I no longer felt the need to just retire to the room as soon as I got back to my hotel!

I wasn’t done with my Marriott experience yet. Flying out of Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental airport (Terminal E), I got to experience Courtyard Marriott’s new Airport Lobby Zone. What they are doing is giving business travelers their new Lobby experience in the middle of a busy terminal. Comfortable seating and a few outlets let me recharge (my body and my laptop) before flying out. Outside of Houston, the Airport Lobby Zones are also in Phoenix and Baltimore through December .

To celebrate the Courtyard Lobby redesign and the Airport Lobby Zones, Marriott is giving away two free nights to any continental U.S. Courtyard! This contest is open just to Smart Women Travelers and our blog (Pearls of Travel Wisdom) readers, and it’s really easy to enter.

1. Post a comment below and tell us what you look for most in a hotel lobby.
2. “Like” Smart Women Traveler’s on Facebook.

I also came across this interesting video on Marriott’s design process if you’d like to see a little behind the scenes on how they put together the new lobbies.

Courtyard by Marriott has offered these nights for the contest. They’ve invited me back for a complimentary stay, as well. Maybe I’ll see you in the lobby!

To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com. Watch for my new book, Business Travel Success – How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive and Travel with Confidence, being published by Morgan James in 2011.

I’ve been called for both Federal and County jury duty multiple times. Each time I receive a date that I’m to report for jury duty, I already have travel plans for my business. I don’t mind serving as long as I’m in the state at the time requested. Since I travel more than 45 weeks each year, chances are I’ll be booked on a flight already.

If you’re served a Jury Summons and will be out of town, here are some actions to take:

Ask for a new date when you will be available. You may be granted a reprieve for a few months, so plan ahead to a time when you may not be traveling. For me, I asked for Thanksgiving week as my new date since that’s a rare business travel week. You will most likely not be granted a permanent reprieve, but this will buy you time to arrange your schedule.

When you receive your summons or notice there should be a website or phone number to call to request a change of date. There may be an online form to complete. I received a follow-up phone call from my county telling me that I would not be permanently excused, but we were able to arrive at an alternative date.

Ask About Your Local Requirements. Each state and local court has their own guidelines for acceptable reasons for being excused, either temporarily or permanently, from jury duty. For example, being a single parent of school age children or in an extreme financial situation may be valid reasons for a longer-term or permanent excusal.

Be Prepared with Your Travel Information. I haven’t yet had to prove my travel plans were in place, but I could if I needed to. An itinerary, non-refundable airplane ticket, hotel confirmation, meeting or convention info, a letter from your employer, etc… whatever you have that can show you will be out of town (or had been out of town, in the event you didn’t report for jury duty as summoned).

Be Agreeable to Serve in the Future. Explain that you’ll be happy to serve as a juror upon your return in the event you need a postponement.

Serve When Requested. If possible, serve the first time you receive the summons. After that, you will most likely be put on the list of people who have served and thus less likely to be called again in the near future.

Avoid These Travel Excuses and Demands:

“If I serve on jury duty, I’ll not get my airline miles and hotel points for that time.”

“If I get sequestered, I’ll only stay at a Marriott, Hilton, etc. with executive lounge service.”

“I’ll only serve if I can sit in the first class row of the juror box.”

“You’ll have to reimburse me for my flight change fee.”

Government courts do not care about your change fees or non-refundable tickets. So contact your court as soon as you receive the summons and you should be ok to select a new date. This will usually work the first time you need to postpone, and maybe the second. It will, however, not work forever. I’ve been told by the Federal Court that I’ve used up all my excuses and when they call me again, I serve.

And now you’ll know what I’ll be doing on the Monday of Thanksgiving Week – reporting for jury duty.

To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com. Watch for Carol’s new book, Business Travel Success … How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive and Travel with Confidence, being published by Morgan James in 2011.

