Pearls of Travel Wisdom » Travel

When You Fly, Is the Window Shade Up?

Carol Margolis — Fri, 25 May 2012 19:45:46 +0000

Nearly all airline passengers prefer an aisle or window seat over a middle seat when flying. The benefits are obvious.

As for me, I admit my preference is an aisle seat when flying. Nothing wrong with window seats but I prefer the extra room, even a little, that comes with sitting in the seat closest to the aisle. Also, I enjoy the freedom to get up and roam, visit the lav whenever I choose, and speak with flight attendants when they are not busy.

Of course, choosing an aisle seat means the window seat passengers controls the window shades. I am okay with this but I do not understand something. Why do passengers in this seat keep the shade up when they are sleeping? I see this on nearly all flights, whether daytime or redeyes – even internationals. Even more amazing to me are those who keep the shade up and put on an eyeshade, then go to sleep.

Even if you are awake, what do you expect to see at 36,000 feet above mother earth? I can understand looking at the Grand Canyon or snow-capped mountains or the pizza farms as you fly out west, though it’s difficult to see much.

When I have a window seat, the shade is down (or down most of the way). It makes it easier to sleep or if I am working on my laptop, it cuts down on the glare. This also helps other passengers in similar situations. Want to read? Just turn on the overhead reading light.

I realize not all passengers are seated at window seats out of preference. Some who have the seat by default have told me they want the shade up because they are claustrophobic. Others say they sleep with the shades open at home so they do the same in the air.

Okay, I get this but given that I fly perhaps a hundred segments each year, are there really this many people who fit the above criteria? There just has to be more reasons. I am not trying to be critical here, just trying to learn. If you have a window seat and prefer having the shade up, my curiosity is asking why.

Order now! Business Travel Success…How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive and Travel With Confidence!

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.

Who Are Business Travelers and What do They Want?

Carol Margolis — Fri, 11 May 2012 11:14:24 +0000

The Global Business Travelers Association (GBTA) is a wealth of information for those traveling for business. In a new study sponsored by Concur, they offered a lot of insight into the world of the business traveler.

For example, we learned that the average business traveler is 42 years old, college-educated, and most likely to be male (67%). But we also learned from this study why they travel. The most frequent trips were for meetings (33%) while another 21% were necessary for training, seminars, and conferences, followed by a slightly smaller percentage for sales.

Nearly half of all business travelers are under managed guidelines from their corporate or government travel departments. However, one-third operate with no guidelines at all while 1 in 5 are managed by more structured policies with tighter budget constraints, often limiting their business travelers to certain travel vendors. Perhaps not surprising, this last group was said to be “significantly less successful.”

Overall, three-quarters of the respondents said they were “highly satisfied” with most of their business travel, with almost one-half saying they would like to travel more. More ominous for firms, this means that one out of four business travelers are somewhere between only satisfied and not satisfied with their travel. In addition, more than half have no desire to increase their travel.

The study concluded with a comment that “more needs to be done to help business travelers plan and reduce stress.” A couple troubling aspects identified in the study are in-transit travel and combating the personal hardships that one endures while traveling.

Echoing words similar to mine, Rajeev Singh, president and COO of Concur, noted that “the most important – and for far too long, the most under represented – component within the corporate travel industry is the business traveler.” Virtually all the companies participating in this study, as well as those that didn’t, would do well to review the study’s findings. With simple training techniques, all firms can benefit from reducing employee business travel stress, and perhaps turnover, while increasing productivity and morale.

Disclosure: I am a member of GBTA. Non-members can purchase a copy of this study here at GBTA.org.

As for you, are you in the 75% of travelers who are highly satisfied with their business travel? If not, what would make it better for you? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Order now! Business Travel Success…How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive and Travel With Confidence!

Travel for business? Then Business Travel Success is for you!

Carol Margolis — Thu, 10 May 2012 17:38:10 +0000

My new book, Business Travel Success – How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive and Travel with Confidence is now published! This book has been written over thousands of miles and from many hotel rooms around the world with tips that I’ve learned over years and years of business travel.

Business Travel Success offer strategies to become healthier, less stressed, more productive and confident, all without sacrificing the personal relationships that make coming home worthwhile!

Jack Canfield, co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul® series and author of The Success Principles^TM, says that “this book is the bible for business travelers, even if you only do one business trip a year.” I’m so honored that Jack wrote the Foreword to my book. And I love his story of how a typical bad travel situation (a delayed flight that so many of us have experienced) totally changed course with the actions of one person. Amazing.

Utilizing the tips in Business Travel Success, you will learn ways to help conquer traveling hurdles like:

Packing
Solo travel
Flying and driving
Family relationships
Safety
Health & fitness
… and so much more!

Business Travel Success is now available online at on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and more in both printed and ebook format. You’ll be able to find the book in bookstores and airport stores over the next few months.

A Fun Way to Teach Junior About Flying

Carol Margolis — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 12:15:59 +0000

Ever need to explain the ins and outs of Aviation to kids? Have a young one gearing up for their first flight? Need something for kids to do while in flight? Junior Flyer offers all of this and more.

