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Dr. Theo Brandt-Sarif is a self-admitted "travel-aholic"
and the coauthor of Guerrilla
Travel Tactics: Hundreds of Simple Strategies Guaranteed
to Save Road Warriors Time and Money. He's
also the editor of TravelTactics.com and Travelexpert.com,
and a consultant on travel strategies.
Brandt-Sarif touched down between trips to share his
expertise with MCNews readers on how to travel in style
with fewer hassles and for less money.
MCNews: Given the financial troubles of so many
US airlines, is it easier or harder to find reasonably
priced airfares these days?
Brandt-Sarif: Both--the Internet has made it
much easier for any traveler to find great fares. In
addition, on routes where there is competition from
low cost carriers such as Jet Blue, Southwest and America
West, the fares will be competitive. Since the majors
will almost always match the fares of their low cost
brethren, be sure to check out ticket prices with the
'legend airlines' such as American, United and Delta.
But there are many routes where the major airlines
still have a monopoly, and creative ticketing strategies
will save the savvy traveler significant amounts of
money.
MCNews: Many consultants find they must book air
travel on short notice. If you don't have the option
of seven, fourteen or twenty-one day advance notice
for travel, how can you find the most economical airfare?
Brandt-Sarif: Go online--try out Orbitz.com,
Lastminutetravel.com
and Kayak.com. Check
out low cost airlines. See how low a price you can get
at Hotwire.com.
Keep in mind, however, that the site tells you its lowest
price for a given date of travel, but you only find
out times of travel and airline once your credit card
has been charged. As a last resort, name your own price
at Priceline.com--offer
70% of the price you find at Hotwire.com. Biddingfortravel.com
can help the Priceline.com user with information from
prior customers who were successful naming their price.
MCNews: Are there some seat assignments you consider
better than others, and are there times when you'll
select a coach seat rather than upgrading to first class?
Brandt-Sarif: If I can get a whole row in coach,
I prefer that to first class. An entire row or aisle
with an open middle seat is much more likely at the
rear of the plane. Benefits include more space to spread
out and lower chance of contracting respiratory infections.
It's helpful to look at seat arrangements on various
types of aircraft when you are booking a flight. Check
out Seatguru.com
for maps of all airlines' seat configurations.
MCNews: At many airports, the security screening
process takes longer than any other part of the check-in
process. Any tips for getting through security more
quickly?
Brandt-Sarif: No magic solutions regarding getting
through security quicker, unless you can get into the
Registered Traveler Program--but that's only available
to very frequent flyers at select airports. The ideal
is to get to the airport with enough time to get through
security without sweating!
Little things, though, can make a difference. Even
if you travel a lot, double check that you haven't inadvertently
let a prohibited item slip into your carry-on. And,
it's common to be distracted when traveling, so focus
and pay attention to the security procedures of that
particular airport.
Keep your boarding pass and ID in a very easily accessible
spot. Stow keys and other metal objects in your carry-on
bag, not your pockets. While waiting in line, be prepared
to quickly take off your shoes if security personnel
request it.
Thinking ahead and cooperating with instructions is
your best bet.
MCNews: Which airlines do you think do the best
job with customer service, on-time performance and traveler
comfort, and which ones need improvement?
Brandt-Sarif: Jet Blue and Southwest get raves
for delivering consistent service. All the majors do
a reasonable job with their elite flyers. I am generally
impressed with American--it seems to have an air of
professionalism the others lack. Even though I rarely
fly Northwest, I always get good service and good seating.
Continental seems to do well in surveys, but I hate
the crowded flights and tight seating that makes working
on a laptop in coach impossible. On-time performance
varies widely, though United has done surprisingly well
over the past year.
MCNews: What's your view on the value of airline
lounge memberships? Is a membership a good investment?
Brandt-Sarif: It's not a good investment unless
someone else is paying! My two principle complaints
are overcrowding, and lousy food and drinks. I prefer
to enjoy Starbucks, and then find a quiet gate where
there is a power supply.
MCNews: When traveling on business, do you have
preferred hotel chains? And, are there hotels that you
try to avoid?
Brandt-Sarif: The major chains are all good,
but you may have to settle for a chain that has hotels
at your business destinations. I love Hyatt, but limited
coverage has meant Hilton, Starwood and Marriott get
far more of my business.
My principle complaint about Marriott is bland hotels--green
carpets do get boring. Starwood has fabulous properties,
and Westin (one of Starwood's brands) gets raves from
business travelers. In addition, Starwood's loyalty
program wins top billing year after year in the Freddie
awards for best hotel program.
MCNews: Any tips for beating the high cost for phone
calls, refreshments and other incidentals charged by
hotels?
Brandt-Sarif: Bring your own snacks and bottled
water, or purchase them before you leave your destination
airport or at a convenience store. The hotel concierge
or front desk personnel can tell you how to get to the
nearest store to replenish your supplies.
It may seem obvious, but for phone calls, use your
cell phone.
