April 27, 2010
Think your dog or cat knows when you’re leaving town? I do! My dog Toby stands stoically in the living room, his head tilted, watching me as I go from bedroom to front door with my luggage, laptop tote and coffee cup in hand. He seems to know when I’m in a hurried mode as I try to get everything done before heading out of town. I grab a doggie treat for him, my way of relieving my mommy guilt for saying good-bye for a few days.
What’s Toby thinking about, I wonder? Is he going to miss me or is he worried about where he’s going to be shipped off to? Or is he hoping that he gets to go in the C-A-R also (we can’t say that word out loud unless he’s really going for a car ride).
Read more of this article »
Posted by Carol Margolis under Relationships, Travel |
April 26, 2010
Each Monday through Friday, a Travel Gem of the Day will be posted at SmartWomenTravelers.com. These Travel Gems are tips that will help a traveler travel smarter, safer, handle home issues, be prepared and enjoy their journeys.
Here are last week’s Travel Gems:
Monday April 19th - When traveling without a rental car and you would like to go out to dinner, ask the hotel if their van can drive you to a local restaurant. They will also pick you up at a designated time. Even if you have a rental car, this is an easy way to have someone else drive you who knows where they’re going – and usually for just a nice tip to say “Thanks”.
Tuesday April 20th - Skin soother great when traveling: Soak a clean washcloth in cold milk and place it over your face for 10 minutes. The milk will help reduce redness and calm irritated skin. The lactic acid in the milk exfoliates, so your skin will look soft and glowing. Read more of this article »
Posted by Carol Margolis under Travel |
April 20, 2010
My travels take me to Houston almost weekly. A few years ago, the name board at Hertz’s Gold Club contained three full screens of names. For the past year and a half, it’s only been one screen of names. Once in a while I’ll see it go to two screens, but not often.
With many recent articles saying that business travel is picking up, I’ll fully believe it when my name goes back to the second board instead of the first. I hope it’s soon.
On a good note, the Marriott that I frequent has definitely shown a pickup in business this year. Maybe people just aren’t renting cars to get there?
Posted by Carol Margolis under Current Affairs, Random Thoughts, Travel |
April 19, 2010
Each Monday through Friday, a Travel Gem of the Day will be posted at SmartWomenTravelers.com. These Travel Gems are tips that will help a traveler travel smarter, safer, handle home issues, be prepared and enjoy their journeys.
Here are last week’s Travel Gems:
Monday April 12th - 3 Ways to Be Productive on the Road
Google Sync: Easily synchronize your Gmail contacts and Google Calendar events between your cell phone and the cloud. Works with Blackberry, iPhone and more. Any contact or calendar changes you make on your phone automatically push to your Google account, and vice versa.
Dropbox: A great tool for syncing your files online and across your computers automatically. 2GB of online storage for free. Offers file sharing, online backup, folders only available to those you invite and mobile device access. It even supports file versioning so you can recover an old version of a file if it gets lost or corrupted.
Open Table: This is a great website for making restaurant reservations the easy way, no matter where you are: Find a restaurant » Choose a table » Book online. Includes U.S. and international restaurants. Get tons of detail about each restaurant including a copy of their menu and customer reviews. Also available as an iPhone app.
Tuesday April 13th - If you’re going to nap on the plane, dab some super-rich night cream around your eyes and don a sleep mask. Both will help you look fresher and more relaxed when you wake.This sleep mask has sufficient room for you to blink your eyes and not smoosh your mascara: Bucky 40 Blinks Mask Ultralight Eye Mask.
Wednesday April 14th - Smart airport drop-offs and pick-ups: Early in the day drop off at arrivals and later in the day pick up travelers at departures…avoid the crowds! My driver picks me up at departures whenever I carry-on my bag. It’s easy to find me and quick to exit the airport.
Thursday April 15th - Great aids for creating a packing list: The Universal Packing List website takes all the variables (length of your trip, destination climate, accommodations, planned activities, transportation, bag size and whether you are traveling with kids) and creates a packing list just for you. Independent Traveler’s interactive packing list is similar. It has a list of more than 100 commonly packed items separated into categories.
