The popular dramatic comedy “Up in the Air” makes traveling for a living look as painful and isolating as it can be, and George Clooney’s character Ryan Bingham offers quite a few sharp witticisms about how it can be accomplished more efficiently:
Ryan Bingham: You know how much time you lose by checking in?
Natalie Keener: I don’t know. Five, 10 minutes?
Ryan Bingham: 35 minutes a flight. I travel 270 days a year. That’s 157 hours. That makes seven days. You’re willing to throw away an entire week on that?
Thinking about travel in terms of time lost and money spent has a way of making us reconsider how it’s done — so we decided to find some local Ryan Bingham-type road warriors for whom travel is an essential part of their jobs.
They have shared some of their best inside information, often with as much wit and insight as Bingham, including ways to travel smarter, faster, cheaper and with less hassle.
Like Ryan Bingham, to know them is to fly with them. So let’s do just that.
PLANNING
Numbers games. If your preferred airline or hotel chain has special phone numbers for their elite customers, be sure to update those numbers in your cellphone as you attain higher status levels — using the right numbers really makes a difference in response times and the quality of customer service.
Press “1” if you wish you were somewhere else. Several road warriors mentioned that one of their least-favorite things about the travel-planning process is dealing with voice-response systems. A spoken word or sequence of key presses eventually will get you to a live agent, but you need to know what it is. “Hertz is the worst,” says Chuck Sampson, who says “representative” is that rental car company’s magic word. “Some systems are programmed to recognize curse words to route angry customers to an agent immediately.” He recommends finding out which ones those are. Sampson also keeps notes in his cellphone about number sequences or phrases to reduce the wait times. “Sometimes you can even ask the telephone agent for advice on the quickest way to bypass these systems in the future,” he adds.
Be the early bird. Book the first flight out in the morning. It usually leaves on time because it hasn’t fallen victim to the “domino effect” of all the other planes throughout the day that have been delayed.
A picture is worth . . . If you check a bag, take a cellphone picture of the contents before handing it over. If it gets lost, that picture can save you a lot of time filling out paperwork, because the airlines ask very specific questions about things, such as colors, brands and sizes.
Home, sweet home. When booking flights, think twice when adding days to the end of a trip — you’ll be tired and wish you were home sooner than you think.
Same-day deals. Jeremy Tanner likes to find a hotel the same night you need one. “There’s some pretty amazing deals to be had,” he says.
PACKING
Double duty. Keep two sets of bath and body products, with one set always packed in a toiletries bag so you can just grab and go. And if you use a lot of electronics, it’s handy to have a second set of chargers and cords, too — Ethernet cable, cellphone charger, ear buds or headphones, USB cable — that you keep in your suitcase ready to go. “Those little zippered pouches you can find in luggage stores really rock,” Sampson says.
The good stuff. Angela Berardino’s travel case includes solid alternatives for soap, skin care, etc., in case the ones at her destination don’t measure up. “They’re worth a few extra dollars to avoid leaking in your suitcase and not having to constantly fill up those tiny, 3-ounce containers,” she says. “I’m addicted to the solid bar of shampoo from Lush, for example.”
Dry talk. The warriors are of two minds about hair dryers: Some say splurge on a good compact unit — “Even luxury hotels have downgraded hair dryers in recent years, and there’s nothing worse than having a meeting with damp hair,” says Berardino. But for Cara Lopez Lee, the hair dryer is high up on the list of things to leave at home. “If you’re going someplace where you need to look fabulous, you’ll probably be staying at a hotel that supplies hair dryers,” she says. “Otherwise, enjoy the freedom of ignoring your appearance and let your hair dry naturally into a raggedy mop.”
Five words: black, brown, or navy blue. “Pick one color, and match all shoes/belts/purses/accessories to it,” Berardino says.
Get fresh. Keep a dryer sheet in your suitcase to keep everything smelling fresh on long trips (and get rid of static cling).
Shoe in. “If you have more than three pairs of shoes in your suitcase, you did something wrong. You won’t use them,” Berardino says. The travel rule of thumb is: one dress pair and one comfortable pair for end-of- day aching feet that can double as daytime shoes if you break a heel. If you need a third, you can’t beat great walking shoes.
Clothes lines. If you have to go on back-to-back trips, FedEx a set of clean clothes to the second hotel. “Send your dirty laundry home,” Berardino says. “Sometime the trips are in different climates, and this is cheaper and more reliable than checking a bag.”
