3 Biggest Mistakes Business Travelers Make

Date: August 26 2008
Source: Frommer's
Website: http://www.frommers.com/tips/money_and_currency/article.cfm?tipID=MONEY&articleID=5432&t=3%20Biggest%20Mistakes%20Business%20Travelers%20Make

 lot of business travelers come off as know-it-alls, moving effortlessly from their towncars to their first-class lounges to the front of the plane, where they're served mimosas as they recline in their ergonomic leather seats.

But these so-called "road warriors" aren't necessarily as smart as they look. If they were, then why would they spend half their lives on the road? After all, travel -- and particularly air travel -- is the civilian equivalent of waterboarding when you aren't sitting in first class.

And why would they spend so much money on it? Although business travelers comprise only one-third of airline passenger traffic, they account for more than half the air carriers' revenue.

Duh.

Truth is, business travelers are often trapped in thankless jobs, and their jet-setting lifestyle only seems glamorous. I know because I not only used to be a business traveler, I also used to cover it as a reporter. Know what? The only thing more unusual than a happy road warrior is a happy columnist who covers business travel.

A few years ago, Microsoft released a survey that suggested two-thirds of business travelers would just as soon spend time in a dentist's chair as go on their next business trip. Enough said.

But you can learn something from our collective misery. Here are the three biggest sins committed by business travelers.