Do you find traveling for business to be a pleasure?

My DH keeps hoping his company will change their corporate headqtrs from London to Paris!

Hi Katie. I go to NYC annually for business, but always manage to fit in a little pleasure, too...so it's enjoyable. Same with Miami each fall.

I'm headed to New York in another couple weeks and this time my sister is going to meet me up there...she is ecstatic, too and keeps reminding me each day on the IM just how many more days until we depart. Even though I will be busy with business during the day, we will still have the evenings together. I'm also staying on a couple extra days so that we can have some full days together before heading home in separate directions. We live in two different countries so aside from being excited to show her my NY, I'm also excited just to see her.

I haven't been on many business trips myself (though I'd love to start getting out to some GTGS)...but I did attend a conference in Miami recently. Talk about a tease! I was inside a large conference center all day...and it was 75 degrees and sunny out!

Miami is a good place to tack a day on...everyone needs a day on the beach!

Grcxx3... I can't think of anything better than "having" to go to Paris all of the time. I'd probably need to get a second job to afford the extended weekends I would take!

Yeah Katie - he keeps hoping.......but is just ain't gonna happen!!!!!

However....it's always nice to dream!!!!

No, no, and no!! I am a very frequent business traveller, spending at least 3 days a week on the road and flying 2-4 segments every week. I am sitting in the terminal right now - killing time.I do look forward to NYC and a few warm destinations, but that doesn't happen too often. I keep my sanity by madly collecting miles and points for free vacations.
It helps to stick to one hotels' frequent traveler program so that you get extra perks and extra points. Sometimes, a city that you expect to be bad is not and vice versa. Thought I would hate Cincinnati and I really love it. Thought I would love Chicago and I don't.
If you travel for work this often - it really isn't much fun - too busy on the road with work to play.

Love Chicago, San Francisco, New York, Boston. Atlanta is so-so.

Rochester, Indianapolis, and Dallas don't do much for me at all--I wouldn't use the word "loathe," but I'm never thrilled at the opportunity to visit these cities.

I'll sometimes tack on a couple of days in Los Angeles or San Francisco. Since I live only four hours for New York, sometimes if my trip involves a Friday or Monday, I'll add a weekend. And, of course, if I am at a beach resort I'll spend a couple of days in the sun with a cold drink.

OTOH, sometimes you want to just be at home because business travel is rarely "fun." I've passed on adding days in Miami, for instance, because I just want to go home. After three days in a hotel conference room--and a conference room in Miami is no different from a conference room in Duluth--you sometimes just want to get home as soon as possible.

Travel extremely frequently for work -- *not* enjoyable. Really love: San Francisco, Madrid, Paris. Really don't like: Dubai, Las Vegas.

I work for a consulting company, so business travel is one of the requirements for a lot of us. I sort of have a love-hate relationship with it. I find it interesting to go to different places and I like interacting with the clients on their home turf. But it can be exhausting.

We are a relatively small company and we don't have particularly deep pockets - no luxury hotels or first/business class airline tickets. I do get to keep my FF miles and hotel points, which is nice.

Most of the time, my trips aren't to anyplace I particularly want to go, but sometimes I get a good destination and can add a couple days for personal time.

I only traveled once for business, and it was to Bermuda.
It was definitely a pleasure.

The ambivalent answer is yes and no.

I was born and live in NYC as a point of reference.

Enjoy-San Francisco, DC. and Boston.

Enjoy LA because my colleague has family there and it is most pleasant, otherwise you can keep LA.

Simply OK-Chicago

Can't stand-Arizona, Southern California, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston. Florida, especially Orlando, Las Vegas(Minnie Mouse with an STD)

I've traveled for business for 20+ years and almost always tack on a day or two for "play" time.

My favorites would be NYC, SF, Seattle, Denver and Phoenix/Scottsdale.

Most of the time, I used the city locations as a starting point for side trips. NYC and SF are the only cities I actually STAY in, but still do side trips from SF.

The leisure part of the trips are the best part of traveling for business.

Yes, I have traveled a lot for business and I have ALWAYS enjoyed it. The only thing I haven't liked is when I'm stuck on a long, turbulent flight.

I always manage to tack on extra days before or after business to enjoy the destination--that way I haven't had to pay transportation costs. Over the past decade, the places I've traveled to on business have included: Copenhagen,
Stockholm, Paris, Nice, Nuremberg, Munich, Vienna (Austria), Brussels, London, Dusseldorf, Zurich, Basel, Milan, Chicago, New York, Boston, Austin, Charleston (SC), Orlando, Scottsdale, and Philadelphia.