Lighten up. Find the lightest-weight luggage. “I just switched away from my beloved Tumi to a lightweight computer bag,” says Sampson. “I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to travel light.”
In the bag. Pack a single bag and carry on if you can, and use bags-within-bags for easy packing and unpacking. “Not ‘I’m stuffing this roller duffel like I might never return’ carry on,” says Jeremy Tanner. “You always use less than you think you will, and the more you travel, the less you pack. I never truly unpack, and I have a set of little pull-outs in nesting sizes, a small one for meds, a slightly larger one for toiletries, another for cables and chargers, and one that I can hold in my hand walking onto the plane that I throw a snack into. Also, if you travel a lot, you have a second set of everything, and you get into the mind-set that there’s very little that you can’t buy when you get there.”
Shirt on your back. “ExOfficio shirts are great,” says Tanner. “They pack small, don’t wrinkle, dry quickly and look good with khakis or jeans.”
Sticky situations. Always bring some duct tape. “I always find a use for my duct tape,” Lopez Lee says. “Among other things, I’ve repaired a duffel, a fellow trekker’s blown-out hiking boot and holes in mosquito nets.”
FLYING
Pick one. All of the road warriors are die-hard members of one, at most two frequent-flier programs. “If something goes wrong, it’s the only way to get anywhere, and fast,” says Linda Profaizer. “They take care of their own first, bottom line. If they’ve canceled a flight, you’re booked on the next one without even having to do anything.” She points out that in addition, when the airline adds on incentives or perks, they are handed out to the loyal customers first. “For instance, I recently was randomly upgraded to first class when I checked in, a new thing United just started doing,” she said. “It was a nice surprise, and it didn’t cost me anything.” Roger Sherman adds, “Pricing in Denver is so competitive that the extra perks of being a frequent flier more than offsets any additional cost of flying United (Sorry, Frontier).”
Take a back seat. First isn’t always best. Avoid Row 1 on the plane because there is no legroom. “I’d rather have a seat in economy plus than Row 1 in first class,” Sherman says. “I also avoid exit rows — the legroom is better, but the seats are narrower and all three seats are always taken.”
Be nice. “Just like my mother used to say, you get further with honey than with vinegar,” Sherman says. “The customer service representatives are never responsible for delays, cancellations, etc., but they are always responsible, or can be, for how the airline treats you when a delay does occur. Being nice pays off.”
Be extra nice. For lengthy international flights where you are sitting in economy, take the flight attendants a nice box of candy and give it to them as you board — thus making you an instant favorite. “I’ve tried this several times and it works like a charm,” Sampson says. “The service greatly improves, as will the goodies they sneak you from first class.”
Do the waive. For United fliers who are members of the Red Carpet Club, road warriors say the concierges in the clubs are much more likely to waive change fees than gate agents and even folks at the 1K desk (reserved for those who have earned Elite Status for flying 100,000 qualifying miles in a calendar year). This can make the club membership fee worth it.
Bring your own. Don’t want to pay the fee for a movie, or been on enough flights that you’ve seen the free ones? Most of these frequent fliers bring DVDs or download movies to their laptops or go to iTunes to download them onto their iPhones to enjoy on flights.
A little privacy, please. Invest in a 3M privacy filter for your laptop screen. They cost about $45 and will prevent the person next to you from snooping as you work. “Even if you’re not working on government missile silos,” says Sampson, “it still feels better and makes it easier to be productive when you know someone isn’t watching your every keystroke.”
Easy on, easy off. Never wear shoes with laces through security.
Pay by the rules. Research the U.S. Department of Transportation policy on denied boarding, and cut and paste the important points into your phone. “If you’re denied boarding because an airline flight is oversold, you’re entitled to some amazing compensation, but you’ll only get it if you know your rights,” Sampson says. Find it here:
Call ahead. If your flight gets canceled or you miss your connection, pick up your cellphone and call reservations immediately (even while waiting in line at customer service to get a new boarding pass). “They might be able to find a better option for you,” Sampson says. “Airline reservation computers are complicated, and experience and competence go a long ways. If you get someone sharp they might find a way better solution.”
DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
Go long. If money is an issue for parking, check out the outer lots: Pikes Peak and Mount Elbert. You just need to build in time for the shuttles from lot to terminal (about an extra 30 minutes). For weeklong or more trips, you can save substantially over the close-in lots — $6 a day versus $10 a day ().
