The Fate of Business Travel is still Questionable

How is the rejection of the $700 bailout plan going to affect the travel industry? Well if you travel mainly for business it could have a great effect. With the economy doing poorly, may business travelers may be finding themselves sleeping in less then stellar hotels. Companies are going to be expecting their sales teams to bring in more sales while spending less on obtaining the sale (i.e. flight and hotel costs for the employee).

Since the airlines have been cutting back on the areas that they are servicing and how often flights are being offered, don't be surprised if your next business trip flight will be leaving at six or seven in the morning along with a layover or two. While on the road, companies will probably be limiting the number of meals that they are willing to pay for, as well as the quality of the hotel you'll be staying in, and the rental car you'll be driving.

According to the New York Times, many companies feel differently about how much they are willing to spend next year on travel expenses. A third said they would be spending the same amount, while another third said they would be spending less, and a few companies state that they would be spending more since costs will be increasing. But with the economy changing these forcasts for how much companies are willing to spend will probably change. 

Travel Discounts Offered in Hopes to Boost Travel

According to the NY Times, numerous travel companies are offering discounts and special deals rates in order to try and stimulate travel and the economy. Two of the most popular ones are Travelocity and Hilton Hotels.

Travelocity is offering a "Race to Savings" promotion where select hotel, resorts and cruise lines are offering up to 60 percent in savings. Additionally, the Hilton Hotels HHonors program is awarding tripple the points and miles to individuals who spend a Sunday night in select hotels in New York now through the end of the year.

Pre-Packing = Less Stress

When it comes to packing for a trip, there tend to be two different groups of people. Those who are packed and ready to go weeks before their departure, and then those who are scrambling to get their bags packed at the last moment. Recently, CNN.com ran an article regarding tips on how one can prepare for their next trip.

A Week Before

• Air out your luggage before you pack

• Stock up on storage bags

• Make sure you have little containers that comply with the 3-1-1  rule

Three Days Before

• Get all your technological devices ready. Make sure you have extra batteries, memory cards, charges, etc. 

• Make sure all your medication is up to date, and fill any necessary perceptions

• Make photocopies of important documents such as passports, visa, itineraries, etc.

• Give a friend or relative your itinerary

One Day Before

• Record the contents of your suitcase and take a picture. This way you'll have a record of what your bringing with you, in case your luggage gets lost.

How To Save Money When Flying

With all the new airline fees, many people are trying to find ways to cut back on the amount that they will have to pay. Recently, MSNBC, there was an article that gave some hints and tips on how to avoid airline fees. The following are some ways that one can avoid airline fees.

• Try to carry on all your luggage into one bag. Airline fees are starting to charge passengers for checking just one bag. So by carrying only one bag on the flight, you'll be saving some money.

• If carrying all your items in one bag is not possible, then make sure your check on bag is not over weight. If your bag weighs more than 50 pounds, most airlines will tack on an additional fee.

• If you are a frequent flyer, try enrolling in a frequent flyer program. Most frequent flyer programs offer discounts for their passengers.

• Recently, airlines have been starting to charge for amenities such as pillows an blankets. To save yourself money, pack your own blanket (or use a big sweatshirt) and your own inflatable pillow. 

• Bring your own headphones. Airlines have started to charge passengers for headphones. If you bring and use your own pair you can save yourself up to $5, plus you'll know that your headphones are clean.

• Pack your own food and snacks. You still cannot bring your own bottled water onto flights, but to save some extra money bring an empty water bottle and fill it up at a water fountain.

• As of right now, Southwest is the the only airline that does not charge fees. So if possible, fly Southwest. 

Best Travel Apps for the iPhone

Recently, The New York Times, ran a slideshow on the best travel applications for the new iPhones. The following are the top applications according to The New York Times, as well as a few others.

• Getting There ($3.99) - Gives status of flights as well as arrival gates

• Travelocity (Free) - Flight schedules, gates and times, security wait times, as well as a feature that lets you search for "hotels near me"

• Urban Spoon (free) - recommends restaurants in over 50 cities

• Local Eats ($0.99) - Ranks the top 100 restaurants in 50 cities gives, names, addresses, and telephone numbers

• Where (free)-  find what you need from the provided list (including Starbucks, ATMS & Gas Stations) and a map pops up indicating the locations

• Lonely Planet ($9.99)-  A list of common phrases and their translation in 10 languages

• Babelingo ($5.99)- A list of phrases that is displayed in big type on the screen to show to another person

• Subway and Mass-transit maps for cities such as New York London, and San Francisco

• Taxi (free) - Easily find a taxi company near your location

• Truphone - make international phone calls using Wi-Fi

• MOMPF Currency Converter (free)- convert currencies and store your favorites

• BlackBook Media Corp (free) - Lists restaurants, bars, clubs, and hotels near your location (select cities only)

• Traffic Cams- Access live traffic cams for select cities (New York, and L.A. need to be downloaded separately)

How to Stay Healthy While on The Road

When you are constantly on the road, it might be hard to try and keep a healthy lifestyle. Maybe you are in conferences all day so you're too tired to think of a healthy meal, so you just grab a fast food meal. Maybe you don't have enough time between meetings or events so you either skip a meal or once again, hit up the closest fast food restaurant. Maybe you are too tired to function.

