As a journalist who has covered the industry for many years, I’ve had my fair share of vacations: the good, the bad and the ugly. One of the ugliest was a vacation to Chicago for a day of meetings. I opted for 8 p. m. a flight on an airline I don’t normally use so I can spend a full day at the office. Big mistake.
The flight was delayed until after midnight due to weather conditions and then diverted to Rockford, Illinois. But my suitcase was held hostage because the Rockford baggage handlers had left for the night. Normally I wouldn’t have checked my small carry-on bag, but the airline took it from me as a precaution when I was in the final boarding area. (Turns out there’s plenty of room upstairs!)
I took a cab to Chicago and after a $200 (yes, $200) ride, I arrived at my hotel at four in the morning and slept for a few hours before rushing out to buy a new suit for my meetings.
1. Not sleeping
The worst thing you can do on a business holiday abroad is gather in a living room with comfy couches you can sink into and not get enough sleep the night before your flight. The fact that I fell asleep while chatting with the president of a major cruise line is a lasting embarrassment to me, although I was lucky enough to be with someone understanding: a well-traveled, working woman like me. —Nancy Novogrod, founder of The Essentialist
2. Not being prepared
I’ve learned that in my busy life and travel schedule, I constantly forget something: the right shoes, toiletries, my favorite lipstick, a charger, a phone, and even a computer. Not all at the same time, of course. For this reason, I make the electronic reservation at a hotel that has a sundries store, as well as outlets for electronics, clothing, and footwear nearby (i. e. , within walking distance). You need to spend time looking for what’s nearby or driving or taking a car there. —Anne Chaisson, Executive Director, Hamptons International Film Festival
3. Assuming you know the visa requirements
I was on a project in India and didn’t check the visa requirements. My itinerary went through Kenya and the United Arab Emirates, and I found that I was missing the mandatory documents when I checked in for a midnight connecting flight in Nairobi. I was denied entry. I will not make this mistake again. My preparation tasks now include the CIA World Factbook, the U. S. Department of State’s Travel Alerts, and the U. S. Department of State. The U. S. Department of Homeland Security, the U. K. ‘s Overseas Travel Advisory site, the Center for Disease Control, and even a global devoted holiday calendar app. can be crucial. While waiting for this emergency visa, I found myself caught up in a whirlwind of converging devotional celebrations (Passover, Passover, Mawlid) when visa offices were closed in every country I passed through. —Shane Mitchell, author, Far Afield: Rare Culinary Encounters from Around the World
4. Last minute hotel reservation (especially for big events)
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is a major event in the tech industry, and I’ve been a part of it for over two years with Eight. Last year, we weren’t planning on showing our product, so when I got engaged, in addition to going last minute, the only hotel on the Strip (quite expensive) was also the furthest from the main convention site. I booked it by email and then regretted it. I ended up spending a lot of time in the taxi. queues and I had to leave my hotel at least an hour before each meeting. Time wasted!—Alex Zatarain, co-founder of Eight Sleep
5. Waiting to look up addresses
If you rent a car at your destination, upload all the data to your calendar ahead of time so you can seamlessly retrieve it and link it to the Google Maps app on the iPhone (which now has Waze traffic technology). Before I did this, I was taken to the rental car and then typed the address into Google Maps. I once made a typo and drove for 30 minutes in that direction. So now I make sure it’s on my calendar, so that when I rush, it’s simply an undeniable gesture in the right direction. —Laura Davidson, President of Public Relations Laura Davidson
6. Plan for Recreation Before Business
When planning a “bleisure” (business + leisure) trip, schedule the business part first, followed by your leisure stay. If you start with the leisure part of the trip, it’s 10 times harder to shift into work mode. I once went on vacation to Cozumel and Tulum right before a conference in Cancun. I was so chilled out and relaxed, and then the conference set me abruptly into high-stress mode. Massive vacation buzz kill! I’ve never vacationed before work on a bleisure trip since. —Tammy Peters, founder, Media Mixology
7. Not booking a hotel when you have a red-eye flight
Having traveled all over the world for work, I have found that it is very important to book your hotel in advance if you have an overnight flight. I once arrived early in the morning at my hotel to rest and shower after a flight with red eyes and the hotel couldn’t check me in until 3pm because it was full and none of the rooms were in condition. Now also book the hotel for the night before, so the room will be ready for me when I arrive at five in the morning. —Daria Rebenok, CEO and co-founder of Grabr
8. Not getting the ticket
I learned the hard way on the way home from business to Los Cabos after waiting in line for 3 hours at immigration to apply for international entry. This undeniable application gives you pre-approved authorization to clear immigration without any hassle. Some primary credit cards will also give you credit for fees. —Carey Reilly, travel and lifestyle expert and editor-in-chief of Not So Skinny Mom