A panel of judges evaluated the submissions to determine the 2011 Business Traveler Innovation Award – Judges’ Choice with Hipmunk.com taking the top prize. Hipmunk co-founder and CEO Adam Goldstein accepted the award. The Hertz NeverLost Gen 5 took the 2011 GBTA Business Traveler Innovation Award – People’s Choice and Robert J. Stuart, senior vice president for The Hertz Corporation and Roger Stevens, president and CEO of Navigation Solutions accepted the award on stage.

Congratulations to Hipmunk and Hertz!

I’ll proudly be wearing my new Hipmunk tshirt received from Adam Goldstein, and attaching the cute Hipmunk luggage tag to one of my bags!

To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com.

In the order presented:

1. AirPlus International – Carbon Offset for CO2-neutral business travel
2. Canon – PIXMA iP100 Mobile Printer
3. CIBT – CIBT Travel Visa Widget
4. ExpertFlyer – Seat Alerts
5. GateGuru – In-airport tool/guide
6. Hertz OnDemand
7. Hertz NeverLost Gen5
8. Hipmunk – Unique visual experience for booking flights and hotels
9. Limos.com – Fast and easy access to prices for limousine and chauffeured transportation services
10. MileBlaster – Personalized tracking and calculation of frequent flyer miles and rewards points
11. Navigon – MobileNavigator
12. Novatel Wireless – Sprint MiFi 3G/4G Intelligent Mobile Hotspot
13. Sabre – Sabre Hotel RFP – an automated service that brings corporations and agencies together with hotels

Which products or services get my vote?

CIBT – CIBT Travel Visa Widget – This is an easy way to see what visas and other travel requirements exist when traveling to another country.

ExpertFlyer – Seat Alerts – I’ve been a subscriber to ExpertFlyer but I never tried out their Seat Alerts until I heard about this feature. I don’t need this often, so it wouldn’t be a reason for me to subscribe to ExpertFlyer, but it’s a nice feature since I am a subscriber.

Hertz OnDemand – for those times when you need a rental car for a short time and don’t want to pay for a full day of a car and airport fees.

Hipmunk – My son has been using Hipmunk to search for his airline tickets … now it’s time for Mom to try it out. Besides, I love their logo.

Limos.com – A great service for booking a car service when you previously had no idea who to book from, with driver credentials verified – and at reasonable rates.

Novatel Wireless – Sprint MiFi 3G/4G Intelligent Mobile Hotspot – I have a similar MiFi 3G/4G device and love it for its reliability, small size and ability to allow my family or friends to also share in the mobile hotspot.

This is why GBTA didn’t select me as a judge … I wouldn’t have been able to select just one winner!

For the full list of contenders, see http://www.gbta.org/BusinessTravelInnovationAwards/Pages/BusinessTravelInnovationNominees.aspx

The final, final finalist of this year’s Business Travel Innovation Award will be announced at GBTA on their final day (appropriate, ay?) on Wednesday August 24, 2011.

I’ll update you after the winning announcement has been made.

To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com. Watch for my new book, Business Travel Success … How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive and Travel with Confidence, being published by Morgan James in 2011.

First, the luggage I used: For short trips I like my Samsonite 21″ Spinner carry-on. A short trip to me is one that is 7 days and less. This is a longer trip, but I will wear most outfits twice, changing up the clothes for a different look. So with 7 days’ worth of clothing that I will repurpose, this bag works fine.

I absolutely love the spinner wheels, not only for navigating easily through the airport and up and down escalators, but for navigating into a ladies’ room stall in the airport.

I placed all my business attire in the top outside pocket inside a space-saving plastic bag, enough clothes for my nine days of business meetings. I wore khaki’s on the plane and these will be my weekend wear. My blouse and cami worn for traveling will be washed out in the hotel sink and worn on a business day.

Here is the space-saving bag that holds all my business clothes for the two weeks:

Here’s all that I’ll be unpacking:

Open the zipper-lock sealed bag and whoosh — in goes the air! Here I have laid out all of the clothes (3 slacks, 7 tops, 2 cardigans) that were smooched into the plastic bag.

There are a few wrinkles in the tan slacks, but that’s it. Hanging everything up will shake out the lines. For any remaining wrinkles, I’ll hang the item in the bathroom while I’m taking a shower and the steam then takes care of them. (Occasionally I need to iron – maybe only once or twice a year.)

