Quick Tip: Direct Flight Versus Non Stop-Flight

Here is a lesson I learned the hard way while trying to save a few dollars on a plane ticket: there is a difference in direct flight versus a non stop-flight.

When booking your airline travel, you will notice the direct flights are less expensive than the non-stop flights.  This is because there is a major difference.

When an itinerary states "direct flight," it means you will be on the same plane from when you depart until you land.  However, it does not mean you will not make additional stops along the way.

For instance, hypothetically, I booked a direct flight from Charlotte, NC to Phoenix, AZ.  We left Charlotte, flew to Atlanta, unloaded and picked up more passengers; then on to Dallas, again dropping off and picking up additional passengers; finally on to Phoenix.

I saved $50 on a plane ticket, but it took almost 12 hours to make the journey.

Now, had I of booked the same flight non-stop, we would have left Charlotte and flown directly to Phoenix.  This would be a 3 hour flight and would have saved me 9 hours; in my opinion, worth the extra $50.

My tip, pay attention to the details when booking your flight, there is a huge difference between direct and non-stop.

Quick Tip: Charge the Night Before!!

This is a quick tip that has saved me several headaches, as well as caused several, over the years.  Make sure all electronics are charged the night before!

There is nothing worse than getting through security, sitting down at your gate, getting an important business call, answering your phone only to hear that annoying low-battery-beep five minutes into the conversation.

Now, you have to do the airport shuffle.  You have to grab all of your luggage and carry-on baggage, try and sound as if you are not hurried, and run around the terminal looking for an open electrical outlet.  However, finding one is only half the battle.

Once you find one, you must dig through your laptop bag, purse, planner, etc. to find a charging cable.  Again, all of this while trying sound calm, cool, and collected to your phone audience.

Next, your phone corespondent will ask you to pull up your email so you can look at the spreadsheet they just sent over.....here we go again!

All of this grief can be saved by spending two minutes to plug everything in the night before your flight and making sure everything is charged 100%.

Finding a Deal on a Hotel Room

One of the most essential needs when traveling, and also one of the potentially most expensive needs, is a hotel room.

There are many options, and you must weigh out whether or not getting the "points" is worth spending the money for a full priced hotel room.  First of all, check with your company as far as guidelines for keeping the points from various hotel chains.

Many companies do not mind if you chose to stay in a nicer hotel, but they will require all points earned through that particular chain's loyalty program to be the property of the company.  Then, there are some companies that will allow you to keep any gained points through loyalty programs.  It is always good to know this ahead of time than to try and plan a personal vacation and realize you have no accrued points as they all belong to your company.

I have found the discount travel sites to be very helpful and effective when finding a nice hotel room at a good price.  There are several to chose from, Priceline, Travelocity, Hotels.com, Kayak, and many others.

The largest advantage of using these sites is the deep discount received on hotel rooms.  Most of them advertise around 60% savings, and in my experiences, all have held true to this claim.

There are, however, a few disadvantages.  For instance, the loyalty reward points I mentioned earlier.  When booking through a third party such as these sites, you do not get your points.  The only points you get, based on the hotel chain, are points if you have to pay for parking and any incidentals charged to your room.

Another disadvantage is that you cannot choose your hotel if you want the discounted price.  You can choose location in a major city and star level, but not a hotel by name.  You can book a hotel through these sites by name, but in my experience, the price discount is not worth sacrificing the points as it is not that much, generally 5%-8%.  To get the deep discounts, you must be willing to accept what is assigned to you.

While it can be an inconvenience to not know where you are staying until you click the "buy my hotel room" button, there are some assurances that you will not be disappointed.

As I said, you pick the star level and location.  You will be assured if you want a 4 start hotel near the airport, that you receive a 4 star hotel near the airport if one exists in that city.

So, if you want to save money on a hotel, consider a few things.  First, is it worth saving generally around 60% to forfeit your loyalty points?  Do you even get to keep the loyalty points?  Do you mind not knowing the hotel chain until you book?  If you can overcome these objections, then I definitely recommend a third party booking site.  

