Corporate Travel at Newport International Group, ON THE ROAD: TIPS FOR SMOOTH SAILING ON YOUR NEXT BUSINESS TRIP

Traveling for work can be fraught with delays, mechanical difficulties, and missed connections as a new study by the Global Business Travel Association recently found. Here are some tips from one association professional and travel pro to help make your next trip go as smooth as possible.

For anyone who’s traveled this winter, you’ve probably experienced at least one travel delay due to the weather and realized what a headache that can be.

For business travelers, weather-related delays were the most frequently reported issues disrupting travel last year, according to a recently released study by the Global Business Travel Association. Other frequent travel issues included delayed departures, airplane mechanical issues or late plane arrivals, and missing a connecting flight.

The study also found that 75 percent of business travelers had encountered a mishap while traveling over the last year.

While pretty much nothing can help alleviate the pain of weather delays, here’s some travel advice from seasoned traveler and association professional Lowell Aplebaum, CAE, senior director, membership and professional development, at the Society for Neuroscience, who up until this year was on the road three out of every four weeks a month.

What was a top concern or pet peeve when you were traveling so frequently?

Once you travel a lot you get your routine down: How soon you need to get to the airport, how much time you need for security, where you need to go after security to get the best cup of coffee or be ready for your flight.

I’d say a pet peeve would be anything that happens that messes up that routine. It could be people who are in the wrong line for security, people who still don’t realize you need to show ID to check in, any of the small things you know are going to mess up your usual pattern.

Just like when people go to the office in the morning and they have their routine—they like to set up their computer, get their cup of coffee, check the news—it’s the same for a traveler.

What time of day or days of the week did you prefer to travel?

In terms of when to travel, my philosophy is I want to be away from home as little as possible, so I’d rather get the 5 a.m. flight and get there and have a full day to work in hopes that when it comes time to leave I don’t have to stay the extra day or the extra night because I’ve spent the whole day working.

But if you get the 5 a.m. or 6 a.m. flight that means you’re up at 3 a.m. in time to get there, so I’m not saying that’s for everyone. There’s give and take and wear and tear on your body, and are you going to be awake and vibrant when you get to your first meeting?

I happen to be a morning person so it works for me, but I’d much rather do the early morning flight and get the full day in than leave at noon and try to start meetings at four or five in the evening.

What about choosing a hotel?

I think my advice would be location, location, location. People have brand loyalty and earning points and perks will definitely make your hotel experience better. But, in general, if you know where you have to be for a conference, staying five, 10 minutes farther away to save 10 or 20 bucks isn’t worth it.

When you’re traveling, your hotel room is your home base. It’s the place you have that you can work. It’s the place you have that is quiet. It’s the place you have that you have all your stuff organized and you can lay everything out and no one’s going to touch it. You don’t have an office. You don’t have a home. But you have the hotel room. … It’s worth the investment to be close to that home base.

What advice would you give a newbie business traveler?

You quickly learn that the perks of loyalty programs—whether it’s boarding first and getting your bag on the plane, or having access to a lounge that has breakfast in the morning—whatever the perks may be, for business travelers who are on the road all the time, they become part of what helps you do your job better.

If you travel a lot, being able to board first so you can take your bag [and not run out of space on the plane to store it], means that much less time that you’re waiting at baggage claim so you can go and get to your meeting. The lounge in the hotel in the morning, which may seem first class, is really a quiet place you can go, spread out, and do some work before your meetings.

Any other advice?

Any day that you are traveling somewhere new, even if you’re booked from 8 a.m. till 10 p.m., you’re still somewhere different, you’re still somewhere new, there’s always the possibility to try and get a little bit of the local flavor, whether that’s the food, the people you talk to, or maybe there’s a beautiful outdoor environment you can go out and appreciate.

Yes, business travel is business first and travel second, but it shouldn’t mean that you don’t pay attention to where you are and try to experience a little of where you are even though it may not be the primary reason you are there.

Holidays at Newport International Group: How to travel with kids

Getting out of the heat in a cave in the Namib Desert with dad.

Johannesburg - I had an interesting discussion once with a fellow parent at my son’s junior school. He was horrified that we didn’t have a computer in the house (this was the mid-1990s) and said I was handicapping my children’s future progress.

I was reminded of that recently by two things. The first was that my son came top of his class at Toulouse University for his Master’s in International Trade Law (after an LLB in South Africa). Holidays at Newport International Group .

