Business Travel

If you've flown, you're probably familiar with the term "bumping." Bumping is what happens when a flight is oversold and there are too many checked in, confirmed passengers waiting to fly. At that point, the gate agents may ask for volunteers who are willing to be bumped, or may automatically select (unwilling) passengers to be bumped, if there are no volunteers.

For more info on bumping, and tips on how to ask to be bumped or negotiate the best compensation for being bumped, consult our new overview of bumping. (photo credit: San Francisco Travel by photographer Jack Hollingsworth)

A little bit of the old, a little bit of the new. Or perhaps a lot of the  new. Boston is a city built on revolutionary thought, education, and good old American (well, New England) business sense. That's why the city sees a huge number of business travelers throughout the year.

If you're thinking of traveling to Boston on business, it might be helpful to take a look at our overview of Boston hotels for business travelers. It provides some context for selecting a Boston hotel for your next trip. (photo: Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau)

Every wonder what all those jumbles of letters and numbers on your airline ticket are? At least one set of characters are going to be your fare basis, or fare code. Fare codes are how the airlines specify some of the details of rules for the ticket you  purchased.

There's a lot to like about the Colonnade Boston, a medium-sized hotel in heart of Boston's Back Bay neighborhood.

For starters, there's the rooftop pool (which, well, might be better in July then in January). There are personal touches like the local Smart Car drop off or pick up service for guests (within a one-mile radius). And there's the great location directly across from the Prudential Center, with its shops, restaurants, and offices.  For more insights, read my full review of the Colonnade Boston hotel.

Whenever I'm booking a flight, there's usually a range of different type of fares that I can select from. But one of the best (and certainly not the cheapest) may be unrestricted fares.

If buying a full fare coach or first class ticket is too much for you, consider these good tips for getting the best airfare. Another definition that I also get asked about is the definition of segment. Read this glossary entry to find out how to define a segment of an airline trip.

Sometimes when I travel, I mix business and pleasure. Maybe it's an extra day tacked on to the end of a business trip for socializing or sightseeing. But when I do, I try to keep careful track of my expenses. Like most business travelers, I want to be able to maximize my legitimate tax deductions without making a mistake or accidentally claiming personal expenses that were actually business expenses.

That's why guest author and tax expert Frank M. Gruber has put together some tax tips for business travelers to learn what's a business expense and what's a personal expense when they're on a trip that mixes business with pleasure. (image credit: irs.gov)

Like business travel isn't expensive enough, travelers heading to some foreign countries also have to pay local taxes such as the VAT, or Value Added Tax. But don't worry--there are ways to get the VAT taxes you've paid back. Consult this list of VAT refund options.

Experienced business travelers have the drill down pat. Book the flight, book the hotel, book the car. But here's a new wrinkle. Maybe instead of booking a hotel, business travelers should consider booking a vacation rental instead. Vacation rentals actually provide an interesting alternative for business travelers planning on being in a location for a longer time, or to teams of  business people that want to entertain or travel as a group. Sound interesting? Consider this overview of using a vacation rental for your next business trip.

I hate to pay full price on airline tickets. But sometimes I have to, when the deadline for travel is near and I haven't pre-booked a flight, I know I'm going to pay premium prices. That's usually when I turn to my frequent flyer miles. However, some folks take a try at more creative methods for reducing their airfare prices. A new entry in our Business Travel glossary explains how the "throw away ticket" approach to flying may save some people some money.

Ever wondered what you're allowed to deduct on your taxes for business travel? I have. That's why our guest author Frank M. Gruber has recently taken the time to outline how business travelers can maximize their business travel deductions.