You won't pick a cheap car rental if you leave it to the last minute

There's a very simple rule in this world of predatory sellers. If they think you are desperate, the price goes up. Just picture the scene. You quickly packed a bag, ran down to the airport and got on the plane. Now you have arrived with a crowd of others and begin queuing at the nearest rental agent's stand in the airport lobby. When you finally get to the counter, there are only a few of the most expensive, top-of-the-range vehicles available to drive away. If you could wait. . . but, obviously, you are in a hurry. Then there are additional fees to cover the paperwork. The price just keeps going up and up. So, to protect yourself against being gouged, you should always prebook as far in advance as possible.

Let's start with a quick summary of the reasons for advance booking. No matter how many times you see the advice, it remains true. Shopping around really does save you money. This site offers you access to multiple car rental companies, all of which are competing for your business. That gives them all an incentive to keep the rental rates low. Now check whether the airline or travel agency is offering a package deal of flight plus cheap car rental (and possibly plus accommodation). If that's the case, you could make a bigger saving instead of buying direct. Or perhaps your credit card or some other affiliate group to which you belong has a promotional offer on car rental. Or perhaps you belong to a loyalty program or your air miles reward program can be used to pay for the car rental.

Then take a further moment or two to check out the off-site rental agencies. Yes, you will have to take the airport shuttle bus or a taxi, which can cost you a few dollars, but often the more distant sites have really cheap car rental offers. If there's any doubt about whether it's going to be easy to get to the location to collect the vehicle or you are worried about finding additional fees, a quick telephone call will usually resolve matters. Remember the rental companies located at airports always have higher rates. Protect yourself and drive away the car you booked, at the time you booked, at reduced rates.

Save money on flights, and enjoy your travel experience even more

Any time we wish to save money, we look for possible "discounts" and special offers. There are some basic facts to keep in mind. These facts can help you get the lowest ticket prices available from major airlines.

Fact #1: It is Necessary to Be Aware of Peak Travel Times

Mid-week days are always the best days to fly unless a major holiday falls during that time. Weekend travel is the most expensive as are holidays. You may have a good sense of when peak times are in your own country. But if you plan to fly internationally, you should know that peak travel times vary by country. For example, you may think that traveling to London during the fall is a safe bet. However, many London families travel during school breaks which can make for a hectic experience if you are traveling at the same time. In addition, you will be paying more for your airfare.

Fact #2: There are Differences between Scheduled Flights and Charter Flights

When you search for affordable airfare, you will most likely be reviewing scheduled flights offered by the major airlines. These are the flights that travel agents access to help book your flight. However, if your airfare is part of a vacation or tour package deal, you may be on a charter flight. These flights are often used to take passengers to popular destinations. Peak seasons are when charter flights operate. When charter flights are not full, individuals can still get a seat. However, you may pay more as those seats tend to be sold at a profit by travel agents and consolidators who purchase seats in bulk.

Fact #3: It is Possible to Find Low Rates Online

It has never been easier to locate great deals on airfare on the Internet. There are plenty of online resources to help with your search. It is a good idea to compare offers from multiple airlines to makes sure you get the best deal possible. Using an aggregator site that allows you to search for deals from all of the major airlines is always smart. But after you compare deals and have identified the best ones, visit those airlines' websites to see if you can get an even better deal. Often airlines post last minute deals on their websites that the aggregators do not have access to immediately.

These are just several facts to keep in mind when looking for cheap flights. There is always an opportunity to get affordable airfare, but you can also end up paying too much for a ticket if you do not have an understanding of how the industry works. It just takes a bit of research to find the best cheap flights to your destination.

A Good Idea For Travelling A Little Lighter

Carrying a lot of baggage? Metaphorically it's a phrase that means being held back, bogged down. It's a great metaphor - because in the real physical world baggage has exactly the same effect on people trying to move around. So what can you do and loosen the load of luggage and reduce that burden of baggage whilst you're travelling?

One solution that's rapidly gaining popularity amongst people who travel is cheap self storage. Whether outbound, storing your flat contents (maybe so you can let it out) while you jet off abroad on an extended period of working overseas - or inbound - as an extra room for the stuff you bring with you when you land on holiday or vacation. Self storage could be the answer.

The concept is pretty straight-forward, you rent a cheap self-contained storage locker or unit in a local self storage centre. It's essentially a building full of individual storage units that provides a safe and secure environment. You can rent the space to store all the extra belongings you aren't taking with you (if you're heading abroad) or the stuff you don't want to clutter up your hotel room or apartment in your temporary work, holiday or study destination. It's a particularly great solution for students who need to move around outside of term and between semesters or are on a gap year. Or for backpackers - who might be touring, visiting a city for a few days, but have don't want to leave their belongings unsecured at the hostel in the daytime.

