Beat Jet Lag: Strategies for Successful Travel

jet lag

To battle the fatigue of traveling through multiple time zones, follow three steps concerning food, time and light. First, as to time, trick your body into thinking it's in the time zone of your destination by resetting your watch to that time as soon as you are on the place. Try to only sleep if it's night at your destination. In terms of food, eat less. If you are offered food, eat less half or less. You are better off eating an appropriate meal at your destination. As to the light, never sleep unless it's dark outside. If it's light out, stay away. If it's dark, prepare to sleep even if you are not tired.

Experts advise to put yourself on the time zone of your destination. Most people sleep best in their bed, and ideally if would be recommended to shift at home. If flying east, passengers should move bedtime earlier and if flying west they should progressively move bedtime later if possible. However, business travelers don't usually rarely have the luxury to get used to a timezone beforehand.

If you are a business traveller that always opts for first and business class seats, you are already one step ahead. These sections not only offer nicer meals and cocktails but they are also set up with wider seats, deeper recline and more space to stretch your legs, so you can sleep more comfortably.

However, if this time you decided to go for a cheaper fare, that can work too. Just choose an exit row seat so you can stretch your legs again and be more comfortable to sleep. Also choose a window seat as you can rest your head on a pillow you have previously placed on the window. Besides, if you have to go to the toilet, you'll be the one disturbing other passengers instead of having others waking you up while you sleep. Avoid seats in traffic areas such as galleys and lavatories where the commotion will keep you up.

If you have a 7 or 8 hours or more on the plane, a sleeping pill might be useful. However, if your flight is shorter than that the drowsy effects of the sleep aid may linger once your reach your destination and this could affect your sharpness during your business meeting or conference. If you do decide to take those meds, just consult your doctor beforehand.

Avoid caffeine before flying as it stays in the system several hours after consumption which might reduce your possibilities of sleeping on the plane.

If you, like most of the people, suffer from environmental insomnia - lack of sleep caused by immediate conditions - you might want to consider carrying with you eye masks, neck pillows, ear plugs, comfortable clothing and a blanket. Check if your airline offers blankets in your selected class; otherwise, bring your own.

If you have an overnight flight across an ocean or across at least two time zones, it is not recommended to go straight to your business meeting. It is recommended that you allow at least one-half to three-quarters of a day in your new surroundings so your body can adjust to the environment before you do anything important or business-related.

Overall, everyone reacts to changing time zones differently, so you have to figure out what your body needs to avoid jet lag. Some general tips include taking later flights so you can sleep overnight and staying well hydrated during the flight. To achieve that purpose, avoid alcohol - even though it might help you to fall asleep quickly, it will actually dehydrate you, deprive you of a deep sleep and make jet lag worse.

Maximize Accommodation: Business Traveler Essentials

hotel reception

Choose accommodation based on location and price. Always check the address of the hotel you are browsing and make sure it is centrally-located so you have access to public transportation or easy access to wherever your daily activity will take place. Check the amenities of the hotel and make sure there is internet access, fitness centers, and a coffee shop in the hotel. Internet is important for your work, exercise is paramount to control stress levels and in terms of health, and as to the coffee shop, you might want to wake up to a nice cup of coffee.

Consider staying a a hotel that has a running program through the city; this way you can avoid the restrictions of a hotel fitness centre while getting to see the city you are visiting for a limited period of time.

If the front desk isn't busy, you want want to ask for hotel upgrades. Front desk clerks usually are willing to upgrade customers when business is slow, but make sure you ask when there are many people around.

One of the biggest setbacks of some hotels is that they are not complimentary and they are not even fast enough. While internet is important for every traveler to find communicate with others or research their destination, internet is part of business travelers' jobs. If you want to avoid the extra expense for a connection that doesn't even suit you at your regular business hotels, join a Rewards Club for Internet which is fast and free. This rewards club memberships such as IHG Rewards Club offer fast, reliable internet at any of the 4,900 IHG hotels in the world.

While signing up for the rewards club for internet perks, don't forget to create a free IHG Business Advantage account at the same time - this is a free, easy to use and secure travel management system allowing you to manage, control and organize your company's accommodation bookings and expenditure. Having one hotel business account facilitates the booking, payment and expenses process of accommodation.