Vienna is probably my favorite for work/leisure combo. Followed by Chicago, Paris, Dusseldorf, Basel and Brussels.

I can honestly say there has not been one place that I've traveled to for business that I didn't like, even the goofy run down Catskills resort where the cabins had such bad wiring the lamps sometimes burst into flames when you turned them on (true story!).

I only travel 3-4 times a year, usually a week at a time, for business. For the most part, I hate it. As you said, Katie, if you go someplace at all decent, it's a tease as I spend my entire time in a convention center. I have been known to tack on a few days but that is only when I get to go someplace warm in the winter.

Of the places I get to go, San Francisco and Las Vegas are my favorites; I also enjoyed San Antonio. I've conventioned several times in New Orleans both pre and post Katrina and pray I never have to go back. Not in a big hurry to return to Orlando either.

My most frequent business destination is my hometown, Seattle. Lucky for me as I'm terribly homesick. I usually tack on at least 4 or 5 days so I can see the family and friends and my usual haunts.

Last year I was in DC and Boston for business trips and thoroughly enjoyed both - added 3 days to each for sightseeing.

My husband's business travel has varied over the years--some years he makes a few trips, some years as many as 42. He doesn't find it a pleasure--at least, that's what he tells me, and he doesn't like to be away from home without me, so he only goes for the time necessary to get his business done. He says it doesn't matter where he is, because all he sees is an airport, a hotel, a cab, and a bank.

Loved it back in the nineties and up until the attacks of 2001.

After the travel rebound of the attacks flying became such a nightmare I'll do anything to stay off a plane.

Used to spend extended time working in NYC and basically had a corporate apartment there.

NYC, San Francisco, Chicago, Denver, Cincy (in the Summer) all good. Orlando, Kansas City, Detroit, not so much.

I end up in Albuquerque about twice a year. I usually try to fly out the Saturday before and hit Santa Fe (of course). Last time, I took the Turquoise Trail from Albq to Santa Fe. In a couple of weeks, a co-worker and I will be flying out the Friday before the work week so we can go north to Durango, CO to ride the Durango-Silverton train through the canyons.

I also get to El Paso/Juarez, but this is not my favorite. I have, however, taken advantage of the location and gone out to Carlsbad Caverns...wonderful side trip.

I've been getting to NYC the last couple of years and will probably go again this year (hotel is right on Times Square!).

Seattle, Scottsdale, Denver, Orlando, San Francisco also show up on my schedule now and then.

I don't mind work travel at all as long as I do my homework and plan for some interesting side trips!

Traveling for business was one of those things that always sounds really great before one actually begins traveling for business regularly.

I've cut way back on my traveling but spent a good portion of my career traveling on average once every two weeks.

I used to have a client in New Orleans. Though they were a very small account, mysteriously enough we saw them with the same frequency as our largest client.

Last year I was able to go Chicago essentially for meetings but actually more for a Cubs game. A colleague shares season tickets to Wrigley so I'm hoping for a mid-summer client visit on an annual basis.

Detroit is a place I don't like. I spent six weeks there 15 years ago and I think I saw the sun twice. Lucky for me Detroit's weather during the week was NYC's weather on the weekend. At the end of the transaction, I looked like the kid from Powder.

I also do not like Columbus, Ohio. I have nothing against the city. But, I've yet to be on a flight that leaves anywhere close to on-time. If the weather is bad anywhere between NY and Chicago, it seems that Columbus flights get stuck waiting.

Any favorite hotels in those cities that you always return to? Or do you tend to stick with one chain because of their loyalty program (sounds like you do Emily)?

My dad usually travels to various cities in Iowa, which from his reports is not very exciting but he stays at the same hotels and frequents the same diners---everyone one knows his name.

I think it depends on where you're sent, and how many times you're sent there.

I have a friend who routinely gets sent to luxurious destinations like...150 miles from the St Louis airport. He's not such a huge fan of business travel. Another friend gets put up in five-star hotels in London. She REALLY doesn't mind.

Repetition plays a big role too. One trip to Miami? Yes please! Three times in a month? I'll pass.

Most of my business travel is to Memphis which I have come to like to a certain degree. I have one or two hotels that I prefer, a couple of restaurants and a few co-workers/friends who are sometimes willing to share a meal or go to an event. So I can enjoy to a limited extent what the city has to offer.

Other frequent destinations include such hotspots as Buffalo, Dayton, and Queens. Sometimes if I am lucky I get to go to a conference in a great place like Phoenix, Washington or NYC but as others have said its just a tease to be in a great place but not be with anyone you care about or doing the things that make that spot great.