Online, you check off the items you need and then add up to 10 additional items of your own. The Packing Pro application for iPhone creates your packing list based on the number of adults (male and female), the number of children, how many days you’ll be gone, climate and destination. It also has eight sample packing lists, ranging from couples on vacation to business travelers, as well as a pre-trip checklist.
Friday April 16th - Is there a doctor in the city?
Traveling to New York, Washington DC or San Francisco and need a doctor? ZocDoc is a free service that allows patients to book doctor appointments online; helpful when you’re traveling and get sick. Check out doctor ratings, which docs take your insurance, and find specialists.
Let them know what cities you’d like to see and hopefully they’ll add more.
If you would like a favorite travel tip of yours to be included in the Travel Gem of the Day, email your tip, name and website to travelgem@smartwomentravelers.com.
Posted by Carol Margolis under Travel |
April 15, 2010
When you’re at the mall and walking by a travel or luggage store, do you leave your shopping mates behind and run in for a peak at the newest travel gadgets? I do! I can’t pass up a luggage store without just taking a quick look. You never know if some new-fangled product came out that’s a must-have!
Even though I have enough luggage to bring along a family of six, there just may be a color or size I don’t have yet, with the perfect interior to fit everything in its place. And laptop totes — my friend Tamara will tell you that we never pass up any store with laptop totes because we’re forever in search of the perfect bag. And there are always new travel doodads to investigate. Travel-size umbrellas keep getting smaller after all, and I’m all about carrying the least amount of weight possible. Oops, I just added a few ounces with my cashmere pashmina, but the extra weight will be so worth it!
If you ever get to Houston, a visit to Luggage and Leather is a must! Bring a luggage-sized credit card when you go! Their stores are amazing- very spacious (unlike the cramped quarters of typical mall luggage stores) and full of laptop totes, gadgets, gift items, travel clothes and of course every kind of luggage. They’re also online at Luggage and Leather.com if you want to let your fingers to the shopping.
I just ‘happened’ to be driving by one of the Luggage and Leather stores this evening and picked up a new Travel Neck Pillow. This will be perfect for my long journey to Hong Kong (did I tell you I’ll be back in Coach?). I’ve tried the u-shaped pillows, the blow-up pillows and no pillow – not really liking any of these solutions. The Travel Neck Pillow made by Anywhere Comfort is memory foam that will mold to my neck. And it rolls up to a fraction of its size so it’ll easily go in my carry-on bag. I’ll post a review of this item on Smart Women Travelers after this weekend’s journey.
Most non-travelers could never relate to a fixation with travel products and the quick veer into a luggage store. How many times have you been asked “just how much luggage do you have?” Travel goods go into the same list of favorite shopping items along with shoes, clothes, jewelry and wine (wow, that’s quite a list!).
Post a note in the Smart Women Travelers community and share your stories of clandestine luggage store visits, stockpiling of bags and collections of travel gear.
Posted by Carol Margolis under Favorite Cities and Towns, Shopping! |
April 12, 2010
Each Monday through Friday, a Travel Gem of the Day will be posted at SmartWomenTravelers.com. These Travel Gems are tips that will help a traveler travel smarter, safer, handle home issues, be prepared and enjoy their journeys.
Here are last week’s Travel Gems:
Monday April 5th – In a new city and looking for nearby businesses? Find out what‘s around you with AroundMe, a free application for your iPhone.
This application will use your phone’s current location and help you find:
Banks/ATMs
Bars
Coffee
Gas Stations
Movie Theaters
and more . . . Read more of this article »
Posted by Carol Margolis under Travel |
April 9, 2010
This has certainly been a busy week for airlines in the news. First we had Spirit Airline saying they would charge up to $45 for carry-on bags. By most accounts, this was a new low for an airline.
Perhaps upset at losing the limelight as the airline everyone loves to hate, one day later Ryanair proved they could go lower. CEO Michael O’Leary says Ryanair will indeed install pay toilets on their planes. Moreover, they will convert two of the lavs into six new seats, leaving only one for all the passengers.
Next came word that US Airways and United Airlines are in ‘merger’ talks. When the story first broke, it appeared that USAir intended to acquire United. However, the words changed as the evening wore on where now it is seen as a merger.