If you are a veteran staying at hotels, one way to get rewards and save on accommodation is to sign up for an account on hotels.com. This website allows you to earn points, get discounts and complimentary nights at hotels once you book through it. The more you use it, the money rewards you accumulate. Besides, the website is very helpful in other ways as it also guides you as to your destination. There you can find an assortment of articles per neighborhood on the most visited cities around the world. That way you can check which hotel suits you best in terms of location, if it is near where you are attending the meeting, or in terms of transport, meals or touristic sites, in case you have time to take a stroll around. The articles also offer a city guide to make the most of your stay at the destination, a food guide so you can find the restaurant the best suits your needs which also also be a restaurant to discuss business with your clients; the articles also guide you in terms of shopping in case you have to make a last minute purchase, you'll know where to find what you are looking for.

Another way to score a free night is with a co-branded hotel credit card which commonly offer bonuses in the way of free nights every year or free elite status.

Smart Routines: Business Traveler Best Practices

Business Travelers

You don't have to be in Thailand to bargain. If rental agencies won't upgrade for free, you can try and negotiate. Premium cars can be very useful to get around in a city with long distances but without a reasonable public transport. Regardless of how useful they can be, premium cars can be very expensive. One way to avoid this paying too much for a car is to try and negotiate. Counter reps will negotiate much lower proces if they are available when you pick up your car. Ask at check-in if you can upgrade to a higher category and if they quote you a price, just try to bring the price down since they won't start at their best price.

Charge everything the night before you travel. Make sure you leave your phone, iPad, powerpod and laptop charging overnight and leave them next to your bag to make sure you pack it in your carry-on before leaving. You might find plugs by the airport or even use your powerpod, but it's best to have everything fully charged before you leave so you can avoid the hassle of staying in one place and charging it.

As airplanes are full of germs, make sure you carry a hand sanitizer and a tube of Bacitracin. Sanitize your hands and then out a dab of Bacitracin on your finger tip and use it to coat the inside of one nostril and then the other to ward off any virus encapsulated in the comprised air of aircraft.

Get some ear soft foam disposable earplugs which are cheaper, less bulky, easier to replace than the expensive, noise-canceling, bulky headphones. They also allow you to sleep comfortably.

If you have to eat at the airport, look for where the airline personnel are eating and follow their lead. Then choose protein over carbs as it takes longer to digest and burn, and therefore lasts longer. Also choose bottled water as your preferred beverage since soda might give you a bad stomach while flying.

The folding tray table is rarely, if ever, cleaned. Therefore, it is recommended to take some antibacterial wipes and wipe the try before using.

Get a wireless broadband USB modem, such as those made by Sierra Wireless. The wireless USB modem uses any cell signal so you can use it anywhere and you pay one monthly fee.

If you have a claim to a premier status, get in premier line. Get in any queue with more male solo business traveler. Men have fewer accessories to discard and are in a rush through to get through security. Avoid queues with families, married couples and leisure travelers.

Even if it is not on your itinerary, include working out in your routine. This will keep you healthy, it will battle stress and it will give your more control over your trip as it clears your mind. It will also help you battle jet lag and tiredness.

Finally, buy a local paper. This will make you look more like a local and less likely to be targeted by any unpleasant character that may be around. Besides, you might even learn something from this paper, so bonus.

Flying Tips for Business Professionals: Efficiency Guide

flying

While flying often might be a hassle for some business professionals, they might also take advantage of this frequency to save money, get preferable treatment and maximize comfort.

First of all, be loyal to businesses. The key thing for business travel is frequent flier programs. If you are loyal to a brand, you can get an elite status and have access to more perks and upgrades.

One hack every business international traveller should know is how to get served first on the plane. If you order a special meal - such as gluten free or vegetarian - you will get your meal before everyone else. This way you can eat straight away and then sleep for the rest of the flight, so you can be rested once you reach your destination.

Download your airline's app. If you do, you'll get real-time updates on gate changes and delays, and even paperless boarding at most airports. Therefore, you don't have to worry about sitting back and relaxing at the lounge with a glass of wine and missing the boarding call as you'll receive an update when it's time to board straight to your phone. It's like personal assistance.

