Thread by @shawnwenzel

A thread with some tips on how to make the most out of business travel: speaking as a guy who's clocked a million miles in my career, had "platinum" status on 3 different airlines, and done business in dozens of countries. Others will disagree with me but these are my tricks 1/

Tip 1: travel light. Pack just a standard 9 inch roll-aboard suitcase. This can be hard but you need to be disciplined:
- travel with two pairs of shoes, one on your feet, one in the bag
- stuff shoes with underwear and socks so they're not taking up empty space. 2/

- only pack one type of clothes: if you're traveling for business, don't pack casual clothes, if you're traveling for vacation don't pack business clothes
- pack clothes you can mix-and-match so you can wear each outer garment 2x without looking like you wore the same outfit 3/

- if you're going for more than a week pack enough underwear and socks to last just a week, assume you'll visit a laundromat on the weekend and wash clothes.
- don't pack shampoo or conditioner, use what they provide at the hotel.
4/

Tip 2: If you're female, don't fly with a purse. You're allowed one roll-aboard suitcase and one personal item on the plane. Your purse counts as a personal item, so does a laptop bag or backpack but those hold a lot more. Stuff your purse into your laptop bag and you're good. 5/

Tip 3: many good deals on overseas airfare require a Saturday night stayover, you can get this by flying out on Saturday night and staying 1 extra night. Most companies will pay for that if it saves them $ overall and it usually does, allowing you to play tourist for a day! 6/

Tip 4: don't travel with a lot of cash, you can withdraw money from an ATM when you get where you're going.
Tip 5: never walk with your passport, leave your passport in your hotel safe and walk with a photocopy of it in case local authorities ask to see it. 7/

Tip 6: buy a money belt, which should be worn under your regular pants. Keep some of your cash and one card in your pocket, most of your cash and the rest of your cards in the money belt. If you're robbed, the robber will probably miss the money belt. 8/

Tip 7: don't travel with a black suitcase, buy one with an uncommon colour. If you have to check your bag it's much easier for you to pick your own bag out on the turnstile, and much less likely someone else will mistake YOUR bag for THEIRS. 9/

Tip 8: read up on local tipping culture; a waiter in the US will be offended if you tip less than 15% but one in France will be offended if you try to tip them at all!
Tip 9: learn things that can offend people in the local culture and avoid doing or saying those things. 10/

Tip 10: read up on locally sensitive issues but avoid talking about them unless your host brings them up. If you're in Argentina, the Falkland Islands; in Brazil, Amazon deforestation; in Chile, Augusto Pinochet; in South Africa, Apartheid; in Germany, immigration, etc. 11/

Tip 11: study the locals, how they dress and how they interact with each other. Try to adjust your own style so you blend in with theirs and they feel comfortable around you. Don't expect them to adjust what they do to fit you, you're in THEIR country. 12/

Tip 12: be sure to pack your sense of humour, when you travel things often go wrong and are not how you expected; you can either laugh or cry about it, but laughing is more fun, and you'll be more likely to get people to want to help you. 13/

Tip 13: airline employees, especially flight attendants and gate agents, are used to getting sh*t on by passengers all day, mostly over stuff that's not their fault (weather delays, air traffic control, etc.). Be that one passenger who always makes their day better. 14/

When dealing with airline staff, always smile, say thank you, greet them properly, etc.. Humour is often appreciated when things go wrong as long as it's not at their expense, and you'll find if you're nice to them they'll usually be nice back to you. 15/

Tip 14: take advantage of free language coaching as you can get it. My Portuguese improved dramatically when I was in Brazil thanks to my hotel's bartender, who couldn't speak a word of English but was a great coach in Portuguese! 16/

Tip 15: know your electricity, in North America it's 110 volt, in Europe it's 240. Cellphones and laptop computers use universal transformers that can tolerate either, you just need an adapter. But small appliances like hair dryers or curling irons will get FRIED if you try! 17/

And that's it for now, I may add to this thread depending on what feedback I get. Traveling is what you make it; it can either be a dream or a nightmare, but if you make a point of being kind to people, they'll usually be kind back and try to make your experience good.18/18