Coming to you today from the Courtyard Hotel just across from Philadelphia’s City Hall in the midst of a last quick trip before leaving the airports to the Thanksgiving traveling crush. In this episode, we talk about ways of keeping track of travel receipts and an airport theft ring that targeted black luggage bags. I update last year’s “Road Warrior 201” tips for this holiday travel season, and have an interview with the creator of Frequent Flyer, a new documentary about mileage junkies. Here’s a direct link to the podcast file or you can listen to it right here by clicking on the arrow below.

Here are the transcript from TravelCommons podcast #80:

• Intro music — Warmth by Makkina
• Coming to you today from the Courtyard in Downtown Philadelphia – just kitty corner from the amazing piece of architecture that is Philadelphia’s City Hall. Whether you think it’s impressive or impressively kitsch, there are few city halls that are so “in the center of things” as Philadelphia’s.
• The Thanksgiving travel season just seems to keep getting longer – more smeared out. Walking to my car in ORD last Friday afternoon after three incessantly rainy days in Seattle, I could see the holiday traffic already starting to build – lots of families, small kids pulling junior-sized rolling bags. I dunno, if you’re going to have your kid play business traveler, why not go all the way, get them a black or charcoal grey half-sized Tumi and let them feel the power the way that the primary colors of the Dora the Explorer bag will never let them experience.
• Me, I just want to feel the power of that tryptophan high from Thanksgiving Day turkey, maybe extending it with leftovers through the weekend, just being a couch slug until next Monday, when I have to fight with the tail end of the smeared-out holiday travel traffic and head back west again.
• Bridge Music — Miss America by Beyond 7

Following Up

• Just to continue on my rental car rant from the last episode, I booked a car a couple of weeks ago in LAX — $19 daily rate, but with an additional $15 in taxes & surcharges. 44% of the total cost was taxes & surcharges. Go figure.
• Arnoud Heijnis, a long time T/C listener, sent me a note earlier this month with the subject line – Expense Mayhem:
  • Work has forced me in to being a frequent traveller and although I’ve got most basics down and start to enjoy the efficiency I have made my own. However there is one thing that I still need to master. It may sound simple and you might think “what’s the deal” but I have a challenge doing and keeping track of my expenses.
  • I know most people carry one of those transparent filing sleeves, as do I, however I continuously get caught off guard, especially when going from trip in to trip, which my company wants to see split. I have tried many things, apps for the iPhone, apps for the BlackBerry, different filing folders etc. But haven’t gotten to a system which is really satisfactory to me.
  • My challenge is that I have receipts coming in from events in the evening when I don’t have my laptop bag at hand, at the airport, hotels, different settings etc. When I finally hit my desk for the two days of doing expenses I try to decipher the mayhem of receipts, hotel bills, car rental printouts etc. I’m usually pretty successful however feel that I’m not as efficient as I could be.
  • I was wondering if you could enlighten me with some tips and tricks from a seasoned traveller
• Arnoud, thanks for the question. Keeping track of your travel expenses, and then getting them accurately into whatever system your company uses for reimbursement is a question close to the hearts and wallets of every frequent traveler. I average $5-10,000/month in travel expenses, so it’s real money to me. And there’s more than once where I missed filing a couple hundred dollar receipt, which then reinforces that uncertainty – am I getting paid back for everything I buy?
• I’m probably at the low-tech end of the scale. I use the transparent sleeves that Arnoud mentions, as well as a specific sleeve in my wallet that’s reserved for receipts I collect when I don’t have my briefcase with me – for taxi receipts, parking receipts, restaurant receipts. I also keep a business card in there (because it’s a nice fit) where I jot down cash expenditures – these are the ones I forget the most.
• I’ve known a couple of folks who’ve tried Evernote on their iPhones – taking a picture of a receipt and then tagging it with the right project or account. I dunno – I keep thinking about trying it, but it never gets above the B level on my to-do list, which means it doesn’t get done.
• The method of capture, though, isn’t near as important as the discipline of doing data entry every day, or every other day max. You can re-create your day, even yesterday in your mind. But wait ‘til the weekend, and, unless you’re an elephant, you’re hosed. I get into trouble when I wait ‘til the end of the week to bang in my expenses. Every other day over an end-of-the–day beer is a best practice for me.
• If any other listeners have suggestions for Arnoud, please send them in or post them as comments to the website.
• Leo Vegoda sent me a link to a story from the beginning of November about a Phoenix couple that’ve been stealing luggage from SkyHarbor airport since 2005! The couple is accused of stealing nearly 1,000 items. After searching the couple’s 14-room home, a Phoenix detective said “there were suitcases everywhere. Floor to ceiling. Everywhere”.
• In his note, Leo pointed out an interesting fact in the story – “Most of the luggage is reportedly black and similar looking” – referring to my riff on replacing my squeaky wheeled bag – “not sure if going for black sounds like a good idea”
• It definitely wasn’t a good idea for a new colleague. Vishal was traveling to every week to DC for a project – the usual consulting grind – take the 6am American flight from O’Hare to Reagan National, catch the Metro to the client, crank all day, check into the hotel around 7, go out to dinner, and then hit the sack. So it was probably around 9:30 or 10pm when Vishal finally discovered that he’d pulled someone else’s black roller bag – same color, same model — out of the overhead bin of the morning flight – some 12-13 hours ago.
• Sometime the next day, Vishal got reconnected with his black bag. He found the owner’s business card in one of the front pockets (an important travel tip for you new road warriors out there) and connected with him at lunch. Over the past two podcasts, we’ve talked about forgetting things in that moment of transition – when you’re leaving the plane or the rental car. Facing an overhead bin full of black bags after getting up at 3:30am to make the 6am flight… That afternoon, Vishal walked down to a tourist store in DC, bought himself a little red & blue Obama bandana and tied it around the handle of his bag. Not a political statement. In this case, I think the “Change” on the bandana refers to fresh underwear.
• If you have a question, a story, a comment – the voice of the traveler, send it along. The e-mail address is comments@travelcommons.com, you can send me a Twitter message at @mpeacock, or you can post them on the web site at travelcommons.com.
• Bridge Music — On Condition of Anonymity by the West Exit