Fly on a Boing 767 to maximize comfort and avoid flying on a puddle jumper whenever possible. If deciding between similar flights and one is on a Boing 767, go for the 767 every time as the plane has less middle seats than other air-crafts. To choose a comfortable site, go on seatguru.com so you can scope out up-to-date seating charts for every single flight and these will offer insight into which rows don't recline, which seats are too close to the bathroom or whether you have to option to get extra legroom.

If you are a business traveler, avoid layovers at all cost. If you are on a business trip going to and from meetings, it's a huge waste of time to take a day to get there and a day to get back because of layovers. Plus it can be extremely tiring and you want to be fresh for your meeting and fresh for work by the time you get back. Besides, even though flights with layovers might be cheaper, in the end, they are most costly as you might spend this money overpriced food at the airport, drinks, extra fees for the lounge or even in accommodation if the layover is overnight.

It is a good idea to book flights keeping in mind to earn more points, but just to collect points don't pass on cheaper fares on other carriers, as the difference in fares might not make it worthwhile and it might be better to just get the cheaper fare regardless of collecting points. So just keep in mind what is happening around to maximize your resources. However, if you are really focused on earning points, use apps to track your miles. They can be worth a lot of money depending on how you redeem them.

Finally, get upgrades on flights by booking an economy ticket with a Y or B booking code. This means that the ticket will be full fare but you will receive an free upgrade if there are open places in the next class of service.

Essential Items for Traveling: Business Edition

Practical items

A worldwide adapter is a very practical object while traveling overseas. It may save you from overpaying for an adaptor at the airport or a souvenir shop in the city centre and from buying a new one each time you visit a new region. It also saves you time from looking for this adaptor while overseas so you can charge your phone, laptop and focus on your business matters instead. This way you can rest assured your essential electronics will stay charged throughout your trip which is essential for business travelers. A good international adapter will work in around 150 countries. If you arrive at the hotel without an adapter, your best bet is to make your way to the front desk and be your charming self with the receptionist - often they will have drawers bursting with international adapters that other travelers have forgotten in the room and left behind.

As electronic - specially the all-powerful smartphone - are so important in this day and age, carry a charged powerpad on you. Even if you carry a travel adaptor on you, you never know where you'll find a plug or if you will have time to do so. You wouldn't want to find yourself in a new country or in the middle of nowhere with no energy.

Even though laptops have always been the must-have tool in the arsenal of the business traveler, when it comes to navigating on the plane, tablets or ‘hybrid' services are fast becoming the preferred tool to carry aboard. As it is thin, light, easy to move around, it is perfect to view videos or to read. Some people have switched to Microsoft's Surface Pro 3, which is one of the ‘best of both worlds' devices. It rolls together a 12-inch screen, Microsoft and Office sorftware, USB and microSD sockets, a digital pen and a slim but responsive keyboard to deliver what the first two Surface releases failed to do.

However, some business travelers prefer to carry both tablet and lapton. Some would say that it is easier to work on the laptop while the tablets are better for viewing.

Apple's macbook - either pro or air - remain as the preferred device by business travelers. One is most powerful but the other is lighter and thus easier to carry out, while both boast long-lasting batteries, so they can use it for a long time everywhere. However, some aircrafts allow you to charge your devices as long as they have a usb port so don't forget to take a usb adapter.

And of course, you can never forget your smartphone. This small devices allow you to stay communicated, to get easily get online, to use the apps to make your flight and stay at the airport easier and stress-free. It will also allow you to easily reach a destination on Google Maps. Even if you don't use Internet, you can still download a destination onto Google Maps and use it offline with the app or use another app like maps.me which allows you to navigate, access a city guide and a map offline.

Airport Tips for World Travelers: Global Insights

travellers at the airport

As business travelers are usually on tight schedules and they want through the airport as quickly as possible, they might overlook some items that would make their stay at airports more comfortable. Granted! Business travelers are quick to buy a day pass for access to airport lounge or have access to some of them for free and these lounges provide them with food and drink, access to showers, WI-FI Internet and comfortable chairs.

However, when they are not staying at the airport for that long, they might be able to skip the lounges and for this it would be useful to pack some snacks in the carry-on or use an app like GateGuru to find out which shops and restaurants are available in each airport terminal to plan meals accordingly. GateGuru also provides weather reports, estimated security wait times, airport amenities and so on to avoid last-minute stress.

