For busy executives on the "go."
May 24, 1999 | 9:46 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 1999
Posts: 37
For busy executives on the "go."
This seems sage advice for busy executeds on the "go":
Top five business travel blunders
Make life on the road easier with a few tricks of the trade
By Rudy Maxa
May 23 — Life on the road seems to consist of perpetual hassles — canceled flights, missing hotel reservations and pricey meals. How do you reduce your stress level? Start by avoiding five common business travel mistakes. The following tips can help save you time, money ... and possibly your sanity.
PITY THE ROAD WARRIOR. So many items to carry, so many things to remember. Complaining about airports, confusing modem connections, and the other hassles of travel, of course, is standard operating procedure. But I suspect that if you took away travel as a job requirement for many road warriors, they’d secretly miss it.
That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to minimize the stress. I’ve read and heard lots of advice on that subject, mostly involving neck exercises and hand-held computers that perform a dazzling array of functions if you happen to have very tiny fingers and hawk-like vision.
But sometimes it’s the simple things that can actually make life more, well, simple. Herewith are my nominations for the five most common mistakes made by business travelers. Remembering even one of them may add another 15 minutes of quality time to your life or save you some money.
Mistake No. 1: Failure to record the confirmation number of hotel, airline and rental car reservations.
It’s simple, really. The world is run by computers. And computers are nothing if not literal. You show up, as I did late one night at the New York Hilton, and if the computer at the check-in desk can’t find your name, it isn’t going to pause and say, “Oh, Maxa? Well, maybe someone typed the name in wrong — let me check ‘Naxa.’” Or an unmotivated desk clerk might not be willing to go that extra mile and say, “Well, let’s see — did your company or a travel agent make that reservation? Maybe it’s under their name.”
A confirmation number can solve that problem, because computers understand numbers very well. (Of course, this presumes whoever told you that confirmation number got it right and you recorded it correctly.) Having that confirmation number saved me at the Hilton that cold night in New York City during the Christmas season where there wasn’t another room to be had in town. It’s saved me in rental car counter lines and at airports. I know it’s a bother to write down a string of numbers and letters, but make the effort. And put it on something you always carry with you, like your calendar.
Mistake No. 2: Failure to photocopy the contents of your wallet and opening pages of your passport.
What would happen if you lost your wallet tomorrow? Can you remember everything in it? Every credit card you’d have to replace, every check-cashing card or video store ID card? It’s all the stuff of life, and if you have a photocopy of your wallet’s contents, you’ll be way ahead should that terrible event occur.
Ditto your passport. If you travel abroad, keep a photocopy of the opening pages of your passport somewhere separate from the passport. It will make replacing it while on the road immeasurably easier.
Mistake No. 3: Calling the toll-free number of hotel chains to make reservations.
When you call a company’s 800 or 888 number, you get some guy in front of a computer screen in a bunker somewhere in North Dakota. He or she is in no position to make you a deal. So spend the extra 85 cents and call the hotel you want to stay at directly. Only someone there knows if the week you want to visit is the deadest week in town so they might be willing to talk deals.
Shop around. Call the competition and give them a price to beat. Then call the place where you really want to stay and give them the chance to meet or beat that price. Only by calling the hotel might you be able to score a free breakfast or free parking. The toll-free reservationist doesn’t have the authority or interest to cut you any breaks.
Mistake No. 4: Standing in line at an airport to book the next flight out should your flight get canceled.
It makes perfect sense, of course. Your flight is canceled due to mechanical difficulty or bad weather elsewhere. So, lemming like, you seek the airline’s ticket counter in hopes of booking a seat on the next flight out. Problem is, 85 other people are doing the same thing. And while you wait in line, the available seats on the next flights are going to those at the head of the line.
Correct response: Crank up that cell phone or go to the nearest available pay phone and call your travel agent or the airline directly. Book yourself a seat on the next flight. In effect, you’re leapfrogging over the folks waiting in line.
Mistake No. 5: Paying full price at restaurants.
Well, that’s a little glib, but it got your attention, didn’t it? To be more precise, a couple of restaurant discount cards give you 25 percent off the cost of all food and drink at select restaurants around the world. And they’re not all middle-of-the road restaurants, either.
The two best cards, I think, are the IGT and Transmedia cards. Both get linked to one of your major credit cards. At the end of a meal in a participating restaurant, you present your IGT or Transmedia card just as you would a charge card. When the total appears on your monthly credit card statement, it’s 25 percent less than otherwise. Annual fee for these cards is usually $50. (Sometimes there are special promotions that cut the cost of the initial year’s membership.) But if you ring up more than $200 a year in food and drink costs, you’re ahead of the game.
In my hometown of Washington, D.C., Café Milano, the Occidental, Red Sage and Galileo are among the top-drawer eateries that accept Transmedia. Check with IGT (800-4-IGT-USA) and Transmedia (800-422-5090) to see which offers a better selection of restaurants in the town you live in or frequently visit.
There you go. Try to avoid those five travel “don’ts,” and see if life on the road isn’t a tad more pleasant.
Rudy Maxa is host of “The Savvy Traveler,” a one-hour travel show heard coast-to-coast on many public radio stations. He is also a contributing writer to Worth magazine.
[This message has been edited by Karl Stevens (edited 05-24-99).]