The second was a report saying school pupils these days feel themselves grossly disadvantaged if they don’t have an iPad.

There can be no doubt that, in these competitive times, parents must become involved in the education of their children, and that education should not be left only to digital devices. That’s because, I believe, computers and the Net, far from expanding a person’s view, often give them tunnel vision. Case in point: Twitter. Those who use it tend to think the points of view they see comprise the entirety of human thought – yet they are only a fraction of the tip of the iceberg.

I still believe that good, old-fashioned, hands-on, “analogue” experiences are what true education is about.

Another example. When my son was about 18 months old and his friends’ parents would sit their kids in front of TV to watch Barney the Dinosaur videos, in Household Seery we had the “Third World Video”. This consisted of a sheet of white plastic, board markers and two kiddie’s chairs. I would then sit next to my son and we would do “drawing stories”. It didn’t matter that I couldn’t draw. He didn’t know. Also I stuck to things like planes and boats. And he would sit, entranced, hanging on every word out of Daddy’s mouth. So when he was barely three years old, my son told my sister one day: “Auntie Carmel, did you know the Titanic sank because it hit an iceberg?”

Travel, they say, broadens the mind – and there is no better way to stimulate a young child’s brain than by exposing it to the experiences travel brings.

When our kids were small we noticed huge improvements in the way they spoke, they reasoned and the questions they asked after a holiday at the coast.

When their developing brains have to cope with major additional stimuli, they grow additional neuronal connections – or so a friend who has studied this sort of thing assures me.

So how do you incorporate travel into a child’s life? And how do you travel with a child?

First, simple is best… and often cheapest. When children are young, they don’t yet know the value of things and appreciate the basics, like splashing in the sea and searching for fish in tidal pools. So beach holidays are perfect.

Driving there is also the most logical way to go. You have more control of yourself, your child and the situation when you’re in a car as opposed to travelling on a plane or a train. Also, plan your journey with frequent “wee stops” and with games to play. Identifying specific cars is an old one but it still works. Try to incorporate quizzes on the way, too.

When all else fails and the “are we there yet?” chorus starts to grow in intensity, have an audio book or look into installing a DVD player with screens for the rear-seat passengers. Remember to limit the time devoted to the videos, though.

It’s also a great idea to get the kids to put together scrapbooks (or digital albums on their iPads) about their experiences and to get them to share them with you or in class.

Taking children to the bush sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. Often our kids would get bored quickly in game reserves and did not have the patience to sit quietly at a waterhole. Game drives tend to be short and frustrating – but if there is an opportunity for them to experience nature first-hand, they’ll love it: I showed my son how ant lions capture and kill their prey and, on a trip to Zimbabwe, showed him how to fish a “camel worm” out of its hole in the ground.

My son was never one for the great outdoors, though, and his most famous teenage comment, on reaching Swakopmund in Namibia, was: “Why would you want to travel 2 500km just to look at nothing?” He then sat and watched Euro soccer on DStv while my daughter and I climbed the world’s highest sand dune.

Yet he was entranced by Europe even though his first visit there was in the teeth of an awful winter. The history and culture – and the thousands of people his age (21) – appealed to him. And now he’s there.

My daughter, by contrast, quite liked the bush and animals. No surprise that she’s now training to be a vet.

I don’t think it is a good idea to take young children on an overseas trip – rather wait until they’re in their teens and can appreciate it (and you might be able to afford it by then, too).

And school tours (if you can afford them) are a great mind expander.

Just remember when travelling with older children not to let your guard down in terms of security and things like drink, drugs and sex. Just because you’re out of the city doesn’t necessarily mean those things aren’t there. They may whinge but while they’re minors, you’re still in charge.

An important thing to remember when you travel is family. Kids need to see granny and grandpa. They need to meet suckers who believe they’re little angels – and they need to know they’re part of a bigger family.

Leisure Planning at Newport International Group: The Insanely-Tested Top Ten Travel Tips for Spring

Spring is the season hope is rekindled, when broken blades are renewed, and light washes the shadows. We can go barefoot in the grass, pluck the charms of flowers, whistle in the warming breeze, and hit the winding road. 

But, as with any venture, travel can have its pitfalls and pitsprings, if the traveler is not rightly attuned to or aware of warning signs. Many, and I include myself, celebrate uncertainty, mystery, and well-planned trips gone wrong. But it is just to a point, as nobody wants to go over the cliff of recklessness.

