The last month I have had more travel than expected and quickly got reminded how I dislike traveling for business and how I am not as sharp as I used to be. While working for KPMG I had traveling down to a science since it occured every week. Certain events this past month have indicated that I need to polish my travel skills.

Losing Items

Last year I lost my main debit card on two occasions once in April while catching a train to San Francisco for the @chirp developer conference and another in Miami while I was having lunch with friends at a PF Changs when I was travelling all over the place with @jetblue’s All You Can Jet pass. In San Francisco I was not able to check-in to a Hotel. This march at Austin while at SXSW I almost lost my wallet the first day since it slipped out of my pocket thankfully the cab driver returned it to me. On my way to Hollywood, CA to Hispanicize about two weeks ago I almost left my wallet once again on a @jetblue flight. I thanked the person sitting next to me for handing me my wallet.

I keep a separate stash of cash in one of my bags when I travel and keep my Identification separate. Reason I did not have my passport when the TSA Agent told me it was a requirements for Puerto Rican Citizens to travel across the US.

Having to Re-Pack on the Last Day

When I was constantly traveling I had my carry-on bag as organized as I had my Locker during basic training at Fort Knox, KY for the Army. Segmenting my items in bags has benefits,  for example in case anything spilled like mouthwash (none of the other items get affected. Segmenting items in bags also allows you to keep everything inside your piece of luggage. When you travel you should be always ready to leave and not have to spend a 30 minutes or more repacking your stuff.

While at SXSW with all the Swag they gave us I think it took myself and @jpadilla_ more than 2 hours to decide how we where going to carry back a gazillion t-shirts and other items (we ended up mailing most of the stuff). Word of advice keep your stuff in bags and insert your dirty clothing into another separate bag. The best options are space saver bags which will also save space and make your bag look a lot more organized.

Loosing out on Perks

Last year when I travelled to Atlanta I realized I no longer received the perks of getting my car or room upgraded. Or even the right to have a free continental breakfast. Once you get pampered by traveling then you get spoiled and start missing these items.

Not grabbing the best deals

I was invited by Hispanicize as a speaker and was given Lodging at a beautiful and awesome hotel in Hollywood. After the conference since that Hotel was out of my budget I ended up moving up the street to a Best Western. I am still not sure if it was the psychological factor of coming from a very fancy and neat hotel to a dump that made the transition such a horrible experience. I hadn’t felt uncomfortable in a hotel room like that since 2005 while I was in Carslyle, Pennsylvania and my hotel options where very limited. I made the  mistake of not reviewing tripadvisor before I booked my room.

Great Tips from Ann @MarketingProfs

It seems like I will be traveling a bit for business this year and I found  this awesome article 8-Point Survival Guide for Too Much Business Travel
where Ann Handley @marketingprofs Co-Author of Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars…
mentioned me. I really think these tips can be very useful. Ann even has me thinking on starting to check in my bag (something I hate to do).

Take a look at her post and unique presentation and feel free to share your experiences and tips on travel in the comments section.