Pearls of Travel Wisdom

First Flight out of SFB – Better than Expected!

Carol Margolis — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:04:16 +0000

Orlando International Airport (MCO) has been my home-base airport for the past twenty years. But did you know that Orlando also has a second airport? Orlando Sanford International Airport (SFB) is about 50 miles from Disney World, about double the distance from MCO. Though great for me, SFB is only 10 miles from my house, compared to 30 miles to MCO. It offers close proximity to the Lake Mary, Longwood and Altamonte Springs areas.

I flew out of SFB for the very first time last night. A business trip to Reykjavik had me searching Delta and Continental, though with 3 to 4 connections and very high fares, a direct flight to Reykjavik out of Sanford’s airport was a quarter of the price in a quarter of the hours! Granted, getting no miles towards my Diamond or 1K status may have me regretting this flight later in the year, but its practicality won me over for this trip.

SFB has two terminals, with about four airlines flying out of each. It’s an airport that if you blink, you may miss it. However, I was surprisingly very impressed with the airport.

Security was a breeze with only one other passenger going through the line with me. The airport is larger than it looks from the outside, with a huge seating area near the international gates, restaurants, Duty Free and other stores, and free wi-fi. Though what surprised me the most was the lounge for international travelers.

The Royal Palm Lounge is available to business class international travelers and those with Priority Pass. Day passes and arrangements with tour providers for access are also available. This lounge offers a bar area (2 free drinks of beer or wine included), a children’s play area and a Sony Playstation area. There is a separate behind-glass doors smoking area, which is very rare to see within a lounge. You can also order food from a nearby restaurant and the lounge attendant will deliver the food directly to you. Nice to be able to eat a full meal instead of just living on lounge snacks.

There is a bar/eating area, a big-screen tv room, as well as a good-sized comfy sofa and chair area.

Now that I am impressed with the airport, its lounge and the close proximity to my house, I’d love to see a few flights by Delta or Continental come into SFB. Can’t hurt to hope!

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 early 2012.

Booking (Un)Success — It’s Not in the Stars for Hotels or Cars for Me

Carol Margolis — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 03:18:04 +0000

Travel booking for the upcoming weeks is total frustration tonight. I tried to book rooms at Marriott and Hilton and both gave me errors after I had selected the dates and room. Well, first it was Hilton’s site that was having technical difficulties. One strike and they were out. Over to Marriott I went. No luck there either. I thought it might be Internet Explorer so I tried Firefox. Nope, that isn’t the issue. The websites display but just won’t take me all the way through.

Ok, I’ll at least get my car rentals booked. Oh no … Hertz’s website is down also.

What is this – Sunday night system updates? I usually like to book my own hotels and cars, as well as most domestic flights, but this is crazy and a frustrating waste of time. A travel agent may be worth it to deal with all of this.

I’m not even going to try to book airline tickets tonight. My usual good travel karma isn’t in the stars this evening. I’ll wait this one out and try again later this week.

Are you, too, experiencing this Sunday night blackout?

p.s. Now I can’t even tweet either! Is it just a very busy time on the internet or is someone trying to tell me to turn off the technology for the night?

CNBC’s Quiz: How Much of a Road Warrior Are You?

Carol Margolis — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 00:34:25 +0000

Gold status? That’s all I am? Just because I’ve never forgotten my pants or lost my keys? 50 weeks on the road last year and only Gold? I’m dejected. J

I had to take the quiz a second time. Just gotta get to Platinum!

No go. I only reached Silver the second time – after I fibbed a bit and said I have forgotten my pants. Arghh!

Head over to CNBC’s Quiz: How Much of a Road Warrior Are You? and check your road warrior-ness.

And if you reach Platinum, share your answers!

It’s Your Choice! Fairmont Hotels Promotion Offer

Carol Margolis — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:43:41 +0000

Fairmont Hotels is offering an interesting promotion. Choose the deal that most appeals to you:

Up to 30% off the room rates
Free breakfast for two
Stay for a free night

All of these deals include 10% off Air Canada flights, and some of them include bonus air miles. This promotion applies to their resort properties worldwide so it may appeal to US travelers as well as Canadian and international travelers. Some properties may have blackout dates so verify the qualifications before booking.

I love Fairmont Hotels (Lake Louise is my all-time favorite!) and all of these deals sound good to me! Choices, choices!

This promotion is good for travel through April 30, 2012 but note the hotel must be booked by February 7, 2012, so act fast if you are interested.

Role Reversal at the Airport

Carol Margolis — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:10:58 +0000

It’s Monday morning. I’m awake early, packing the last of my bag and getting ready to fly out for the week. A quick cup of coffee with my husband, a kiss goodbye with a promise to call when I land, and I’m out the door.

Wait … it’s not me this morning heading to the airport, it’s my husband. And I’m staying home!

Oh, this is weird.

While my husband also travels a lot, he usually flies out later in the week and we’ll both be gone from home. I’ve held the Monday morning departure time in our house for years. And rarely am I ever home for a full week.

So I dropped him at the airport this morning, shared a kiss goodbye and he promised to call when he lands. I drove home and came into a very quiet house. I got a pot of coffee brewing and then looked around and said “Now what?”

An entire week at home. Doing dishes and laundry vs. having maid service. Standing at the kitchen counter to eat instead of going out for client dinners. Dressing Florida-casual instead of business casual. Having my laptop on the lanai poolside vs. sitting in conference rooms. Ah … now this I’m gonna love!

So while my husband is off at the Consumer Electronic Show this week in Vegas, I’ll be getting to know what it’s like to be waiting for a call in the evenings when he gets back to his hotel room. I’ll share what I got accomplished at home during the day and tell him the dog is doing fine. And I’ll be asking later in the week “What time does your flight arrive home, dear?”

