Any Frequent Business Traveller's on TB?

corndog · #1 02-15-2013, 12:14 PM

Unlike some here on TB, playing bass is not my vocation, it is my hobby.

My business life requires me to travel once or twice a month to various cities across Canada, usually 25-35 flights per year. The travelling can be tiring, as I find my work days are allot longer than they would normally be. My down time is usually spent in various music shops checking out basses and amps or taking in a hockey game instead of relaxing. Thankfully I am in control of most of my travel which minimizes the impact at home with the family. It allows me to visit every major city in the country which is pretty cool. I've determined all of them are my favourite city for different reasons.

As I am sure there are many other business travelling bass players on TB, I thought I'd start a thread for us travellers to share stories, opinions and tips on hotels, rewards programs, airlines, airports etc etc.

So if you know of an airport restaurant that actually has good food, let us know!

Chebass88 · #2 02-15-2013, 12:23 PM

A couple of things:

1. Try to stay in the same brand of hotels to maximize your points. I recommend Hilton-brands (Hampton Inn, Embassy Suites, Hilton, etc.).

2. Stay in hotels with a free breakfast. I recommend the Embassy Suites brand of hotels.

3. Always keep your suitcase packed with toiletries. Buy an extra deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrush, razor, etc. That way, whatever suitcase you pack, you know you always have what you need.

4. If at a hotel for more than one night, collect all of the packaged soaps. This cuts down on your soap expenditures once you get home. You might not want to smell like you stayed at a Hampton Inn every day, but in a guest bathroom, they work just fine.

corndog · #3 02-15-2013, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chebass88

A couple of things:

1. Try to stay in the same brand of hotels to maximize your points. I recommend Hilton-brands (Hampton Inn, Embassy Suites, Hilton, etc.).

2. Stay in hotels with a free breakfast. I recommend the Embassy Suites brand of hotels.

3. Always keep your suitcase packed with toiletries. Buy an extra deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrush, razor, etc. That way, whatever suitcase you pack, you know you always have what you need.

4. If at a hotel for more than one night, collect all of the packaged soaps. This cuts down on your soap expenditures once you get home. You might not want to smell like you stayed at a Hampton Inn every day, but in a guest bathroom, they work just fine.

Awesome advice!

I usually stick to one airline as well, again, to maximize my points.

iamlowsound · #4 02-15-2013, 12:33 PM

I don't fly for work, but I do travel between offices and to job sites quite a bit. We did just open an office in Calgary and we are opening one in Vancouver, so maybe I'll get to fly out there.

lowsound

SoonerMatt · #5 02-15-2013, 12:35 PM

If you travel a lot you should consider an AmEx Platinum card. The benefits more than make up for the annual cost.

There's a French sandwich and wine type place in the STL airport that is stupid good. I'm drawing a blank on the name but I always stop there when I fly in or out.

Unfortunately, San Antonio's airport us lacking in amenities. C'est la vive.

msact · #6 02-15-2013, 12:53 PM

I travel on business also. I typically have a few domestic trips during the year. I don't mind those so much. I do travel to Germany 3-4 times per year. That gets to be a drag very quickly. The only good thing is that my company flys us business class overseas. I used to enjoy the business travel when I was younger, but I really don't anymore. I just see it as part of the job now. I suppose having kids is one of the things that changed my feelings.

vernhillbass · #7 02-15-2013, 01:03 PM

I fix the equipment found in checkpoints so I travel a lot. Houston Hobby (HOU) has the best food vendors that I have seen. 4 restaurants run by this Pappas family. 2 of my favorite places for bass perusal are gone...West LA Music and Bass Emporium in Austin. Bass Emporium is still in business on the web but I've heard they now carry very little inventory.

msact · #8 02-15-2013, 01:21 PM

The best thing I did for travel was to buy a tablet a couple of years ago. I use it for websurfing, watching movies, reading, etc. There is so much downtime with business travel it's good to have something to fill that time.

MJ5150 · #9 02-15-2013, 01:32 PM

I did it for a couple years. As a young and single person, I could see it being more fun. I was old and married, so it burned me out.

-Mike

corndog · #10 02-15-2013, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by msact

The best thing I did for travel was to buy a tablet a couple of years ago. I use it for websurfing, watching movies, reading, etc. There is so much downtime with business travel it's good to have something to fill that time.

Love the airports, security check points and customs........its the "hurry up and wait" part of the process that gets me. I try to get to the airport as early as I can as it takes the stress of missing a flight off the table. Most airports have free WIFI and charging stations for laptops and tablets, having web access is quite easy now. work or surf until its time to board.

msact · #11 02-15-2013, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by corndog

Love the airports, security check points and customs........its the "hurry up and wait" part of the process that gets me. I try to get to the airport as early as I can as it takes the stress of missing a flight off the table. Most airports have free WIFI and charging stations for laptops and tablets, having web access is quite easy now. work or surf until its time to board.

The other fun part of airport travel is weather delays! There is nothing like getting to a connecting city to find that your flight has been canceled.

corndog · #12 02-15-2013, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by msact

The other fun part of airport travel is weather delays! There is nothing like getting to a connecting city to find that your flight has been canceled.

Had that happen flying to Denver, the airport was shut down when we were 40 minutes out (micro-bursts). The flight was diverted to Colorado Springs where we lucky enough to sit on the plane for 5 hours before we could fly back to Denver. Since we couldn't get to a gate, they wouldn't allow anyone off the plane.

A colleague had his flight to Toronto cancelled due to the big snow storm that hit the East Coast last week, he was delayed 2 days.

bmc · #13 02-15-2013, 04:29 PM

Last year saw three trips to Montreal, one to Singapore, Doha, Mumbai, three or four London, one or two Paris, one Vancouver.