This already looks like a lot to fit into a carry-on, doesn’t it? But this is far from all that’s in my bag.

Let’s unpack the other items:

• Workout pants
• 2 t-shirts
• Socks
• Nightgown
• Robe
• 3 pairs of shoes
• Makeup bag
• Bag of liquid toiletries
• Shaker cup for mixing up protein shakes
• Vanilla and chocolate whey powder
• Nuts: Almonds, brazil nuts and macadamia
• Apricots
• Protein bars
• Instant oatmeal
• Vitamin supplements
• Scarf
• Bras, panties, pantyhose, slippers and hairbrush (not shown)

Phew! That’s a lot in a carry-on bag for a 14 day trip!

It’s easy to pack this way when you plan on mixing and matching a few outfits, are ok with wearing slacks twice (I will toss them in the hotel’s washer and dryer mid-trip so I can get a third wearing or send them out for dry-cleaning) and can wash out blouses and tops in your bathroom sink. Though believe me, it hasn’t always been easy for me to be this efficient. Someday I’ll show you the bag I used to use – named the “Double Heavy”!

When returning home, I have room for souvenirs as there is an expandable zipper on the outside pocket. And I’ll be consuming my protein shakes for my breakfast; along with snacking on nuts and apricots, so that will give me extra room when I pack to go home.

So now you’ve taken a peek into what’s in my bag. Actually, more than a peek – you’ve seen darn near everything!

To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com.

Dejectedly you set down your bags in an attempt to calm your frustrations. You look around and see all the other passengers looking exasperated.

Before you join the masses and get pulled into their malaise, know that there are numerous ways to actually make great use of this extra time. You even prepared for it ahead of time!

Here are the items to pack into your Flight Delay Preparedness Kit before you leave home:

1. Books or eBook reader: One or two paperback books (depending on how fast you read). With an eBook reader, stock up on several books, with at least one book that you know your mind can get totally caught up in.
2. Dried fruit or trail mix: Sitting anxiously in an airport causes you to want to crunch or munch something. Preferably pack a healthy snack; no need to pack on pounds while you wait.
3. Puzzles: Sudoku, crossword puzzles or other varieties are always a plus. (I like bringing the USA Today paper from my hotel to do their puzzles.) There are many apps for your smart phones for these games as well.
4. Journal: Keep track of your life and the great places you’re visiting. A special pen makes the writing more fun.
5. Money: Cash or change for any vending machine need you might encounter. Keeping hydrated with water is good.
6. MP3 Player (or music on your smart phone): An absolute must for those who wish to keep the noise of the airport away.
7. Stationery or postcards: Great for quick notes to friends and family, or for recording the highlights of your trip. If you will be sending via snail mail, remember to bring stamps.
8. Laptop: A great choice to keep yourself busy during the wait. (Airports are getting better about supplying power outlets to keep a full charge.)
9. Do a read through Harriet Baskas’ Stuck at the Airport site to see what’s happening at the airports you’ll be flying through. (Especially review her USA Today Airport Guides.)

This sounds like quite a list, though fortunately it’s mostly small items that won’t weigh down your bag. Even laptops are getting smaller and lighter.

Now that you are sitting at the gate, waiting to hear when your flight will depart, what do you do? Here are ideas to get you started in making the wait a far less stressful event:

