Out of Office: Take Detours and Try New Things

This post is part of a series in which LinkedIn Influencers and members share their business travel advice and stories from life on the road. Read all the posts here.

At Expedia, we are passionate about travel. It’s our mission; it’s in our DNA. Our Expedia, Inc. brands have 15,000 employees in more than 40 countries, so I get on the road quite a bit to connect with our employees in our many offices. I average about 150 days of traveling each year, and I have already logged 100,000 miles just for business halfway through this year.

Just recently, I flew 20,000 miles in one week, which is almost circling the earth in 7 days. That’s a lot of frequent-flier miles — and doesn’t include personal travel with my family.

You might assume that fewer things go wrong with travel when you are the CEO of a travel company, but turbulence is part of the deal. So here are a few travel tips I’ve learned along the way:

Never check your bag.

The one time I checked my bag, it almost got lost. Turns out that a woman who had an identical black Tumi had picked up mine from baggage claim. I had my suit in the bag and a board meeting the next morning. I wasn’t looking forward to showing up in jeans. I was lucky enough to track her down before the board meeting, but my experiment of checking a bag was over. Never again.

Check online reviews of your hotel.

Know what is going on in the city you are visiting and pack earplugs. I was in Paris last year for some business meetings, and my room overlooked a plaza where a local band was playing… all night long. I made it to my meetings with the help of extra caffeine, but now I always check local happenings on all trips.

Eat outside the hotel.

When you’re in a new city, the least you can do is treat yourself to the local cuisine. Expedia, Inc. employees love food as much as we love to travel so in order to keep up with my team, I try to sample the local eats when I am on the road. I ask my colleagues about the good local places and avoid the fancy spots. It’s much more fun. Recent local delicacies included sea cucumber in Beijing and pig's knee in Prague.

Take public transit as much as possible.

I always take the Heathrow Express when I am in London. It’s so much less stressful than being caught in the inevitable traffic. The train from the Geneva airport to the city is also incredibly convenient.

Splurge for a better seat on overnight flights.

It is definitely worth it to splurge on a better seat or upgrade on overnight flights. If I can sleep on the plane, then I can get in a full day of productive meetings. It gets you back to the family a day early, and it saves the cost of a hotel night.

Have a travel kit.

I bring every computer and iPad accessory ever created. I always take gym clothes because I find that exercise the morning after you land is the best way to adjust to local time and fight jet lag. I never travel without my noise-canceling headphones — I put them on as soon as I sit down. I’m in my own little world, and it’s a beautiful thing. And right now I make sure and pack Season 3 of "The Walking Dead."

Travel is a privilege that will change your world view.

My favorite quote about travel is by Mark Twain, who says travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness. I am continually impressed with how much people from all countries know about the U.S. and the rest of the world. I always make sure to do some research about every country I visit. I love talking to taxi drivers. I always ask them what their favorite trip was, and then I tell them where to book their next one.

Travel with tech.

My favorite travel app is by Expedia, of course. It’s simple, beautiful and fast. The itineraries and notifications are great. You can get real-time updates two hours before your flights, notifications of gate changes, the best prices on travel and hotels, and it is super easy to use.

Use your vacation days.

I’m always amazed when I hear people say they are too busy to take a holiday. As a people manager, I see how much more focused and energized people are when they take the time to go on a trip. As a business leader, I view vacation benefits not as a business nicety, but a business necessity. One of our great brands, Hotels.com has launched a movement called the Vacation Equality Project urging the U.S. to guarantee a minimum amount of paid vacation time for workers.

Photos: Author's Own in Tokyo (top) and Prague