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Wine Country
October 30, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
California's wine country is being given a run for its money by increasingly popular wine tour destinations in Maryland, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Whether you're traveling for business or pleasure, exploring these wineries can be exciting and educational for a corporate event, or just a relaxing side trip on your down time.
Each of these states has multiple districts where you can find tours around beautiful wine country, so you can find one that is the most convenient for you. Wisconsin has 39 wineries, so when staying in Milwaukee, take advantage of the numerous opportunities for a tour. Washington DC is an extremely popular tourist and business destination and is surrounded by the nearby wine country of Virginia and Maryland. Both offer an appealing reason to escape the city for a day.
In addition to being a great stop while on the road, a vineyard or winery can be a great place to get souvenirs to take back home with you and enjoy later on.
Travel Hacks
October 29, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Frequent travelers have all picked up tips along the way that save time or make travel more enjoyable. Here are some corporate travel hacks that might help on your next trip.
1. Know Rule 240 - While it is no longer a rule that all airlines have to follow, many have a little-known provision that can put you on another carrier’s flight if their flight is significantly delayed for reasons other than weather. There probably won’t be a copy of this rule at the airport, so if you can contact the airline ahead of time, get their policy, and stash a print out of it in your carry-on, you’ll be a step ahead if anything should happen to your flight.
2. Get an Update – Programs like Flight Stats can tell you what is going on with your flight. Get the update for your flight quickly and easily. For a shortcut, look for the widget on the lefthand column of this blog to bring you right to your flight info.
3. Elevator Advice - While it’s not the most considerate thing to do, if you get into an elevator and are in a big hurry, you might be able to keep it from picking up more passengers on the way to your destination. Holding the door closed button while pressing your floor can sometimes make it a straight shot. No one here seems to have had it work, but it still could be worth trying.
4. Keep your Miles - Each airline has different policies for keeping miles and when they expire. Know the policy and keep those miles for when you need them. It can cost as little as a bag of coffee purchased through a partner program to keep your miles alive. If you can’t use them, consider transferring them to a friend or donating them before they expire.
5. Organize Voicemail - There may not be time on the road to keep up with voicemail, especially when it means listening to many long-winded messages. Services are available that can take your v-mail, turn it into text, and send it in an email or text message. Then it’s available to be skimmed, letting you keep up with what’s important and put off anything that can wait until you’re back in the office.
What other travel hacks have you picked up along the way?
California Fire Travel Precautions and Housing
October 26, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Wild fires have displaced nearly 1 million people in Southern California and continue to blaze. The California wild fires has been called for in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
When traveling to these counties, be sure to call ahead check on your travel arrangements. Most airlines are making consessions to travelers with plans to come and go from Southern California by waiving fees for passengers who need to reschedule flights. Be sure to check with your carrier about their specific policies surrounding the California wildfires before you travel.
For the million people evacuated, there are a number of places to go and wait out the fires. Many displaced people are filling emergency shelters or staying with friends. Hotels provide another option, particularly hotels that offer monthly rates, feature in-suite kitchens, and offer on-site laundry. At the time of this post, there are six kid and pet friendly Extended Stay Hotels in the San Diego area:
Phone Concierges
October 22, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Ever needed information on the fly when you didn't have Internet access? Phone concierges are a great tool for the frequent business traveler, with on the go information about anything from the closest restaurant suitable for a business dinner to stock quotes.
Sometimes in the hectic business world, you need information instantaneously, from wherever you are, and have no time to do research yourself. A service like Red Butler, where you can call in, email, or text message your queries from anywhere in the world, can provide prompt and relevant answers. OnCall also provides information, from almost any international location, right to your phone on anything from driving directions to movie times. For more localized information, try Quicksilver Concierge when in San Jose and utilize their errand service to get things done and maximize your time. When in Boston, Fini Concierge can take your requests by phone, fax, or email to give you back hours in the day by waiting for your cable repair person or booking your travel for you.
Even if you have a smartphone with Internet access, calling or sending a text message to these services can often be easier and faster than trying to surf on a small phone screen. Phone concierges are above and beyond dialing 411 for information, and can be very worth their monthly fee. They provide personalized assistance and information anytime across a broad range of possible needs.
City Guides
October 19, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Travel is changing and people are taking shorter trips more frequently. This means they want to make the most out of each day of their stay since time is limited. Taking a look at city guides before or during your trip is a great way to get acquainted with local culture, sites, and restaurants so that you can better plan your stay and see the best of what your destination has to offer.
Extended Stay Hotels understands the benefit of having such valuable information and conveniently makes it available where many travelers are going to do research on their trip; online. With over 50 informative city guides and more on the way, Extended Stay Hotels has you covered. These city guides cover local treasures in popular urban destinations like Las Vegas, Miami, Salt Lake City, and Dallas. You can plan your trip easier and conveniently view fun activities and sites to see, all in one place.
Green Travel
October 15, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Today is Blog Action Day, where blogs are being called upon to discuss environmentalism and how everyone can help to make a difference. In support of this worthwhile cause, here are 5 tips on how to make your next business trip more eco-friendly.
1. Stay away from the friendly skies whenever possible. Flying is one of the biggest drains on the environment and contributes much of the carbon emissions that cause climate change.
2. Be conscious of food choices. Whether you're preparing food in the hotel suite kitchen or dining out, what you eat makes a difference. Beef is twenty times more harmful to the environment than pasta and cutting down on meat can do more to fight global warming than recycling. This doesn't necessarily mean going vegetarian since even choosing chicken over pork or beef helps.