Prague Incentive Travel Programs Bring Out the Explorer In Every Individual

Prague, located in central Europe, borders the countries of Germany, Poland, and Austria. This metropolitan destination of over one million people can be found next to the Vltava River. An oceanic climate creates winters that are extremely cold and summers consisting of warmer temperatures. The city is a cultural hub of the European region offering a wide variety of things to do. Famous attractions include the Prague Castle, Old Town Square, Charles Bridge, Lennon Wall, and the Jewish Quarter with each offering its own unique atmosphere. The exquisite combination of area activities makes Prague incentive travel plans a great choice for any corporation seeking a modern method for rewarding goal achievement. Trips are comparable in price to a monetary or other type of reward; however, they supply long term results that support later motivational endeavors.

Corporate Incentive Travel: Why Is This Historically Rich Location a Wise Choice?

As a corporate incentive travel destination, the city easily meets the multiple interests found in this type of achievement reward. Prague is known for its history, culture, food, and the arts. Its history began thousands of years ago when the Celtics settled in a nearby region during the Paleolithic age. The area was heavily populated by Marcomanni, a people of Germanic origin, near the conclusion of the first century. Additional historical moves become prevalent after the Roman Empire collapsed in sixth century AD. The city of was not officially founded until 800 when the building a fort initiated what is now known as Prague Castle. This important European merchant trading area was later transformed into an imperial capital by Charles IV. An immense history makes Prague an ideal corporate incentive travel destination for those who enjoy a rich past consisting of epic cultural revolutions.

Business Travel Tips

Do you remember the times, when you got a call from your boss at 5 am, and you had to pack your bags and leave for the airport to take the 7 am flight? That's how hectic and random business travel can be, when you are least prepared for it. No matter how easy it sounds, to just pick up the necessary things and dump them in a bag, so you can rush out of the house, there's always something you miss out at the last minute! To make these national and international business trips easy, with respect to packing and mental stress, we have a few tips for business travel put together in the paragraphs below. But the universal tip you need to remember is, to have a constant checklist stuck to your wardrobe, so the job is easier! Well, now you can take a look at the following business travel tips, read on...

Best Business Travel Tips

If you are a frequent traveler, because of work, it is always safe to pack well in advance to save time and effort at the last minute. Business trips are not similar to informal trips, as in the latter case, you can have ample of time to pack, repack and make checklists. However, in case of a business trip, you might get untimely calls to travel, therefore, you have to be ready with many important things like documents, basic essentials, food, water, first aid, etc. This job could be confusing when not done in advance, so, we have a few business travel tips that we put together just for you. Take a look, and make sure you use these road, train or air travel tips when required.

Make a Checklist
The first and foremost rule, or tip, in any traveling tips is to make a checklist of all the things you would need to carry. This checklist can be very important, as you don't end up missing something essential, and your last minute travel arrangements are made simpler and time saving. You can include clothes and toiletries, travel documents, first aid, money arrangements, cell phones, laptops, business documents and travel tickets in these lists. Prepare one common checklist and stick it in a convenient corner, for each trip.

Guidelines to Starting Your Own Travel Business Online

Starting your own travel business online can be one of the best decisions you will make in your lifetime, especially if traveling is your passion and helping others find the best travel deals is your goal. There are many companies offering various opportunities to people like you who are interested in making money in the travel industry, and as long as you keep an eye on details and are willing to spend some time finding some of the most affordable yet excellent deals you will surely have a steady stream of clients at the soonest possible time. If you are new to online business opportunities and would want to start making money through having a travel agency of your own here are a few things that you may want to consider.

First, take the time to look for travel companies that are not only easy to deal with but would also provide you with special deals on various travel packages. Many travel companies are constantly on the lookout for people who want to start their own travel business or agency. These companies often provide assistance to aspiring travel agents by providing them with affordable travel packages and paying them commissions for each package successfully booked. However, it is always best to find a reputable travel company to work with in order to establish your reputation among clients as soon as possible. Search for reviews and testimonials and determine which companies can provide the best deals and the best compensation for travel agencies and freelance agents.

3 Timeline Tips for Travel Pros Using Facebook

Exciting changes travel quickly! Facebook's Timeline for business pages is HOT news!

As a travel pro, here are 3 tips and tricks, plus an important bonus tactic, to keep you ahead of the game. I know, you're probably overwhelmed by bookings, accounting and keeping up with supplier changes. Now you wonder how you'll manage to tackle another Facebook change. I've put together a quick update for you with how-to's and strategy designed for the travel and tourism pro.