Top five business travel blunders
Make life on the road easier with a few tricks of the trade
By Rudy Maxa
May 23 — Life on the road seems to consist of perpetual hassles — canceled flights, missing hotel reservations and pricey meals. How do you reduce your stress level? Start by avoiding five common business travel mistakes. The following tips can help save you time, money ... and possibly your sanity.
PITY THE ROAD WARRIOR. So many items to carry, so many things to remember. Complaining about airports, confusing modem connections, and the other hassles of travel, of course, is standard operating procedure. But I suspect that if you took away travel as a job requirement for many road warriors, they’d secretly miss it.
That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to minimize the stress. I’ve read and heard lots of advice on that subject, mostly involving neck exercises and hand-held computers that perform a dazzling array of functions if you happen to have very tiny fingers and hawk-like vision.
But sometimes it’s the simple things that can actually make life more, well, simple. Herewith are my nominations for the five most common mistakes made by business travelers. Remembering even one of them may add another 15 minutes of quality time to your life or save you some money.
Mistake No. 1: Failure to record the confirmation number of hotel, airline and rental car reservations.
It’s simple, really. The world is run by computers. And computers are nothing if not literal. You show up, as I did late one night at the New York Hilton, and if the computer at the check-in desk can’t find your name, it isn’t going to pause and say, “Oh, Maxa? Well, maybe someone typed the name in wrong — let me check ‘Naxa.’” Or an unmotivated desk clerk might not be willing to go that extra mile and say, “Well, let’s see — did your company or a travel agent make that reservation? Maybe it’s under their name.”
A confirmation number can solve that problem, because computers understand numbers very well. (Of course, this presumes whoever told you that confirmation number got it right and you recorded it correctly.) Having that confirmation number saved me at the Hilton that cold night in New York City during the Christmas season where there wasn’t another room to be had in town. It’s saved me in rental car counter lines and at airports. I know it’s a bother to write down a string of numbers and letters, but make the effort. And put it on something you always carry with you, like your calendar.
Mistake No. 2: Failure to photocopy the contents of your wallet and opening pages of your passport.
What would happen if you lost your wallet tomorrow? Can you remember everything in it? Every credit card you’d have to replace, every check-cashing card or video store ID card? It’s all the stuff of life, and if you have a photocopy of your wallet’s contents, you’ll be way ahead should that terrible event occur.
Ditto your passport. If you travel abroad, keep a photocopy of the opening pages of your passport somewhere separate from the passport. It will make replacing it while on the road immeasurably easier.
Mistake No. 3: Calling the toll-free number of hotel chains to make reservations.
When you call a company’s 800 or 888 number, you get some guy in front of a computer screen in a bunker somewhere in North Dakota. He or she is in no position to make you a deal. So spend the extra 85 cents and call the hotel you want to stay at directly. Only someone there knows if the week you want to visit is the deadest week in town so they might be willing to talk deals.
Shop around. Call the competition and give them a price to beat. Then call the place where you really want to stay and give them the chance to meet or beat that price. Only by calling the hotel might you be able to score a free breakfast or free parking. The toll-free reservationist doesn’t have the authority or interest to cut you any breaks.
Mistake No. 4: Standing in line at an airport to book the next flight out should your flight get canceled.
It makes perfect sense, of course. Your flight is canceled due to mechanical difficulty or bad weather elsewhere. So, lemming like, you seek the airline’s ticket counter in hopes of booking a seat on the next flight out. Problem is, 85 other people are doing the same thing. And while you wait in line, the available seats on the next flights are going to those at the head of the line.
Correct response: Crank up that cell phone or go to the nearest available pay phone and call your travel agent or the airline directly. Book yourself a seat on the next flight. In effect, you’re leapfrogging over the folks waiting in line.
Mistake No. 5: Paying full price at restaurants.
Well, that’s a little glib, but it got your attention, didn’t it? To be more precise, a couple of restaurant discount cards give you 25 percent off the cost of all food and drink at select restaurants around the world. And they’re not all middle-of-the road restaurants, either.
The two best cards, I think, are the IGT and Transmedia cards. Both get linked to one of your major credit cards. At the end of a meal in a participating restaurant, you present your IGT or Transmedia card just as you would a charge card. When the total appears on your monthly credit card statement, it’s 25 percent less than otherwise. Annual fee for these cards is usually $50. (Sometimes there are special promotions that cut the cost of the initial year’s membership.) But if you ring up more than $200 a year in food and drink costs, you’re ahead of the game.
In my hometown of Washington, D.C., Café Milano, the Occidental, Red Sage and Galileo are among the top-drawer eateries that accept Transmedia. Check with IGT (800-4-IGT-USA) and Transmedia (800-422-5090) to see which offers a better selection of restaurants in the town you live in or frequently visit.
There you go. Try to avoid those five travel “don’ts,” and see if life on the road isn’t a tad more pleasant.
Rudy Maxa is host of “The Savvy Traveler,” a one-hour travel show heard coast-to-coast on many public radio stations. He is also a contributing writer to Worth magazine.
[This message has been edited by Karl Stevens (edited 05-24-99).]
May 24, 1999 | 3:13 pm
#3
Join Date: Jun 1999
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 622
I agree about not wanting to save 20% on a restaurant tab when I am on an expense account. But if you join transmedia or an airline's dining program and get 10 miles per dollar that adds up. Also the transmediacard.com/DALC.com websites have some menus for places in cities so you can get a heads-up before hand.
On some trips I've earned more miles on meals for some trips than from the flights.
BSL
On some trips I've earned more miles on meals for some trips than from the flights.
BSL