With tongue in cheek, here’s my two cents about how these stories will play out: Read more of this article »
Posted by Carol Margolis under Current Affairs |
April 8, 2010
Traveling is not all about sightseeing, great restaurants and experiencing new cities. While these things are great and can make for really enjoyable travel, they are not always in the plans for weekly business travelers. We travel more often because we have to, not because we want to.
For those of us who travel routinely, it can sometimes be mundane things that happen to us along our journey that get us excited. Or we create our own fun with little games we play with ourselves to get through the stress of travel (such as “if I leave this bottle of liquid hand lotion in my purse, will TSA spot it?” or “how many pennies can I leave in my pocket before I’ll ding?”).
In looking back at my countless travel days, there are many events that got me excited or made me smile, some so boring you may wonder if I have a life! So here I share –
Top 10 mundane things (Letterman-style) that make me a very happy traveler:
Read the full list over at Smart Women Travelers…
Posted by Carol Margolis under Pearls of Travel Fun, Random Thoughts |
April 7, 2010
The contest we just had on Boarding Area was fun, especially for the winner, of course. There were some excellent tips offered (thank you!) but I was looking for one tip and never saw anyone post about it (sorry if I missed it).
Some airlines offer business programs for employees where the companies actually accumulate points, too. These bonus miles are in addition to the frequent flier miles earned by employee travel. Companies can use their awards as gifts to employees – or anyone, for that matter – for things like free or upgraded airfare.
For example, here is how Delta’s business program works: Read more of this article »
Posted by Carol Margolis under Travel |
April 6, 2010
Each Monday through Friday, a Travel Gem of the Day will be posted at SmartWomenTravelers.com. These Travel Gems are tips that will help a traveler travel smarter, safer, handle home issues, be prepared and enjoy their journeys.
Here are last week’s Travel Gems:
Monday March 29th – Know which world-wide airports have free wi-fi? Wi-Fi Free Spot is the place to check before you fly. This site is updated often as more airports offer free wi-fi.
Tuesday March 30th – To smooth rough heels when you’re away from your home products, sprinkle coarse salt (such as sea salt) into a palmful of hotel lotion and use it as a scrub. Pack a couple of tablespoons of this coarse salt into your luggage using a small pill bag or snack-size plastic bag. Read more of this article »
Posted by Carol Margolis under Travel |
April 6, 2010
I always thought Ryanair was the airline everyone loved to hate. After all, they are the master of additional fees, including floating the possibility of pay toilets.
But now Spirit Air has lowered the bar, becoming the first airline to charge for carry-on bags. Yes, you heard that right; they are charging passengers for bags that are carried on the plane, not just checked bags.
Perhaps thinking the impact would be minimized, Spirit bundled this announcement in a press release which included some welcome news. Members of their $9 Fare Club will pay less for checked bags, only $15 if reserved online.
Members who pre-reserve their carry-on bags pay “only” $20, compared to non-members who will pay $30. Generally, it is always worthwhile to be a member of loyalty programs. However, Spirit charges $40 to join their $9 Fare Club, a lot of money unless you fly them frequently or maybe travel as a family.
It should be noted this carry-on fee applies only to those bags which can not fit under the seat. If you are one of the rare passengers who can stuff your carry-on under the seat, this will have no impact on you.
At least Spirit was smart enough to exclude certain items from the fee. These include diaper bags, medical devices, outer garments, and car seats. You can bet passengers will be stuffing these excluded items with everything possible.
What happens if you intend to place your bag under the seat but it just won’t fit? What if you are in a bulkhead seat where there is no seat in front of you? What if you don’t have the money to pay the additional fee?
If you wait to pay the carry-on bag fee at the gate, the cost is a whopping $45 for everyone, including members. Presumably, Spirit also intends to charge this $45 fee if the bag is oversized and needs to be checked. Good luck trying to collect these fees from passengers, Spirit.
It seems inevitable this will lead to flight delays as Spirit gate agents attempt to collect the additional fees before takeoff. I won’t be surprised if harsh words fly, leading to more requests by Spirit for additional security. This may get ugly.
That said, you can be sure the other airlines will be watching this closely. If somehow Spirit pulls this off without too much uproar, the other airlines will be drooling at the chance to do it as well.
Posted by Carol Margolis under Current Affairs |
