Name: Dan Saul, president and CEO of Smarter Living
Inc.
Business description: A consumer travel news
site
How much do you travel in a year? I take a
trip about every other week
What are your top destinations? The major U.S.
cities
Why do you travel? Because at the end of the
day, the most effective way to inspire someone-whether a
customer, partner or employee-is face to face. Also, I'm
addicted to frequent flier miles.
What are your favorite online travel
resources? I'm biased, but my own Web site, Smarter
Living, is a great resource for travel tips and savings.
For a great list of travel links, check out Johnny Jet
http://www.johnnyjet.com/.
How do you stay connected while on the road? Cell
phone, wireless Palm and laptop
What are your top travel tips for other
entrepreneurs?
- The best way to get upgraded is to ask with a
friendly smile (and remember that upgrades matter for
car rentals and hotels-not just airfares). Also, be
sure to ask your travel agent if he or she can get you
comped to elite status with your favorite airline or
hotel.
- If you need to buy a ticket at the last minute and
without a Saturday night stay, consider buying a tour
package. It's not unusual to be able to buy a package
with air and hotel for less than half of the
airfare-for the same flight! Check sites like
Expedia's Travelscape.com http://www.travelscape.com
for packages online.
- When checking in at a hotel, always ask if you
have the lowest rate available for the night. It's an
easy way to save money by asking one question.
- Most major airlines offer extra perks to your
company (in addition to the normal frequent flier
miles) for meeting certain spending levels. If you're
spending more than about $5000 a quarter with a given
carrier, be sure to call the carrier and sign up.
- Don't just book the convention rate for your
hotel. More often than not, I find I can get a better
rate for the same hotel on the Web or by calling.
- I prefer the first flight out of the day because
that's when delays are least likely.
- On most of my trips, I try to schedule at least a
few hours of free time to do something fun. It makes
business travel much more pleasant
