Podcast #146 — Rental Demolition Derby; Traveler Gift Guide

Written by mark on November 20, 2018 1 comment

But I filled up the tank

Getting this posted just in time to give you something to listen to while jammed up in Thanksgiving traffic, be it on the road or in the airports. We talk about working the angles to maximize credit card benefits, which leads me to one more story from my fall trip to Europe — a rental car scrape that my Chase Visa card just paid off. We also talk about the Wall Street Journal’s new ranking of US airports and compare it to Skytrax’s international rankings. And we wrap up with my Christmas gift suggestions for the frequent traveler on your list.  All this and more at the direct link to the podcast file or listening to it right here by clicking on the arrow below.

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Podcast #145 — Restaurant Karma; Hotel Breakfasts

Written by mark on October 7, 2018 Comments Off on Podcast #145 — Restaurant Karma; Hotel Breakfasts

How Much Extra For A Plate?

Just regular domestic business travel since the last podcast, trying to dodge Hurricane Florence to get back to Charlottesville.  Thinking back to last month’s European travels, we talk about a tight connection through Amsterdam and some odd concierge lounge rules, which gets me thinking about hotel breakfasts. And a listener request for restaurant recommendations gets me thinking about the balance of visiting good and not-so-good restaurant towns. All this and more at the direct link to the podcast file or listening to it right here by clicking on the arrow below.

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Podcast #144 — Outside Airports; Hospitality Mentality

Written by mark on September 15, 2018 Comments Off on Podcast #144 — Outside Airports; Hospitality Mentality

Greetings…

Back in front of the mic after 12 days of skipping across northern Europe — Copenhagen, Brussels, and Scotland. In this episode, we get nostalgic about outside airports in California, talk about how a hospitality mentality is pervasive in hotels but not in restaurants, missing customer service responses from United Airlines and Marriott, and European perspectives about Chicago.  All this and more at the direct link to the podcast file or listening to it right here by clicking on the arrow below.

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Podcast #143 — How Bad is Business Travel For Your Health; Make Layovers Fun

Written by mark on August 9, 2018 1 comment

Duck squats are supposed to keep you healthy

No long-distance travel this month. Instead, I”m getting back into regional jets, and waiting out a long delay in Cincinnati has me wondering about American Eagle’s flight scheduling algorithm. My flights into CVG cause me to think about the impact of losing hub status. CVG looks overbuilt, but MEM is spending money to shrink itself. A Harvard Business Review article about how frequent business travel leads to poor health choices emphasizes the need for “mindfulness” on the road. The Midway Layover Taproom video gets me thinking about the time needed for a fun layover tour. And I give a listener my Chicago restaurant and taproom recommendations. All this and more at the direct link to the podcast file or listening to it right here by clicking on the arrow below.

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Video – Chicago MDW Layover Taproom Tour

Written by mark on July 15, 2018 3 comments

With a bit of forethought, a 4-5 hour layover allows you to do a quick flyby of a new city’s highlights, or get deep into some part of a city. In this video, we’re laying over at Midway, Chicago’s older, less-known airport and one of Southwest’s busiest stations, skipping the usual tourist spots and instead for what can only be described as the “post-industrial” landscape of Chicago’s near South Side for a tour of 4 craft beer taprooms — Lagunitas Brewing, Lo Rez Brewing, Marz Community Brewing, and Whiner Beer

Podcast #142 — Sleeping in Business Class; Changes from Chinese Tourists

Written by mark on July 3, 2018 Comments Off on Podcast #142 — Sleeping in Business Class; Changes from Chinese Tourists

What’s the Chinese character for “wurst”?

Yet another last-minute long-distance trip, this time to Frankfurt, Germany, lets me check out United Airlines’ new business class service, and think again about the value for those expensive lie-flat seats. Seeing a new Chinese menu at a favorite wurst stand in the old part of Frankfurt reminds me of the changes driven by the new wave of Chinese tourists. I also read recent PR pitches for a new smart bag and a business traveler’s biohack. All this and more at the direct link to the podcast file or listening to it right here by clicking on the arrow below.

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Podcast #141 — When You Think the TSA is Bad…; Expired Money

Written by mark on May 31, 2018 Comments Off on Podcast #141 — When You Think the TSA is Bad…; Expired Money

Effects of Extended Exposure to TSA Scan

A last-minute trip to Pune, India provided more than enough material for this episode — a visa dash, very hands-on airport security, worthless rupee notes, flight disruptions…. We also read the obits for a couple of smart bag companies and hear why MSP’s T2 isn’t so ghetto after all. All this and more at the direct link to the podcast file or listening to it right here by clicking on the arrow below.

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Podcast #140 — Travel Tech Gets Physical; Pay Attention to the Safety Briefing

Written by mark on April 30, 2018 Comments Off on Podcast #140 — Travel Tech Gets Physical; Pay Attention to the Safety Briefing

The Look of Augmented Reality?

Broke out the mobile unit to record this episode in the Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta; much warmer than getting caught in a spring snow storm in Milwaukee. When much of the travel tech news is about the latest phone apps, we talk about physical travel technology that we can touch and carry. And when flying during the past two weeks, flight attendants’ safety demonstrations have become a bit more strident. All this and more at the direct link to the podcast file or listening to it right here by clicking on the arrow below.

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