Back to Basics

Back to Basics March 25 2009 by Chris McGinnis All the recent spotlight on travel cutbacks, trading down and staying focused on a strict budget reminds me of when I was first cutting my teeth as a business traveler. And it's proven to me that what's old is definitely new again... During the late 1980's I worked as a trainer for a U.S.-based consulting firm. The company had projects across the country and I'd fly around to many of them to conduct two- to four-week training programs that helped clients integrate changes that our consultants were recommending. I know that job description may sound exciting and important, but the reality was something quite different. Our company was super cheap. Since we were in the business of showing companies how to save money, we had to set the example. Instead of providing employees a fat cat travel expense account, our company took the more parsimonious route and only offered set per-diems. As I recall, we got something like $80 per day, which was supposed to cover our lodging and meal costs. (Air and rental car were direct billed to the company.) What that meant was this: If I could get by on less than $80 per day, I'd pocket the difference. The end result: I developed an eagle eye for good hotel value and learned to find those that offered the business travel basics and no expensive or unneeded frills. And no hidden fees. Finding a hotel that offered free breakfast, for example, meant an extra $10 or so in my pocket every day. Back then I would have loved to have known about something like Best Western's new Business Plus program. Business Plus is a new designation for 500 Best Western hotels across the U.S. and Canada. These hotels include in their nightly rates everything a business traveler needs--and no surprises, no hidden fees (for starters, think...breakfast, newspapers, business center access, high-speed Internet, free local calls, in-room coffee makers, among others...) If Business Plus were around back then, I would have been living large, not getting hit up for a bunch of extra charges and pocketing a larger portion of my per diem. These days, that sounds like something every business traveler would appreciate. Email This Comments (0)