Taking off Travel blog

Most business trips are short and sweet, but occasionally there’s the chance to spend a couple of extra days seeing the new city. If you want to see the sights without blowing a hole in your budget, then couchsurfing might be a great option. Since we first covered the topic at the start of 2008, the numbers of couchsurfers have grown and grown, with an estimated 1.2 million couchsurfers around the world, according to Couchsurfing.org, the site founded by the originator of the movement, Casey Fenton.

Couchsurfing is a great way to see places from the inside.

How Couchsurfing Works

The premise is simple - sign up for the site, set up a Facebook style profile, say where you want to go and find someone in the city prepared to offer you a couch for a few days. That’s not all you might get, either. Many hosts are willing to show you around, give you tips on where to eat and places to visit and generally make sure that you have a great time without spending a lot. It’s a wonderful way to see a place from the inside - the way the locals see it. You can avoid tourist traps and have experiences that you might otherwise have missed.

Rating The Experience

Is it safe? Statistics suggest that most people have a fantastic time with no negative reports. On the Couchsurfing site you can rate each experience. Even if you don’t want to stay with a complete stranger, you can use the site to meet people in your destination who will meet you for coffee or a drink and point you in the right direction. You can also have just as much fun playing host to new friends visiting your town - and when the holiday’s over, there might even be business opportunities.

Other resources

• The Hospitality Club
• Global Freeloaders
• Video Introduction To Couchsurfing
• Couchsurfing on Twitter
• HostATourist
• Stay4Free
• Warmshowers - for bike tourists

The World Travel Awards are now in their 15th year and to celebrate, the awards are having their biggest ever Grand Tour, with events in different countries. Poprad, Slovakia will host the first Green Travel Awards ceremony on October 15, while the South American ceremony will take place in Rio de Janeiro on October 21. On October 28, the Middle East travel awards will be hosted in Dubai, while the tour ends in Turks and Caicos on December 12. Other events have previously taken place in Sydney, Shanghai, Durban and Orlando. Read more »

If you’re a member of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW), then you’re in luck. ParkRideFlyUSA is now providing discounted offsite airport parking rates for SATW members. Our internet booking rates are among the best in the market and SATW members with a special voucher code will get a 10% discount on those rates. Those looking for convention parking in Houston get an additional 5% off, bringing the total discount to 15%.

Included with our offsite airport parking package are:

• guaranteed parking space
• airport shuttle
• range of parking options (including valet parking and covered parking)
• flexibility on length of stay
• travel accident insurance - $100,000
• frequent user benefits
• complimentary tyre inflation
• complimentary battery starts

(photo:jppi)

BTN’s Corporate 100 2008 edition is out, revealing the biggest spenders on corporate travel in 2007. At the top of the list is IBM, which spent a whopping $800 million on corporate travel, a $100 million increase over the previous year. Their business travelers may not pay much attention to airport parking, as they use Hertz for car rentals or are chauffeured about.Next on the list are London’s BP ($365 million), General Electric ($350 million), Boeing ($325 million) and Exxon Mobil ($277 million). These figures are for booked air volume. Read more »

This is part one in a three-part series on using Priceline and Hotwire to get killer travel deals.

Who has a better price on hotels, Hotwire or Priceline? Is there a “secret” to bidding? What sort of travel booking is always a win-win situation?

These questions and more will be answered in today’s episode of BETTER BIDDING WITH SAMANTHA!

This is part one in a two part series of how to use Hotwire, Priceline and other sites in your arsenal of tools for finding the best travel deals online.

The big secret
Most articles make you read through the whole thing to get to the money shot, but I’m going to give it to you right up front. Are you ready? Read more »