Pearls of Travel Wisdom » Pearls of Travel Fun

CNBC’s Quiz: How Much of a Road Warrior Are You?

Carol Margolis — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 00:34:25 +0000

Gold status? That’s all I am? Just because I’ve never forgotten my pants or lost my keys? 50 weeks on the road last year and only Gold? I’m dejected. J

I had to take the quiz a second time. Just gotta get to Platinum!

No go. I only reached Silver the second time – after I fibbed a bit and said I have forgotten my pants. Arghh!

Head over to CNBC’s Quiz: How Much of a Road Warrior Are You? and check your road warrior-ness.

And if you reach Platinum, share your answers!

To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com. Watch for my new book, Business Travel Success – How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive and Travel with Confidence, being published by Morgan James in early 2012.

Win Two Nights at a Courtyard by Marriott

Carol Margolis — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 16:29:38 +0000

Courtyard by Marriott has been redesigning their lobbies around the county. I recently got a chance to visit an updated Courtyard, and the changes were very welcoming. The first thing you’ll notice is a large interactive touchscreen where you can learn about the weather, news, and attractions around town. The seating and decor are all updated and inviting. Outlets for my laptop were easy to come by, and a casual fare Bistro had taken over the space previously occupied by the breakfast nook.

I no longer felt the need to just retire to the room as soon as I got back to my hotel!

I wasn’t done with my Marriott experience yet. Flying out of Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental airport (Terminal E), I got to experience Courtyard Marriott’s new Airport Lobby Zone. What they are doing is giving business travelers their new Lobby experience in the middle of a busy terminal. Comfortable seating and a few outlets let me recharge (my body and my laptop) before flying out. Outside of Houston, the Airport Lobby Zones are also in Phoenix and Baltimore through December .

To celebrate the Courtyard Lobby redesign and the Airport Lobby Zones, Marriott is giving away two free nights to any continental U.S. Courtyard! This contest is open just to Smart Women Travelers and our blog (Pearls of Travel Wisdom) readers, and it’s really easy to enter.

Post a comment below and tell us what you look for most in a hotel lobby.
“Like” Smart Women Traveler’s on Facebook. (now optional, see below)

That’s it! The contest ends on December 9th, 2011 at 11:59 P.M. Eastern, and the winner will be contacted by email shortly. (UPDATE: A slight change to the rules. You must post a comment to be eligible, but now “Like”ing Smart Women Traveler’s on Facebook is optional. If you “Like” us on Facebook, you are now entered for a second chance to win)

Courtyard by Marriott has offered these nights for the contest. They’ve invited me back for a complimentary stay, as well. Maybe I’ll see you in the lobby!

(UPDATE: We have a winner! Congratulations to Kyle. He likes good coffee and people watching, and will soon be enjoying two free nights at a Courtyard by Marriott of his choice.)

Postcard Journal Tip

Carol Margolis — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 14:15:52 +0000

Like to journal your travels but don’t want the weight of the journal? I like to write in a travel journal to keep track of where I’ve been, who I met, where I stayed and ate and anything else of interest. But I often do not want to carry the travel journal with me due to the added weight. When I leave it at home, I instead buy a few postcards and make my notes on the back of these. I slip these into my journal when I get home.

Tangle-Free Jewelry Tips

Carol Margolis — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 13:00:56 +0000

Wearing jewelry is a great way to have a different look each day during your travels. When interchanging outfits to create a different look from clothes worn earlier on your trip, adding a colorful necklace or dangly earrings can make you look and feel like the outfit is all brand new.

But isn’t it maddening to open your jewelry pouch and find the necklaces have become a tangled mess in transit? Even worse, after untangling them once, they get all tangled again on the return trip home. The necklaces might still be sitting on top of your dresser right now waiting to be unraveled. Then you can finally put them away in their proper place.