3. Reuse hotel linens. When you're at home, sheets and towels go more than a day without cleaning, so why should it be different at a hotel? Constant washing of all those linens every day means lots of wasted energy. Extended Stay Hotels does its part in this regard by only washing sheets and towels during your stay when asked, making it easy for you to balance comfort and energy efficiency.
4. Choose a rental car responsibly. Consider a compact car or even go hybrid. The smaller models are usually cheaper to rent. Plus, it takes less gasoline, which is good for the environment and your wallet. Once you rent the car, be sure the tires have enough air in them to further save on gas.
5. Bring files, not paper documents. Cutting down on the amount of paper that needs to be printed can save space in your suitcase and save trees. Consider what you need in a hard copy and what you can store on a flash drive for your upcoming meetings.
Business Travel Tips
October 12, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Timing is everything in business travel. Getting slowed down can mean not having enough time to properly prepare, or even missing a meeting all together. But business travel can be more streamlined and efficient if you know where to look.
One major culprit of business travel slow down is long airport security lines. Keep moving at the pace of business and try the Clear Registered Traveler program. If you don't mind giving up a little privacy by using a biometric card, you can pass through security faster in a dedicated line for card-holders (similar to EZPass). The first year price is $99.95 and the service can be used at most major US airports like Newark Liberty, San Francisco International, Indianapolis International, Miami International, and Dallas/Fort Worth. And for a speedy commute once you are at your destination, try PublicRoutes.com, which calculates the fastest route to where you want to go whether it’s by car, public transit, walking, or a mixture.
With these great options to streamline your business travel, time can be on your side. Extended Stay Hotels also offers a Trip Planner to help you map out your route and find the most convenient hotel for your needs.
Airport Screening
October 10, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
One major hurdle the business traveler faces when boarding a plane is airport screening. The long lines and extended wait times that accompany these security checks have become more than a minor hassle. In order to speed up the screening process while improving accuracy and safety, the TSA is turning to newer more efficient technologies.
One machine you will be seeing more of is the Advanced X-ray machine, which is already at New York John F. Kennedy, Reagan Washington National, Los Angeles International and Albuquerque airports. There are also plans to install 250 more of them in airports nationwide by next summer. Advanced X-ray machines take high-resolution photos of carry-on bags from two angles and may someday eliminate the requirement that passengers take laptops out of their cases at security checkpoints because of the higher quality photos taken. Another is the handheld bottle scanner currently in use at 19 airports. Handheld bottle scanners detect the level of explosive material in the vapors from cans and bottles. It won't soon do away with the restriction on the quantity of liquids and gels passengers can carry through checkpoints but they could make the checking of bottles that are exempted from the restriction, such as baby formula, go faster. Still being tested are the Backscatter X-ray and Millimeter-wave imaging, which both photograph travelers underneath their clothing to find hidden weapons.
Airport screenings may not become less of a headache in the immediate future, but business travelers should be aware of the new security technologies being tested and put to work in their most frequented airports.
Lost Baggage Tips
October 5, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
After a long, possibly delayed, or even overcrowded flight, where you have been forced to check your bag because of that full-size shampoo you carry, there may be nothing worse than realizing your luggage is not at baggage claim. Lost baggage is piling up in the US, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics reports that more than 1 million pieces of baggage were lost, damaged, stolen, or delayed between May and July this year. There may be no guarantees, but you can take steps to try to lessen the likelihood that your baggage is lost.
Label your bag - Write your name on the outside and inside of your bags. Make sure all tags are correct and secure. Labeling is crucial because if you ever wanted to know where that lost baggage that no one claims goes, some shopping sites would be happy to sell it to you.
Check-in on time - Make sure there is plenty of time before your flight and between connections so your baggage can keep up.
Pack smart - Put valuables in your carry-on bags. On domestic flights, the airline baggage liability is capped at around $3,000 per person so keep a list of the valuables in your bag so that when the airline asks, you don't forget anything valuable. Also, keeping a change of clothes in your carry-on when going to a different climate can at least ensure that your trip is not a total wash.
Check the baggage policy - Every airline has baggage policies you should be familiar with before your trip. Once you've left the baggage claim area, your claim is no longer with the airline, but with the police. Make sure you get a written claim for damages. When filing a report, many airlines will give you a claim number and ask that you call or write the airline within 21 to 45 days.
Get travel insurance - This can be your safest bet against lost luggage. Even if your lost baggage can't be recovered, at least you can take comfort that you are covered.
Oktoberfest USA
October 2, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
With October upon us, this means Oktoberfest across the USA is getting underway. Not just for beer lovers, Oktoberfest also celebrates food and culture. After that all-important meeting why not experience the festivities and local culture.
Atlanta, GA - From October 5-7th, is Atlanta's Bavarian Oktoberfest at Atlantic Station, a unique city within a city multi-use development in midtown Atlanta.
Phoenix, AZ - Kicking off October 13th, the Phoenix Oktoberfest put on by the Arizona Center for German Cultures showcases German heritage.
Raleigh, NC - Enjoy the wursts and kraut from October 5-6th in Raleigh.
Richmond, VA - Make your way to the largest German-American festival in Virginia from October 26-27th, hosting nearly 5,000 people in the great city of Richmond.
St. Louis, MO - Take advantage of over 30 performances from October 5-7th, during the St. Louis Soulard Okoberfest.
Tulsa, OK - Going on from October 18-21st, check out Tulsa's Oktoberfest in its 29th year running.
