Traveling For Work

Travel Tips and Suggestions

Continuing in our “prepare for the grind” theme, I want to jump into working and traveling. After summer vacation, companies tend to start picking up again in terms of workload and tasks. If you have a job that you are expected to travel, this might pick up as well.

I have traveled a fair amount for work and would like to share my own travel hacks with you!

Traveling by Plane

• Always take a picture of your luggage before it leaves you. If you are at an airport, on a shuttle or at any point it leaves your possession take a picture.

• Trust and believe trying to describe your luggage when you are irritated at an airport is going to increase the stress. Being able to show the agent a picture will reduce your irritation and help with the paperwork process.

• One of my most interesting travel experiences was when Alaska Airlines lost my luggage on the way to a cruise. Years later I can kind of find the humor in the number or errors that occurred causing my bags to arrive 5 days late to my cruise. Well, the apology I negotiated also helped!

Staying at Hotels

• If you travel to the same location frequently be friendly to the people that work at the hotel. They are amazing resources for local recommendations, may take you to get iced tea in the hotel van, bring you flowers in the hospital, invite you to decorate for holidays and ring the phone for neighbors that are snoring so you are not harassing them

• Hotel rooms should be comfortable and convenient for your travel needs. If I am traveling for business I am moving all of the coffee pots and random annoyances and set up my desk so I can be productive.

• Working from a hotel? Find a few times during the day when the lounge, café, outside or pool area is quiet and spend time there for a change of view. I have found generally Before 6:00 am, 10-11:30, 2:00- 4:00 and after 7:00 are pretty quiet.

• Staying at a hotel for fun and vacation. Again, make it comfortable and useful for your stay. One handy feature of today’s desks is the ability to pull part of it to use for a table. Very handy for meals and playing cards.

• If you are going to be staying someplace for more than 3-4 day send come of your home conveniences to the hotel via amazon or instacart in advance. It is so nice to check in and have your preferred toilet paper, tissues, paper towels, bottled water, granola bars and snacks.

• After the pandemic I feel more people will become germ-o-phob travelers like myself. When going to a hotel remember your Lysol wipes, antibacterial hand wipes, your reusable cups (do NOT use the hotel glasses), be comfortable

Forget Anything?

• Ask hotel front desks for anything you’ve forgotten.

• Forget a charger ask the reception

• Forget a steamer ask the reception

• Forget toiletries ask the reception

Staying at an Airbnb

Truthfully, I am more of a hotel-woman myself, but I know many people who love Airbnbs. Here are a few of their tips that I am happy to pass on to you! Some are similar with my tips for hotel stays and some are different.

• Be nice to the host – they might leave a review and you don’t want it to be a bad one!

• It is a home (usually), but that doesn’t mean you should be a pig. Make sure to treat the area with respect.

• Don’t take items unless specifically stated. Unlike hotels with the toiletries and pens, it isn’t assumed you will take them. Often, hosts will say “have this as a gift,” but you shouldn’t assume it is allowed for you to take the shampoo.

• If you rely on WIFI a lot, make sure to ask the host before officially booking if the WIFI is strong and check the reviews as well. Most places will have strong WIFI, but you never know.

• Double check reviews and the description to know if you will be sharing the space with anyone (host included). Sometimes, the Airbnb is in the basement suit and the hosts are upstairs. This could mean it might be noisy at night due to footsteps (or not). When you stay in a hotel, usually the newer ones are built or remodeled to be more soundproof, but it is also expected to have some noise due to the nature of hotels, but with Airbnbs, you can choose what your accommodations will be like.

• Look places with self check-in if needed.

• Communicate with the host if you will arrive late or check-out late (some hosts are pretty accommodating).

• Make sure to follow the house rules especially when it comes to taking out the trash and doing the dishes. You do pay a cleaning fee, but sometimes the host will expect the trash taken out and you don’t want a bad review or a damage fee applied.