On occasion I have had the opportunity to do things that I would never never in a million years be able to do if I wasn't on a business trip - like have dinner in the stunningly beautiful home of a very wealthy Italian businessman complete with white gloved servants.

Even though I make the most of it, I can truly say that I would rather not travel for business. I miss my kids and husband too much and it causes way too much disruption to our family life.

I have traveled all over the world for business and some for pleasure.

Wherever I go I try to take in SOME of the local atmosphere. Even if it is walking around the hotel neighborhood, try to take in the sights.

My comment is usually “You can sleep at home, let’s go see something.”

Some trips aren't very fun, I have ridden 5 hours in the back seat of a car just to visit a factory deep “in-country”. But the not so nice trips are countered by wonderful tours of Hong Kong or Switzerland.

On short trips, I try to take at least a half day to see the city I am in. Go to a museum; see what the city is famous for. Enjoy the travel. If travel gets repetitive, see more off beat things. GO to the second page of "things to do" list.

Airports, customs, immigration, delays, are all part of the adventure.

My husband used to travel a lot on business. He has been to the US many many times (Washington DC, Pasadena, San Jose, Cape Canaveral, Phoenix, Boston), Canada, Brazil, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand and all over Europe of course. He always enjoyed it, especially the meeting on Copa Cabana!
I never went with him as we had three young boys.
Now they are grown and I could go he hardly ever travels. We did get to go to Boston on a trip a couple of years ago, which we both enjoyed.
I missed out on Newfoundland (which I would have loved) and Vancouver.
He loves his work so loves trips which involve work. He really enjoys meeting new people, and putting faces to e-mails.

For me, it all comes down to frequency, location, and time of year.

I like business travel from time to time because it breaks things up. Since I work from home, it's nice to be able to get out now and then.

However, if I travel more than one week per month on business, then it gets old and I just want to be back home.

Obviously, the more interesting the place, the more enthusiastic I am about taking the trip. Anywhere in Europe, the Caribbean, Australia, I'm on it in a heartbeat. For domestic destinations, anywhere in Florida or California is desirable, as is New Orleans or New York.

Cities in the Northeast like Boston, Philly, etc... I love, but only in the beginning April to end October timeframe. In other words, I don't do the snow and cold. I also try to avoid the Pacific Northwest during the rainy season in the winter. I prefer to avoid the Midwest if possible as well...

Similarly, I try to avoid Houston or Phoenix during the summer.

I am in the travel business and travel extensively....thankfully on someone else's dime! The destinations are usually very nice - right now I'm sitting at the AZ Biltmore. So far this year I have been to Anaheim, Orlando, San Fran, Naples, FL (Ritz), Vegas (Bellagio) and here.

Next month I'll be in Orlando again (ritz), Ft. Lauderdale (Westin), Maui (Ritz) then back to Orlando..oh yeah - there's a trip to Chicago sprinkled in.

I love being on the road - there are some comforts that are required for me to have a pleasant stay - (coffe pot in the room, etc) and I have learned to put up with the "hassles" of travel.

Love meeting people from all over the world and this country!

I always try to take advantage of the local that I'm in and frequently have my dh meet me in nice locals and hotels. I was at the Wrigley Mansion last night for a private dinner and get to meet famous people who speak our meetings - this week I met Billy Jean King and Ben Stein - both speakers and very interesting!

I look forward to most every location - especially those that I have never been before - dislike Vegas due to the size of the hotels - my job requires me to walk those thousands (sometimes millions) of square feet of meeting space in those huge hotels!

It depends on how much free time and who else is there.

But to generize:
Top three favorite business trip locations are 1)NYC 2)Boston and 3)San Francisco.

Least favorites are Houston, Atlanta, and (dead last) Dallas.

My business takes me to some of the most beautiful, peaceful spots in the world and then there are the not so beautiful. Fortunately my business does not require a suit and a tie and really does not have a set schedule. My team is allowed number of days to complete a project. Sometimes it's a luxury as we can complete it quickly and have few days off, but other times (in war zones) there are not enough days. With fighting outside the hotel, security checks, private security telling us when and if it's possible to move, etc...the job becomes more difficult.

Yet, the one trip I'll never forget is a trip to Kabul few years ago. I met wonderful people, locals and young girls/boys from many nations stationed there. I saw some amazing antiquities. I also saw a country that has been destroyed by many years of fighting. We were shot at during our trip from the city to the US air force base (not fun). I got to go "practice" with a group of our girls/boys on what they called a "slow day" ???

I had one of the best Italian dinners in downtown Kabul and I had Italian food just about anywhere in the world. (that was a surprise).

