Everything really is bigger in Texas, including the distances between business meetings.
Texas is home to several major business centers, a large aviation network, and countless manufacturing plants, construction companies, energy operations, distribution centers, and other businesses located well outside the downtown areas of its major cities. For someone traveling to Texas for work, simply getting to the right airport is only part of the challenge.
We spoke with an avid business traveler with Truman Mox, a nationwide machinery and equipment appraisal firm whose appraisers regularly travel throughout Texas. Assignments can mean flying into Dallas one week, driving across Houston the next, and then heading to an industrial facility several hours outside a major city.
After enough trips around the Lone Star State, you start learning a few things.
In Texas, Always Check the Final Destination Before Booking the Flight
One of the most important Texas business travel rules is simple: don’t book the airline ticket until you know exactly where you’re going.
Texas has an enormous airport network. The Texas Department of Transportation’s airport directory contains information on nearly 400 airports and heliports across the state.
For most business travelers, the major airports in Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio are obvious starting points. But the best airport isn’t necessarily the one with the cheapest airfare.
The advice from our Truman Mox traveler is straightforward:
“Look at the address of the client first, then figure out the airport.”
That order matters in Texas.
A $100 savings on a flight can disappear quickly if the cheaper itinerary leaves you with an additional two or three hours in a rental car.
Don’t Treat Texas Cities Like They’re Suburbs of Each Other
It’s easy to look at a map and think you can combine several Texas cities into one easy business trip.
Sometimes you can. But check the driving times first.
For example, Visit Austin estimates a normal driving time from Austin to San Antonio of approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes, to Houston of 2 hours and 45 minutes, and to Dallas or Fort Worth of more than 3 hours.
Those numbers are before an accident, construction, rush-hour traffic, or a meeting that runs 45 minutes longer than expected.
If you’re scheduling multiple appointments, leave room between them. A calendar that looks perfectly efficient from your office can become impossible once you’re actually driving across Texas.
Sometimes the Smaller Airport Wins
Frequent business travelers learn not to dismiss regional airports.
If your client is outside one of the major metropolitan areas, check whether a smaller commercial airport puts you closer to the destination.
Bryan-College Station is a good example. Easterwood Airport serves the area and offers service connecting through Dallas/Fort Worth. Depending on the itinerary, that can be an alternative to landing in a larger city and making a lengthy drive.
The same principle applies elsewhere in Texas.
Look at Midland/Odessa, Lubbock, Corpus Christi, Amarillo, El Paso and other regional markets before automatically choosing Dallas, Houston or Austin.
Sometimes the airfare is higher but the overall trip is easier.
For business travel, the cheapest ticket and the cheapest trip aren’t always the same thing.
Know How Your Rental Car Handles Texas Tolls
Texas is another state where business travelers should familiarize themselves with the rental company’s toll policy before leaving the airport.
TxDOT oversees approximately 263 centerline miles of toll roads and managed lanes, with major systems around Austin, Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth. Other regional authorities operate additional toll facilities.
Many of these roads use electronic tolling.
Before your trip, determine whether your rental-car company charges tolls individually, adds administrative fees, or offers a daily toll program.
It sounds like a minor detail until you spend several days driving around Dallas or Houston.
Five minutes spent understanding the policy can make the expense report considerably easier when you return home.
Don’t Underestimate the Drive Across Houston
Here’s another tip that experienced Texas travelers learn quickly:
“Houston” is not a precise enough destination.
Ask for the address.
A client might technically be in the Houston metropolitan area while still being a substantial drive from your hotel or airport. The same issue exists in Dallas-Fort Worth, where two businesses that appear to be in the same market can be located on opposite sides of a very large metropolitan area.
When selecting a hotel, don’t simply search for “hotels in Houston.”
Find the client’s location first and choose the hotel from there.
For an 8:00 a.m. appointment, staying 10 minutes from the client can be considerably more valuable than staying at your favorite hotel brand 45 minutes away.
If You’re Traveling to an Industrial Site, Pack Accordingly
Business travel in Texas doesn’t always mean walking from an airport into an office tower.
For people working in construction, manufacturing, energy, engineering, commercial real estate, equipment appraisal, insurance, or related industries, the destination may be a factory, warehouse, construction site, equipment yard, oilfield operation, or facility miles from downtown.
That changes how you pack.
Keep work boots, safety glasses, a high-visibility vest, and any other required personal protective equipment organized separately from your regular business clothing.
It can also be smart to keep an inexpensive pair of work shoes specifically for field assignments.
After walking through a muddy equipment yard, you probably won’t want those same shoes in your suitcase next to tomorrow’s dress clothes.
Build Extra Time Into Summer Travel
Texas heat deserves some consideration, particularly when your work takes place outside.
An equipment inspection, construction-site visit, or facility tour can feel very different in the Texas summer than it does during cooler months.
Bring water. Keep sunscreen in the rental car. If you’re going to spend several hours outside, don’t schedule your day as though you’re moving between air-conditioned conference rooms.
For field-oriented business travelers, it may also be worth keeping an extra shirt in the vehicle.
It’s a small precaution that can become extremely useful when a morning site visit is followed by an afternoon meeting.
The Best Texas Business Travel Tip: Don’t Over-Schedule
Perhaps the most important lesson is not to build a Texas itinerary where every minute has to go exactly according to plan.
Distances are significant. Traffic can be unpredictable. Airports are busy. Clients run late. Meetings run long.
If you absolutely need to be somewhere Monday morning, consider arriving Sunday evening.
If you’re driving three hours between appointments, don’t schedule the second meeting exactly three hours after the first one ends.
And if your return flight is the final flight of the evening, understand what happens if your meeting runs an hour late.
Experienced business travelers don’t necessarily eliminate travel problems.
They leave themselves enough room to deal with them.
Take Advantage of Being in Texas
Finally, don’t forget where you are.
One benefit of traveling for business is occasionally getting to experience places you might not otherwise visit.
If you finish early in Austin, find some live music. If you’re in San Antonio, walk along the River Walk. In Dallas or Fort Worth, find a good steakhouse. And if you’re in a smaller Texas town, ask the client where to get barbecue.
You don’t need to turn every business trip into a vacation.
But you also don’t have to spend every free hour sitting in your hotel room answering emails.
Business travel is ultimately about getting the job done efficiently. In a state as large as Texas, the people who do it best aren’t necessarily the ones who travel the fastest.
They’re the ones who plan for the distance.
