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5 ways to save money on business travel in 2012

Getting the extras free: Hotels like the Hampton Inn Charleston offer free WiFi and breakfast.

By Mark Chesnut

President Barack Obama’s executive order in November, calling for federal agencies to reduce spending, including travel costs, by 20 percent — or about billion — is a visible example of the dilemma that many business travelers are facing for the new year: to travel enough to get the job done, while spending less. Here are a few tips that can save money while you stay on the road.

1. Book it yourself. So-called “unmanaged business travel” — travel that you book yourself, rather than going through a corporate travel department, agency or preferred supplier — is likely to become the norm for more business travelers over the coming years. That means you’ll have more control than ever over your travel plans. Shop, compare and save.

2. Fly on the lowest fare, and use upgrades. A bit of flexibility with travel dates can save a lot of money. Use tools like the “Flexible dates” search option on Orbitz to find the best deals. And if pennies are tight, use your elite status to get upgrades, rather than booking first or business class.

3. Stay in less-expensive hotels that offer more free services. Stay at a mid-level hotel such as a Hampton Inn, and you’re more likely to get amenities like free breakfast and free WiFi, so you’ll save money on both the room rate and some extras. At extended-stay hotel brands — such as Residence Inn or Homewood Suites by Hilton — you can also make use of fully equipped kitchens, which provides more control over dining costs.

4. Avoid peak travel times for hotels. According to Chris McGinniss, travel blogger and expert for Best Western, staying at a hotel during the week, rather than on the weekend, will usually result in lower room rates. He also recommends signing up for loyalty programs in order to get benefits such as free room nights.

5. Rent a car or take a train. Airlines will be cutting capacity and service on some routes in 2012. And, for the most part, the cost of travel by plane isn’t expected to drop. For shorter distances, consider renting a car. Train travel (all U.S.-based Amtrak cities are bookable online via Orbitz for Business) is another great idea for trips of any length.

Related resources

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Mark Chesnut is a travel writer, editor and publisher of LatinFlyer.com, which focuses on travel to Latin America. His pet peeve is when an expensive hotel charges for Wi-Fi.

Orbitz Blog

Peterman Rides Again: Adventures Continue with the Real “J. Peterman” Through Life & the Catalog Business

Peterman Rides Again: Adventures Continue with the Real “J. Peterman” is a name known to over 40 million consumers and business people, thanks to a unique mail-order catalog hailed as “witty, entertaining….the stuff of literature” (New York Times Magazine) and regular appearances of a “J. Peterman” character on the popular Seinfeld TV show.

Now the real John Peterman steps from behind his persona in a candid memoir that interweaves the rise and fall of the J. Peterman Company with a recounting of the unusual life experiences that shaped the man himself.

Starting with a $500 investment and one product-an ankle-length, cowboy-style duster coat bought on impulse in Jackson Hole, Wyoming-Peterman built a $75 million company. His unconventional “Owner’s Manual” catalog used long, literate copy and artful watercolors instead of photos to surround his wares-whether a Navy watch cap or a deck bench from the Titanic-with an aura of adventure and romance. Then came a cash-flow crisis, Chapter 11…and a harrowing personal and professional reassessment.

Through autobiographical anecdotes (including his early years with the Pittsburgh Pirates), Peterman explains how to turn dreams into action, find courage to go beyond the conventional, and be part of a team without sacrificing individuality. He shows how true passion and drive are not defeated by failure, but used as a stepping stone for the next venture.

For anyone starting, growing, or running a business, Peterman Rides Again offers hard-won lessons in entrepreneurship and the painful (but essential) art of learning from mistakes. For consumers, it’s a chance to finally meet up close the bon vivant and raconteur they knew from the pages of the catalog.

Price: $25.00

Click here to buy from Amazon

Residence Inn grows, eyeing business and family travel

By Mark Chesnut

This year has been a big one for Residence Inn by Marriott. The extended-stay hotel chain debuted its very first European property while announcing its expansion into South America — all while strengthening its position as a favored brand for both business travelers and families.

The Residence Inn Fort Lauderdale Pompano Beach offers amenities for business travelers and families.

The Residence Inn made its entrance into Europe with the opening in October of the Residence Inn by Marriott Munich City East in Munich, Germany, within walking distance of the city’s Ostbahnhof train station. The 125-room property has one meeting room for eight people. In addition, Marriott plans to introduce the chain in South America in 2012 with the opening of its first property in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

The Residence Inn brand aims to make it easy for business travelers to blend work time with family time while on the road. An excellent example of this dual focus is the Residence Inn Fort Lauderdale Pompano Beach, a beachfront Florida hotel with an interesting lineup of features and activities, including cocktail hours two or three times a week, plus occasional live music and family-oriented poolside movie nights.

Special events vary by hotel, but all Residence Inn properties feature a swimming pool, fitness center, free hot breakfast, meeting space, a business center with free access to computers, printers and fax machines. The ample selection of studio, one- and two bedroom suites are equipped with full kitchens with refrigerator, stove, microwave and coffee maker, and the hotels offer free grocery delivery service (the 24-hour on-site convenience store is ideal for business travelers and families who find they’ve forgotten an important item or who may be feeling late-night hunger pangs).

