As a Solo Diner, These 2 Words Really Tick Me Off!
I'm proud of the fact that I'm very comfortable dining alone in any restaurant. Whether a casual outdoor lunch, a snazzy wine bar or a fancy "black or white napkin?" kind of place, I'm quite ok with dining alone. Sure, I'd rather have my husband sitting across the table from me, but he's not with me on the majority of my business trips. While colleagues are with me on some of my trips, I'm a solo diner the majority of the time, and I am quite content with this. What I'm not content with . . . and downright ticked with ...
Finding a Relationship When You Frequently Travel
Valentine's Day is approaching - a day that women who are not in a relationship, and want to be, really do not look forward to. Add in frequent travel to the equation and many of these women send me pleas of, "How do I find someone when I'm traveling all the time?" So I asked professional relationship coaches, online dating gurus and other women travelers for their advice. Joyce Morley, Ed.D. of doctorjoyce.com starts off with a great point of it being "imperative that traveling professional business women first have a sense of what they are looking for in a ...
Goldilocks Finds a Perfect Bed in Singapore!
When I visit a hotel for the first time, I always ask myself "If this was a hotel I had to stay in week after week for business, would I stay at this hotel?" If the room is great, but the fitness center is poor, the answer is No. If the walls are thin and I can hear the conversation or activities next door, that's a definite deal-killer. If the onsite restaurant menu has a variety of choices and a chef who will prepare to my liking, then the vote may be Yes. If there are things to do that ...
Tips for Avoiding Tangles with Taxi Drivers
Do you hail a cab with trepidation? Expect the driver to be surly and seemingly not happy to see a new customer? Dread the moment when you slide onto the seat and look around at the less than sanitary conditions? Have suspicions about the route being taken or the anticipated fare? If so, you're not alone. When you board a plane, you would never question the route the pilot is going to take. The fare is already paid for and will not change based on traffic backups or extra miles flown. The environment looks generally clean and you're not too scared ...
Jamaica – A Room with a View (and Butler!)
A whirlwind weekend in Jamaica is not enough! I've just returned to The States, and I'm already looking at my calendar to pencil in a return visit. The food, the amenities, the activites, and the people were all world class! A few of my favorite things include waking up to a beautiful view of the beach, getting out in to nature that I can't find at home (there aren't too many rainforests in Orlando), and having a fantastic meal with new friends. My stay in Jamaica offered all of these in spades. I'm still on "Island Time", but look forward to articles ...
Simple Hotel Amenities for a Great Stay
I’ve stayed in countless hotels over my now 27 years of business travel – and I still love entering a hotel room for the first time to check out what it has to offer. And it’s often the simple things that make the stay the most pleasant. For example: Last week I stayed at the Hyatt Orlando International Airport because a cancelled flight grounded me overnight. To stay right in the airport... [Read more]
Business Travel Success is Published!
My new book, Business Travel Success – How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive and Travel with Confidence is now published! This book has been written over thousands of miles and from many hotel rooms around the world with tips that I’ve learned over years and years of business travel. Business Travel Success offer strategies to become healthier, less stressed, more productive and confident,... [Read more]
3 Reasons to Join Every Airline, Hotel and Car Rental Award Program
Most of us sign up for the award programs for the hotels and airlines that we use the most. We do not take the time to sign up for a hotel that we think we’re only going to stay in for a few nights, or an airline that’s taking us on an international trip that is a once-in-a-lifetime. If you had a crystal ball and knew you were going to be flying on the same airline and staying in the same... [Read more]
Know How Far Your Travels Take You with Flight Memory
During the countless time spent in security lines, have you ever wondered to yourself how many miles you’ve traveled, or how many times you’ve flown between two cities? Flight Memory can keep track of your trips and display fun graphs and interesting statistics of your travels. Flight Memory is free to use. Once you create an account, you can input all of your future or past flight information.... [Read more]
Travel Tech News from CES
Smart Women Travelers isn’t just about flights, car rentals, and hotel stays. The tech toys we bring with us are all part of the fun! This year we’ve sent a SWT Correspondent to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to bring back news on what will be this year’s greatest travel companions – the gadgets we use everyday to keep in touch. The big story from the Consumer Electronics... [Read more]
Starting All Over Again
With the New Year comes a feeling of new beginnings – a time when we focus anew on health, relationships, wealth, and career. We plow into January with enthusiasm for the ways we’re going to improve our life. But other new beginnings happen also, whether we want them to or not. Airline year-to-date status mileage amounts get reset to zero. The number of hotel nights stayed gets reset to... [Read more]
Top 10 Kid Gadgets for Holiday Road Trips
Guest post by Ashley Grimaldo. Talking on a cell phone while driving is dangerous. But a mid-transit chat pales in comparison to the distraction of driving with one (or two!) children wailing in the backseat. Nothing increases adrenaline and quick recall of four-letter words quite like crying kids. As parents, we can mentally cope with crying kids to and from the grocery store. But long-distance trips... [Read more]
3 Easy Ways to Feel Safe and Keep Peepers from Peeping
Feel uncomfortable when your hotel room curtains do not close all the way? My hotel room has a 3-inch gap in the curtain closure and the room overlooks a courtyard. So it’s easy to see into rooms, especially at night when the lights are on. I know … since I took a glance out the window to see how many other rooms could be peeped into. For times like this when you want closure to the issue,... [Read more]
How High Can You Go?
Smart women on the rise often set their sights high … and so they should! We can see much further from the top and the view is so exciting. And I’m not talking about the board room! No, some of the highest places in the world are open to tourists! In the United States if you want to go up, New York City offers you the most options with more than 216 skyscrapers over 497 ft. (150 m) tall.... [Read more]
Final Chance to Win 2 Nights at a Marriott Courtyard
We’re down to just hours. By this time tomorrow the winning name will be selected. Enter now for your chance to win 2 nights at any Marriott Courtyard in the continental U.S. It’s easy, it’s fast and it’s a great holiday gift if you win. Go here for the details and I hope I’ll be contacting you shortly! To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life... [Read more]
Discover Ways to an Unforgettable Jamaica
Previously, on Smart Women Travelers, we discussed a fantastic hotel to stay at in the Montego Bay area. The Iberostar Grand Rose Hall provided a great all inclusive base for our Jamaican adventures. But if I’m on vacation, I’m not one to sit around the hotel all day long. There were many adventures to be had, and here is my rundown on a few attractions that made my Jamaican trip unforgettable. Braco... [Read more]
Win Two Nights at a Courtyard by Marriott
Courtyard by Marriott has been redesigning their lobbies around the county. I recently got a chance to visit an updated Courtyard, and the changes were very welcoming. The first thing you’ll notice is a large interactive touchscreen where you can learn about the weather, news, and attractions around town. The seating and decor are all updated and inviting. Outlets for my laptop were easy to... [Read more]
Jamaica – A Room with a View (and Butler!)
A whirlwind weekend in Jamaica is not enough! I’ve just returned to The States, and I’m already looking at my calendar to pencil in a return visit. The food, the amenities, the activites, and the people were all world class! A few of my favorite things include waking up to a beautiful view of the beach, getting out in to nature that I can’t find at home (there aren’t too many... [Read more]