For many years I've tested the parameters of travel, and have made discoveries, and mistakes. I've learned equally from both. 

Corporate Travel at Newport International Group, Travel tips: holidays in Formentera, and this week's best short break

Take me there: Formentera

Why go?

It's a refuge for hippies, clubbed-out Ibiza veterans, Italian tourists by the boatload and the occasional supermodel, yet Formentera manages to hang on to its bohemian, below- the-radar charm. The sugar-soft beaches and psychedelic sunsets are among the best in the Med.

What to do

Hire a bike or scooter and set about finding your perfect beach: Illetes for people-watching, Migjorn for dazzling white sands, Llevant to escape the crowds (and your clothes). Wade out to the deserted isle of Espalmador to wallow in the natural hot mud springs. Shop for jewellery and clothing at El Pilar de la Mola artisan market (Wednesdays and Sundays).

Where to eat

Formentera has no shortage of beach-front restaurants, but Es Caló, in the little fishing village of the same name, is one of the best, serving up paella, seafood platters and grilled fish a pebble's throw from the ocean (restauranteescalo.com) .

Where to stay

Fall asleep to the sound of the waves at Talaya, a collection of 10 simple-but-stylish studios and bungalows behind the dunes at Migjorn beach (from €140 a night, talayaformentera.es).

Insider tip

"It's magical to watch the sunset from the lighthouse at Cap de Barbaria," says Jax Lysycia, who runs the wildly popular Formentera Yoga retreats (formenterayoga.com). "On a clear 

day you can see all the way to Algeria."

Give me a break

Home: getting to know Lincolnshire Attractions across Lincolnshire will be offering free admission or special discounts as part of the Discover Lincolnshire Weekend, 22-23 March. Attractions taking part in the promotion include Lincoln's open-top sightseeing bus, the medieval manor house Gainsborough Old Hall, Lincoln castle and cathedral, and the Museum of RAF Firefighting (visitlincolnshire.com)

Newport International Group Corporate Travel: 9 tricks for coping with European airports

Sometimes I wonder why I lug my bag through airports, following my own recommendation to pack light enough to carry on and avoid checking any bags on international flights. (Newport International Group Projects Company)

It can be a drag, dragging your bag through airports. But when scrambling with last-minute changes in flight plans, those without checked bags are far more nimble.

Over the years I've learned some tricks on dealing with European airports. Here are a few of them:

Pack Light and Carry It On: When you carry your own luggage, quick, last-minute changes in flight plans become simpler.

A small bag sits in the overhead bin or under your seat; when you arrive, you can hit the ground running.

It's a good feeling. When I land in London, I'm on my way downtown while everyone else stares anxiously at the luggage carousel. When I fly home, I'm the first guy the dog sniffs.

It Doesn't Hurt to Ask: I'll often ask airport staff for small favors, and so should you. I'll ask the gate agent if she can seat me in the exit row.

I'll ask the car-rental agent for the easiest way to get out of the airport.

And if I have a tight connection and there are lines at passport control, I'll ask the attendant politely if I can use the "elite flier" line instead, so I can make that connecting flight.

Just Say No to Exchange Booths: At airport exchange booths such as Forex or Travelex, you lose about 15 percent when you change dollars to euros or other currency.

When I arrive in Europe, I head for an airport ATM, load up on cash, and keep it safe in my money belt. I've never been to an airport in Europe that didn't have plenty of ATMs.

Appreciate Airport Amenities: You may be jet-lagged and just want to get to your hotel, but take advantage of airport services before you leave.

Stop by the tourist information office for maps, museum passes, subway tickets and advice (usually they're less crowded than the downtown office).

If you need an international phone card or SIM card for your mobile phone, many airport convenience stores carry them.

I've also found that free Wi-Fi at executive lounges in airports often leaks into the main hall. Just sitting against the wall, I can get online for free.

Know Where You're Going: Smart travelers download airport terminal maps to their smartphones or print them out before they leave.

You can also look for websites with detailed instructions on how to get from your arrival gate to the center of the city (for Paris, try www.parisbytrain.com; for Rome, see the YouTube channel at www.romewalks.com). Google has even started mapping airport interiors with its Street View program.