Junior Flyer is written by industry insiders, and includes the basics of flying in terms that kids can understand. Find out how an engine works or what keeps planes up in the air. You can even submit your own questions if it is not already covered on the site.

PreOrder now! Business Travel Success…How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive and Travel With Confidence!

Keep Your Boarding Pass (Paper or Electronic)!

Carol Margolis — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 12:23:33 +0000

Whether it’s an airline merger that has recently taken place, a new airline you’re flying or just a routine flight on an itinerary you fly every week, always keep your boarding pass!

Why? So when airline miles come up missing on your mileage account or you need to apply your recent flight to a new airline, you have the proof necessary to get the mileage credit.

How? Saving the paper boarding pass is easy, but many of us have now switched to paperless electronic boarding passes. So how do you save that? Easy. Snap a photo of it on your mobile phone before you head to the airport. This not only serves as your copy of the boarding pass, but it’s also usually quicker to display a photo from your mobile phone than it is to go to your airline’s website to produce your boarding pass (and no worries about an internet connection being bad just as you walk up to TSA or the boarding pass not being available on a future date).

How long do you save your boarding pass? Just until you see the miles correctly posted to your mileage account. I say correctly posted because I recently received only partial credit for an international flight so now I’ve got a case logged with the airline to get the rest of the miles posted – so I’m hanging onto this boarding pass until resolved. Once correctly posted, toss that paper boarding pass into the recycle bin or purge the photo from your phone.

Here’s a video on this topic from my site Smart Women Travelers.

PreOrder now! Business Travel Success…How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive and Travel With Confidence!

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.

What’s Happening to the Frequent Flier Upgrades?

Carol Margolis — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 16:50:37 +0000

Most frequent fliers say the crown jewel of status benefits is the free upgrade to first class by legacy carriers. But this year the boards are lighting up with common complaints of no upgrades at the early window (usually 4-5 days before) while others are saying they are simply not receiving upgrades at all. The loudest chants come from United and Delta FFers but this should be no surprise. Often looking more like twins than competitors, these are the two largest elite status programs.

Of course, this varies depending on factors such as airline, airport, route, day of week, and time of day. Nevertheless, increasing chatter suggests looking to see if the dots connect.

So what changed? First, the airlines moved from a yield management operation to revenue management. We are all familiar with baggage fees et al but the fee that now often stands between frequent fliers and those highly desired first class seats are upgrade fees. Some airlines allow any passenger to purchase what appears to be a discounted first class seat, sometimes for less than a hundred dollars.

In truth, it is not quite that simple. Passengers can purchase upgrades to first class by paying the difference between their expensive coach fare and the first class fare, sometimes at a discount. Frequent fliers who purchased low fare buckets are losing out to non-status passengers who pay much more for their seats. Very simply, it means more revenue for the airlines and fewer seats available to elites.

How can the airlines get away with this? Because another thing has changed: Capacity.

In recent years, carriers have been operating at around 70-80% capacity, sometimes as low as 60%. That left many seats open on flights, especially those coveted first class seats. They were great times for frequent fliers but airlines were losing a lot of money.

Today, airlines have ceased or reduced operations for certain routes. In some cases, they have substituted smaller aircraft which means fewer first class seats. The end result is airlines are now at about 85% capacity, sometimes 90%. That means most flights are quite full, indeed often overbooked.

With fewer flight options, any airline delay or cancelation now has a magnified effect. Sometimes these displaced passengers are already flying first class on connecting flights, sometimes they are coach fare passengers rewarded with first class seats on a later flight. Since these events are unplanned, it is increasingly common for airlines to hold back on releasing upgrade seats early.

A third variable adds to the toxic mix. A couple years ago there were six legacy carriers. Due to a couple mergers, today there are only four. Reduced competition does not favor the frequent flier.

What used to be a slam dunk for receiving a first class upgrade by airline elite travelers is now in jeopardy for some. Before an airline even gets to the upgrade list pecking order, others have already cleared and they include passengers who purchased first class tickets, re-routed passengers, and those who paid the upgrade fee. Add in certain elite passengers who are allowed to upgrade to first class with certificates or miles or purchase full coach fares, along with possibly smaller aircraft, it is no surprise there are few – if any – first class seats remaining.

Yes, frequent fliers have been spoiled over recent years by purchasing low fare coach tickets while still receiving those prized upgrades. Those days are probably gone for many, especially for popular routes on heavy travel days which typically include Monday, Thursday, and Friday.

How well I know. I have been flying the same route week after week for the past five years and that precious upgrade was always there for me. That is, until this year when I joined the ranks as a surprised top tier flier who no longer impresses an airline with my status.

No doubt some will say just pay for a first class seat if you want it. It so happens that the airlines agree with you. This is all about revenue now so if you want to sit up front, plan to pay for it one way or another.

PreOrder now! Business Travel Success…How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive and Travel With Confidence!

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.

First Flight out of SFB – Better than Expected!

Carol Margolis — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:04:16 +0000

Orlando International Airport (MCO) has been my home-base airport for the past twenty years. But did you know that Orlando also has a second airport? Orlando Sanford International Airport (SFB) is about 50 miles from Disney World, about double the distance from MCO. Though great for me, SFB is only 10 miles from my house, compared to 30 miles to MCO. It offers close proximity to the Lake Mary, Longwood and Altamonte Springs areas.

