Tips for Hassle-Free Travel

Sports marketer and writer Mark McCormack’s next book is a collection of ideas for business travelers. It will be in bookstores in May. A sampling from it:

* One of the smartest tipping techniques in the world is to tip the telephone operators in hotels. They won’t “find” you if you don’t want to be found. You can explain stuff to them and they will kill themselves for you.

* Travel with the most unassuming luggage you can tolerate. The uglier the better. I can assure you that baggage handlers do not heave Louis Vuitton luggage any more gently than they do the flimsiest cardboard suitcase belonging to the person holding the cheapest ticket in coach.

* Sometimes the best alternate airport is the railway depot. It’s not always how fast you get there, but what shape you’re in when you arrive.

* You should audition a travel agent like a doctor before surgery. Good travel agents are part tightwad, and they know how to navigate the maze of fares to get you the best possible flight at the best possible rate.

* Use a no-limit credit card to check in at your hotel, even if it’s not the card you will eventually use to pay your bill. If you check in with any card that has a credit line, the hotel blocks or reserves a healthy chunk of credit for your bill to protect itself against absconding guests. Using a cap-free card could avoid an embarrassing surprise when the card is refused at a restaurant because the hotel has reserved a chunk of your money.

* Bring your own battery-powered alarm clock, set it yourself and place it across the room, not next to the bed.

* Beware the “on time” departing flight listed without a gate number. If the flight doesn’t have a gate, that usually means your aircraft hasn’t landed. And that could mean trouble.

* Board as early as you can on overbooked flights. A passenger with an identical seating assignment can’t challenge you if you’re already in your seat. Possession is nine-tenths of the law.

* Don’t dismiss the indirect route when your flight is delayed. Flying Boston to Washington via Detroit is not indirect if it gets you there before your direct but delayed Boston-Washington flight.

* There is no denying the fact that comfortable and efficient executive travel is, on the average, about 20% more expensive than standard business travel.

* In a potentially time-wasting situation, don’t get angry, get creative.

* Expect the unexpected and plan for it in advance.

* Breakfast is for getting down to business.

* Never have a business lunch with someone you’ve never met.

* Important lunches should be one-on-one.

* Dinner is for bonding, not making deals.

Source: “What They Don’t Teach You at Harvard Business School About Executive Travel” by Mark McCormack, Dove Books