You’ve been confirmed for your locums job, gotten credentialed, and obtained your state license and hospital privileges. Now it’s time to plan your travel arrangements.
One of the best parts of locums work is the opportunity to travel. While planning and managing your itinerary can seem arduous, our travel team will take care of the details for you. As a certified travel agency, they have the expertise to ensure that you get to where you’re going on time, without additional hassle.
Here’s how we make the travel process as smooth and stress-free as possible:
Accommodating your preferences whenever possible
We keep providers involved as much as possible during the process so we can ensure that we’re planning with your comfort and preferences in mind.
Before we make reservations, your consultant will check in with you to see if you have any requirements or parameters we should keep in mind. If you’re a nervous flier, for example, we can reserve a rental car or book a seat where you will be most comfortable. If you’re not comfortable driving long distances, we can book you flights instead.
We also keep details like the length of your locums assignment in mind. If it’s a longer-term assignment, we’ll look for hotel rooms with small kitchens, or even short-term leases at condos, so you have all the comforts of home while you’re away from home.
We can even accommodate your rewards programs––for instance, if you have rewards with a specific hotel chain or airline, we’ll do our best to book you with them, so you can earn rewards and take advantage of your member benefits.
At the end of the day, our priority is always your comfort. We want to make sure our providers are happy and comfortable, so we give you as much leeway as possible in choosing travel and accommodation options that suit your preferences.
Handling all the logistics so you don’t have to
Once you’ve spoken to your consultant about your preferred travel methods, they will communicate those to the travel team so that we can start making reservations.
All of your travel and accommodation expenses are fully covered by Hayes Locums, so you don’t have to worry about upfront costs. The costs we cover include air travel, lodging, and rental cars or mileage reimbursement.
Your consultant will keep you informed as we make reservations, so you can rest assured knowing that your travel plans are covered, and focus on preparing for your assignment.
Tracking your itinerary
Both your consultant and our travel team will keep tabs on your itinerary as your travel dates approach. Your consultant will contact you as your travel dates get closer, to make sure you have all of the information you need, and to update you if there are any changes.
We recommend that providers download a travel management app––we prefer Tripcase. With all of your reservations in one place, there’s no need to constantly monitor your itinerary. The system we use to reserve and keep track of your travel arrangements allows us direct access into both your itinerary and airline inventory, so we can easily notify you if anything changes.
If something does change––whether that’s a flight delay or a possible upgrade––we’ll alert your consultant so they can get in touch with you, and work with them to update your itinerary if needed.
Troubleshooting when issues come up
Even with the best planning, things can still come up when you travel. Your flight may get canceled or delayed, or there may be an issue with your hotel or rental car reservation. If and when you run into problems, you can rely on us to handle it.
Our travel team’s deep knowledge of the industry enables them to jump in quickly to troubleshoot when issues arise. If your flight gets canceled, they will often receive first bid on replacement flights, so they can rebook you quickly and easily, without you having to lift a finger.
And because our team has spent decades building relationships across the travel industry, we know just who to call when trouble comes up. If a delayed flight gets you to your destination after the rental car agency is closed, for example, we can often work with the agencies to accommodate your arrival––even if it’s after hours.
The relationships we’ve built with these agencies means they will often go the extra mile for our providers, sometimes literally: rental car agencies have even pulled cars from twenty miles away to deliver to our doctors so they could make it to the hospital.
No matter what comes up, the relationships we’ve built allow us to move quickly in making alternate arrangements for you, so that we can get you to your patients on time.
We know that travel can be stressful. But our travel team has their eye on your itinerary and their finger on the pulse of the industry, so they’re ready to support and accommodate you to make sure your travel experience is as comfortable and stress-free as possible.
Introducing the Hayes Handbook: Your Locum Tenens Guide
See how our team supports you through every stage of the locum tenens process. Start reading.
