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In order to make the most of your corporate travel budget, it is critical to plan for leveraging your program for all it is worth. Telling travelers to select the lowest logical airfare is just not enough. Here are the elements that should be considered when planning or evaluating your travel program.

Travel Policy

A well written and disseminated travel policy is the foundation of any good travel program, and I am consistently amazed that so many corporations have such an outdated and poorly conce

Whether it be for business or for pleasure, or better yet, combining business and pleasure. I've always found that travel inspires me more than anything else in life. Nothing excites me more than to travel for business, only to discover new sightings that quickly turn into personal encounters. Evidence of the languages, cultures, scenery, food, style, design sensibilities that I discover all over the world can be found in every business venture that I have set out upon.

I always bring home a pi

 Here's the question: Who has it better? The one who takes off on a business trip every few weeks or the one who stays home with the family?

It's a loaded one - I know. So we'll use lists and we'll figure this out right here, right now.

ADVANTAGES OF BEING THE CORPORATE ROAD WARRIOR:

• You stay in a hotel so you don't have to clean up and you get to throw your towel on the bathroom floor (that would not go over well at home).
• You probably have a few meals on your own so you can just chow down and not

The road warrior, the business traveler, represents a huge 50% or more of a hotel’s revenue, but what we found very interesting is a trend to combine a family vacation with a business trip.

An impressive 67.7 percent of those randomly polled said they combine business travel with family travel, a major shift from just ten years ago when corporations frowned on the practice of mixing business with pleasure.

One study actually suggested that business travelers filed 80% more medical claims than

Business road warriors have at least this much in common with ET: Calling home while away is their top priority.

But it seems in the 21st century, just hearing a voice on the telephone no longer suffices.

And that means they expect free Internet connections.

The InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) says it very clearly: "being able to connect online with family and friends is now the top priority for travelers." Conversely, not being able to do so, says Hotelmarketing.com  (which reported on the

Who doesn’t love an airline lounge when you have time on your hands and you need space from the swarms of people flocking around those tiny connected chairs in an airless waiting area of a gate?

Corporate road warriors - Let us Unite and pay tribute to the holy "lounge."

Those relaxing open spaces with giant TVs, cocktails (virgin and otherwise) and that great “hotel lobby” smell.

Sidebar - reading - optional - Hotel Lobby Smell Defined: You know when you stay in a really nice hotel and you wa

Long flights followed by long meetings and nerve wracking presentations. Should I use PowerPoint or shouldn't I? Should I make a joke here and there or stick with the serious approach? Yeah, I'll stick with the serious approach because maybe what I think is funny, they won't think is funny.

And then the day comes to an end.

Where should I go? To my hotel room to unwind, call home, watch some TV, workout - yeah I should work out but I didn't bring workout clothes so that isn't going to happen.

I c

Traveling to a foreign country is never easy. You have to deal with language barriers, cultural differences, communication problems and airline hassles, and of course you don't know your way around. Your business trip to Dubai doesn't have to be a stressful experience, however, if you prepare in advance.

When to Go

Dubai weather is sometimes unpredictable, and most people won't schedule a business trip during the summer months. You are better off planning your trip for the late fall and ear