Whether you’re talking airport capsule hotels spinning off from a sushi chain or convenient budget hotels spinning off from an airline, the expansion of new chains of hotels across Europe is marching on. (more…)
Over in Hong Kong, the luxury liner company Asia Star Cruises has launched an interesting service for business travelers. Companies can book their employees and/or clients for a night on a luxury cruise ship that combines meetings and presentations with a great dinner and some relaxation.
It sounds like quite an attractive idea: any time between midday and 7.30pm, you and your colleagues or clients can board the liner in Victoria Harbor, the main harbor of Hong Kong. When you board, you will be checked into a deluxe suite and receive a welcome cocktail.
Until the ship sails at 7:30pm, you can hold meetings and presentations in special conference rooms. They hold up to 80 people, but there is also a VIP conference room. Once the ship starts its turn around the harbor, you and your guests can enjoy a six-course meal while watching the night lights of Hong Kong float by. After the meal, you can choose from an evening in the casino or a visit to the spa and sauna.
In the morning, you’ll be served breakfast before docking back at Victoria Harbour at 9:15am, ready to head back to the office. It all sounds like rather a nice way to carry out an important meeting in a relaxed, neutral setting.
Large expos and conferences are typically held in the USA and a few main venues of Europe, like Frankfurt or London, but there are, of course, a number of other parts of the world who are keen to get a part in this big market sector.
South Africa might be at a disadvantage in terms of its distance from many key parts of the world, but as a unique venue with a lot of interesting side activities–just think safari, for a start–t’s not impossible to imagine that it could become a larger player in the business travel market.
Currently business tourism is just 5 percent of the tourist income for South Africa, so there is a lot of room for improvement, and the South African Tourism commission is keen to encourage more visitors for conferences, meetings and exhibitions. There have been substantial investments made in venues and infrastructure, and South Africa already has a total of 1,700 conference venues.
One advantage of South Africa for European-based business travelers is that the time zone difference is non-existent or minimal, so you can have a special experience with a conference in a unique place, but not have too much trouble contacting the office to monitor events back there.
Small businesses have to travel to compete with the big guys, but they can’t always afford to pay like their competition. To level the playing field it’s essential to get as many discounts as you can, whenever you can. Use the following tips to get some discounts on your next business flight. (more…)
The world’s movers and shakers are in the air a lot. Here’s a look at how they make flying more agreeable. A sample:
- Steven Page of “Bare Naked Ladies” always brings his noise canceling headphones.
- Model Selita Ebanks, never flies without moisturizing lotion, baby wipes and socks.
- Professional poker player Annie Duke packs outfits she knows she can reuse: one pair of jeans she wears every day, lightweight tops and jackets.
- ESPN sports analyst Jalen Rose has this packing advice:
Rose has a few guiding principles: check the local weather; understand whether your trip is business, pleasure or both (”be realistic with yourself”); and understand your local city’s dress style: “You can’t come to New York with a white suit,” he says. “You can get away with that in Las Vegas.”
More and more businesses might ask employees to double up in hotel rooms to compensate for rising travel costs, according to an Orbitz for Business survey.
Jim Cohn, a spokesman for Orbitz, in Chicago, said the survey was done to see if companies “are looking to curtail their travel spending, and how?”
Jackie Schiller, 26, a product manager, said that she had taken a business trip about once a week for the last two months for her employer, Vibes Media, a Chicago company that provides text-message-based marketing at events like concert tours, sports promotions and summer festivals.
Because her job usually takes her to cities along with a team of fellow workers, the idea of doubling up with a female colleague in expensive urban hotel rooms makes sense, she said. Ms. Schiller said she shared a room on about a third of her trips.
The survey found that 24 percent of those polled had been required to share a room with a co-worker. Business travel expenses are projected to increase 6 to 8 percent in the next year.
Business trips are a great opportunity to combine fun with business. Everyone knows how to have fun, but do you know how to milk that business trip for all it’s worth professionally?
You may want to print this out before you go. (more…)
What to get for the man–or woman–on the go? Consider these gadgets.
The Chargepod allows you to charge up to 6 mobile devices with a single power cord. The adapters work on the most popular phones on the market as well as MP3 players. The chargepod weighs next to nothing and takes up virtually no space. Your business traveler will thank you for delivering him or her from tangled cords and the perpetual search for an outlet. The Chargepod retails for $99.95 and is available at sharperimage.com.
Sharper Image Compact quiet place Noise-Cancellation Headphones: Crying babies, noisy conversations, and other distractions plague the frequent traveler. Sharper Image makes a great pair of headphones to block out that noise. The noise cancellation headphones retail for $99.95 and operats on both a noise canceling level and in a passive mode. The memory foam molds to the ear and muffles outside noises. The unit operates on two AAA batteries (included). A travel case and in-flight plug adapter accompanies the headphones, which you can purchase at any Sharper Image store or at sharperimage.com.
Now available as an extension for Firefox, Yapta allows you to track fare prices across the Internet with the click of a mouse.
Here’s how it works: After you download the extension, visit Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity or your chosen airline site and enter your itinerary then tag it to your My Trips. Yapta will begin tracking prices. Yapta will email you when the price drops so you can get credits or refunds from the airline even after you’ve book your trip.
For more information visit www.yapta.com/.
What happens if you’ve done all you can to help prevent the airlines losing your luggage, but your bags still turn up missing? Here are some tips to get what you are entitled to as well as speed up the process of getting your luggage back to you. (more…)
According to the US Department of Transportation, approximately 98 percent of delayed luggage reaches its owner within a few hours. Still, over one million pieces of luggage were lost, delayed, or damaged in just May and June of 2007. If you’ve ever had your luggage lost en route, you know had it can disrupt your business trip or vacation. Here are some tips on avoiding having your luggage lost, even for a few hours: (more…)
If you’re a small business owner, travel expenses can be a heavy burden. Try the following tips to minimize costs. (more…)