Here are a few suggestions to keep your jewelry tangle-free, so you can wear it without frustration as well as keep it in place both away and when heading back home:

Get yourself a few straws (McDonald’s has nice fat straws); cut them to a little less than half the length of the necklace chain. Drop one end of the chain through the straw and clasp the chain shut.
Flatten an empty toilet paper tube and hang several necklaces in each one, clasping the chains shut. This may not look pretty, but it’s functional and light-weight. If the look bothers you, cover the tube with fabric or stickers.
Use a snack-size plastic bag for each chunky necklace.
Use the tiny Ziploc bags that extra buttons come in when you buy clothes. They’re great for holding a thin necklace, a pair of earrings or a pendant for a necklace.

Now when you get to your destination, your jewelry will be ready to wear. No more tangles!

When it comes to jewelry and luggage, only put custom pieces in your bag. Even if you plan on having a carry-on, your luggage may end up being checked. Never take chances with valuable jewelry disappearing en route.

Bonus tip: Leave the larger metallic jewelry items (belts, too) for a non-flight day; otherwise you’ll spend valuable time removing them when going through the security lines.

Share Your Funny Travel Story!

Carol Margolis — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 23:28:19 +0000

Hey all you kings and queens of the road – would you like to share one or two of your funniest travel stories with business travelers around the globe? If so, I need your story now! My upcoming book, where I share tips and tricks learned over 25 years of business travel, is heading to an editor at the end of April. Some of the best tips are those learned from the funny things that happen along our journeys.

Details are at http://bit.ly/dq1NQe.

If your story is included, I’ll send you a free copy of the book when it’s out later this year.

What’s in YOUR Backpack?

Carol Margolis — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 18:55:19 +0000

I was recently asked by Matador Network on my must-have items that are always with me when I travel. Matador Network is the most read independent travel magazine on the Web. Whether I’m carrying a backpack or a tote bag with my laptop and gear, I always bring the items in this post: What’s In Your Backpack Carol Margolis?

What are your never-leave-home-without items when you’re traveling?

Dr. Suess: You Haven’t Seen Bags Like This!

Carol Margolis — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 14:13:41 +0000

I’ve seen one bag, two bags, red bags, blue bags.

Old bags, new bags, black bags, black bags

(and black bags, and black bags).

Some are thin and some are fat.

Some are crammed in the overhead bin – take that!

But I’ve never seen bags like this!

For protecting your talent, you don’t want to miss.

These bags go this way and that,

And the coolest colors is where it’s at!

Not one of them is like another.

Don’t ask us why.

Go ask your mother.

. . . Ok, enough with the Dr. Suess.

Go check out these very unique pieces of luggage. You never know when you may need or want something custom made!

Williams British Handmade Luggage

Gogo Inflight’s Keep on Tweetin’ Sweepstakes

Carol Margolis — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 19:49:57 +0000

Even while on business trips, many of us are posting our updates on Twitter. Here’s a great sweepstakes that will keep you tweeting!

Travelers can now enter the Keep on Tweetin’ Sweepstakes today through April 14 for a chance to win $10,000 AND get free inflight Twitter access on participating flights, thanks to Gogo Inflight Internet. And it gets better…Keep on Tweetin’ Sweepstakes participants are eligible to come back EVERY DAY from March 14 – April 14 to enter for a chance to win. Travelers can either enter from the ground at gogoinflight.com or from 30,000 feet by breaking out their laptop or mobile device inflight.

Enter at gogoinflight.com. And send a tweet to @smartwomentrav when you’re in-flight!

Your Life on the Road — as a Reality Show!

Carol Margolis — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 22:05:46 +0000

It’s hard to explain to anyone who doesn’t travel a lot what our lives are like. We go days, weeks even, without seeing our kids and spouse. We drop in on friends when it’s convenient for us, like birds flittering down to land every once in a while to get grounded again. We have refrigerators that hold bottles of water and green masses of mold, and full sized bottles of shampoo confuse us.