Avoid Taxi Scams: If you want to take a taxi from the airport, it's better to head for the official taxi stand and join the queue rather than flag one down.

It should have a big, prominent taxi-company logo and telephone number. Avoid using unmarked beaters with makeshift taxi lights on top.

Don't Get Lost in Translation: Nearly everything is translated into English at European airports, but you still need to pay careful attention.

For example, the shuttle bus between terminals at Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport is called the CDGVAL— you have to look carefully to see that it is also marked "Airport Shuttle" in smaller letters.

At the Frankfurt airport, regional trains depart from the Regionalbahnhof, while long-distance trains use the Fernbahnhof.

Watch Out for the Name Game: Budget airlines sometimes use obscure airports. For example, one of Ryanair's London hubs is Stansted Airport, one of the farthest airports from London's city center. Ryanair's flights to "Frankfurt" actually take you to Hahn, 75 miles away.

Having Happy Returns: When it's time to fly home, be sure you know your departure terminal before you leave for the airport.

Don't count on the taxi driver or shuttle bus driver knowing where you should be dropped off.

For example, at Rome's Fiumicino Airport, American airlines flying direct to the U.S. depart from Terminal 5, which is a separate building not connected to the rest of the terminals.

If your driver leaves you at the main terminal, you'll have to take a shuttle bus— it's too far to walk. (Flight Track-type apps give you terminal details reliably and can be a huge help.)

Have fun on vacation, but watch for travel scams at Newport International Group Corporate Travel

I know what you’re thinking: You’re so fed up with this winter weather that you’ve finally planned a tropical vacation — a cruise, a beach, or maybe both. Before you pack the swimsuit and tanning lotion, get up to speed on the latest tricks used by scammers to part you from your money.

After a long, exhausting day of sightseeing, you might be tempted to stay in your hotel room and have a pizza delivered. In Orlando, scammers were putting fliers on tourists’ car windows, or slipping them under hotel room doors, with deals on a “local” pizza restaurant. But the pizza restaurant was fake, and when the unsuspecting tourists called to place an order and read off their credit card number, the scammers stole their identity.

Newport International Group Corporate Travel

You should also be careful of sketchy cab drivers who steal your luggage, warns the Las Vegas Police Department. Here’s how the scam works: The cab driver insists on unloading your bags at your hotel or at the airport. He says he’s in a rush, slams the trunk and speeds away. After he’s long gone, you’ll discover that one of your bags is missing. To protect yourself, make sure to note the driver’s name, cab number and company when you enter the cab. Then, if anything should happen, you have some recourse.

In Dallas and Seattle, hotel guests were targeted in a clever identity theft scam. The phone in their room rang in the middle of the night, and the voice on the other end of the phone claimed it was the hotel’s front desk calling. The caller was polite and courteous, but explained that there had been a computer glitch when they’d checked in, and their credit card numbers were lost. If they’d be so kind to re-read their credit card numbers, the hotel would give them a discount on their stay.

Unfortunately, scammers had found a way to bypass the hotel operator and dial rooms directly. If you should receive a call like this, hang up and dial the front desk directly. If there’s a problem with your credit card, go down to the front desk to resolve the problem in person.

Need to do some online banking while you’re on vacation? Be careful of the Wi-Fi network you connect to. Scammers are notorious for creating what appear to be safe Wi-Fi connections at places like airports, convention centers and hotels.

Once you’ve logged in to a scammer’s Wi-Fi connection, he can monitor your online activity and steal your bank account numbers and passwords. If possible, avoid using free, wireless connections, especially to do your banking.

These are just a few of the scams we hear about at the Better Business Bureau, but they may be just the tip of the iceberg. There are plenty of other scams that target vacationers before they ever leave their house — like timeshare and vacation rental scams.

Don’t let the dreary Wisconsin weather cloud your judgment when you’re planning your vacation. Check out companies first at wisconsin.bbb.org.

Newport International Group Corporate Travel: E-checks are handy, but are they a safe way to pay for travel?

Newport International Group Corporate Travel: E-checks are handy, but they are a safe way to pay for travel?

As she paged through Viking River Cruises' glossy brochure One recent afternoon, Diane Moskal noticed a new way to save money: If she booked the Waterways of the Tsars itinerary sailing from Moscow to St. Petersburg with something called an e-check , the cruise line promised to knock $ 100 off the fare.