Holiday Travel Tips

• A little over a year ago – episode #68 to be precise – I did a piece that I called “Road Warrior 201” where I skipped the usual tips – don’t check luggage unless you absolutely have to, wear loafers or slip-on shoes make security screening easier – and gave some of my intermediate level, I guess non-obvious tips. Listening to the holiday travel tips in the most recent episode of Craig and Linda Martin’s Indie Travel Podcast – where they gave the TravelCommons podcast a nice shout-out – made me think about re-visiting the topic in time for the holiday travel season.
• Over my last couple of trips – returning from Seattle and this flight out to Phila – I paid attention to the families, the ones getting a jump on the Thanksgiving holiday. The families that made it through the terminal and through security were the ones who were paying attention. The parents took advantage of the time in the security lines and prepped their kids. They had the Nintendos already put away in the backpacks, their coats off and their shoe laces undone. They got their kids’ attention – putting away the Nintendos is probably a good help – told them what they needed to do, so that when the kids got to the screening station, they weren’t wandering around — they were loading up their bins and ready to walk through the metal detector. Even the most hardened business traveler will give a family with young kids a break if they look like they’re trying. So the tip – make good use of the long security lines – get prepared.
• One of the “201” tips from last year’s podcast was to factor in the potential costs of a missed connection due to weather – when you’re responsible for room and board – when choosing between a connecting or a direct flight. If you tried, but you’re stuck with a connection, as we come into the winter season – at least in the Northern Hemisphere – give that connection a bit of space. In hubs like Denver or Dallas, airlines will offer connection times of as little as 45 minutes. Don’t take it! Think about it – that means you have 15 minutes to get off your plane packed with once-a-year holiday travelers, weave through the terminal packed with families wandering along four-a-breast, and find your gate before your flight begins to board. Any sort of traffic or weather delay and that 15 minutes is gone. Give yourself a holiday break and save the stress — go for the 90-minute connection. Worst case, you have an extra 45 minutes to read a book or grab a beer. Cheap insurance against sleeping on the airport floor.
• Another stress reliever – if you’re on a direct flight or on the final leg to your designation, don’t sweat about getting your carry-on into the cabin. On winter holiday flights, if you’re seating area 3 or higher – odds are, between winter coats and packed flights – there’s no overhead bin space for you. Let the agent gate-check the bag for you. You won’t have to pay a checked bag fee and it’s very unlikely that they’ll lose your bag – it’s only traveling a couple hundred feet from the jet bridge to the luggage bay. Yes, it’ll add 30-45 minutes at the end of your trip waiting at the luggage carousel, but popping a vein in frustration will shorten your life at lot more than that.
• Another “201” tip from last year — if you have to call an airline or hotel and you don’t have a special status 1K or Platinum number, choose the unpopular path on the phone tree. Travel companies don’t staff their customer service centers for peak loads – like the day when a Chicago blizzard cancels 400 flights. It’s too expensive. So on those days, you’ll wait forever for an agent if you’ve followed the typical path down the phone tree. On those days, choose the “Spanish” or “Int’l Travel” option because most everyone else is choosing English and domestic travel. Once you connect with someone, they’ll take care of you. They all work on the same systems in the same service centers.
• But, above all, be realistic – it’s going to be crowded. Steel yourself for it, get your inner karma tuned for it, and give yourself extra time. Figure out how much time it’ll take and add another 50%. At worst, you’ll have some extra time to watch the planes take off. But it’ll allow you to breathe a bit easier when the snow begins to fall
• Bridge Music — Subtle Vice by Solace

Frequent Flyer — The Documentary

• In episode #78, we talked about the upcoming movie Up In The Air, where George Clooney stars as an extreme frequent flyer. Dave of the Sand and Tsunamis blog left a comment on the TravelCommons website pointing to a 20-minute documentary about “mileage junkies” called, fittingly enough, Frequent Flyer. I caught up with the creator, Gabriel Leigh, over Skype and talked to him about his film.
• Interview with Gabriel Leigh
• Gabriel’s documentary Frequent Flyer can be found on the Vimeo video site. And on Weds, Nov 25th, a 13-minute version of the film will be on the PBS FrontLine site. Watch it – I think you’ll enjoy it.

Closing

• Closing music — iTunes link to Pictures of You by Evangeline
• OK, that’s it, that’s the end of TravelCommons podcast #80
• I hope you all enjoyed this podcast and I hope you decide to stay subscribed.
• The bridge music is from Magnatune, the we are not evil label. Miss America by Beyond 7, On Condition of Anonymity by the West End, and Subtle Vice by Solace. You can find these and more at magnatunes.com.
• If you have a story, thought, comment, gripe – the voice of the traveler — send ‘em along, text or MP3 file, to comments@travelcommons.com or to @mpeacock on Twitter, or post them on our website at travelcommons.com. Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to send in e-mails, Tweets and post comments on the website
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• Direct link to the show