9. Non-core language skills.
When I was in my 20’s I was the regional director of sales of Swissotel for the East Coast and I went to Switzerland to see the hotels. I was late to the train station in Bern dragging too many bags, as I still was not an experienced international traveler. I asked someone in uniform if they knew which track was for the train to Zurich. The person said, “Nein,” so I rushed off to track nine and ended up on a train to Geneva. Now I know: “nein” means “no.”—Adele Gutman, vice president of sales, marketing & revenue, Library Hotel Collection
10. Taking it with you
I lost my passport in Hong Kong while going out for dinner. I had to stay behind for three days to have the embassy issue a new one. Lesson learned: Leave your passport and other valuables in the hotel room safe when going out. —Debi Bishop, managing director, Hilton Hawaiian Village
11. Not paying attention to local customs
On my first vacation to the Middle East as a blonde American, I took the time to read the approximately 70-page document that arrived here with my confirmation. There have been warnings, from covering my head, neck, and shoulders to protecting me against water. It’s more like insisting on signing an agreement. —Michaela Guzy, founder, Oh the People You Meet
12. Not double checking your plane ticket
Last year I attended the Pirate Summit in Cologne and then many tech events in Berlin. After a long week of work, I had planned a meeting with friends in Porto. From Berlin I booked a flight to Cologne as my next flight at 6:30 am from Frankfurt Hahn Airport to Porto. So I scheduled a BlaBlaCar from Cologne to Frankfurt. The driver agreed to drop me and another passenger off at the airport. We arrived at the huge international airport of Frankfurt, but I booked my flight with a budget airline from Frankfurt-Hahn airport, which is located on the other side of the city. I’m lucky I didn’t miss the flight. Lesson learned: the importance of planning. —Mevish Aslam, founder, Terminal 3 and Sprinters
13. Planning last minute
The worst thing I did was say yes to a last-minute foreign deal that required me to leave in less than 3 hours. With no time to pack, I left the country waiting for an email with my hotel and transportation reservation. only to find out at 30,000 feet over WiFi that they couldn’t book them due to a map freeze. From now on, I will never move to any other country or even another state without everything being insured before my departure. —Jae Scott, motivational speaker and symbol consultant
14. Only bringing your work tote
I have a small, flexible bag in a passing position. I don’t want it to reach my destination, so I put it in my suitcase. But if I’m making plans to pass out for dinner or walk across town to go bar-hopping, it’s very difficult to carry my big checkered bag, especially in Spanish cities where visiting a tapas bar is a “cramped” experience. It’s a must to have this small bag to carry just the essentials for the evening. —Gretchen Thomas, Director of Wine and Spirits, Barteca Restaurant Group
15. Think about breakfast in the morning.
Nowadays I take out my room service menu to have a coffee and a snack in the morning. It doesn’t have to be a full breakfast, but there is nothing worse, especially when you are staying in a hotel where you are a host. the event, than having to go down in the morning to have a coffee. I once made the mistake of going down without makeup and in pseudo-workout clothes/pyjamas and met 25 participants who were fit enough to spend the day eating breakfast. — stacy Shoemaker Rauen, editor-in-chief of Hospitality Design magazine
16. Go non-stop
When I travel, I like to pack in as many meetings as possible. In larger cities — New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, Vegas — I often find that I start my day by leaving the hotel before 8 a.m., and I may not come back there until after dinner, drinks or (yikes) a club. It is hard to feel fresh all day when you are going for 12 hours straight. A lot of high-end spas offer relatively inexpensive day passes to utilize their thermal experiences (mineral baths, saunas, steam, showers, etc.). During the winter, it is a great place to warm up and revitalize, and during the summer it is a great way to feel fresh during long days. It’s amazing what even 30 minutes in a spa can do for the soul. —Alyssa Bushey, vice president, marketing, RockOrange
17. Waiting to print things
For my first job after college, I was an assistant at the Creative Artists Agency (CAA). At Super Bowl XLIV 2010, my boss oversaw the agency’s annual party, so I flew to Miami to help him out. My big mistake that night of the match? The final door list was replaced until the last minute, so I didn’t print it until an hour before the event started. I begged the hotel staff to let me use their printers, which weren’t moving fast enough for my stress levels. The night was a huge success, filled with celebrity-worthy gossip worthy of an episode of Entourage, but the tension of that list still haunts me. These days, I create Google Docs, which I can access from anywhere via WiFi from my iPhone. And just because I nervously, I send emails and bring published copies of everything you could possibly want before I even walk through the door. —Gabrielle Blitz Rosen, Chief Digital Officer, Beautiful Destinations
18. Ignoring your phone plan
A very costly mistake that I made by blindly depending on my cell phone operator to inform me about foreign roaming awareness plans while traveling in Spain. I didn’t know there was a feature to turn off Internet roaming that I had to click on on my phone, because my cell phone carrier didn’t say a word about it. When I returned, I presented a bill for 3 nights at a hotel in Spain. I sent a serious complaint to my service provider, but they said they were not required to provide this information. I now read all the fine print and do additional study on my phone and knowledge plans before going abroad. —Piya Bose, founder of Girls on the Go club
19. Wearing impractical shoes
When I was a lawyer, I went to Perth to do some confidential document review. I grabbed a pair of heels that lived underneath my desk. I changed into them in the cab on the way from the airport to the conference room and realized about 30 seconds in that I made a terrible mistake. I have no idea how to walk in high heels, and it was painfully and laughably obvious. The moral of the story: Always go with flats. You’ll feel more powerful if you’re comfortable and not distracted. —Anita Dhake, The Power of Thrift
20. Forgetting to leave time for fun
I missed a “bonus day” at the end of a recent trip to San Francisco and missed the lovely recently reopened SFMOMA. Next time, I’ll be sure to leave a little room for sightseeing. —Sarah Spagnolo, Editor-in-Chief, Foursquare Swarm
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