Business Travel Tips

Thanks to a partnership with eLong — China’s second-biggest online travel agency, Expedia Corporate Travel has begun offering a call-center service for companies in China, so allowing business travelers to talk with agents who speak both English and Mandarin.
Expedia Corporate Travel said the partnership with eLong provides business travelers with access to more than 4,700 hotels in more than 330 cities across China, as well as flights to more than 70 major cities.

“Internet use in China is on the rise, but the demand right now is for a high-quality phone service,” said Pam Keenan Fritz, vice president of Asia-Pacific and global partnerships at Expedia Corporate Travel.

China was the fourth-largest business-travel market, behind the United States, Japan and Germany, said Tracy Paurowski, spokeswoman at American Express Business Travel.

Laurie Berg, a spokeswoman at Carlson Wagonlit — another competitor of Expedia Corporate Travel, said most business travelers in China use agents to book trips over the phone, though online bookings slowly have begun to increase.(source)

Useful tips for getting through a business trip stylishly while also complying with TSA rules of attire.

- Wearing metal and similar
If you want to don jewelry, sport your favorite chunky metal watch, and if you really need a belt, do what I do: Stow these possessions in your carry-on bag, then put them on once you clear security. And here’s an incredibly useful tip: Stash potentially problematic items in zip-top plastic bags. Before you reach the checkpoint, dump everything—keys, jewelry, pens, handheld computers, cell phones, loose change—into a bag and place it in an exterior pocket of your carry-on. When you escape the clutches of the TSA, fish out the zip-top bag and return everything to your person.

- Limiting your color palette
The fewer colors you choose, the more flexibility you have to mix and match outfits. The more you can mix and match, the (more…)

Hertz customers will benefit of a portable satellite navigation system when renting a car in Australia. The new Hertz portable navigation system, named NeverLost, will be introduced progressively at major airports, as well as selected downtown locations in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Coolangatta, Cairns, and Maroochydore.

It will offer features including the latest Australian maps, easy programming and a choice of seven voice guidance languages.

The NeverLost portable navigation system has already been introduced by Hertz in Europe and an in-car version is available in the USA. For several years, Hertz Australia has offered fixed satellite navigation systems in selected vehicles.

KLM is offering discount airfares on flights from various UK airports to Dubai. Example, London - Dubai return starts from £322.90, including taxes.

Limitations: a minimum stay of three days is required; the maximum stay is one month.
Travel period: between now and March, 2008, with £20 surcharge for travel between January 1 and March 31, 2008.

Below a sampling of these deals to Dubai from the following UK airport (prices are for return tickets, including taxes):
Birmingham from £319.70
Bristol from £355.70
Cardiff from £355.60
Durham Tees Valley from £352.50
Edinburgh from £319.50
Glasgow from £317.70
Leeds Bradford from £394.20
London from £322.90
Manchester from £338
Newcastle from £321.90
Norwich from £358.40

United Airlines offers discount airfares on flights to China to passengers who will book by November 24 and fly through December 13.

Below a sampling of United Airlines’ discount airfares to China. The fares are one-way based on a round-trip purchase and do not include taxes and fees. A minimum stay of six nights is required.
- from Atlanta to Beijing $380,
- from Boston to Beijing $375,
- from Chicago to Beijing $370.
- from Miami, from $380,
- from New York $380,
- from Washington Dulles $380.