Search
Recommended Products
Related Links


 

 

Informative Articles

A Travelers Guide To Currency Exchange
Exchanging currency is something frequent travelers must become familiar with. There are many different currencies around the world. Finding out how to exchange currency and where to do it can help travelers get the most out of their money. ...

Travelers Logon for Advice Before Booking Travel
Guidebooks and travel magazines are helpful when trying to choose hotels, excursions, or a destination for your next vacation. Travel agents are even better. But what could be less biased and more helpful than no-holds-barred, word-of-mouth...

Travelling To Spain - The Spanish Regional Travel Guide
Up to 60 million visitors travel to Spain every year to delight in the country’s 315 sunny days and its rich and diverse history and culture. As a result the Spanish government spend millions of Euros per year on the travel and transport...

Useful Tips For Women Traveling Alone
There has been an increase in the number of Americans traveling abroad - especially women traveling alone either for business or pleasure. Each country and culture has their own views of what is appropriate behavior for women. Although you may...

When Traveling Abroad, Use Your EQ
What do you do when you don’t know the language or customs? That’s when your EQ, or Emotional Intelligence, comes in handy. On my recent tour to Russia, the people in large cities (Moscow, Saint Petersburg) knew English, but not in the small...

 
Have new technologies improved solo business travels?

In the last 10 to 20 years, advance in technology has transformed many aspects of business travel; from the way we book our hotel rooms to staying in touch with relatives left at home.
However it seems that it has not changed one aspect of it: the feeling of loneliness faced by a majority of business people while travelling and in particular, while dining and drinking in the evening at hotels.

The latest Barclaycard Business Travel Survey (www.barclaycard.co.uk) shows that, whereas 95% of businessmen and women travel solo, 45% of them have felt lonely during their business trips.
Technology has only help to reduce the time spent travelling. The survey tells us that nights way from home have decreased to 4.1 nights per month from 4.4 last year. Technology such as video-conferencing has reduced the need for face-to-face meetings. It has not made it easier staying alone in far away cities.
Women seem to be even more affected by the negative aspects of solo travel. Up to 61% of women have said feeling uncomfortable drinking at bars on their own and 34% didn’t like dining on their own.
So are business travellers doomed to feel lonely, depressed or uncomfortable when away from home? Well, there


are some tips one can follow to try improve this situation:
Try to talk to people who are waiting to be seated at the restaurant. If they are alone, they will probably be very happy to share their table with you, and enjoy a much more relaxed evening.
Try to arrange to meet with somebody you know in town, or somebody you have met the same day at work or elsewhere.
Ask for a table near a people-watching window. If you eat alone, at least you can look at what is going on outside.
Go to the restaurant early. Very often, restaurants have a more romantic setting at later times, something you want to avoid if you are alone!
Finally use networking clubs to contact other people who live locally. You may then meet with them (important: always do so in a public place)

New technologies have improved the way we can plan and organise business travels. However, when it comes to it, only old-fashioned tips will make your solo journeys a better experience.

About the Author

Stephane Vergnaud is the Founder and MD of Nomad Business Club, the first business club to offer you the possibility to meet and network with other members, wherever and whenever you travel at www.nomadbusinessclub.net.