Northern star. Use the north-side security lines. “Everyone knows this, but few do it,” Chuck Sampson says. “It’s especially true for the premium customer lines. Plus you don’t have to deal with the uber-annoying, privacy-invading millimeter wave machine.”
Cheap eats. Best airport location of a local favorite: Tamales by La Casita in the Center Core near the C Gates. Two road warriors admit that it’s become their go-to spot for fast, inexpensive food on their way out of town.
ON THE ROAD
Go to seed. When you’re driving late and alone, sunflower seeds are a good way to stay awake and alert. “They don’t fill you up and shelling them keeps you in the game,” says Jeremy Tanner.
Bin there. Minimize road-trip clutter by using a bunch of medium-to-small plastic bins for your stuff — shoebox size for smaller items like electronics, flashlights, maps, anything you’ll need to pull in and out but don’t want to just throw in the back on the floor. That way you can load and unload them easily, each night taking out only what you’ll need for camping or in the hotel room, but people sitting in the back can put their feet on them and they are easy to clean. Larger-size bins can hold group gear in the trunk. Label them using office supply labels for easier identification.
Bag it. Keep a sleeping bag in the trunk, just in case. “A national forest is the cheapest hotel room you’ll ever rent,” Tanner says.
TECHNOLOGY
Tweet-talk them. Jeremy Tanner is big on letting people know where he’s headed or has just arrived so he can catch up by using social media tools like Foursquare and Twitter. “People are just catching on to this, and it’s such a great way to allow people to know where you are,” Tanner says. “So many times in the last few months, I land in Detroit, some of my friends from Washington, D.C. got there a half hour ago; we all find out we’re there, and we go somewhere and catch up. It’s great. Prior to any of these networks, we would have found out months later, hey, we were all in the same place, we could have seen each other. You can arrange sharing a ride to the airport; find out if other people are going the same way you are. People get worried about ‘do I want to?’ — but it’s just like anything else. Have boundaries. Having it doesn’t obligate you to use it.”
Safe or sorry? There has been much talk recently about whether it’s safe to tweet while traveling, in case people figure out you’re gone and burglarize your house. Berardino says she is careful to blog and tweet only when she has a housesitter. “And I frequently mention my very large dog,” she adds. “There’s no reason to let potential criminals know when my house is empty.” Tanner, on the other hand, is a fearless tweeter. “I just don’t worry about that; my place is locked,” he says. “I think that issue is a red herring.”
Charge ahead. Keep your gadgets charged. “ABC,” Tanner says. “Always Be Charging. If you forget to plug stuff in before you go to bed, you’re sunk, especially on a road trip. Have some way of reminding yourself to just go around and plug everything in — like you brush your teeth every night, then you plug it all in.”
Call around. If you make international calls and aren’t using Skype, you’re spending too much. It’s free to download, free to use with anyone else on Skype ().
Think global. If you’re on an iPhone, download the AT&T app. This allows you to change your rate plan from your phone. “More than once I’ve been on the tarmac in Mexico or the British Virgin Islands and realized I had not enabled the international calling plan,” says Berardino. “The app can fix that in under a minute.” She adds, “Also, disable your data before traveling internationally. The rates for data are atrocious, and they charge you whether you open your e-mail or not.”
Park place. Take a cellphone picture of your car with the row number in the shot when you leave it in a parking lot; it helps you find it later (especially helpful if you forget what your recently acquired rental looks like).
Ear buddies. “The best gift I have ever gotten was a pair of noise-canceling headphones, which I put to good use on every single flight,” says Berardino.
Having an outlet. Always carry an outlet multiplier. “It makes you a hero in airports,” says Tanner. “And there are never enough outlets these days for everything you have to charge. Ever.”
HOTELS
Get a room. If a hotel is sold out, call it directly and ask the manager if he or she can override it. “They always save some spots,” says Chuck Sampson. “If you’re a frequent customer of the chain, don’t be afraid to e-mail the hotel manager. They are usually more than happy to accommodate their good customers.”
Be flexible. If a nice room is important to you, and you’re traveling on business and have the option to arrive on Sunday night rather than Monday, there’s usually more selection.
Safety first. Solo? Pick a place with room service to avoid having to venture out in a strange area. “It can be worth the extra expense if I fly in late at night and am hungry but don’t want to have to worry about wandering around at 10 o’clock,” says Linda Profaizer. “I always make sure I choose a hotel with room service just so I have the option if I need it.”