Some tips to staying and eating healthy on the road are:

• Make sure to drink lots of water

• If possible, try to pack your own snacks and meals that can be easily prepared

• Walk to your meetings and appointments

• Bring hand sanitizer with you, nothing is worse than getting sick on the road
  

• If you workout a lot, try and stay at a hotel that has a gym, this way you're workout routine will not be interrupted

• Avoid alcohol

• When on a plane or a train for a long period of time, make sure to get up and walk at least every hour

• Make sure to get enough sleep

• Try to keep your schedule as similar as possible to the one you have at home 

JetBlue Auctions Tickets on eBay

In case you are having trouble finding airline tickets, you could always check eBay. Currently, JetBlue is auctioning off more than 300 airline tickets and six vacation packages on eBay. Opening bids started off at 5-10 cents each.  The auctioned off airline tickets are to twenty different destinations while the vacation packages' are to Las Vegas; Nassau, Bahamas; and four "mystery" destinations, two requiring a passport and two that do not. The tickets that are being auctioned off are for flights departing from New York, Boston, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Southern California, Salt Lake City and Northern California. Airline experts are guessing that the final bids on the tickets will range from 80 to 95% of the flights total package value. If you are interested in any of these flights, you better act soon, the auctions end in four days.

Being Bumped Can Be A Bummer

With many airlines cutting back on the number of flights they offer as well as the number of routes they offer many airline companies are overbooking their flights. With overbooked flights the chance of people being bumped from their flight increases. Sometimes this doesn't cause a problem, but for many travelers this can cause a huge problem, since it might mean that they'll be missing a business meeting or some other important event. 

Being bumped from a flight means that a passenger is denied a seat on a flight even though they have already reserved it. Airline companies tend to overbook their flights in hopes that some of the passengers will not show up for their flight. Usually when a flight is overbooked, the airline company will ask passengers if they would volunteer to take a later flight.

To avoid being bumped from your next flight remember to:

• Arrive to your flight as early as possible
• If you can, check in for your flight online
• If possible, try to take a less popular route

Say Good-Bye To Frequent Flier Miles....

With the economy struggling to stay afloat more than the value of the dollar is taking a beating. All those frequent flier miles you may have racked up have started to become more and more worthless. Since airlines have been adding new fees (what seems like everyday), cutting their routes, and the frequency of their flights, there is less and less to buy with all those earned miles.

Some airline companies have been teaming up with credit card companies. In this case the credit card companies are prepaying for miles that they can then hand out to their customers. This is an advantage to the airlines since they are getting money, that they can then use for other purposes. The credit card companies then get the miles that they paid for and the consumers can then start to earn miles. 

But the question becomes how many miles is one individual going to need in order to take a flight across the country? The number of miles needed might increase since the airlines have instilled so many fees. The airline company needs to (try) and cover their bottom line. 

Taking the Hassle Out of Renting a Car

When traveling for business there are many options on how to reach your destination. Now that you have reached your destination, how are you planning on getting around? If you are traveling to a conference, there might not be a need to travel outside of the hotel where the conference is being held. If your business takes you to a large city (i.e. San Francisco, New York, Boston, Chicago) you can always utilize their public transportation, for a nominal fee. Usually the city will offer day, week, or moth passes. 

Now if your business travel takes you to a place where there is no public transportation, or in a place where the public transportation would not be beneficial; the only other option would be to rent a car.  When renting a car there are two different options: pick the car up at the airport, or take a van and pick a car up at a rental agency a few miles from the airport.  Following are some hints and tips when it comes to renting a car.

• Do research car rental companies- rates, policies, hours of operation, and return policies

• Do reserve a car- specify length of trip, how many people will be driving, and what kind of car you'll need

• Do call a week in advance to confirm your reservation

• Do check online for discounts and last minuet rates

• Do double check your rental car for any dents and dings so the company does not charge you

• Do familiarize yourself with the car before leaving

• Don't prepay for gasoline- car rental companies tend to charge$2-$5 more per gallon

• Don't be late picking up or dropping off the rental car

Train, Plane or Bus

With the ever rising fuel costs and the new airline fees that seem to be popping up everyday travelers, especially frequent travelers, have been feeling the burden, mostly in their wallets. There are other options when it comes to traveling. Once could either take a train, or a bus. 

Now obviously your chosen method of transportation would be dependent on how far you have to travel to get to your destination. If you are in the Northeast and need to travel from New York to Boston, or even Boston to Washington D.C., a viable form of transportation would be train. Trains, unlike airplanes, are easier to board since one does not have to go through a screening process or worry wether or not your luggage weighs too much. Another bonus when traveling by train is that you get the chance to enjoy the scenery. 

Now taking a bus can also be another form of transportation that one can utilize. Unlike trains, the seats on buses are smaller, and similar to planes there is never enough leg room. When riding a bus you also get the opportunity to observe the landscape. In both cases, taking either a train or a bus can be far less expensive than taking a plane. 

United No Longer to Charge for Meals on Flights to Europe

According to USA Today, United will not be charging extra for meals on flights going to Europe. This change came when United  received negative feedback from their passengers (what a shock!). Most airlines have removed the option of food on domestic flights; while for international flights, food is still available. 

With the recent rise in oil and fuel prices, many airlines have started to remove some amenities and have started to charge for certain items.  Although, it has been a while since meals were offered on domestic flights, meals are still being offered on long flights, usually those that are going over an ocean. Even though some people tend to compare airplane food to hospital food, one still enjoys receiving a hot meal. As well as filling up your stomach at 35,000 feet in the air, this leaves more room in your carry-on (since snacks will not have to be packed) for more important items. 

So what is your opinion on this? Do you think that food should be offered on long flights and not on shorter domestic flights?