Travel Smart: Tips for Comfortable and Convenient Business Stays
Whether you’re traveling for business or leisure, the process is generally the same: deciding how to reach your destination—by air, land, or sea—and then where to stay. Your choices will likely depend on your budget, the duration of your trip, and the purpose of your visit. Let’s break it down step by step and explore how to choose the right accommodation.
Traveling for Business
When traveling for business purposes, the point of interest, or the location you need to visit for your meetings or events, is crucial. It can be time-consuming and exhausting to commute back and forth from your accommodation, especially if your event spans more than a day.
Comfort also plays a significant role. By “comfort,” I mean features like the quality of the mattress—how many times have you stayed in a hotel only to find the bed so cheap or hard that you couldn’t sleep? Additionally, having breakfast included or an open restaurant at the hotel is practical. Imagine returning from a conference late at night only to find no dining options available. Ordering takeout might be the option, but the smell of food lingering in your hotel room isn’t exactly ideal—nor is showing up to your conference the next day with food odors clinging to your clothes.
Having traveled extensively for business—primarily to attend various tourism fairs—I’ve always prioritized accommodations that are within a 10-minute walking distance from my point of interest or accessible via a fixed-schedule train. For instance, when attending WTM London, hotels near the venue were always exorbitantly priced, even when booked six months in advance. These hotels, located relatively far from central London, are in high demand during the event period, driving prices sky-high.
To avoid this, I often opted to stay in central London, choosing a place with easy access to the venue via the Elizabeth Line. This allowed me to save on room costs while also enjoying an afternoon stroll or a bit of shopping after the event. Because, let’s face it, visiting London without shopping is like eating a kebab without sauce.
Before the Elizabeth Line was operational, I used to stay near Oxford Street. However, this is where I encountered one of the smallest and most uncomfortable rooms I’ve ever stayed in—even smaller than the staff rooms I’ve seen while working in hotels. There was no space to store my bag, and the bathroom was tinier than the one in my family’s childhood camper. To make matters worse, the mattress was rock-hard, leaving me unable to sleep or recharge for the next day’s conference. This lack of rest significantly impacted my ability to meet the demanding requirements of the event.
Lessons Learned
I won’t delve deeply into the issue of cleanliness since standards vary widely from person to person. Thankfully, there are accommodations to suit every preference. However, everything mentioned above—location, comfort, practicality—requires careful consideration before booking. Otherwise, disappointment is inevitable, and guess what? It will be no one’s fault but your own!
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