I do feel lucky as I do get to see the world at the expense of my company, but there are times, usually when I'm going home, that the airport lounge experience is not all that exciting anymore, when the business class seat is just a seat on a long flight and all I want at that moment is to be in my own bed. OTOH, for some strange reason, few weeks later, I get the travel itch again and can't wait to get to the airport and start the cycle again. Go figure!

I travel a lot for business and LOVE it--it's why I chose my profession. I think you would be crazy not to be brand loyal with hotels, as the rewards can be terrific for personal travel. OTOH, I search out interesting interesting places to stay, including B&Bs when I've got a day or two on my own. And even though I'm always traveling alone, I NEVER stay put at the job location; spend every weekend and every evening out on the byways and venturing as far afield as I have time.

I've been especially lucky to be able to travel overseas a lot, but within the US, I really like going to San Antonio and Washington DC, both for the wonderfully different culture they offer. Overseas, I admit I'm stuck in Germany. Maybe it's because my ancestry is German and, although I don't see it, I had an older woman at a farmer's market stand one time ask if I was German (I was speaking English), then told me she asked because my face looked German. Hmm.

I travel extensively for business - all international. Many times to places you never really wanted to go, and because I travel so much - I really don't want to spend one more minute away from home than I have to. Also, as someone mentioned, traveling has changed as far as ease, and what has also changed is how other people in different countries think about Americans - even Ireland is not as friendly to Americans as it once was, and that's a friendly place! Also, in many countries, there really aren't the chains of hotels that there are in the US, so it is many times not an option to stay in a Marriott, Hilton, etc. If I only traveled a few times a year, or even just once a month - I might like it better. However, when you fly to Brazil (REALLY long flight) and then go from city to city for work (1 per day), then fly back - all in a week. Really not that enjoyable. Especially when you really do have to work the entire week - and keep up with things going on in the rest of your project (which is worldwide). I've gotten to the point that I don't even want to get on a plane to go on vacation!!!! Best vacation I've had in a few years was that we drove to the Outer Banks a few weeks ago (thank you to everyone that gave us advice about that). LOVED it. Driving - where you can get out whenever you want to take a stretch break.... .

I enjoyed it a lot when I did it for about two years when I was in my mid-20s. But I liked to drink a lot in those days.

No, traveling for business is NOT a pleasure. (I'm just back from a NYC to London to Basel to NYC in 3 days trips. And it is NOT fun.)

And most of my business travel is TO the clients - who tend to be in places like Cincinnati or Pittsburgh - if not New Jersey.

But - if it;s an extended trip - for a professional congress or similar the sites tend to be more interesting - and I tray to tack on a couple of days if I can (perhaps half the time). The ones I've enjoyed most so far - not just cities but extra days - are Venice (great in Sept with many fewer tourists), Paris, Prague, San Francisco and San Antonio. (Would never have gone there otherwise since Texas is not my favorite place.)

My newest client - in Basel - I hope will give me some interesting options.

I don't travel for work as often as most of you so if I do travel for work, I do enjoy it because I try to do something more than just work stuff. If it's a destination like SFO or Denver, NY, etc., it's easy to add on a few days or even a week to "play" but places like Orlando I wouldn't tack on a day. Just find the best feature of the city (for me) and do that while there for business (like shopping at the outlets in Orlando).

So for me, I wish I could travel more for work but I can also see how traveling alot for work can be painful. Usually at the end of a long week at a conference, I am ready to go wether it be for the "play" part where I taked on as vacation days or go home.

I'm jealous! As a teacher, I don't get to travel for business...only for pleasure.
I did get to tag along with Dad to London complete with a flat, a fully stocked bar and a butler. Man oh man, did I choose the wrong profession! LOL

jw,

Don't they have seminars that your school should pay for to keep your skills "up to date"?

My wife went to San Antonio in February and I tagged along and it was the first time she treated me for a business trip!

I've taken her anywhere from Chicago to Scotland...

I'm a federal employee and I get to travel about three times a year. Mostly to DC, but also trips to Kansas City (MO), Seattle, and this year, Phoenix. I normally enjoy the trips for the opportunities to play tourist. The things I don't like are lugging the box of silicon (laptop) through the airports and the expectation/need to work 5-6 hours a day at the hotel in addition to the time spent during the day at the conference I'm attending.

Ditto that, elkhound - in addition to having to find accommodation at federal per diem rates, most of my business travel involves lots of after hours work to keep up with day to day things. Fortunately I work with people that I really like and when there are a couple of us at the same place we usually manage to get in at least a group dinner. Schedule usually does not allow tacking on extra days, but every once in a wile it does work and that is sheer pleasure.

I think I travel for business enough. My most frequent destination is DC, but I've been all over the place for work.

