I find myself travelling to Europe for business several times a year and try to take at least one foreigh holiday, with my family, every year. Recently our favoured destination for family holidays has been the United States and I decided to take a leaf out of my business travelling book and use the same facilities and resources to make my holiday travel less stressful.
Our flights to the U.S. from Gatwick often leave really early in the morning. When travelling on business I always have a hotel room booked for the night before an early morning flight so that is exactly what I did for our last holiday. We took two adjoining rooms in an excellent Gatwick hotel and started our holiday even before we'd embarked on our flight. The children loved it and I think we managed to use almost every facility the hotel had to offer.
Another useful traveller service I always use is airport parking. I sometimes need to hop on a flight to Europe at very short notice. And I often find myself returning late at night. Parking at the airport is enormously convenient enabling me to jump straight into my car and be on my way home without having to worry about trains and taxis. When time is really tight I get my personal assistant to book meet and greet parking as that saves loads of time, avoiding the need to transfer to and from the car parks. And when I return from Frankfurt, Rome or Madrid the chauffeur has my car is clean and ready for my drive home as soon as I've cleared customs.
The last time I went on holiday I was able to combine our Gatwick parking requirements with our hotel. Pre-booking online gave me some almost unbelievable savings.
The internet is not only good for finding the best deal, its also a great tool to save time and aggravation. When travelling on business I often don't take much baggage and like to use the online check in facility which saves me loads of time queuing at the airport. I just turn up with my boarding pass and hand luggage, ready to board the plane.
A service that I haven't yet used when travelling for pleasure but I have used when travelling on business is using a baggage handling company to transport my bags. This means I don't need to hump heavy luggage around the airport and can travel with just my hand luggage. And no need to stand and wait by the baggage carousel wondering if my bag has made it. The baggage handling firm worry about everything and make certain your bags are waiting for you at your destination.
Another service that I routinely use when travelling on business is I will have my personal assistant book space in a Gatwick airport lounge. Airport lounges are a great place to meet colleagues before taking to the plane and maybe have a little pre-trip planning meet-up or simply relax with a nice coffee and newspaper, in comfort. Although I didn't use this service on my last family holiday I think I will for the next one.
I am certain that if you follow just one or two of these suggestions you will experience far less stress and a far more enjoyable trip.
