The first half of 2018 has found Touchpointers traveling near and far for business and pleasure. (Heck, for us, those are often the same thing!)
We’ve logged thousands of miles by plane, car, bike and foot. We’ve stayed in dozens of hotel rooms. Eaten scores of road meals. Gotten lost a few times (some of those on purpose). Adventures have been had in SC’s Aiken, Augusta, Hilton Head, Bluffton, Lake City, Florence, Santee, Columbia, Greenville, Walterboro and beyond. And we’ve jetted to Vegas, Denver and NYC. We’ve hiked mountain trails and walked the floor of the U.N.
And here are some lessons learned or relearned along the way:
Be nice to everyone – especially the frontline staff you encounter. In the last months, front desk pros at hotels have rescued us withband-aids,toothbrushes and umbrellas. One loaned us a personal phone charger and another stayed after her shift to ensure a shuttle driver retrieved us from 8-below Detroit weather; then greeted us with a local craft beer. Countless bell hops, hosts/hostesses, housekeepers and desk workers areunsung heroes of their industry. Respect!- Trust a good font. We’ve been misled by Yelp and Trip Advisor plenty of times, but we’ve never been let down by good design. It’s true: arestaurant or retailer who values quality art direction will value culinary arts or unique merchandise. If the sign looks yummy, proceed!
- Eat a salad. No, really. They sell them everywhere. You’ll be glad you did.
- Bring your best self to the party. We often travel with one another, or with our beloved clients. Road weariness can take its toll, but try hard to avoid showing it. We heard recently of a young professional being relieved of her position after a poor showing on a trip with her supervisor.Pretty sobering.
- Sitting in your hotel room for more than a half hour is a sin (unless it’s almost bedtime). You’ve arrived somewhere that other people choose to live,
work and play. Go out and figure out why! Our favorite picks when visiting new places: breweries, local cafes, dive bars and grocery stores. - Be ready for a technological failure. Your laptop will die before your big presentation (have a thumb drive!). Google maps will die in the middle of a forest (pre-sage your route or invest in a paper map). Your guest of honor will arrive really late (perfect your tap dancing routine). Be ready to MacGyver your way out of any situation.
- If you’re booking space for a group of any size, try to visit first. We’ve learned the hard way that websites fib. You can’t always tell how big, refined, comfortable, well-lit or accessible a space is when planning from afar. Make time and resources available for site visits. If you can’t, then work with a local event planner who “gets it.”
- Talk to strangers. It’s so easy to sidle up to a bar and bury your nose in your phone. But lift your head and look around and you might just find real human connection of the kind we enjoyed pre-anti-social media. (And of course, always be safe. If the strangers get weird, ask the bartender to
call you a cab!) - Schedule time for serendipity. Sure, that sounds mutually exclusive. But the only way to make travel something more than just transportation is to allow time for a little magic. Channel your inner child, and approach every trip like a first-timer does Disney World. After all, it’s a big, magic kingdom out there. If you remember that, you’ll win at the road warrior game.
- Start planning your next trip the minute you get home. Better yet: do it on your way home; adventure awaits!