Business Travel: Get There, Get Around, and Get it Done

World Travel Guide is considered “the Bible of the Travel Industry,” and offers a wide range of country, city, airport, and weather guides for locations around the world. The “News” link has both travel news and travel warnings (though the travel warning updates appear to be somewhat sporadic). World Travel Guide definitely has a leisure travel appeal to it, but most of the guides provided will be useful to the business traveler as well.

The Business Travel Center provides city guides for some major U.S. business destinations, as well as for all 50 states. This site is different from other general travel sites because of its “Where’s the closest?” feature, which helps you find a nearby UPS, FedEx, Post Office, Kinko’s, ATM, or Internet café. The “Leisure Time” section will help you answer questions like “How can I get theater tickets for this city?” and “Where can I play golf in x, y or z city?”

BusinessTown.com has a “Travel & Maps” section that contains advice for making business travel fun, displaying proper etiquette on the road, and maintaining a professional image while you travel. While it won’t be a comprehensive source of business travel information, some of the links provided under “Web Resources” might be helpful to you.

MSNBC lists articles related to business travel here. The business travel topics on this page include “In a hurry? Try these fast jets,” “Plugging in at the airport,” and more.

Gaebler Ventures has a helpful business travel section under the “Entrepreneurs” option. Here you’ll find articles called “Saving on Business Travel,” “Five Tips for Smart Business Travelers,” and “Benefits of Chartering a Jet."

Inc.com is the online portal for entrepreneur-focused Inc. magazine, and has this section on business travel. Especially useful are the “How-To Guides” found on the right side of the page or through the tab near the top under “Business Travel.”

One Bag teaches travelers what to pack, what to pack your things in, and how to pack them. The “Packing List” on the site also has reminders of things you might consider packing in the way of paperwork, audiovisual supplies, toiletries, and other items.

Magellan’s Travel Supplies describes itself as “The World’s Most Trusted Source of Travel Supplies.” Order clothing for men and women, alarm clocks, adaptor plugs and converters, luggage, and other items from this site. The “Customer Favorites” section has some pretty unique items you might not have considered bringing.

FrequentFlier.com is a source that teaches travelers how to use frequent flyer programs. Check the "Strategies & Tactics" page to learn how to enroll in a frequent flyer program, manage your miles, and find the retailers that award travel miles and points.

MileMaven.com searches for bonus miles promotions, offers for hotel points, and for bonus mile promotions on frequent flyer programs. Just click on the appropriate tab at the top of the page for the information you need. The “Popular” tab rates the popularity of the offers listed under the “Flights,” “Hotels,” “Airlines,” and “Frequent Flyer Programs” sections.

WebFlyer tracks bonus promotions, flight schedules, and blackout dates. You can also use this site to redeem frequent flier mileage awards. Use the "Mileage Mall" link to view deals at online shopping malls that will earn you miles.

AirGuideOnline.com offers travel and travel tech news, as well as access to travel planning links and flight news. The "Travel Links" option provides additional links for car rentals, bargain travel, and travel services, for example.

The Flight Delay Information page of the Federal Aviation Administration Web site provides a map highlighting airports in the United States that are experiencing flight delays. If your destination city is appearing on the map, match the city's color code to the appropriate color in the legend to see what type of delay you may expect.

The Travel Insider offers “Travel Planning and Assistance” advice, “Road Warrior Resources” for business and leisure travelers, and a compilation of “Scary, Silly and Stupid Security Stories.” The Travel Insider was founded after the September 11 attacks, and much of the advice offered here teaches you how to get through airport security without incident and be more comfortable on airplanes.

InsureMyTrip.com is a travel insurance comparison Web site that compares more than 100 travel insurance plans from 18 companies. The “quotes” page is easy to use. On the right side of the quotes page is a “Business Package” option. On the “products” page, you can compare business package policies.

Access America provides travel insurance for business and leisure travel. Select the “Business” option in the “Let’s get started” box and the site will take you through the process of finding and purchasing the insurance plan that will work best for you.

HTH Worldwide offers international insurance for business, leisure, and student travelers. From the homepage, select the insurance option that best suits your needs.

Abacus Travel, Inc. focuses solely on business travel. This Web site features a “Traveler’s Tools” section with online booking tools, automated expense reporting, and real-time flight information.

Corporate Travel Management Group (CTMG) helps both travel managers and travelers. To become a client of CTMG, go to “For Travel Managers” and click “Become a Client.” The “Traveler Tools” page under the “For Travelers” section offers access to the “GetThere” service for booking travel arrangements online, ResMail Internet for real-time flight information received via e- mail, and “Virtually There” travel information received via handheld devices.

American Travel Associates works with corporate business travelers and attempts to reduce travel budgets by 20–30 percent. The “Traveler Resources” page has toll-free phone numbers for several airlines, hotel chains, car rental agencies, and cruise lines. Use the “Contact Us” tab for information about becoming a client.

BCD Travel offers travel management, consulting, incentives, and leisure services. Read through the “What We Do” section for a description of BCD’s services.

Christopherson Business Travel assists in planning company meetings, coordinating conventions, or setting up company retreats.

TripSync allows companies to make reservations and handle travel arrangements for one or more travelers. This tool has a “Book and Hold” feature that permits you to make reservations and hold them for 24 hours just in case your travel plans are uncertain. To see how this free service works, try the “View Demo” option.