We are pleased to introduce, Lady Travel Talk, a new guest blogger mini-series tailor made for female travelers. This new series will cover a host of topics related to the travel experiences of each of the ladies contributing to the series. Today's guest blogger is Laura Stocker, she is a member of the leadership team of Tin Cans Unlimited. Laura travels extensively for not only business, but for pleasure as well.
Laura spent more than 10 years managing public relations and destination marketing for Hershey Park and Zoo America, before focusing her attention on helping business and industry navigate the World Wide Web. One of the founders of Tin Cans Unlimited, Laura has presented programs and workshops as far away as Amsterdam and Paris and as local as the Pennsylvania Association of Municipalities and the Pennsylvania Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus. Her areas of expertise include on and offline marketing, public relations, branding, search engine optimization, non-profit marketing, social networking, crisis communications and tourism marketing.
Today Laura will share her thoughts on travel etiquette, learning native tongues, and much more:
I was blessed to grow up in a family that traveled extensively. Beginning as a 20-something (yes, some 20 odd years ago!), I reveled in multiple opportunities for solo travel – both for business and pleasure!
If I did the math, I am certain that I have traveled more independently, than with others, including my own husband and family.
My first solo ventures were business related – day trips, mostly by car and train – but as I grew more confident, I began traveling by myself for pleasure as well. In recent years, I’ve even managed to combine the two – Paris on business, but with plans to stay an extra few days, for example.
Along the way, I’ve had to deal with getting mugged (managing to keep my bag!) and getting myself through customs and immigration alone. I’ve lost count of the non-English-speaking countries where I’ve had to deal with trying to recover lost luggage!
Here’s what I have learned:
1. Courtesy matters. A little etiquette goes a long way when trying to get upgraded on a flight, or determining if your hotel room will overlook a busy highway in a foreign country. I have always found that merely being polite will open many doors.
2. Learn the language. I know how to say “where is the powder room” in a half dozen languages, along with all the niceties (please, thank you, good morning, etc.). I also teach myself how to ask for help before I leave the US. Best phrase I ever taught myself? “Pardon me for butchering your beautiful language, but could you please…” Disarms them every time.
3. Make copies. Of everything - your tickets, itinerary, passport and any and all visas. Leave a set at home with a trusted friend or family, carry the originals with you, and leave a set in the hotel safe.
4. Honor traditions and customs. Research before leaving home will tell you that women in Eastern Europe don’t wander the streets alone after dark. Or that in many places of worship, bare arms are considered offensive.
5. Project confidence. Don’t advertise the fact that you’re a woman traveling alone. Use your business card, not your home address, as a luggage tag. Carry your cell phone, and have a “pretend” conversation with someone if you feel uncomfortable. I’ve even gone so far as to take a photo of the front of a building (capturing the address) and emailing it from my cell phone back to the office, when I once felt uncomfortable.
6. Be safe. I never feel silly asking hotel staff who knock on my room door to show identification. I am always aware of fire exits, working smoke detectors and deadbolt locks.
7. Check in. Befriend the front desk staff. Make sure you smile and wave when you walk by. Check in with the office and/or family and friends daily. No one should have to wonder where you are.
Finally – be prepared. On a recent business trip to Miami, my traveling companion was repeatedly surprised by the things I “just happened” to have with me – from extra batteries, to a small sewing kit, to wrinkle release spray. My business is largely tech – and I travel with my own power strip and extension cord – and used both repeatedly. I also packed a variety of snacks, and my own neck pillow – and no, I wasn’t over packed in the least – just carefully packed!
Traveling, particularly by air, and with an overseas destination, is my very favorite thing to do. And I do it fearlessly.
Well prepared, and well-aware – but fearless!
What are your thoughts on what Laura has suggested to us? Have you made anything part of your routine travel habits as a female flyer that Laura didn't touch upon?
You can read more from Laura at her blog, Through the Looking Glass.
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a blog dedicated to women? " that is something we do not see every day, thanks for the initiative friend!
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