Playbook · Organizing travel
Organize a board meeting
Get trustees, guests and staff to the meeting with travel booked, rooms held and every cost recorded against governance.
Spring board meeting (example)
- For
- Executive assistants, board liaisons
- Lead time
- We suggest 10–12 weeks
- Owner
- Board liaison
- Travelers
- Trustees, staff, guests
Before you start
Decide these first
Decisions to make
- Dates and city, and whether the organization pays trustee travel
- Which policy applies to trustees (often their own group)
- Hotel: a block near the venue, or individual bookings
- Cost code for governance travel
People to involve
- Board chair and secretary
- Executive director
- Finance lead
- Venue contact
The plan
A workable timeline
Our suggested lead times. Adjust them to your organization; shorter is possible, but costs and stress go up.
10–12 weeks before
Set the basics
- Confirm dates, city and venue (the venue is yours to book)
- Decide hotel approach and budget
8 weeks before
Invite and collect
- Send the invitation with the travel note: how travel is booked, what is paid
- Collect each trustee's departure city, dates and needs
- Add trustees who are not in your roster as guest travelers
6 weeks before
Book travel
- Send the list to the travel team
- Trustees choose from options; out-of-policy choices go to approval
2 weeks before
Confirm
- Confirm the rooming list and arrival times
- Share itineraries and the urgent help number with trustees
Week of
Arrivals
- Track arrivals; the travel team rebooks delays and cancellations
- Hotels reconfirmed with the property before check-in, so the room is there when your traveler arrives.
After
Close it out
- Check every charge carries the governance code
- Process any reimbursements through your expense process
- Note changes for next time
Who does what
Your part, and ours
| Task | Your organization | silentVIP |
|---|---|---|
| Venue and catering | Books them | — |
| Invitation and traveler details | Sends and collects | — |
| Flights, rail and hotels | Requests | Sends options, books, reconfirms hotels |
| Guest travelers | Names them | Books them as guest travelers on the right code |
| Delays and changes | Tells the team | Rebooks; urgent help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week |
| Reimbursements | Processes through your expense process | — |
Checklists
Copy these into your plan
Print this page or copy the lists into your own template.
Collect from each trustee
- Name exactly as on ID
- Departure city and preferred times
- Arrival and departure dates
- Accessibility, seating or dietary needs
- Mobile number for the day
What to send the travel team
- Traveler list with details
- Meeting dates and venue address
- Hotel approach and limits
- Cost code
- Who approves exceptions
Common mistakes
What usually goes wrong
Late invitations
Fares and rooms near the venue go first; trustees then book their own and the records scatter.
Trustees outside the program
Book trustees as guest travelers so their trips are coded, supported and in your records.
No arrival plan
Someone should know who has landed. Agree it before the day.
Questions
Common questions
Do trustees have to use the program?
That is your board's decision. Booking through it means trustees are supported on the day and their trips are recorded with the governance code.
Related
Tools and guides
More in Playbooks
Bring your travel program under one roof
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