For the most part, I'm not able to tack on a play day on these trips. Believe me, I've tried. And so long as I'm not traveling incessantly for work, which I'm not, I do rather enjoy my time away from the office.

As for my one fav city? I guess it's DC. I have friends there, I'm comfortable, I know my way around the city enough to be safe, and it's been my second home for the past dozen years.

I loathe sometimes not traveling enough, but I'm also keenly aware I'm not a road warrier type. But all the cities have been kind to me. Even Minneapolis in the dead of winter. BRRRRR!!!

At my last job, I got on a plane about four times a year for work. At my current job, it became two times per year....and this year we had to cut the travel budget so I'm not doing it.


So for me, yes, I absolutely love the perk of getting to travel for work, and I always tack on a few days here and there for pleasure--whether in the same city, or one nearby. It just makes sense, since I am traveling all the way from Hawaii. Last year I had two conferences back to back, one in New Orleans and then one in Philadelphia. I took some "down time" in Lancaster with a friend headed to Philly. Then after THAT conference, I went to St. Paul to visit my niece! Another time I had a conference in Chicago, so from there I took a week off in Paris.

I enjoy all the conference cities: San Francisco, Las Vegas, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Diego, Atlanta, San Antonio, New Orleans, etc. I didn't enjoy LA, Tampa, or Washington DC as much as the others, but I was still thrilled to be there.

I am on the road at least 3 weeks out of 4 now. I enjoy parts of it. this week, I was able to tack a couple of days on and go to Colonial Williamsburg-one of my favorite spots. A couple of months ago, it was a day in Napa. Most of the time, it is a drag. Hurrying through airports only to wait when a flight is delayed, forgetting where you are when you wake up in one more hotel room, etc.

Sometimes, I am in exciting places, sometimes not.

Attending a conference is usually fun and much less stressful than client visits from daylight to dark, with work in the hotel room later.

I have meetings regularly in San Francisco, Pasadena and Phoenix and I enjoy those cities. Once or twice a year I am able to take a professional class elsewhere in the US and I greatly enjoy choosing the cities I wish to visit. So, yes, I make it a pleasure!

In moderation, yes. I usually go to SD for business and have managed to really enjoy SD as a result. However, over the past couple of years, it had gotten to the point where I was going every other week. That got to be real old and boring. As much as I like SD, the cross-country flights got to me after a while

My husband and I travel a lot for business (together) and we enjoy it as we always add some fun time to every trip. The only down is the airport time but we are pretty good at using that time to our advantage too.

Unfortunately, I've only had one opportunity to travel for business and it was to LA, which I really enjoyed! Mostly because my boss was nice enough to let me stay 2 extra days... all expenses paid!

I've never had the pleasure of traveling for business.

I've been lucky enough to do it for 20+ years. More local now, so the answer to Katie's question would be Savannah or Jekyll Island. But, ANYWHERE? Well, NYC, San Francisco, Phoenix (so I can get to Sedona, the Grand Canyon and the SW) and Florida (so I can add on time on the beach). Oh, Seattle too. And, Vancouver - with stopovers in Victoria.
It's been a great ride

We try to combine some pleasure in our business trips and usually it works and we feel we got a vacation as well as business was handled. We are leaving 3 weeks for a 3 weeks trip and only one or two days will be business so that will be wonderful. We need some rest and relaxation.

I'm lucky. I usually travel twice a year on business and sometimes can add some extra days for pleasure. It was great to visit Phoenix and then do an overnight bus trip to the Grand Canyon. But most of the time I can't do extra time for pleasure. I just came back from Columbus OH which I thought had great restaurants and a fabulous North Market. Would have liked to explore the city more but couldn't spend extra days. When our son was young we did combine my trips with a family vacation to places like San Diego and Washington DC.

i LOVE it!
i execute approx 15 trips annually to africa and mediterranean countries and i appreciate it very much despite it sometimes is exhaustive.
i appreciate very much to work in different business environments which includes at least 4 exhibitions.

div

When I travel for work its usually to attend conferences. I always try to tack on an extra few days for fun. Sometimes my husband will come with me and stay a few days before or after. Usually its just me and a few co-workers though, and we always have fun.

My favorite places that I've traveled for work have been Denver and DC. I can't say I enjoyed visiting KC for work, although I enjoyed visiting when I had a car.

Tracy

When i worked outside of the home, I loved travelling for work. even my 2 days in Birmingham, Alabama was a pleasure. I got to see a city that I would never have travelled to before. But that can't compare to the trips to Laguna beach, CA, Aventura, FL, Toronto, asheville, NC and many other great places. Even getting a taste of another great area was enough to make the trip interesting.