A couple of weeks ago Gary wrote an insightful blog post that speaks to all of us who do lots of business travel. If you haven’t already read it, you should.

https://www.ravepubs.com/five-simple-services-every-business-traveler-wants-actually-needs/

I have to concur with all of his findings, although (spoiler alert!) it hadn’t occurred to me to perform emergency plumbing repair on the hotel shower head, but there’s a good chance now that I may.

Building on his column I’ve got a few travel tips of my own.

Appearances Can Be Deceiving

Gary’s rant about broken down hotel fitness centers (a friend of mine refers to them as “fitless centers”) resonated. I’ve had my share of frustrations with crummy gym equipment.

I once picked a hotel based on the picture of the fitness center and the fact that they had five treadmills.

Well, when I arrived all of them were broken.

Argh.

Be sure to have a Plan B for your workouts.

Look At The Map

Most of us have our regular hotels in the cities we visit. When your regular is unavailable and you’re shopping for alternatives use Google Maps and Street View to get the lay of the land of the neighborhood, not just to determine if it’s a “bad part of town” but to see what your dining options.

Once, I was unable to get a room in my usual Calgary spots, so I went further afield. I ended up in a hotel in the Montgomery area.

Unfortunately my dining options were limited in that neighborhood: a 24-hour Humpty’s (blech), a Schnitzel Haus that was closed on Mondays, and the ultra-high end restaurant of a rockstar chef that, while it was lovely, exceeded my expense account budget.

Ask The Locals

When you’re new in town, finding great places to eat can be a challenge. I hate reading online reviews. Yelp and Urban Spoon reviews are great psychological profiles of the people who write them, but are seldom genuinely helpful.
So, obviously, when you’re meeting with your business connections ask them for places that they recommend. I don’t think I’ve ever been steered wrong by a personal recommendation.