Yes, this is very weird.

One-Third of the Way There with Airline Fee Disclosure

Carol Margolis — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 12:19:38 +0000

It’s been talked about for a long time and the rules are finally changing – airlines will need to disclose government taxes and fees and other mandatory charges in their advertised fares. Baggage fees are another item that will soon be full disclosed.

Airlines to Disclose Ticket Prices Upfront gives more details on the rules that go into effect on January 24th.

Now we need the other two-thirds taken care of.

How would you like to know the full price of a hotel room (showing the myriad of taxes and those annoying resort fees) upon your initial searching? There should be a rule for this one, too. I recently had to explain to a few international travelers who were visiting the U.S. why their credit cards were charged $203.00 for a hotel room that cost $179.00 a night.

And while advocating new rules, how about one for car rentals? Instead of seeing $42.00/day like I often do in cities I travel, show me the true rate of $68.00 once the airport concession fee recovery is added, the busing cost recovery, property tax, title/license reimbursement & customer facility charge and energy surcharge. What are all these charges anyway? Oh, and don’t forget the tax!

Let’s first see how the airlines react on January 24th to the new rules. If it’s successful here, maybe here’s hope for the other two thirds.

200,000+ Miles over 47 weeks and Amazingly No Travel Mishaps!

Carol Margolis — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 12:27:40 +0000

For my year-end review of my 2011 travels, my butt-in-seat air miles added up to 201,832 and I was gone for part or all of 47 weeks. I had lots of travel to Houston, New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas domestically, and several international trips to the UK, France, Norway and Singapore.

With my Continental Platinum, I was upgraded 100% of the time on my domestic flights. My Delta Diamond status also got me upgraded 100% of the time within the US. I succeeded a few times in using my system-wide upgrades on my Continental international flights; while watching my Delta upgrades sit idle in my account. My attempt to get six Delta first-class seats to Hawaii for my family, all on the same flight, was a 100% success (80,000 miles each).

I checked my bag about 20% of the time, usually on my longer international flights. I had TSA greeting cards in only a few of these checked bags and no lost or stolen items that I’m aware of.

All these stats are ho-hum – what’s really amazing is my 0% travel mishap stat for 2011.

Not one lost bag; not one significantly delayed flight (a few flights were up to two hours late, but that’s all); not one issue with TSA. Oops … strike that last one. TSA did nab my water bottle that I had with me during my 39-Mile Avon Walk in NYC in October because there was about 1″ of water left in it. Yes, this made me mad that day and I guess I’m still not over it if I’m writing about it. No overnight sleeping in airports this year; no sitting on tarmacs for hours on end; no being walked by a hotel.

Oh, I’ve had my share of travel woes. My first 13 years of travel were in and out of O’Hare where I needed a taxi to and fro for only a three mile ride. I don’t know what was worse; the delays at O’Hare or the verbal beatings by the taxi drivers.

So I am very grateful for a boring year – the first in a quarter of a century of travel for me. I guess every 25 years or so a frequent traveler is due for a good year. I do hope this is the beginning of a good travel karma streak that repeats itself in 2012 and doesn’t make me wait this long again.

Here’s to good travel karma in 2012 – for you and for me!

3 Easy Ways to Feel Safe and Keep Peepers from Peeping

Carol Margolis — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 12:25:39 +0000

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, a few things will work and all depends on what may be in your suitcase:

Use duct tape to tape the curtain panels closed. A small amount of duct tape wrapped around a pencil and tossed into your bag before you travel is a good pre-emptive measure.
Use a chip clip to pull the curtains closed. Again, this needs forethought to have a multi-purpose clip in your bag … the type of clips typically sold to keep bags of chips or snacks closed.
Use a slacks hanger from the closet. Assuming the hotel hangers are not permanently affixed to the closet rod (said hotels are usually off my list once I find this!), a slacks hanger does the trick!

Option 3 worked perfectly for me in my current hotel room. I’m now comfortable in my room sitting at the desk knowing the courtyard peepers will have to find another place to peep.

Is Going Down in Status Making You Sick?

Carol Margolis — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 12:47:16 +0000

Are you approaching the end of the miles and points year with the realization that you’ll be a lesser person next year? A person with a lesser airline, hotel or car rental status, that is!

While I’ve reached top tier status at three hotel chains (Marriott, Hilton and Starwood) and will reach 100k on Continental/United, I’m more focused on what I’m not going to achieve – Diamond status on Delta.

I have flown even more miles this year than I did last year (190k vs. 150k) and yet not ended up with the top tier on both airlines. I added more focus on Continental to ensure I reach the 1k status now that they have a fourth tier as they merge programs with United. I’m counting on an international flight next week with a 150% bonus to get me to this goal. With the increased focus on Continental, the airline I fly more often for domestic travel, the seesaw reverted downwards on my Delta accumulation. Sad. I want them both!

Yes, I’ve considered a long-haul mileage run for the week between Christmas and New Year’s, though the airfares are crazy and time with family really is more important. That doesn’t mean I won’t be shedding a tear or two as I get my Delta Platinum card in the mail next year that will take the place of my 2011 Diamond card.

Obviously I’m not over this downward status move yet. As the clock strikes midnight on December 31^st, I’ll be seeing the door close to Diamond status for good. At least I’ll know I was one of their Charter members.

How about you? Is a lesser status in your future, as well? If so, how are you feeling about that?

Final Chance to Win 2 Nights at a Marriott Courtyard

Carol Margolis — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 13:00:05 +0000

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!