An e-check is an electronic debit to your checking account, and it's billed as a quick, convenient way to pay for your vacation thats "as easy as providing your credit card number," According to Viking.

But like any smart traveler, Moskal was not content with That explanation. "I not see that the cruise lines lawyer consumer savings if you pay by e-check, "she says. But she found several at usefull complaints online, All which made ​​her, hesitate. She wondered: Are e-checks safe?

Axis airlines, hotels and cruise lines offering new ways to pay for Their products, Moskal's question resonates across the entire travel industry . On several airlines,-including American, Southwest and United, you can book a ticket through PayPal. Virgin Galactic made ​​a splash late last year when it Announced That it would accept Bitcoin for its space flights. One hostel in San Francisco, the Pacific Tradewinds, famously offering a 30 percent discount to guests who pay with the digital currency.

Newport International Group Corporate Travel

While Viking River's e-check option Is not new - it's been available since 2008 - the concerns raised by Moskal and others are. It turns out thatthere are several at important differences between paying by e-check and paying by credit card. And given the popularity of new electronic payment choices, it's a good time to understand how they work.

Americans made 22.1 billion electronic payments using options zoals e-checks in 2012, the most recent year for All which numbers are available, accordion thing to a recent Federal Reserve study. The number of transactions grew at an annual rate of 5.1 percent from 2009 to 2012, the Fed reports. By comparison, consumers Conducted 26.2 billion credit card transactions in 2012, and those numbers grew at a somewhat faster 7.6 percent annual rate.

The benefits to companies are obvious: They avoid paying any fees associated with credit cards and they receive the customer's money right away, Deposited directly into Their merchant bank. But consumers have an advantage, too, at least accordion thing to companies like Viking.

"Guests who pay by e-check receive a discount of two percent, All which reflects a savings That Viking passes on to the guest by not having to pay a fee to a credit card company," says Viking spokesman Ian Jeffries. He saysthat the company usefull recommends payment via e-check as an alternative to a credit card so That You can avoid any interest rates or fees That some credit card companies charge May.

Viking is Hardly alone. One recent study found That a quarter of worldwide airlines offer some form of alternative electronic payment option. Ashes companies try to escape the high merchant fees charged by credit cards, payment choices thesis are bound to become more common in the near future.

"Conventionally, the discounted pay-by-e-check transactions are processed through the traveler's bench, given the customer's Bank routing numbers and checking or savings account numbers," says Oliver McGee, a former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of transportation for technology policy and a professor at Howard University.

E-checks come in two basic flavors: Check21 electronic payment processing, Which is more flexible but more expensive usefull, and the more restricted deposit ACH wire payments, All which are comm only used for handling direct deposits for employees and for paying bills.

As a practical matter, setting up an e-check Involves giving the travel company basic banking information, Typically gained through the Bank's routing numbers, as well as your account number, and Authorizing the transaction.

But you sacrifice something usefull when you're paying with an e-check. Axis with paper checks, once the money is Deposited into the company's account, your ability to reverse the charges is limited. Your right to dispute an e-check travel purchase is governed by the ACH or Check21 terms and conditions as well as the electronic fraud protection conditions or your financial institution.

By comparison, a credit card purchase is protected by federal law under the Fair Credit Billing Act, All which, among other things, lets you dispute charges for products you did not accept or that were not delivered as agreed, and All which can quickly fix a billing error.

"You have more leeway to dispute a purchase made with a credit card," says David Bakke, who edits the personal finance Web site Money Crashers (www.moneycrashers.com).

If an e-check booking goes wrong - say, for example, that your cruise line files for bankruptcy protection and you want a refund - You May lose your money. Bakke saysthat e-checks can be reversed in only three cases: if you did not Authorize the purchase, if the e-check was processed on a date Earlier than Authorized or if the amount of the processed transaction is different from what was Authorized . Otherwise, the money is as good as gone.

While complaints about e-checks are rare, grievances with companies over wired money Appear to be Increasingly common. Ask was not a week seems to go by someone That does not help me to retrieve money That leg wired to a company or an individual. These transactions are difficultness, if not impossible, to undo. Generally, if you're dealing with a small local company or an individual, you can kiss the cash goodbye.

After I explained the differences in payment methods to Moskal, she consulted her travel agent who booked her on the Viking riverboat cruise to Russia this fall. "She never raised the question of paying by anything other than credit card," says Moskal.