When at home, I train almost daily. Usually with a personal trainer. Unfortunately I now travel (seems like 95% of the time) and cannot get myself to train often when at hotels. Most of the hotels I stay at do not have gyms, but even those that do does not help much.

Experiences and ideas appreciated

Book hotels that have gyms or find one close by. Here is a site that is good for travelers that lists fitness areas in major cities (you may wish to try this out before subscribing as there is a fee for total access):

http://www.athleticmindedtraveler.com

Look up body weight exercises (e.g. pushups, dips, etc.) and those which can be done with small easy to carry equipment like resistance bands. Also, running outside or up the stairs in the hotel or swimming in the hotel pool can be used to get cardio exercise. Jump rope is another possibility. That way, you won't have to forego your exercise just because there is no gym, or a gym without the desired equipment (though if you normally do things that does require equipment like heavy free weights, you may have to do something different while traveling).

Walking up the stairs in the hotel or walking to nearby places can give you exercise while getting you to where you are going.

Do you swim? My preferred exercise is swimming and most places I stay have a pool, although they vary vastly in quality. I get everything from Olympic-sized pools surrounded by palm trees and bird-of-paradise blooms to overheated, over-chlorinated little pools in Hampton Inn-type places (although I've run into decent ones in Hamptons, too). A co-worker who does Iron Man triathlons has a bungee-cord tether; one end attaches to a belt around his waist and the other to the end of the pool. It creates resistance so he can get a good workout in tiny pools. I always work out in the morning even if I have to get up at 6 or 6:30 AM to do it. You can never count on having enough time in between the end of the work day and any business dinners. I like pools because in a pinch I don't bother to shower afterwards. You can get away with coming into the office smelling like a pool but not like a locker room!

In the absence of a pool or a gym, there's always running if the area is suitable or, if desperate, running up and down the steps of the property. Just make sure you can get back into the hallways (i.e. that the doors don't lock behind you when you enter the stairwell).

What motivates me? I don't want to gain 25 lbs. like my colleague did after she took this job (so far I have not). And this year, for the first time I did a triathlon (a "regular" type, not Iron Man league) at the age of 56. Just do it.

The only thing that has ever worked for me (diet or exercise) on the road is accountability - either in the form of having to report back to someone on my activities while away or personal training (with a cancel fee if I no-show).

A couple times I was in a good routine while home and managed to stay on program while away - even to the point where I stopped paying for whatever I was doing at home because figured I could do it myself and save the money (since I was traveling so much) - but I always end up stopping the exercise or going back to poor eating.

If you are paying for a personal trainer at home, why not try and find one in the locations you travel to? Have them come to the hotel or most will have a regular gym. You might even enjoy the variety in workout approaches. Plenty of online sources to find good recommendations and reasonably priced individual trainers. I've started doing this in one of the cities I travel to regularly (have a primary person and a backup if #1 is booked - recommended by a business partner there).

Doesn't sound like much of a personal trainer to me if s/he isn't giving you smack for not keeping honest while you're travelling.

I loathe the travel for my training. Our facilities are all located in the middle of nowhere, with the only available hotel some Hampton or Best Western with no gym to speak of. The one I've been at recently has some lovely highways nearby and absolutely, positively, nowhere to run except on the road (not even sidewalks).

It's quite depressing. It does keep me from training. The only motivation I've found that helps is signing up for Stickk and making it painful.

Learn how to use resistance bands. They are not the same as free weights or machines but can give a decent workout if you do them correctly. They are small, lightweight and easily packed in carry-on. Also look at some Pilates classes for flexibility. Cardio is cardio - walking, walking/running stairs, etc can all be done in hotels.

It's hard to learn to be accountable to yourself. You can try wellness coaching which is different from personal training. At the end of the day, you have to learn to set realistic goals and find what works for you.

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Depends on the location, of course, but I always try to hire a bike when I go away. That way you can combine exercise with entertainment and sightseeing (and in some cases, commuting!)

fitdeck.com has exercise flashcards that only use your body weight for resistance. Those are easy to pack and you can mix up workouts

if you have an iphone or touch, there are lots of workout apps...maybe the novelty of it will get you motivated to start?

i just got a yoga one, the couch to 5K program, and a couple others.

rosstraining.com

Learn quick intense workouts you can do in your hotel room

You just look at certain other team members who don't go and ask yourself "Is this how I want to look like in 10 years?".

But few things help me out in during my Monday-Thursday travel schedules.
Signed up for a chain gym (LA Fitness) which is luckily available in both my base and all sites I have been in my short career.
Have a coworker in the same chain, and we share car, etc. So both are accountable for each other. No one wants to let the other person down.
Most times, if you get out by a reasonable amount (7PMish), you can just go straight to the gym and then go back to hotel. Unless you have a load to do when you go back or likes to work out for 3 hours, 1 extra hour won't destroy your night.

Not a big fan of hotel gym. Most are limited to some treadmills and pulleys. If you are out in the middle of nowhere, kind of out of luck. But you should also check if the hotel you are staying in has some kind of arrangement with the local gym. Where I am right now, I think the Townplace Suites offer free use of nearby Planet Fitness.

Okay, this sounds trite, but what really works for me is to change directly into my workout clothes immediately upon returning to my hotel room. That seems to be the mental hurdle to get my butt going to the hotel gym, or the pool, or to jump rope for 15 minutes, or at least to run up and down the stairs. If I don't change my clothes immediately, I end up turning on the TV, surfing the web, etc....

That said, I hate business travel. Mostly for taking me away from my family, but also because it crimps my workout schedule.

That is a wonerful idea. One of the reasons I use a personal trainer is that 'once the appointment is set, no excuses'. Currently I feel I am biz travelling "all the time"

here is what I do

I start off by belonging to Bally Total fitness and gold's gym.. that in itself covers the vast majority of places I travel too.. using their website I can find a gym and pick a hotel accordingly. Also I usually am the one who rents the car and hence has control over having it in the morning before work which is when I work out.

Once in a while a facility will be far away from a GG or BTF; however I will pick a hotel near the gym so that it becomes more difficult to make excuses not to go. I always have to go to work so that won't affect any decisions by being far away.

I will map out a running route in the car as well.

If by chance there isn't a GG or BTF nearby; I will first check with the hotels I might stay at and find out if they have access to a gym.. if not, I will find one nearby and walk in and tell them I'd like to try it out.. I pretty much get at a minimum a one day pass anywhere up to a two week pass. Its a hassle but it gets me in and saves me up to $20 a day.

I've yet to meet a hotel gym that I would take over a regular gym. Now some are close (Hilton at ORD).. but 98% totally blow and are useless.

I don't like swimming so that isn't an option;

if by chance I c an't make it in the a.m. to the gym, I change at work and go right to the gym from the office (or it becomes much more difficult to go)..

over all the above keeps me in check

now the real problem is on travel days.. its so hard to get anything in..

on that note.. a good 2 hour layover at DFW does get me a good little treadmill run in the Term A AC