I flew out of SFB for the very first time last night. A business trip to Reykjavik had me searching Delta and Continental, though with 3 to 4 connections and very high fares, a direct flight to Reykjavik out of Sanford’s airport was a quarter of the price in a quarter of the hours! Granted, getting no miles towards my Diamond or 1K status may have me regretting this flight later in the year, but its practicality won me over for this trip.

SFB has two terminals, with about four airlines flying out of each. It’s an airport that if you blink, you may miss it. However, I was surprisingly very impressed with the airport.

Security was a breeze with only one other passenger going through the line with me. The airport is larger than it looks from the outside, with a huge seating area near the international gates, restaurants, Duty Free and other stores, and free wi-fi. Though what surprised me the most was the lounge for international travelers.

The Royal Palm Lounge is available to business class international travelers and those with Priority Pass. Day passes and arrangements with tour providers for access are also available. This lounge offers a bar area (2 free drinks of beer or wine included), a children’s play area and a Sony Playstation area. There is a separate behind-glass doors smoking area, which is very rare to see within a lounge. You can also order food from a nearby restaurant and the lounge attendant will deliver the food directly to you. Nice to be able to eat a full meal instead of just living on lounge snacks.

There is a bar/eating area, a big-screen tv room, as well as a good-sized comfy sofa and chair area.

Now that I am impressed with the airport, its lounge and the close proximity to my house, I’d love to see a few flights by Delta or Continental come into SFB. Can’t hurt to hope!

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.

Booking (Un)Success — It’s Not in the Stars for Hotels or Cars for Me

Carol Margolis — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 03:18:04 +0000

Travel booking for the upcoming weeks is total frustration tonight. I tried to book rooms at Marriott and Hilton and both gave me errors after I had selected the dates and room. Well, first it was Hilton’s site that was having technical difficulties. One strike and they were out. Over to Marriott I went. No luck there either. I thought it might be Internet Explorer so I tried Firefox. Nope, that isn’t the issue. The websites display but just won’t take me all the way through.

Ok, I’ll at least get my car rentals booked. Oh no … Hertz’s website is down also.

What is this – Sunday night system updates? I usually like to book my own hotels and cars, as well as most domestic flights, but this is crazy and a frustrating waste of time. A travel agent may be worth it to deal with all of this.

I’m not even going to try to book airline tickets tonight. My usual good travel karma isn’t in the stars this evening. I’ll wait this one out and try again later this week.

Are you, too, experiencing this Sunday night blackout?

p.s. Now I can’t even tweet either! Is it just a very busy time on the internet or is someone trying to tell me to turn off the technology for the night?

Hertz GoldChoice – A New Type of Hybrid

Carol Margolis — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 13:54:28 +0000

Signs were displayed all throughout the Hertz rental car lot in Houston’s Intercontinental Airport (IAH) this week announcing their GoldChoice program. This was the first time I’ve seen these signs in IAH’s Hertz lot, even though I’ve rented from this same location multiple times over the past few months.

Hmmm … GoldChoice. What’s this? It’s Hertz’s new program that is a combination of having an assigned car all ready for you (if you are a Hertz Gold customer) and being able to select your own car – kind of a Hertz Gold / National Emerald Isle combo.

I took a look at the GoldChoice aisle to see what types of cars were available. They were mostly mid-size and full-size cars, maybe 20 or so cars to choose from on a busy Monday morning. One lone SUV was in the GoldChoice aisle, maybe because others had already been taken. When in Houston, it’s always good to be up high on the road when you’re sharing the highways with lots of Texas trucks.

As I was checking out, I asked if this program was new and was it unique to Houston. “No,” said the attendant. “GoldChoice has been in Houston for a couple of months, and it’s now available in other cities as well.” I can believe the latter part of his statement but not the first. If it’s been in Houston for a couple of months, their signs have been invisible and their GoldChoice aisle must have been over at Avis. Like I said, I’ve rented from IAH weekly, all but Thanksgiving week, and there have been no signs of the GoldChoice option until now.

I like the idea of this new hybrid model. If there is a car more to my liking in the GoldChoice section, then I’ll take that car; otherwise I’ll keep what’s been assigned. The only challenge with this is that I’ll want to first see what I was assigned. This means first walking to the GoldChoice aisle to see what’s available, then walking across the aisles to find my assigned car. If I then realize that I’d like a GoldChoice car more, than I’ll have to do an about-face and head back to GoldChoice. Not the worst thing in the world, but time-consuming. I could also stop in at the Gold desk and ask for what car has been assigned. Or just take the assigned car. Or just go with a personally-selected GoldChoice car. Such decisions…

I’ll be curious for next Monday morning’s rental. I really need a minivan next week as I have several colleagues I’ll be traveling with. Do I reserve and pay the higher cost for a minivan or take a chance that the GoldChoice aisle has one waiting for me?

While I figure out what to do, why don’t you check out more details on Hertz’s new GoldChoice program and the available locations. Let me know your thoughts.

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 2011.

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.)

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 2011.