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Tips for the New and Old Global Business Traveler
1.
Be sure to check your passport expiration date now, not the
day before you leave for your foreign destination. If yours
expires in the next few months, renew now by mail rather than
play the costly game of beat the deadline later.
2.
Be sure you get the name of the person who takes your hotel
reservation. If a computer system badly digests your information
or gets knocked out, you have a name that will uphold your
credibility and may help another employee trace your record.
The same applies to airports, car rental companies, etc. If
you have a faxed confirmation sheet, it may help you get into
a hotel room while the reservation system is brought back
up.
3.
Carry a few extra dollars: do not rely entirely on electronic
lifelines such as ATM machines.
4.
Be sure to ask about your accommodations. What’s a double
room in another country? It may have one wide bed or two very
narrow ones. If it matters, ask. Similarly, a British hotel
room described as having a private bath may indeed have a
private bath but not a toilet. Ask.
5.
Carry two credit cards separately when you travel. If one
is stolen and the account is frozen, you have another way
to feed and house yourself. Don’t pack anything you
cannot bear to part with.
6.
When you walk out into a foreign city, one where English is
not the first language, snag a business card or a brochure
from the desk of your hotel. This will help in getting back
if you become confused or lost.
7.
When checking a suitcase, put a card inside with your name,
destination hotel, and phone number.
8.
Don’t pack brand new shoes. Take those that are already
broken in.
9.
That string over the shower in many European hotels is not
the light cord. It’s an emergency bell.
10.
Try to arrive at a hotel with some cash in single denominations
in your pocket; save yourself from groping and embarrassment.
11.
Airline pillows do not get fresh cases after each flight.
They may not even get fresh cases each day. If this bothers
you, take your own pillow or case.
12.
The International Association for Medical Assistance Travelers
will send you a directory of English-speaking doctors overseas
who have agreed to limit their fees for office and hotel calls.
Write to the organization at 1623 Military Rd. #279, Niagara
Falls, NY 14304-1745 or call (716) 754-4883, or see, www.iamat.org.
You will be asked for a contribution, since that’s what
the organization lives by.
Source:
Betsy Wade Travel Columnist.
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