I had to cancel Abu Dhabi two weeks ago, and will have to cancel Beirut and Amman this month. I know I will be in Abu Dhabi in September. All of my travel from Feb on has been cancelled due to health. I'll be taking my sweetheart to Barcelona for a weekend in April.

All of my travel is for business. My first choice airline is British Airways Airways. Air France has a nice business class product. Their new A380 is a nice ride.

I travel a lot for business. The glamour is long gone. I have a ton of points from airlines ans hotels. The last I want to do on my vacation is to go hang out at another airline and stay in another hotel.

6jase5 · #14 02-15-2013, 04:43 PM

As a tall traveler, I'm a Delta fan. I put all the soaps and shampoo in a big pump bottle for hand soap. Haven't had to buy any in years.

My travel necessities are to always have food and water on the plane (granola bars, clif bars, walnuts, fruit, etc.) and my google nexus tab loaded with movies. I used to always grab the free headphones and give them to a local school as well. They always appreciated them.

deeptubes · #15 02-15-2013, 05:35 PM

I used to work for a defense contractor. They sent me all over the world. I always brought a bass with me. In 2011, I spent almost 10 months on the road. I'd much rather be home.

JimmyM · #16 02-15-2013, 05:40 PM

Been a few years, but the last time I was at Laguardia Airport, there was a little pizza stand that had the most incredible pizza I ever tasted. Mind you, I'm from Florida, and this was my first and only experience with NY pizza, but what they say about the pizza there is 100% true...best pizza in the world. If the airport has pizza that good, I can only imagine what restaurant pizza tastes like.

Another thing I've found is that trips are good for getting rid of clothes you were going to throw out. Just wear them during your trip and throw them out as you go. Then you don't have to deal with them at home, and you have more room in your bag for stealing Kleenex and toilet paper!

NEVER touch items in your electronic minibar unless you're willing to pay for them.

If you smoke and don't want to go outside but the hotel charges you a fine for it, smoke in your bathroom, then run hot water through the shower for an hour. Don't do it a lot, but if you have one or two quick ones, they'll never smell it as long as you keep the bathroom door closed as much as possible.

Most importantly, don't be the douchebag who waits till he gets up to the security checkpoint to take out his two computers from the bags, take his shoes off that lace up, take his belt off, take his jacket off, take off his hat and glasses, take out his wallet, then dig through all of his pockets for loose change. And for God's sakes, don't be the douchebag who stands right where the bags come out and puts everything back slowly and methodically and refuses to move till he's forced to by a TSA agent.

giacomini · #17 02-15-2013, 07:01 PM

2010 and 2011 were busy, I was on the road twice sometimes three times a month for a couple days to a week.

We travel mostly in our state, so it is often by bus or car; sometimes if we cross the state east-west we'll go by plane but that's not the norm.

Last year I travelled a lot less because I went to work in other department in a position that does not require travelling...

tplyons · #18 02-16-2013, 08:09 PM

I travel a bunch for work, mostly domestic in the US but have taken on a project in Canada. I spent about 65 nights in hotels last year, averaging one to two trips a month.

I'm a Marriott guy and have gotten the Marriott credit card. Between my nights and all my spending, I can normally achieve gold status at a Marriott. I'm also a silver member at Hilton hotels which I'll stay at if Marriott hotels aren't available.

I fly United because it's preferred by my company. I fly enough to maintain silver status on United, but always aim to get Air Canada flights on a code share. Air Canada has much nicer aircraft, more polite crew, and really awesome pretzels.

I always travel wearing slip-on loafers, have my belt off before I get to security and have everything out of my pockets and into my carry-on so I don't have to remove and re-add everything to my pockets on the other end.

And my newest piece of advice, Global Entry if you're a US Citizen. Qualifies me for TSA PreCheck to slip through security quicker when traveling domestically, and speeds up re-entry into the US when moving through customs.

Has anyone noticed a lack of room safes in hotels these days?

fdeck · #19 02-16-2013, 08:30 PM

I don't do a huge amount of business travel. For me, food is a problem. I eat healthy food at home, and have a hard time finding it when I'm on a trip.

I've learned that virtually every airport has a Starbucks, and you can always buy a banana or an orange there. That's enough to keep me going, and doesn't fill me up with sugar, grease, and salt.

I skip coffee while in transit. I used to accept coffee whenever it was offered, then I wondered why I was such a wreck at the end of the flight. Instead, by avoiding the caffeine, I can sleep during flights. And somebody recommended earplugs to me, as a way to get better sleep.

Another tip: O'Hare Avoidance.

Avalon · #20 02-16-2013, 09:57 PM

Hey JimmyM, as a non-smoker, I can say that the least trace of cigarette smoke catches my senses. Many of the hotel cleaning staff may be smokers too, so they may not catch it.

If I walk into a room and detect smoke, I contact the reception desk immediately. It's not that the slight smell is that bothersome to me personally, but I don't want to be the one who gets stuck with the cleaning bill. Just food for thought. It could catch up to you eventually.

When travelling internationally, I love going by Delta's Business Elite class out of JFK. It's the cheapest Business Class that I am aware of and is more like First Class was about 15 years ago. My company will pay for Business Class on longer flights.

Business Class also allows you to use those "Club Lounges" that airlines have at the airports. When considering whether you want to pay for a business class ticket, factor in some of those amenities such as free breakfast in the lounge. However, the services may vary depending on the airport.

I agree with the Hilton and Embassy Suites. Decent enough for business travel.

A word about BED BUGS. If you travel, learn about them. They are becoming a problem once again and getting rid of them is not an easy task.