Business Travel Tips

According to data released by IATA for October 2011, global air passenger traffic recorded a 3.6% increase over October 2010.
The data show that despite the euro-zone crisis, European carriers generated half of all growth in capacity and traffic carried on international markets over the past year.
One of the main causes for that, is the strong export performance of the European economies — particularly the Northern European ones — on the back of a weak Euro.

Air cargo demand in October showed a 4.7% decline compared the same month in 2010.

International air passenger data for October 2011

 
Some domestic passenger markets – October 2011

You are working till late night in office and your boss has planned an international trip for you next morning. What do you do?
Business travel involves a great sense of professionalism but it also needs to be carefully planned so you are able to enjoy a business trip comfortable and productive. Here are few basic travel tips for those travelling on a business tour.

• Even if you are not sure of the next business trip, keep your travel luggage ready! So if you have to leave for an emergency, you can just pick and walk out with your luggage. Keep fresh clothing and essentials ready in the bag, not forgetting your travel document inclusive of Visa, passport etc. That will surely save your time if you have an early morning flight.

• Plan your trip to avoid rush hours and busy airports. If you want to get to your destination on time, either take the first flight out in the morning or late night to arrive a day prior to your business meet or conference.

• Make sure that the hotel you are choosing offers all facilities you need.

• Carry a cell phone to make several international calls especially business related. And to make this simpler, you could register with a calling service which allows you to make free calls.

• Carry your tech-kit inclusive of your own laptop, Ethernet cable, a couple of USB memory sticks, CDs, presentation files, laptop charger, etc. And make sure all this goes into another bag, not mixed with your luggage or travel documents.

• Do a research on the company you are going to visit. They would certainly be making a big effort to welcome and escort you. So, you should be friendly, humble, and professional.

• Learn the names of the people you are suppose to meet so that you address them by name. This will help to build trust with them.

• You have to look decent and professional when you are on a business trip. The way you present yourself will tell them a lot about the sort of person you are and about your company. Make sure that you are wearing proper attire. Be sure to have a smile on your face and a good posture while walking and sitting.

• Don’t assume everyone eats meat and drinks alcohol. Be careful what you order considering hygienic and safety factors. It is important to stay healthy while travelling as you are there for business and not to ruin your health.

• Once you complete all your business meets, you could take the time to visit your business destination, if you feel it is worth to do that.

Travelers’ security complaints against the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) have hit the lowest level ever recorded.

Bloomberg News writes: “Consumer complaints about the TSA last month were down 59 percent from a May 2004 peak. In September, they dipped to 1,418, the lowest since record-keeping began seven years ago, according to data provided by the TSA and the Department of Transportation.”

The source quoted Richard Bloom, director of terrorism, intelligence and security studies at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Arizona,as saying that complaints probably are down because the agency “finally gets” that a targeted, intelligence-based approach is best.

Also Bloomberg says that complaints in the “courtesy” and “screening procedures” categories dropped to 360 last month — as last November, when the TSA introduced more intensive pat-downs, they increased 41 percent from a year earlier.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced that three airports will be added to the TSA Pre™ pilot.
The pilot program gives travelers the chance to test the expedited screening concept at select airports in the U.S.

The three new airports that will be added to the TSA Pre Pilot are Los Angeles International Airport (beginning December for participant passengers traveling on both Delta and American Airlines ),  Las Vegas – McCarran International Airport (beginning early 2012 for American Airlines participant passengers), and Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (beginning early 2012 for Delta participant passengers).

TSA Pre pilot programs were already deployed at ATL, DFW, DTW, and MIA.

In order to know how to participate in TSA Pre™ pilot, please visit this page.

Prices in major business and convention cities across the world, including New York, Chicago , London , Paris and Beijing increased year-over-year, according to the hotels.com Hotel Price Index (HPI). Also, the study says that business travel to many of the world’s economic hotspots increased in the first half of 2011.

Despite average prices for hotel rooms throughout Asia dropped by 6 per cent from the first half of 2010 to the first half of 2011, some Asian cities keep to increase their popularity among business travelers; room rates increased 8 percent year-over-year in Singapore and 16 percent in Hong Kong. In Japan, hotel room rates dropped 9 % mainly due to the March 11 earthquake.
The political and social unrest related to the Arab Spring had a negative impact on Middle East business destinations, with average hotel room prices that fell by 4 per cent in Dubai and by 18 per cent in Egypt.

The hotels.com Hotel Price Index (HPI) is a regular survey of hotel prices in major city destinations across the world. The index tracks the real prices paid per room by hotels.com customers around the world using a weighted average based on the number of rooms sold in each of the markets that hotels.com operates. It includes all bookings across all-star ratings across the approximately 140,000 properties in the more than 18,000 global locations that make up the sample set of hotels from which prices are taken. Prices are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.

Average daily rate for some popular business destinations – Comparison 2011/2010

*Average Daily Rate paid by hotels.com customers

For the full report visit www.hotel-price-index.com.