for drivers etc on the ground. Your boss will thank you when they don’t have to go digging through their inbox or searching online.

Point out key procedures: write a simple guide for best practices for expenses and what they should do in the case of an emergency.

Check out our business travel itinerary template and simplify planning for your upcoming business trips.

Pre-departure preparation

Plan for the unexpected

According to our 2025 Business Travel Disruption survey, approximately 89% of business travelers experienced some form of disruption in 2025, from flight delays to last-minute meeting cancellations. Meetings get canceled, employees get sick, and your carefully crafted itinerary goes out the window!

Mastering more flexible options for your company’s work travel is possible. With FlexiTravel, you or your traveler can amend the itinerary up to two hours before departure. With just a few clicks on the easy-to-use mobile or desktop app, you can cancel or change your plans and receive up to 80% of the costs back, no questions asked. FlexiTravel helped EU Business School save €66,000 from canceled trips in 2023 by transforming how they booked their travel for work.

I don’t have to wait anymore because I can book trips far in advance and save money. If it turns out that I can’t go, I cancel the trip and get my money back.

Carles Ibars, Sales Manager, EU Business School

Brief your traveler

Confirm all itinerary details 48 hours before departure to allow time for any last-minute adjustments. Go over the itinerary once more and ensure it contains all the relevant information for the trip. Present this to your exec, discuss any final adjustments, and brief them on logistics and standard procedures, including:

Specific details for their destination

How they can help keep track of their expenses

What your company’s duty of care policy is

What their options are in case of an emergency

This briefing is where you will be able to hand over all the necessary documents, including hard copies, in the event that WiFi might be down, or the executive cannot use their phone.

Key takeaways - Pre-departure preparation:

Confirm 48 hours ahead: Verify all bookings and itinerary details before departure

Prepare contingencies: Ensure flexible booking options are in place for potential changes

Brief thoroughly: Review duty of care policies and emergency procedures with your traveler

Putting your travelers safety first. Learn how today.

Provide in-trip support

Keep up to date

Staying on top of shifting safety concerns and procedures can be the most stressful part of an EA’s role. Taking a modern approach can save hours of laborious manual work. Using a complete duty of care solution offers complete peace of mind, automating hours of research to ensure your travelers are up to date with the latest developments in their destination.

Offer 24/7 assistance without disturbing your sleep

In the past, some EAs had to be available round the clock to help their travelers sort out unexpected issues. But, by using the latest technology, you can offer your executive more comprehensive support and achieve a better work-life balance.

A tool like Perk provides users with comprehensive support. Say goodbye to sitting on hold. Perk’s customer service team aims to answer in a target response time of 1 minute, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Contactable by phone, email, or chat, you and your traveler will always have access to help from a team of travel experts.

Help your team travel with peace of mind. Get 24/7 human support.

Post trip tasks

Ease expense reimbursement

From restaurant bills to taxi fares and other incidentals. Collecting all your execs' travel receipts can feel like a wild goose chase. Streamline the process using Perk’s native expense management features or by integrating one of our partners, such as Spendesk, or Expensify, into your travel management workflow for one seamless experience.

Follow up for the future

While your executive might be busy when they return, try to carve out five minutes to get some feedback on the trip.

You can ask them questions like:

What went well on their trip? What didn’t?

Was there enough time to transit between flights?

Was the flight comfortable, or do they prefer another airline if possible?

Did they like the hotel, or were there facilities they missed?

Was the car hire company reliable? Did they provide speedy service, and were there any issues with the vehicle?

Did they like the restaurants and any activities they did in their destination? Would they recommend them to others?

The information you gather could be useful for improving not only their future travel experiences but also the work trips of other colleagues.

Key takeaways - Post-trip tasks:

Streamline expenses: Use integrated expense management tools to simplify receipt collection

Gather feedback promptly: Schedule a 5-minute debrief while the trip is fresh in memory

Document insights: Record preferences and feedback to improve future bookings

Optimize ongoing work travel

Work smarter not harder

Even without the latest tools, there are tips and tricks you can use to lighten the load when organizing work trips. When gathering information from your frequent travelers, create a spreadsheet where you can log their preferences for future trips.

You can also use your feedback as a travel planning hack for other travelers. Say you frequently send colleagues to visit the company's office in New York or have regular site visits planned throughout the year. Keeping an easily accessible bank of travelers' feedback can help you make faster decisions on future bookings.

Making the most of loyalty programs is another way to efficiently improve your executive's travel experience. Many airlines and hotels offer room upgrades, lounge access, or other preferential perks for repeat customers. Just make sure to add your travelers' membership number to your bookings.

And when you are ready to upgrade your processes, a tool like Perk can help you keep track of all this information and share it effortlessly across your organization.

Quick reference checklist

Pre-trip planning (4-6 weeks before)

Collect traveler information and preferences

Verify passport validity (minimum 6 months)

Check visa requirements for destination and transit countries

Confirm vaccination requirements

Book flights, accommodation, and ground transportation

Reserve restaurants and activities

Create detailed itinerary with all confirmation numbers

Pre-departure preparation (48-72 hours before)

Confirm all bookings and reservations

Review itinerary with executive

Brief traveler on expense procedures

Review duty of care and emergency protocols

Prepare hard copies of essential documents

Verify flexible cancellation options are in place

In-trip support (during travel)

Monitor travel alerts and weather conditions

Provide 24/7 contact availability or support service access

Track traveler location for duty of care compliance

Assist with any itinerary changes as needed

Post-trip tasks (within 1 week of return)

Collect and process expense receipts

Conduct feedback debrief with traveler

Document preferences and insights for future trips

Update traveler profile with new information

Frequently asked questions

What should an executive assistant include in a travel itinerary?
How far in advance should executive travel be booked?
What documents should EAs prepare for international executive travel?