Jesse
Mar 6th, 2011
Mar 6th, 2011
Business Travel: Get the Point(s)?
Let me be clear about something, I do not enjoy traveling for work. There is a good reason for that, aside from the primary fact that I am away from my family for days at a time. Lets face it, time on planes, in airports, in hotels, taking taxis et al is for the most part not time well spent. It’s generally stressful and tiring, which is not a good combination if you are trying to accomplish a lot in a short period of time, which is often the case in the business world (Wouldn’t it be nice if business travel was like a holiday? Sitting on a beach having relaxed meetings while sipping on margaritas. Someone show me a job like that.)
Before I hear chants of “Hey you’re the one whos the consultant buddy, its your own @#$% fault, cry me a river.” I would like to remind everyone that we do not always have complete control over where life leads us to success. Im betting that a good friend of mine who owns a maintenance business did not enjoy his five years he spent making essentially minimum wage to get to where he is at right now. This isn’t to say I do not enjoy my job, because I really do. I enjoyed PLM and I enjoy predictive analytics, I also enjoy working with customers and creating great solutions. I just don’t enjoy flying to the middle of Wisconsin to do it.
Lets get back on track. If you are starting out as a new traveler, or are new to business travel in general, I have a few tips to get you started that will make business traveling much easier.
1) Pack light, Carry On
Im serious here, the heavier you pack, the more you will regret it. I won’t even get into how nasty it can be to check bags to final destinations when you have weird connections. Make it easy on yourself, get a carry on bag. Do not get one bigger than a 22 or 23 inch or they will not fit on some of the airbus and regional jets which means they will make you check them anyway.
2) Sign up for all rewards programs right away
I made the mistake that when I first started traveling, to a lesser degree in my last job, I did not sign up for any rewards programs. Big mistake, thats money left on the table! Airline frequent flyer programs and hotel loyalty programs in particular will make your traveling experience much better.
Airline FF:
-Free vacations. Muy Bueno!
-Better seating. With frequent flyer status comes the ability to pick your seating and get free upgrades. Want to know the difference between sitting in the last row in a middle seat of basic economy vs sitting in an aisle in economy plus, with an empty seat in the middle? On the united flight I am sitting on as I write this, its called me being able to work on my laptop while the people in the back frown and try to avoid leg cramping.
-Priority Boarding. Last ones on the plane get to gate check their carryons. Joy of joys.
-Better Treatment. During irregular operations aka “IRROPS” aka “things are screwed up” you will get better treatment from airline employees. This can literally make or break a vacation.
Hotel Loyalty Programs:
-Free Hotel stays. Muy Muy Bueno, Ci!
-Free Hotel upgrades. Executive suite, for free.
-Free food. Free breakfast is a nice way to start the day right.
3) Pick a program and stay with it
One common mistake that even well traveled people, such as my friend Neal make, is that they spread their loyalty out across multiple airlines and hotels. Sometimes this is unavoidable – for me hotels are Hilton and Marriott, airlines are United and Frontier. Its all about necessity and what is available but when you can, be as consistent as possible. Neal would be 1k on United, which would essentially gaurantee him first class all day, every day except that he has his miles spread across multiple airlines. I have a friend that I work with that flies from the Netherlands to the US two or even three times a MONTH and he has no status. He simply never knew about all the advantages until recently.
There is absolutely no reason that you shouldn’t capitalize on traveling. It’s just one more way to move toward wealth – some riches are not just cash alone.
- 28 Comments
- Career
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I suppose that airlines have just been working on ways that attract the business travellers for example: improved and competitive mileage programs, quick check in and online check in, lounges with broadband connection
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Who does enjoy traveling for work.
You could write a book about this.
As you’re traveling a lot maybe you should consider making a Will.
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I definitely agree with packing light. There’s nothing worse than frequent traveling with lots of luggage.
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But anyway I like to traveling for job!!! It is very intresting to see new places, and meet new people.
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