• Catch up on your correspondence: Write a few cards or letters, answer emails, and take care of a few phone calls. Most of us have a tendency to allow these things to build up for ‘when we have time.’ Well, now you have time! Take advantage of the opportunity to get in touch with friends and family and get a couple of things checked off on your to-do list.
• Write in your journal: Start a new journal or continue updating a current one. (I’ve got several I bought at airport book stores.) Write about your current experience, what you did during your trip, or keep track of life’s lessons or childhood memories. This could make a great gift for your future generations.
• Read: Escaping into a wonderful exotic book can be a treat. Pick something you wouldn’t normally read, maybe one of those trashy novels or whodunit mysteries.
• Explore: The larger the airport, the more stores there are! Enjoy window shopping, pick up a gift or two, take an energizing walk (ask if the airport has lockers to store your bag for a while), or check out the art the airport might have on display. Or just sit and people watch. Create unique story lines for the people you see, give them exotic lives and personalities and send them off on fantastic travels!
• Enjoy spa time: Indulge yourself in a facial, manicure, pedicure or massage at an airport spa. Spas are going into more airports all the time. A relaxing massage, even for just 15 minutes, can take all your cares away and you’ll be so grateful for the flight delay!
• Eat and Drink: Instead of a fast food meal on the run, enjoy being waited on at a nicer airport restaurant. If there’s a wine bar available in the airport, explore new vinos, order an appetizer and savor the experience.
• Find a quieter section of the terminal and listen to your music while keeping busy with Sudoku and other mind-occupying puzzles. Just going to a less-occupied gate area across the hall is calming, and you can still keep track of the goings-on at your gate.
• Get online: If free Wi-Fi is available in the airport, then do some surfing, catch up on emails or connect with your social network. You’ll at least get some sympathy from your Facebook friends on your flight delay! If the wait for your flight is long, it may even be worthwhile to pay for Wi-Fi. Otherwise, use your laptop to watch a movie you’ve saved for just this occasion, play a game or use the time to write or get a bit of work done (get that expense reporting all caught up!).
• Get a day pass for an airline lounge. You’ll feel like you’ve escaped to another world as you enter an airline lounge and sense a feeling of calm being away from the hectic airport hallways and jam-packed gate areas. Many lounges now offer a day pass and this can be so worth the cost when your delay is counted in hours. Agents in the lounge will typically announce when a delayed flight is boarding so you can get back to your gate in time. See Airport Lounges-One of the Great Perks of Travel for more details.

I have had countless delays in my years of traveling. Some were just a few minutes, many a few hours and a handful of overnight delays. When I’m prepared with various things to keep me busy and productive, the delays are much more tolerable. If I had an uncharged laptop and little in my tote to do, I’d be throwing up my hands in frustration with the rest of the passengers!

So be prepared, as flight delays are a commonplace occurrence, and experience much more pleasurable travels.

I’m the last one to talk, as I’m writing this at 11pm on a Wednesday night from my hotel room desk. So maybe this article is more for me than for you!

Many women I talk with are workaholics when it comes to out of town trips. They start off on the right track by getting back to their hotel rooms at a normal time, but then it all goes downhill. Dinner with colleagues that goes on forever, room service brought in while a must-attend conference call takes place, a quick dinner in the restaurant then back to your room to finish up tomorrow’s presentation.

Follow these typical events up with a couple of hours online catching up with emails and a quick call home, and you find the clock approaching midnight.

Finally fall into bed, right after setting the alarm for a 6am wake-up call (if you’re lucky to sleep in that late) and start all over again.

You justify it. “Well, if I do the work while I’m away, I can enjoy my time at home” or “I’ll just do a little work while listening to tv.” Trouble is, the work never seems to end! And one tv show goes to another and you never noticed!

Here are some ideas to help balance out the work with time for you:

• Ask the hotel for a shut-down call. They’ll think you’re crazy, but ask them to call you at the time you want to stop working, say 8pm. This is just the opposite of a wake-up call.
• If you do have a conference call where it’s more listen-only, throw on some comfortable clothes and do yoga while listening to the call. At least you’ll be relaxing and getting a workout in while you double-duty with your call.
• Get on Skype video and have a long talk with a family member or friend, maybe someone you haven’t talked with in a while.
• Learn to set firmer boundaries around your time. Say no to an evening interview. Say no to dinner with colleagues that occur every evening. Say no to email. (I love the email tips in The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss.)
• Set a calendar appointment for relaxation time. We adhere to everything else on our calendar, so commit this time to you! Bring along scented bath beads and enjoy a long soak in the tub. Play your favorite music and totally unwind.

It’s truly amazing how a couple of hours (hopefully more!) of true downtime can get you recharged for the next day.