Travelers with younger children can make use of Marriott’s “Tots Travel Too” program, which is available at Residence Inn as well as Marriott’s Courtyard, Fairfield Inn & Suites, Springhill Suites and TownePlace Suites hotel brands. The program provides free use of travel cribs with covers, outlet covers, disposable bibs in the lobby breakfast area, and a bathtub toy that each child can take home. Items from the company’s line of children’s products are also available for purchase to take home — which might also help harried business travelers who don’t have enough time to shop for supplies back at home.

Related resources

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Mark Chesnut is a travel writer, editor and publisher of LatinFlyer.com, which focuses on travel to Latin America. He loves free breakfasts, but hates waking up for them.

Orbitz Blog

Travel Tips and Small Business Suggestions – Small Business Trends

Travel Tips and Small Business Suggestions
Small Business Trends
Here are some ways you can mitigate those difficulties and some other tips and news from around the small business Web. Travel tips you'll want to take with you. Here are 41 suggestions you won't dare leave behind on your next business trip.

and more »

travel tips – Google News

Better Business Bureau Shares Safe Travel Tips for Holiday Drivers – WJON News

Better Business Bureau Shares Safe Travel Tips for Holiday Drivers
WJON News
With this in mind, the Better Business Bureau has tips for making this holiday season a safe one. The best way to fight holiday travel stress is to give yourself plenty of travel time. Make sure you watch your speed – speeding tickets and accidents are

travel tips – Google News

Ski and meet: Doing business on the slopes

Cold comfort: The Fairmont Banff Springs is a top meeting and ski destination.

By Mark Chesnut

With peak ski season rapidly approaching, the time is right to mix a decidedly snowy form of pleasure with your business travel. Indeed, the postcard-perfect slopes of North America’s greatest ski resorts can easily serve as an inspiring backdrop for that next meeting, conference or executive getaway. With venues as impressive as these, there’s no reason to come in from the cold.

The Fairmont Banff Springs
This historic ski resort, built in 1888, offers indulgent luxury as well as easy access to the breathtaking Rocky Mountains. Business-minded folks will appreciate the more than 76,000 square feet of meeting and event space; events worthy of the resort’s Scottish baronial style take place at the Mt. Stephen Hall, while unforgettably posh dinners are popular in the classically elegant Cascade Ballroom.

The Osprey at Beaver Creek, a RockResort
Scenically tucked into Colorado’s Beaver Creek Village, the Osprey at Beaver Creek, a RockResort, provides a picturesque setting for a variety of meetings and events. In the 1,200 square-foot Peregrine Room, which accommodates up to 75 people, visitors can mingle and network against the stunning backdrop of Beaver Creek Mountain.

Stowe Mountain Lodge
Located at the base of Mount Mansfield, Vermont’s highest peak, Stowe Mountain Resort has 10 venue locations that can host meetings and events, including the new Spruce Camp Base Lodge, which is graced with a dramatic, 30-foot stone fireplace as well as 16,000 square feet of event space that includes a private meeting and dining room and an outdoor slope-side stone patio.

The Peaks Resort And Spa
One of the most business-friendly hotels in Telluride, Colorado, The Peaks can host anything from a board meeting to posh, Colorado-themed special events. Facilities include 5,200 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space for groups up to 350 — including Mt. Wilson Terrace, an outdoor space with camera-worthy views of the 14,000-foot peaks of the Rocky Mountains. Adjacent to the resort is the 11,000-square-foot Telluride Conference Center.

Related resources

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Mark Chesnut is a writer, editor and publisher of LatinFlyer.com, which focuses on travel to Latin America. He has never broken anything while skiing, but then again he snowplows an awful lot.

Orbitz Blog

Tips to Take Stress Out of Big-City Business Trips – ABC News


ABC News
Tips to Take Stress Out of Big-City Business Trips
ABC News
It's stressful to drive in those cities, to be stuck in traffic and to hope that "I am not late for meetings," says Michael Gregurich of Manitowoc, Wis., a sales director in the travel industry. Robert Bender, an architect in Lenexa, Kan.,

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travel tips – Google News

Uptake Q&A: Mining Facebook Data for Travel Tips – International Business Times


International Business Times
Uptake Q&A: Mining Facebook Data for Travel Tips
International Business Times
We provide a personal travel and leisure magazine. It's a personal travel guide based on your friends' travel histories, supplemented by Uptake's library." If you don't have a whole lot of friends on Facebook, you can still rely on Uptake's 1.8 million

travel tips – Google News

Travel tip: snap a smartphone picture of your hotel room number – Australian Business Traveller


Australian Business Traveller
Travel tip: snap a smartphone picture of your hotel room number
Australian Business Traveller
TRAVEL TIP | Ever got in the hotel lift in the middle of a long business trip and realised you don't remember which floor your room's on? Or ended up standing in a hotel corridor,

travel tips – Google News


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