If you are abroad, the company, Kallback,
offers the innovative service "callback®"
that provides low-cost US international long distance
rates to countries outside the United States. A
Kallback customer simply dials the US "trigger
number," lets it ring once and hangs up before
it answers. Within seconds, the Kallback computer rings
back the caller with a US dial tone. Then, the caller
dials out as usual, using this US line to call any country.
Kallback bills at far cheaper rates than most every
other country's long distance service.
MCNews: What are the top Web sites for business
travel information?
Brandt-Sarif: Joesentme.com
has weekly updates pertinent to business travelers.
Flyertalk.com
is an excellent chat forum for all topics related to
frequent flyer and hotel loyalty programs. Visitors
to my site, TravelTactics.com, can download a range
of free special reports and subscribe to Road
Warrior Report, the monthly newsletter for business
travelers.
MCNews: If you could give one piece of advice to
consultants about making the life of a road warrior
less stressful, what would it be?
Brandt-Sarif: Most people don't acknowledge
or pay enough heed to the mental and physical toll travel
takes on them. Everyone who travels should take precautions
to safeguard their health and well-being by minimizing
the stress and health risks of being on the road. The
free special report available on my Web site, "Stress
Free Travel-Optimizing Your Health While on the Road"
provides practical advice on this topic. (http://www.travelexpert.com/special-reports/report-9)
MCNews: Thanks for the tips.
You can find out more about Brandt-Sarif, his book
and services at www.TravelTactics.com and www.TravelExpert.com.
Send me an email
with your thoughts on this interview.
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Hate
to Wait? More Air Travel Tips
Before you head off to the airport for your next trip,
you might want to check the resources below--they might
save you some time and prevent airport angst.
Avoid the Check-in Counter: Get Your Boarding Pass
Online
Most airlines that have assigned seats offer the option
to print your boarding pass from your computer, usually
twenty-four hours before your flight. With your boarding
pass in hand, you need only leave enough time to get
through security and then you can head straight to your
gate.
Security Checkpoint Wait Times
Ever walked up to the airport security line and thought
you'd never get through in time to make your flight?
The secret is to anticipate the wait and plan ahead.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) shows
expected wait times at security checkpoints for airports
in the US by day and time to help you plan when to arrive
at the airport. Check it out at http://waittime.tsa.dhs.gov/index.html.
Airline On-Time Statistics and Delay Causes
If you're curious which flights are delayed and why,
The US Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation
Statistics (BTS) tracks the on-time performance of US
flights operated by large carriers.
Select an airport and carrier, and the site displays
on-time performance and the reason for any delay. Visit
http://www.transtats.bts.gov/OT_Delay/OT_DelayCause1.asp.
Real-Time Airport Status
The level of congestion at an airport can be a predictor
of on-time departure or arrival. The Air Traffic Control
System Command Center shows the real-time status of
general airport conditions.
This site will let you know if an airport is experiencing
on-time performance or if traffic at the airport is
heavy, which could cause delays. Visit http://www.fly.faa.gov/flyfaa/usmap.jsp.
Prohibited Items
What items can you take on the plane without getting
hung up in a time-consuming search at the security checkpoint?
The Transportation Security Administration has a complete
list of the items you can carry on board and those you
must check in your luggage.
They'll also tell you what items aren't allowed at
all on airplanes. Do yourself (and the rest of us) a
favor and leave your cutlery at home. We'll all get
through the line faster. See http://www.tsa.gov/public/interapp/editorial/editorial_1012.xml.
Traveler's Health
Leaving the country? The US Center for Disease Control
provides information on common illnesses afflicting
travelers to countries around the world. Select the
region of the world you're traveling to for a complete
report. Follow the link: http://www.cdc.gov/travel/.
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When
IT Matters Most
As clients evaluate investments in IT, it's an opportunity
to examine the company's management practices as well.
For some projects, client executives take a technology-first
approach, which means implementing a new IT application
first and tuning up management practices once the systems
are stabilized. It's an understandable trade-off, as
some companies shy away from the cost, time and disruption
of changing systems and business practices simultaneously.
According to a recent study by McKinsey
& Co., that may be a flawed strategy.
The study of 100 companies in France, Germany, the UK,
and the US found that additional computing power alone
does translate into higher productivity, but the gains
are modest. For example, companies in the bottom quartile
for management practices achieved productivity gains
of roughly 2% from deploying IT, while companies that
increased computing power and improved management practices
achieved 20% productivity gains.
The study also revealed that better management practices
by themselves can boost productivity a good deal and
increase the impact of IT investments on productivity.
Companies in the study got the best results when combining
IT investments with improved management practices.
Whether your clients are making new IT investments
or just replacing rickety systems, they're more likely
to get a better return on investment if they improve
their management practices first, and then make the
investment in IT.
Source: The McKinsey Quarterly, 2004,
Number 4
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From the Consultant's Bookshelf
As you catch up on your business reading, don't overlook
these books as you browse through your favorite bookseller's
offerings.
The
Dollarization Discipline: How Smart Companies Create
Customer Value...and Profit from It, by
Jeffrey J. Fox, Richard C. Gregory
Ever wonder how to quantify the economic value of your
services? Fox and Gregory show you an approach to sales
and marketing that goes beyond features and benefits
strategy to selling based on value. This book isn't
theory, either. It's full of examples and case studies
to guide your way.