We spend more time with colleagues and strangers of the opposite sex than we do our own spouse (no, not in that way, but at meetings, over dinners, seatmate times on a flight, co-commiserators over a delayed flight). You see the same people on the same flights, week after week, and know them better than you know your siblings.

Every business trip is like an episode of Survivor. Living on ghastly airport foods, hurdling over families with their little kids as they meander ever soooo slowly through the airport, figuring out how to cram a 22-inch bag into 6 inches of remaining overhead bin space and, the ultimate challenge, trying to get your rollaboard into the bathroom stall AND be able to close the door. It’s a rough world out there!

And our friends and family think we have such a glamorous life!

So if a network were to walk up to you, as you have boarding pass in hand anxiously awaiting the go-ahead to board your flight, and offer you your very own reality show, what name will be up in lights for you?

Me? “Your Hotel or Mine?”

And yours?

Cambria Suites Launches Valentine’s Day Redo Contest

Carol Margolis — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 13:00:35 +0000

If February 14 didn’t meet your expectations, Cambria Suites is offering the opportunity for a do-over with its second annual Valentine’s Day Redo Contest. The all-suites brand from Choice Hotels invites consumers to share stories of their Valentine’s Day gone wrong for a chance to win one of three vacation prize packages at the Cambria Suites property of the winner’s choice. The grand prize includes airfare for two, a three-night stay in a premier suite, a $1,000 Visa® gift card, a $150 dining credit for the hotel’s bistro and a personalized welcome package.

Between February 15 and 28, people can enter the contest by submitting their personal story in 200-words or less on the Cambria Suites Facebook page. Whether a significant other forgot about the day or best friends got into a fight, entries should demonstrate why people deserve a Valentine’s Day redo. Winners will be chosen based on their story’s originality, creativity, and adherence to the contest theme.

Last year, Cambria Suites ran a similar contest at the Oklahoma City and Madison hotels. One winning pair was a husband and wife, who had each entered separately. They shared that on February 13, the husband’s sister suddenly passed away, so they spent Valentine’s Day grieving with family and friends. After all they had been through, they desired a chance to get away together and redo the romantic holiday. They got that chance with a weekend prize package at the Cambria Suites in Oklahoma City.

With 23 locations nationwide, Cambria Suites makes travel more comfortable with larger than average rooms featuring separate sleeping and living areas, ergonomic chairs, movable desks, luxury linens and Bath & Body Works® products. The all-suites hotels offer the latest in technology, including a 52-inch television in the open, airy two-story lobby, and each suite includes two flat-screen LCD televisions. Every suite offers MediaHubTM plug-and-play technology, allowing guests to connect their laptop, MP3 player, game console, digital camera or CD/DVD player hassle-free. Free high-speed wired and wireless Internet access is available throughout the hotel so that guests can stay connected when on the road.

Weary travelers can relax and re-energize while traveling by visiting Reflect, a dining and gathering area serving a dinner menu, liquor, wine, beer, freshly prepared grab-and-go gourmet salads and sandwiches, a barista bar featuring Wolfgang Puck® coffee, Cheesecake Factory® desserts and a hot breakfast buffet; Refresh, a state-of-the-art fitness center with an elegant pool and hot tub/spa area; and Refill, a 24-7 convenience store that offers energy drinks, snacks and sundries.

For more information on the Valentine’s Day Redo Contest, including prize details, visit www.facebook.com/cambriasuites. For information on Cambria Suites, visit www.cambriasuites.com.

Contest rules are available at www.valentinesdayredo.com.

As for me, I just wish I had been on the same continent as my husband on Valentine’s Day. We usually end up celebrating Valentine’s Day on another day in February, even into early March, depending on when our schedules meet up. Look at the bright side – restaurants are much less busy and flower prices come back down to normal once the frenzy of February 14^th is over. There’s nothing Valentines-Day-gone-wrong about this!