Where do I eat?!?

When traveling extensively for business, the chain restaurants can get very old very quickly.  The best way to find a place to eat?  This is simple, ask someone.

Many hotel rooms will have a list of local restaurants in the room information packet; however, it is good to remember that these are advertisements that were paid for by those restaurants.  Also, many local magazines may do a spread on a restaurant, but again, it may be something the restaurant paid for.

If you are flying into a city where you will be staying, start asking right away.  Ask the rental car person; if there is another rental car person you have to talk to upon leaving the parking lot, ask them.  When you check into the hotel, ask the check-in clerk.  This one is tricky as the local restaurants may offer kick backs to hotel check-in clerks, so be cautious.  One way to avoid this is to ask the cleaning staff or maintenance staff you see walking around.  Stop and get a bottle of water at a gas station and ask the clerk.  If you have to go to an office supply store for any reason, ask the sales people and cashiers there.  If you have a good enough relationship with the people you are visiting, ask them a couple of weeks in advance.

As I said, there are a few suggestions to be cautious about; the in room suggestions, hotel check in staff, cab drivers, local magazines, etc.  One other one that people do not realize is online reviews.

Anyone with an internet connection can place an online review of a restaurant, keep this in mind.  It is very easy for one angry customer to place 20 angry reviews about a perfectly good restaurant.  Also, the opposite is true as well, it is very easy for a restaurant owner to place 20 "anonymous" excellent reviews. For these reasons is why I suggest asking anyone and everyone.

If you ask enough people, you will begin to see a few restaurants being recommended several times.  Once you try one of those restaurants, if you are pleased, ask your server if they have any recommendations for other local places.  Generally, the service industry is a tight knit group, and have more than likely worked with each other at one restaurant or another.  They can tell you great places to try, as well as great places to avoid.

Good luck, and good eats!  

How to Roll Clothing for Packing : Smart Packing & Travel Tips

Packing Smart

One way to save money when traveling for business is to avoid those checked baggage fees on the airlines.  The best way to do this is to pack your clothes in a small roller bag that can fit in the overhead storage on the plane.

If you can get away with one pairs of shoes for the trip, that would be ideal as shoes take up the majority of space in a bag.

However, if you must take an extra pair of shoes for your job, or a pair for exercise, then always start with yous shoes in the bag first.  Put the shoes in the bottom of the bag with their tops facing each other and toes facing away from each other; just the way they come in their shoe box when you buy them.

As I said, the shoes take up a lot of space, therefore, make sure you take advantage of that space.  Roll up underwear, tee shirts, socks, any small articles of clothing you may have that you can fit in your shoes.

Next, fill in the space around the shoes with other rolled up slightly larger articles of clothing.  For instance, your shirts and shorts.  Be creative, everything does not have to lay in the exact same direction.  Use the area at the top and bottom of the suitcase.

On the top of everything else, put your pants and suit jackets if you are taking some.

 Every suitcase I have ever seen has zipper compartments on the inside of the lid, use them. This is a great place for your clear zip lock bag of toiletries.  Also, this is a great place for tee shirts, underwear, and other smaller articles that could not fit in shoes or the bottom of the suitcase.

No matter how good of a packer you are, it will not matter if you take three weeks of clothes for a one week trip, plan your outfits accordingly.  There are many different colors that go with brown shoes and khaki pants.

Roll your clothes, use your shoes as storage for smaller clothes, use the zipper compartments; remember these few easy steps, and you will save yourself $25 every time you have to get on a plane.

Why should I listen to this guy?

Welcome to my blog!  First things first, let me give you my credentials as to why you should consider my tips.

I have been on the road as a salesman for 8 years now and have learned many ways to do things that can save you money and time.  On the other hand, I have learned many ways to do things that will cost you a lot of time and money.

Currently, I manage a region of 27 states in the US and all of Canada.  As you can imagine, I spend quite a bit of time on the road and in airports.  With that being said, hopefully you will employee some of my tips in your business travel, and maybe save yourself a few headaches.