I find that when I don’t shut down, the workdays just run together and I’m exhausted by the time I get home. Whereas when I have some ‘me’ time at night I feel grounded, balanced and much happier.

So I’m off to heed my own advice. A soothing facial is coming up!

p.s. Here are my tips on creating your own facial in your hotel room (and more!), see Healthy Facial and Body Care Away From Home.

To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com.

Valentine’s Day is about the worst day of the year to be eating dinner alone in a restaurant, if you can even get into a nice restaurant. Surrounded by lovey-dovey couples, it’s easy to feel like the loneliest person on the planet. You miss your loved one and want to be with him. You don’t want to be watching all the hand-holding and kissing going on everywhere you look. Deep in thought, you might question why you travel at all or have thoughts of finding a new career where you’d never again be away from home on special days like this.

Before you hang up your TSA-bag of liquids for good and swear off travel, here are some survival tips for spending a Valentine’s Day away from your loved one:

1. Plan a dinner with friends or co-workers who are also ‘going solo’ for the evening. A few years ago I had dinner with four co-workers, all women but one. We easily got a large table at a restaurant (who else wanted a table for 5?), one red rose (which we gave to our male friend), and had a great time.
2. Ask your hotel if they offer in-room massage services and enjoy an evening of pampering in the privacy of your room.



3. Hang out at the nearest mall. Nothing like a little shopping to take the glum out of your evening, and pick up a special something for your partner for when you get back home.
4. Pick up a bouquet of flowers, or even just one red rose, for your hotel room to give it a more special feeling. Of course, if your honey sends flowers to your hotel, all the better!
5. Spend the evening on the phone with your spouse or partner. Have a ‘remember why I feel in love with you‘ conversation. Yes, you’ll feel sad when you hang up, but you’ll have happy loving memories to help you fall asleep.
6. Better than a phone call, get on Skype video call with your partner and do your own air-kissing and hugging across the miles.
7. Order a glass of wine from room service (heck, order the whole bottle!) and read a good book while in a bubble bath.

So what will I be doing on the evening of Valentine’s Day when I’m 5,000 miles away from my husband? I think I’ll go with Survival Tips 4, 6 and 7. First the flowers, then the Skype call, followed up with a long relaxing soak in the tub.

How about you?

For those of us who travel routinely, it can sometimes be mundane things that happen to us along our journey that get us excited. Or we create our own fun with little games we play with ourselves to get through the stress of travel (such as “if I leave this bottle of liquid hand lotion in my purse, will TSA spot it?” or “how many pennies can I leave in my pocket before I’ll ding?”).

In looking back at my countless travel days, there are many events that got me excited or made me smile, some so boring you may wonder if I have a life! So here I share –

Top 10 mundane things (Letterman-style) that make me a very happy traveler:

10. Having a fresh supply of bins brought to my security line just before it’s time to go through the belt.

9. Approaching the line at Starbucks on a Monday morning and I’m the only one in line.

8. Getting through security without having to take off my jacket.

7. Getting seated in my rental car and the mirrors are already at the right adjustment for me.

6. Finding that my rental car is in space 05 rather than space 795.

5. Watching as one of the skinniest people on the plane sits down next to me in the middle seat of coach.

4. Finding hotel slippers when I open the closet.

3. Having a new TSA line open up just as I’m approaching security.

2. Checking into a hotel that has in-room Starbucks coffee.

1. Finding a bathroom stall that actually has room for me and my luggage without the need for me to stand on the toilet seat to close the door. Yes, this one definitely makes me the happiest!

3 Reasons Why You Want to Use SeatGuru Before You Fly – Make sure you are booking the right seat on your next flight.

Top 7 Tips for Packing Your Suitcase – Be smart when you pack for your next trip.

Relationships and Travel: Top 5 Lessons Learned (Both Good and Bad) – Maintaining a relationship on the road isn’t easy. Carol offers a few anecdotes.

Travel Gem for March 1st – Double check your seat and flight info a few days before a flight. Departure times get adjusted and seats open up.

I’m Leaving My Husband … Again! -How Carol deals with leaving the husband at home every week.