Winter Travel Tips

The first quarter of the year will bring travelers to varying degrees of weather. East coast travelers tend to venture towards the West to enjoy a bit of warmer weather and leave snow drifts and shoveling behind. Some basic tips on travel and packing may include:
• Make sure the airlines have your email or cell phone number to text you with last minute updates. You do not want to arrive for your departing flight to find out it has been cancelled or delayed when you could be spending time in comfort at your house or hotel.
• Be sure to check in on line and print your boarding pass. Most hotels offer this service free of charge through a lobby kiosk or through the concierge. If you need to turn in a copy of the boarding pass with expense reports, have the hotel make a copy or don’t hesitate to ask the airline for the stub when boarding.
• Today’s technology will allow you to check in using your Blackberry or cell phone.
• If you are packing light enough to carry on, airports have free standing kiosks away from the check in lines. Look for these and avoid the waiting in line.
• Try to avoid connecting flights in cities that tend to have more inclement weather in winter seasons. If you cannot avoid such connectors, ensure you have allowed yourself plenty of time in between flights.
• When one is leaving a wintry city, you have more to carry! You will dress for warmth however, remember to layer. Also gloves tend to get lost easily so ensure you have space in your laptop bag, purse or carry on in a side pocket so you have them when you return. Nothing worse than only having one glove when you arrive home.
• Hotels tend to keep the meeting space cooler – no matter if on the East or West Coast. For the ladies, a pashmina is an easy clothing item as you can wear it for warmth or perhaps to dress up an evening outfit for an awards banquet. For the men, a blazer always serves a multipurpose. You want to look your best at the Opening Business meeting and could be worn again for the closing night.
• When traveling to the west, one is more inclined to go outside for a little exercise “because you can”. Don’t forget your sneakers or perhaps some sandals that you have stored in the back of the closet until the Spring.
• When traveling to the Northeast, do the opposite…leave the sandals behind. Boots take up a lot of room so you should consider wearing on the plane. Leaves more room in your suitcase and you have the proper shoes to go with any outfit.