#1 - Your new Cover Photo

This exciting change gives you the opportunity to showcase your specialty visually! From a marketing standpoint this is awesome news! You can now highlight:

• Your best-selling destination
• Upcoming group departure
• Your latest family trip destination and focus on your credibility
• Photos of people enjoying your services (you may want to get a release from those pictured)

Tech stuff: This new cover photo needs to be 851 pixels wide and 315 pixels tall. Most people choose a high-definition photo that captures the essence of their brand, the business model and their key specialty.

Tip: don't use a photo that doesn't belong to you and follow Facebook's rules on cover photos.

Best Apps for Busy Executive Travelers

So you have a hot new iPhone or iPad - now which apps should you download and use? Here's a list of the hottest apps to help you travel smarter and work more efficiently when on the road.

FlightCaster is a free app for the iPhone that claims to predict flight delays with 95 percent accuracy. So before booking your next flight, check if there's a chance of any delays first.

GateGuru is another free app for iPhones that allows you to search your airport for the restaurants, stores and services that you want and need. You can also bookmark favorite spots, read reviews, and share your travels via Facebook and Twitter.

Kayak is one of the world's leading travel search engines. Kayak Mobile for the iPad and iPhone lets you use Kayak's dedicated travel search engine to find flight prices from almost any origin to destinations around the world. Find what you need based on price, comfort and positive feedback.

MySkyStatus.com is an app powered by Lufthansa that allows you to set up auto-Tweeting on your flight status to family, friends and business associates. Your Twitter followers can even track your in-flight progress, even if you don't have in-flight Wi-Fi.

Smart Things to Consider When Traveling for Business

Reward Programs

There are many different types of reward program's out there on offer from airlines, to hotels to rental cars to name just afew. It's a lucrative service offered by many companies in order to pay respect to the loyalty of a customer. A way to say Thanks basically and have you returning back for more. Most programs are free to join. It is free for the most basic program. Within each program though, there maybe different tier levels you can join up too again which are paid, so check this out before joining as well and choose a program you are most likely to Travel with frequently and look into it's benefits.

Enroll yourself in a Frequent flyer program if you travel to a particular city often. I would suggest that you sign up for ALL the free mileage points/loyalty programs you come across that would be of benefit to you. If you're using online sites like Expedia and CheapOair, it's likely you'll be traveling with two different airlines so you can be earning points on both. It would be advantageous also though to accumulate as many points as you can under the one frequent flyer program so you can redem points quicker. You would be best to use the frequent flyer program you travel with the most eg United airlines Mileage Plus Program or bmi whatever airline it maybe. Don't forget to also keep your boarding passes with you until your statement has arrived so you can cross check all points have been received.

An even faster way to accumulate points is by joining a credit card rewards program such as the Platinum or Gold Card with American Express. Having a Platinum may also mean you can use almost all of the airline clubs on the day you fly that airline. This works great when you're flying multiple airlines. Also, Platinum may also reimburse some of your expenses for checked baggage or onboard food purchases when using the card. Warning: There are fees to be a platinum member as well, but the program itself far outweighs the annual fee particularly for those that travel frequently. Use it to pay all your bills as well and earn points, but just ensure that you pay the credit card bill off in full each month so not to accumulate interest charges. Benefits vary from country to country as well so read through all the details carefully.

Non-Conspicuous Business Travel, the New Norm

The other day, I was at Starbucks I was talking to a gentleman who was formerly from Ireland. He is now a US citizen, and he runs a business in the transportation industry. Specifically he shuttles executives, and wealthy individuals to and from the airport, and around town in town cars and Limousines while they are on vacation, or while they are snow-birding in our desert resort community. We got to talking about how more and more wealthy folks and corporate executives are traveling incognito without the flashy Limousines. There's a reason for this, and I'd like to talk about it for a moment if I might.

If you "travel large" and flash the cash so to speak, carrying expensive designer bags jump in and out of expensive cars, well, in some countries you are liable to get kidnapped if you are too conspicuous or if you appear be wealthy. If you look like you are a corporate executive, there's a good chance that your company has bought travel insurance to pay off the kidnappers, and therefore, that's easy money, and you will soon become a target.

Also, we seem to have a challenge with the 99 percentile group which believes that the wealthy are somehow evil, should pay more taxes, and there are enough people who are fully engaged in class warfare to make it actually dangerous in the United States in some areas. Much of the masses have been emboldened by the political rhetoric on TV and in the mass media that's okay to attack wealthy folks, a cost them at their home, or call them out as greedy bastards. No, of course that's not okay, but for some reason the political rhetoric is at an all-time high, probably due to the election season, and since we have a populist style president currently.