Business Travelers! Help :)

shaleyn

Sooo... I'm starting a new job in a couple of weeks and will be traveling quite a bit, at least in the beginning. Any tips for a newbie? Not necessarily food/fitness related, just things you wish you had known before you stepped foot on a plane?

PaulHalicki

Homewood Suites (a Hilton property) offers free dinner from 5 to 7. So if you can get back to your room at a reasonable hour, you can not only save a little money on meals, but you can eat a simple meal where you control the portion sizes. They typically offer salad, veggies, starch and an entree. They also usually include wine & beer, if that's a factor for you.

I usually have a glass of wine, load up on salad, and pick on the entree.

shaleyn

Awesome! Thanks.

NotRailMeat

Hotel and Frequent flyer programs are your friend. Take advantage of joining them as early as possible. The long term benefits are worth it.

Premium economy and/or aisle seats on a plane whenever possible.

Buy yourself a USB battery. You can use it to charge your phone/tablet while it is plugged into the wall. Then if you are somewhere where you can't plug in (on airplane) then you can use the battery to charge your devices.

For women I recommend a motion alarm that hangs on your hotel door to alert you of someone entering. Brookstone carries them.

patrickblo13

Hotel and Frequent flyer programs are your friend. Take advantage of joining them as early as possible. The long term benefits are worth it.

This for sure. I took a virtually free trip to NYC this summer with points built up while traveling for work!

NotRailMeat

Hotel and Frequent flyer programs are your friend. Take advantage of joining them as early as possible. The long term benefits are worth it.

This for sure. I took a virtually free trip to NYC this summer with points built up while traveling for work!

I fly almost exclusively on the same airline, and due to the miles I've accrued it is very rare that I am not upgraded to at least premium economy, if not first class.

Plus I was able to use those miles and points for a Hawaii vacation. Can you say 14 days in Hawaii for less than $100?

pseudomuffin

My mom used to be a flight attendant and bought a second set of everything she uses to get ready in the morning (hair dryer, makeup, toiletries, etc) and would leave it all packed in a bag with the clothing that she would need for work so she could just pick it up and go to the airport with no hassle. If you can do it, pack what you need in a carry-on sized bag (they can be quite spacious if you're conservative with what you need!) so you never have to worry about lost luggage.

I'd suggest having a little emergency kit, like a cliff bar if you get stuck somewhere/get to the hotel too late to eat, clothing glue (like mend-it, for tears/popped seams away from home), a couple of spare tampons, some tylenol, immodium, tums, etc., in your luggage or on your person so you're always prepared for anything that might not be a big deal if you were are home but because you're away it's harder to deal with.

Good luck! Have fun, too, if you get to travel to some cool places make sure you get out and have some adventures too

WarriorCupcakeBlydnsr

Food related, but it works for me:
Find out if the hotel has a fridge/microwave and a grocery store nearby. That way you can do some food in your room rather than eating out. I generally get some fruit., milk, yogurt, and oatmeal so I can at least do breakfast in my room because I have found that many of the "free continental breakfasts" are things like pastry, waffles, cereal, ect and I am gluten free due to food allergies.
I will sometimes get a couple tv dinners or prepackaged salads so I don't have to go out and a few snacky type things so I don't hit the vending machine if I get the munchies.
If they don't have a fridge/microwave, I will just get fruit, oatmeal, and snacky things and make the oatmeal using the coffee maker (I don't drink coffee) and one of the coffee cups.

shaleyn

Thanks everyone!