If you are a frequent traveler to and from the US, you might want to apply for Global Entry, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) program that allows expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travelers upon arrival in the United States - it pre-qualifies certain travelers for expedited customs. Members enter the United States through automatic kiosks at select airports. Program members proceed to Global Entry kiosks, present their machine-readable passport or U.S. permanent resident card, place their fingerprints on the scanner and complete a customs declaration. The kiosk issues the traveler a transaction receipt and directs the traveler to baggage claim and exit. That easy. 

If you get a combination of flying business class plus Global Entry status, you can just whiz out of customs and with your luggage right away.

Dress nicely even at the airport so you can get an upgrade or a seat. When flights are oversold, sometimes gate agents will pick people to upgrade based on whether they are dressed well or if they kick it off with someone at the desk. However, something as simple as elegant dress code - you should be wearing anywhere at risk you'd meet someone you are doing business with at the airport or on the way to the hotel - will maximize your chances to get a seat and even an upgrade for free so you can travel comfortably.

Airports may restrict the size of the liquids you can carry on, but what in in the container doesn't really matter. As long as it's under 3.4 oz, you can generally carry on any kind of liquid and that also includes mini liquor bottles. Enjoying your drink won't also take the edge off from how hectic and boring airports can be but it will also save you money in paying inflated rages for alcoholic drinks in the lounge.

Finally, as you make your way out of the airport, avoid long cab queues by detouring to departure. After collecting your luggage, avoid the massive queue outside arrivals by catching a cab in the departure zone where nobody is competing for cabs. As people are getting dropped off, jump in as they are jumping out. 

How to Pack: Global Trips Simplified

Pack for Business

Business travelers are notorious for being dressed impeccably for short national trips or to international business meetings, strolling across the airport with just a carry-on luggage for business travel and a laptop bag.

If you are a business professional who needs to travel for work due to a conference or a business meeting, you know that your luggage should store a range of elegant and stylish clothing such as the right suit, tie, dress, shoes, suitcase or bag, perfume or cologne, hygiene products, yet it must be straight to the point and efficient as it should all fit in your hand luggage and should be allowed as carry-on baggage. And this all must be less than the weight allowed by the airline.

Yes, you can take checked luggage, but this won't only result in being more expensive, but it will also be more time consuming and there is a risk your luggage won't reach your destination in time. Experienced travelers are aware of this danger and understand that hand-luggage is the only way to reach your destination completely reassured that you'll have the clothes the next day.

As you are in a rush to get to your meeting, you might have to wait and queue to pick up your luggage, then it is a hassle to carry it up and down the stairs or anywhere you have to go. If it is only a short trip, a hand luggage will prove to be way more practical. Besides, it will keep you from taking with you what is not necessary.

If you still need to check a bag, you can either use a full-sized hanger bag with room for several suits and shirts or an upright suitcase.

As the dress code is pre-determined, packing should be simpler and quicker as they are only meant for the business activity and the trip is not extended to additional activities int the city.

However, it is recommended to pack an extra outfit for an improvised lunch or dinner with a friend or colleague - it also works for emergencies. You can also pack some more comfortable clothes to get out and explore the outdoors if the trip allows it. These two outfits shouldn't take up much space in your luggage. Just an extra pair of comfortable shoes will suffice as they take up too much space.

As to the bag dimensions, you have to check that your carry-on luggage complies with the airlines requirements. This changes from airline to airline and if you have a connection flight and change the airline if you are going overseas, you might want to check that airline's requirements as well, so they won't push you to check it.

Currently, a bag that is 22 x 13 x 9 will meet all major airline's carry-on maximum limits. However, this is always changing so just double check all airline's current standards before purchasing a new luggage.

The most common carry-on style is a small rolling suitcase with stiff rectangular sides. The only downside to this rectangular case is that men's jackets are broader than the case and much longer, so there is not a right way to fold them to get them to fit.

A good business bag should be dar, somber and simple. Leather is dressier tan canvas, canvas is dressier than nylon and nylon is dressier than synthetic felts, furs or other clearly artificial surfaces. You don't want to run into someone you will be doing business with with a bright purple bag, no matter how practical it is.