What
I Learned From Sam Walton: How to Compete and Thrive
in a Wal-Mart World, by Michael Bergdahl
Whether you love or hate Wal-Mart, the company re-wrote
the book on running a business. Bergdahl reveals what
he learned from his work with Sam Walton.
Leadership
Secrets of the World's Most Successful CEOs: 100 Top
Executives Reveal the Management Strategies That Made
Their Companies Great, by Eric Yaverbaum
If you think there isn't space in any bookstore for
another book on leadership, Yaverbaum's book might change
your mind. You can read the book from start to finish,
or just pick a chapter and start reading. Each chapter
summarizes how one CEO thinks about leadership and runs
a business.
Handbook
of Management Consulting: The Contemporary Consultant:
Insights from World Experts, by Larry E.
Greiner, Flemming Poulfelt
It's tough to find a consultant who disagrees with
the statement that the industry is undergoing fundamental
changes, but what should a consultant do about it? Greiner
and Poulfelt asked twenty-five of the industry's leaders
to answer that question.
Strategic
Negotiation: A Breakthrough Four-Step Process for Effective
Business Negotiation, by Brian Dietmeyer
Without a doubt, consultants are in constant negotiation
with clients about issues like their fees, recommendations
and their approach to projects. Dietmeyer makes the
complicated task of negotiation simple with his four-step
negotiation process.
Coming Soon
The
Prime Solution: Close the Value Gap, Increase Margins,
and Win the Complex Sale, by Jeff Thull
Thull, author of Mastering the Complex Sale,
is back with a new book which helps those who create,
market and deliver complex products and services. Look
for the book in January 2005.
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What's
Ahead for Consulting?
To answer that question, the Director of Top-Consultant,
Tony Restell, and his team analyzed the current state
of the consulting industry in the UK, Europe and the
US. Among their findings:
- The UK consulting market is considerably outperforming
the rest of Europe
- The recruiting demand for consultants is booming
- The US market is seen as lagging the UK market by
9-12 months, but stronger growth and higher recruiting
demand is forecasted for the US by the end of Q1 2005.
This bullish outlook for the industry isn't lost on
practitioners, who also see brighter days on the horizon
for their compensation. In a survey by Top-Consultant,
more than 60% of consultants in the US and UK markets
expect a pay raise exceeding 5% during the next year,
with the average raise expected to be almost 8%.
For those of you working on compensation planning,
take note that over a third of all consultants in the
survey expect a double-digit pay raise in the next year,
which they're looking for as an offset to the paltry
raises of the last couple of years. A quick shift in
mindset about consultant salaries will help prevent
top talent from bolting.
There's never been a better time to strengthen a consulting
practice. Winning firms will scour the market for talent
and pay them market rates. They will scrutinize the
salaries of top performers and pay them accordingly,
and quickly prune the ranks of lower-performing consultants.
Follow this link to listen to an audio presentation
of Tony Restell's assessment of the consulting industry:
http://www.top-consultant.com/US/news/Article_Display.asp?ID=1768.
If you want to know more about Top-Consultant's Salary
Survey, here's the link:
http://www.top-consultant.com/uk/news/Article_Display.asp?ID=1759.
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Grab Your Calendar
Two conferences to consider adding to
your to-do list:
The 2004 FEACO International Management Consultants
Conference "Building a Competitive-Knowledge
Based European Economy--The Role of the Consultant"
will take place on October 21-23, 2004, at the prestigious
Astir Palace Vouliagmeni, in Athens, Greece.
The IMC 2004 Fall Confab "Tools for Success"
is October 23-26, 2004, in Reno Nevada.
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This Month in History
On October 4, 1957, the Space Age began as the
(former) Soviet Union launched Sputnik,
the first manmade satellite, into orbit around the earth.
Sputnik was launched from Kazakhstan, and stayed in
orbit for about three months.
On October 7, 1806, Englishman Ralph Wedgwood
secured the first patent for carbon paper, which
he intended to be used in his "Stylographic Writer"
to help blind people write through the use of a metal
stylus instead of a quill.
On October 11, 1881, David
H. Houston, a Scottish immigrant to the U.S.,
patented roll film for cameras. His invention
paved the way for use of cameras by amateurs. Including
this one, George Eastman of the Eastman Kodak Company
bought twenty-one patents on cameras from Houston.
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Coming
Attractions
Stan·dard: Something set up or established
by an authority as a rule for the measure of quantity,
weight, extent, value, or quality.
Is the consulting industry ready for standards, as
defined above? Some consultants argue that regulation
and the implementation of industry standards are right
around the corner. Next month, we'll look at this issue
with Jack Chapin, consultant and past National Chair
of the Institute of Management Consultants USA.
Look for our next issue on November 2, 2004.
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The
End Page
"Now this is not the end. It is not even the
beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of
the beginning." - Winston
Churchill
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Michael McLaughlin
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Management Consulting News ISSN 1539-2481,
Washington, DC, USA
Copyright © 2004 Management Consulting
News All rights reserved
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