octopic

I've been asked by my company to produce a FAQ document for new employees that will be doing a lot of traveling. What are some things that you wish someone had told you that you had to learn through a tough experience? For example, one of mine is to call the 800 number for the airline after a cancelation instead of waiting in the line at the gate for reaccommodation.

tfar

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...etiquette.html

Read through the thread above. You will find many good practical tips in the original post and in the responses to it. Feel free to use my original post. No need to give credit. I basically just compiled what I thought were the most pertinent tips.

Also check out the "how to survive a hotel fire thread".

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...otel-fire.html

In addition look at the recent safety thread on the Women travelers forum. Most of these things apply just as well to male travelers.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/women...fety-tips.html

There is more on packing the standard rollaboard here:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...good-22-a.html

Then compile, reformulate and re-structure as you see fit. The resources are on this forum already. No need to go in depth with an extra thread. Possible topics/chapters would be Practical, Safety, Packing, Etiquette, Expenses, Miscellaneous.

It might also be a good idea to start a group email at work where the experienced travelers can write down their tips and the newbies can ask for advice.

When you are done, compile everything into a PDF document and send it around.

Sounds like a fun project. Good luck with it and let us know the result.

Till

Efrem

Sounds like a perfect match for a wiki. Check out wikispaces.com (far from the only option). You'll still have to start it - the previous post has some excellent suggestions - but it will probably take off on its own after that.

gobluetwo

I personally wait in line AND call CS (just in case).

You definitely want to include anything having to with company policy, like loss or theft of, or damage to, company (or personal) property/equipment while traveling. For instance, what to do if your laptop gets stolen, blackberry is lost, etc.

- Tips on getting through security
- Tips on where to look for resources when traveling internationally (eg, state dept website) and things they might need to deal with, like visas, customs, etc.
- Airline rules on luggage and what the company will/will not reimburse.
- Company preferred airlines, hotels, car rental agencies, and encouragement to use frequent flyer/guest/whatever programs. Our company actually has a link to the UA DEQM promo on our travel portal.
- Status matches. We can get status matches through our company on our preferred carriers. I didn't know it at the time and did a challenge on my own. Now I know. I wish someone had told me that. This assumes your company does this.

That's it for now. I gotta go home

tjl

Perhaps links to articles of travel problem stories (like the one the Wall Street Journal published about some newbie travelers who got misconnected at ORD on the way from YYZ to SLC and eventually (after being rescheduled, having their rescheduled flight canceled, etc.) going back to YYZ instead of making it to their destination, later griping about how bad airlines are) and using such stories as examples of what not to do (the travelers in question made a lot of apparently common (but understandable) newbie mistakes that worked against them).

Some things to consider including:

* Any special notes about the nearby airports or other common airports flown to or from, including ground transportation options.

* Make note of which airports have better or worse on-time records, and that flight schedules should be well padded if using a poor on-time airport is required.

* Recommend carry-on only, with pointers to how to pack in a carry-on.