It’s the ultimate perk of the peripatetic career: taking downtime in the most intriguing, ravishing spots on earth. While it’s not always easy to find extra days with tight deadlines, kids’ soccer games and that backlog of emails growing by the week, 90 percent of readers who answered our recent survey about finding downtime on their business trips said that this rare interlude between meetings and various obligations can be magical.
Quality of Life
From hunting down a hot new chef to testing their bodies with a rigorous hike, Premier Travelerreaders told us that the free moments they manage to find on business trips are a boost to body and spirit.
“There’s no point in traveling to a new city and not having time to see the sights!” said Rhea Terdal of Tulsa, Oklahoma. “I generally travel for conferences that can be very hectic, so I usually add a day at the end when I don’t have to worry about rushing.”
“Business trips are normally very packed,” agreed Dave Pym of Vancouver, British Columbia, “with full schedules to maximize time away, so it’s critical to have some downtime to recharge and refresh.”
“I take almost any chance to get a 24- or 36-hour layover in a major hub, if the tickets can work,” said Mark Strickland of Nashville, Tennessee, who sometimes just buys extra segments if they don’t.
This life/work balance can be crucial: “As I get older,” revealed a reader who took the option of remaining anonymous, “it’s becoming more important to do things other than work.” Another respondent reported not pushing to “get home late at night. I take an early flight the next day.”
For many, sharing these extraordinary travel opportunities can both amplify the fun and keep home life happy: “I invite my spouse and turn it into a mini vacation when possible,” one reader said, “which helps keep her supportive of my extensive travel.”
Life changes can offer even more opportunities to see the world. “We’re at a point where my wife is able to go along, and [we] tack on some vacation time,” said a seasoned traveler, who admitted: “There are some benefits to getting older and having grown-up kids!”
“A switch to consulting from full-time employment changed pretty much everything about my life,” noted another. While once forced to “finish quickly, return home and get ready for the next departure, now I can add several days to business trips, which makes my life far more enjoyable.”
For Ron Ramos of Santa Clara, California, it’s a win-win for him and his employers when he takes extra travel days on weekends or holidays: “Because the company knows I actively minimize my travel costs, they give me more flexibility in planning my travel—better for my company and for me.”
Putting Downtime to Work
Leisure days can also cement relationships and enhance careers. “Not only does downtime give you an opportunity to enjoy the area in which you’re working and maintain a healthy focus on your own person and spirit,” one reader observed, “it also demonstrates a commitment to the local client, an interest in his/her home.”
“Sometimes the client is the person I hang with and have fun with,” noted Lester G. of Derby Line, Vermont. “That makes it all the nicer.”
We’d stay longer if…
Readers said they’d add even more leisure days with a bit of incentive from airlines and hotels, such as flexible tickets and check-out times. They’d also appreciate some extra love for their loyalty: From hotels, this could manifest as room upgrades or weekend retes, while airlines could offer destination add-ons, ease their stopover rules or put together attractive getaway packages for frequent travelers. Paul Canolesio of Auburn, New York, proposed a reduced business/leisure rate for nights added to a business stay. “If I could count all the times I’ve changed hotels for my extended stay because of price!” he declared.
Rick Salzer of Estero, Florida, would like an easier time booking reward flights; Stephen Washuta of Modesto, California, suggested companion airfares and free breakfast for two at hotels; and rental car discounts linked to room rates were on the wish list for Scott Piepenburg of Plover, Wisconsin. Lester G. simply wanted “some sort of incentive” to grant companies his business: “Upgraded service is enough to keep me in town,” he said, adding that he’d also appreciate “ways to enjoy what the city is known for,” such as a show, a special restaurant or a themed bar-hop, like hunting down the best Manhattans in Manhattan.
The Goal: An Unforgettable Experience
While one third of you have taken spur-of-the-moment trips, like respondent Dave Pym’s impromptu lunch and dinner cruise with associates in Turkey, the majority of our readers plan in advance. Although Ron Johnson of Germantown, Tennessee, admitted, “If I were less OCD I’d probably extend trips more often!”
For many readers, just slowing the pace can feel like a vacation—taking time to savor simple pleasures such as a museum in Beirut or a good pub experience, according to Michael Jackson of Johannesburg, South Africa. And as much as we love our spouses, Melvin Jay of Plantation, Florida, sometimes uses this time to see a film that isn’t his wife’s cup of tea. Rhea Terdal’s most memorable side trip was simply “a day on the beach in Playa del Carmen after a field research trip in Belize—the greatest decision ever!”
Often local people have the most powerful impact on our travels: Stephen Washuta of Modesto, California, hires a taxi driver to find a city’s hidden corners. And when Tony Meola’s side trip to Italy fell on September 11, 2001, he found “the ever-warm Italians all-out loving to this New Yorker and his friend.”
The most exhilarating encounters are often serendipitous: colorful festivals, feasts and parades or, for Brian Schmalle of San Francisco, a firsthand view of last year’s royal wedding procession, “because I just happened to have made earlier travel plans to London.” And sometimes the highlight is the hotel itself, as when Rick Salzer of Estero, Florida, was upgraded to a three-room suite on extending his trip to Singapore.
Other respondents find memorable experiences by stepping outside their comfort zone: running a marathon on unfamiliar terrain, taking spa treatments in India or, for Dave Pym, climbing the foothills of Everest in Nepal. Another reader who traveled north of the Arctic Circle during the Winter Solstice will “never forget the quality of light from the stars and the aurora. Business or otherwise, it was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever experienced.”
Still, most enduring memories involve those close to us: “Meeting good friends whom we haven’t seen for long time,” said Bob See of Taipei, Taiwan, or the traveler who revealed that he courted his girlfriend after business trips, “and then, of course, married her.”
Lester G. also enjoys simply “meeting old friends and socializing. Nothing too crazy. Hmm, well, there was this one time...,” he mused, before stopping himself, noting that he’d “get into trouble.”
Courtesy : Premier Traveler
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