rb, I'm with you. I HATE to travel for business. There is nothing about it that is fun.

The corporate travel jobs and meeting planning jobs are a complete logistical nightmare. Talk to anyone that does this for a living and they will let you know. I worked with them for years.

I would take the advice you have been given here. Moonlight at a chain hotel and travel for fun.

Breaking into travel writing would take you years. It certainly doesn't hurt to start submitting a few articles and see if anyone bites.

All great responses, but alas (as I suspected), no AHA! moments for me. I am more-or-less resigned to the daily grind...especially since the new job is opening up a bit of good work travel for me. Maybe even a chance to live/work in Switzerland for a few years (fingers are crossed!).

Thanks everyone for the good & creative responses!

I guess now I'm just seeking any advice on the best ways to negotiate for more vacation time.....any tips???

My first Europe trip was on a tour and I don't think I'd EVER want to be a tour director, at least not a good one. I don't think our director got any sleep. She was either with us and after our day I would see her with cup of tea or coffee doing "book work", and as we were traveling from place to place whe was on the phone making sure things were all set for us at our next stop. She was even up at 3:00 in the morning to say good-bye to everyone as we left to catch our flights home. That woman WORKED all the time. Now of course, having said that, I can think of worse jobs. I also once saw a program on "dream jobs" and there was a gal that worked for Hilton as a "secret guest". It was her job to travel incognito to the various Hilton Properties all over the world and register as a guest...no one at the hotels knew she worked for Hilton, and she would grade the service, food, etc. at the various hotels and report back to coporate. So, there ya go.

I agree with several of you that say that work travel isn't much fun. You really do end up working a ton of extra hours, and often don't have time to check out the city you're visiting. I don't mind the occasional trip (once a month) but often I've felt like I was living in an airport.

I also agree with Annabel...it's better to have a job that gives you freedom to travel. My BF's parents had their own little business that they could close whenever they wanted so that they could go travel - and they did, as much as 6-8 weeks a year!

What I've often thought of doing is opening a B&B. I could meet people from all over, and shut the place down when I felt like a few weeks off. Oh, and I make a mean breakfast.

I didn't write this, and I don't know who did, or I'd credit them. But it certainly reminds me of many of my experiences:

I AM THE TRAVEL AGENT. . .

I have advanced degrees in accounting, public relations, marketing, business, computer science, civil engineering and Swahili.

I also can read minds and extend your credit line. Of course I still have the package reservation you put on hold six years ago, even though you never came in to purchase it.

It's not a problem to give you seven connecting, nonsmoking, riverside suites with two king beds in each, four rollaways, and, yes, I can install a wet bar.

I know it's my fault the hotel does not have a helicopter landing pad and the stairwell from the third floor smells funny.

I am the travel agent. . .

I am expected to speak all languages and recall the names and frequent flyer numbers of your wife and your children (and your girlfriend).

It is obvious to me that when you booked your flight for Friday, you really meant Saturday.

I also realize you meant to book your reservation at the Hilton; people always confuse it with the Galaxy Delight Motel of Antarctica.

Of course I can get you a cheap rate because you've been a member of AAA for 30 years, and I should have realized when I assigned you seat 23D that there was a screaming child in the next seat and your flight would be held on the runway for 55 minutes.

I am the travel agent. . .

I absolutely understand that the McGillicutty Widget Mfg. Co. is a vast empire that will make or break my agency.

Yes, I am lying when I say that the $100 flight for tomorrow is sold out; after all, you did hear it on the radio and see it in last Sunday's paper. I should have known that everyone else wanted to fly tomorrow, too. But it's not a problem for me to quickly construct several more 747's.

I am quite capable of checking all the flights in July to see which one is the cheapest, answering 12 incoming phone calls, putting together eight documents while finding out why that cruise line won't give you a refund even though you refused the insurance.

I always know which airline serves the best vegetarian meal. I can recite the entire domestic tariff consisting of 4,235,678 fares at any time.

I know exactly what to see and do in every city in 15 minutes without spending any money.

I take personal blame for airline delays, traffic jams, rental car flat tires, bad weather, lost luggage and the national economy.

I am the travel agent. . .

I am expected to smile, empathize, console, sell up, perform, sing, dance, fix the printer, clean the toilet and anticipate the next fare decrease.

I AM THE TRAVEL AGENT. . .

I have a friend who USED to love to travel. He initially was a travel agent, then became a tour guide for several of the top tour companies in the world. He would lead tour groups all over the world (note it helps tremendously if you are fluent in several languages for this job). After about 10 years of this he quit and now he is burned out on travel.
Many of the people who have enough money to travel extensively are elderly and retired. Thus much of your time is spent being almost a nurse, dealing with their medical problems, helping them in their wheelchairs, etc. Even with the younger clients you are expected to be on call for any problem 24 hours a day. Anyway, he didn't expect to be a 24 hour a day nurse/concierge and now he is content to stay at home.

My 2 cents...I worked in a travel agency for about 6 years and then started my own travel company which has been operating for about 3 years. I still LOVE to travel and I can't imagine the fun or love part of traveling ever being ruined by the fact that it is my job too. If you find something you love to do & are passionate about, you will succeed!

I got into the travel industry years ago for the same reasons most do...
I was an agt for a large corporation and hated it so I slowly moved into negotiating hotel contracts for this corporation. Then I started negotiating contracts for other large corporations and the a major travel technology company hired me to serve as an industry consultant in hotel program automation, specializing but not limited to preferred hotel program automation.
I have many years of experience and I must admit, I am very, very good at what I do. I speak at industry events and visit major corporations to help them set up/improve processes. It's a great job. I travel all over and make my own schedule.
I would hate to back to the agency environment after living in the travel technology world. You get the travel benefits and don't have to deal with the travelers.