Come clean. If you travel to the same city for work several weeks in a row, consider leaving your bag at the hotel — they’re happy to hang onto it for you. “The night before I leave, I wash my clothes at the hotel and drop my dry cleaning off at a nearby cleaners, or you can have the hotel send it out if you don’t mind paying the premium,” says Sampson. “I pick it up when I get back.”
Tip off. Always leave a tip. “First of all, it’s the right thing to do, and I’m convinced it translates into extra product and better service,” says Profaizer. “I’m surprised by how many people don’t leave their maids tips, but I notice a difference. I like a clean room.”
MISCELLANEOUS
New to you. Skip the hot spots. Places that make you ask, “Huh?” often yield a more unique experience. “Instead of climbing Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro, I hiked Mount Meru to see the sunrise over Kilimanjaro,” Cara Lopez Lee says. “I find that alternative treks are less crowded, less expensive and more peaceful, and usually no one tries to sell me a Pepsi or Coke along the way.”
Call it off. Remember that when driving, the laws regarding talking and/or texting on a cellphone vary by state. In some you can get ticketed or even arrested, so check this site for the info: .
Get some exercise. If your flight arrives late at night or the rental car shuttle is slow, pull out a GPS phone with Google Maps and find where the rental car lot is located. Sometimes it’s quicker to walk. “Philly is a great example,” Sampson says. “You can’t see the rental car locations, which are just on the other side of the parking garage from baggage claim. They are a 3- to 5-minute walk as opposed to 20 minutes waiting for the shuttle.”
Just say no. And then walk or turn away. When dealing with street vendors and beach hawkers, being firm and brusque is actually the way to go, or they won’t get the hint and often wind up following or pestering you for a long, sometimes very uncomfortable time. “Try to resist saying things like, ‘That’s pretty, but . . .’ ” Lopez Lee says. “Don’t turn and smile. I know that these kinds of comments and gestures seem polite, but often they just give false hope to desperate people, and then you might not be able to shake them.”
Have them on speed dial. If you travel frequently, program every major airline’s number into your phone for easy access in case of a travel emergency. Also include customer relations, mileage programs and other related numbers.
In the zone. Know the boundaries for the fixed-priced taxicab zones in the Denver area from DIA. The cab drivers will never tell you when you get in if you live in one, and usually it’s way cheaper to pay the zone fare.
Guidebook, schmuidebook. Lopez Lee says guidebooks unnecessarily bulk up a backpack. “Rip out the pages you need and staple them,” she says. “Now you have room for something you can really use . . . like toilet paper.”
Whose tips are these, anyway?
We picked our panel for their insane travel schedules. They’re veteran road warriors who laugh in the face of overbooked flightssometimes. If they aren’t close to the million-mile mark, it’s because they long ago passed it, or they’ve backpacked around the world, driven across the country or know United reps by their kids’ first names. These people kind of scare us.
Chuck Sampson allegedly lives in Denver but is a consultant for Pure Integration out of Herndon, Va., and seems to be out of town more than he is in. His cellphone contains more getting- there information in it than most travel agents’ computers.
Linda Profaizer of Larkspur is president of the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds, also based in Larkspur, and flies about 75,000 miles a year. She can back a 40-foot RV down a half-mile-long alley.
Jeremy Tanner, marketing director for the social media agency Room 214, calls Boulder home, but he doesn’t sit still very long — last summer he was one of the 100 chosen to test a Ford Fiesta for the “Fiesta Movement” contest. In seven months, he drove it more than 21,000 miles around the United States.
Denverite Angela Berardino is senior account director for Turner PR; her 60,000-plus annual miles take her all over the globe — within the past few weeks. she was in the British Virgin Islands and Mexico. She can tweet and blog what she’s doing before you even have your phone out of your pocket.
Writer, editor and photographer Cara Lopez Lee lives in Denver and is the author of the forthcoming “They Only Eat Their Husbands,” an account of her backpacking trek around the world after she lived in Alaska for nine years. The “eating their husbands” thing? You’ll have to read the book (coming in October from Ghost Road Press).
Roger Sherman is chief operating officer for public affairs firm CRL Associates. The Denver native knows from transportation — he once served on the board for the Regional Transportation District, was instrumental in the FasTracks campaign and now represents clients in related fields. Ask him about the time a United gate agent sang songs to soothe irritated customers.
