873 views
in Articles by
When your job takes you away from home, bringing your family along may actually make good business sense. With travel industry experts predicting an overall increase in daily hotel rates for 2006, combining work and pleasure not only helps keep the family together but could save you money. According to Travelocity, half of all business professionals include a leisure component in their work-related travels, with more than 70 percent planning to bring family with them on trips this year. "The blended business/family trip is quickly becoming a significant trend," said Dorothy Dowling, senior vice president of marketing for Best Western International.

To ensure successful "combination" travel for you and your family, consider these tips:

• Choose a family-friendly hotel with business services: You'll have more money to spend on activities and attractions by staying at a hotel with services such as free high-speed Internet access, free breakfast, free roll-out beds and kids-stay-free programs.

• Take advantage of loyalty programs: If you travel frequently on business, you could take advantage of these incentive clubs to qualify for free air miles and hotel room nights. Seasonal promotions also help travelers earn special rewards faster. For example, members of Best Western's free Gold Crown Club International program who stay six nights at any Best Western hotel between June 4 and August 19 will receive a collectible Nickelodeon "The Fairly OddParents" Travel Card worth $50.

• Don't forget Fido: For many travelers, the biggest source of stress before going on any trip is figuring out what to do with the family pet. Many hotels today welcome pets, making it possible to keep the whole family together.

• Find a hotel with a water park: With attendance at North American water parks increasing at a rate of 3 percent every year, some hotels offer this unique amenity on-site. The new Best Western Edgewater Resort & Water Park in Duluth, Minn., features an exploding volcano in a 35,000-square-foot facility, along with a 400-foot-long lazy river. Your kids will thank you.

• Be flexible, relax and have fun! It's important to recognize that schedules change, meetings may come up or the kids could get sick, so everyone needs to be flexible. Your next business trip could also be a minivacation with the family.

Please log in or register to reply to this topic.

Related topics

0 replies 2,094 views
posted in Articles by BumblingBee
0 replies 1,820 views
0 replies 1,822 views
posted in Articles by HistoryGuy
0 replies 1,559 views
0 replies 2,035 views
posted in Articles by Mosquiche
0 replies 861 views
posted in Articles by SnailMail
0 replies 964 views
posted in Articles by SnailMail
0 replies 1,637 views
posted in Articles by Prepatriarch
0 replies 993 views
posted in Articles by HarshThunder
0 replies 2,240 views
0 replies 1,842 views
0 replies 2,286 views
0 replies 2,197 views
posted in Articles by GreedySmile
0 replies 2,148 views
0 replies 2,131 views
posted in Articles by Knighthawk
0 replies 1,809 views
posted in Articles by Robottom
0 replies 2,436 views
0 replies 1,911 views
posted in Articles by Wallaby
0 replies 2,182 views
posted in Articles by OpinionOwl
0 replies 1,698 views
posted in Articles by GamerAlpaca
0 replies 1,157 views
posted in Articles by MammothMoth
0 replies 1,328 views
posted in Articles by Tomatoad
0 replies 2,149 views
posted in Articles by Robottom
0 replies 861 views
posted in Articles by GamerAlpaca
0 replies 944 views
posted in Articles by Scorpeon
0 replies 950 views
posted in Articles by Knightmare
0 replies 1,542 views
posted in Articles by Explorer
0 replies 2,074 views
0 replies 1,756 views
0 replies 1,780 views
posted in Articles by HarmlessRose
0 replies 1,988 views
posted in Articles by Celestiger
0 replies 1,600 views
posted in Articles by MysteryWasp
0 replies 1,686 views
posted in Articles by FatKomodoDragon
0 replies 816 views
posted in Articles by BeautifulWolf
...