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Travel
Best Cities for Business Travel
Business travel is best when you can combine aspects of both work and pleasure, as you explore new cities, meet new people, and discover new cultures (in addition to taking care of the company agenda, of course).
In a recent survey, the National Business Travel Association (NBTA) determined that 62% of U.S. business travelers add a leisure component to at least one business trip per year, and two-thirds of them bring family members or friends along.
"The trend shows the significant links between the leisure and business segments of the travel industry, which are often viewed as separate," said NBTA Executive Director Bill Connors.
So whether you are setting off on a business trip, a vacation, or a little of both, read on to learn what to do in these popular locales:
VIVA LAS VEGAS
 Happy birthday, Las Vegas! On May 15, Sin City will be 100 years old, and is expected to attract a record 37 million business and leisure travelers this year. Ready to welcome them is the brand new Wynn Las Vegas, a hotel that just opened in April on the former grounds of the legendary Desert Inn.
Each of its 2,700 guest rooms and suites, ensconced in a flashy 50-story bronze tower, offers floor-to-ceiling windows, with views of the Strip, the property's private mountain, a lake, and a golf course. Even standard rooms are equipped with plush comforts such as oversized marble bathrooms, European linens and bedding, and flat-screen televisions in both the living and bathroom areas.
BUSINESS: Tired of stale indoor meetings? State-of-the-art meeting rooms open onto private outdoor terraces overlooking the resort's lush gardens and pool area.
PLEASURE: When your work is done, explore the 217-acre resort, which includes a whopping 18 dining outlets—including a brasserie from famed chef Daniel Boulud, plus Chinese, Japanese, Italian, and American restaurants. There is also an 18-hole championship golf course, an 111,000-square-foot casino, a spa and salon, a Ferrari/Maserati car dealership, and a gallery of masterworks from the private art collection of owner Steve Wynn, the famous hotel magnate.
And get this: Wynn recently announced construction of an additional 2,000-room tower on adjacent land, to be called Encore, opening in 2007. (See wynnlasvegas.com, or call 702-770-7100)
ORLANDO BEYOND MICKEY
BUSINESS: If you haven't been to Orlando on business or for a meeting, it could happen soon. Meeting and convention travel is expected to increase 8.9% this year to 4 million travelers, 7% in 2006 to 4.2 million, and another 4.6% in 2007 to reach 4.4 million, according to the Orlando Convention and Visitors Bureau. Orlando is also one of the cities where business travelers will most likely bring along the family for a little fun when the work is done.
PLEASURE: Can't bear the thought of an amusement park when you are on business in central Florida? You are not alone. Hotels eager to please the adult crowd have recently expanded their spa options.
The Canyon Ranch SpaClub at the Gaylord Palms Resort specializes in blissful escapes with its canyon stone massage, featuring smooth volcanic stones and a choice of massage techniques.
 Mandara Spa at the Portofino Bay Hotel offers exotic Balinese healing traditions, and the Ritz-Carlton Spa at Grande Lakes (pictured left) is a pampering palace with treatments that include the two-hour Tuscan citrus cure and a sweet-orange wrap.
The spa at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort is Victorian-themed, with its own line of grapefruit-infused skin products. The Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate recently opened with three outdoor cabanas for relaxing alfresco treatments, including a special golfer's massage. (See orlandoinfo.com)
SAN FRANCISCO CHIC
 The city that spawned the boutique hotel phenomenon has quietly put that concept to rest. San Francisco-based Kimpton Hotels, a pioneer in the sector, no longer uses the "B-word" at all anymore. Instead, its concept is now called "lifestyle" hotels. The same goes for the eclectic collection of Joie de Vivre Hotels, which just opened the city's newest luxury hotel gem, Hotel Vitale, in a striking location on the Embarcadero waterfront (see photo above).
BUSINESS: It has been a while since a brand-new hotel opened in San Francisco's financial district. To attract the commercial crowd, all rooms offer free high-speed Internet and large desks. There is an executive boardroom for meetings, and the roof (with views up and down the waterfront and across the bay) is available for special events. Inside, the Hotel Vitale emphasizes rich natural materials, subtle colors, and as its promotional material quips, "a post-hip ambience that sidesteps trendy boutique hotel design." The result is a destination hotel (nothing boutique-y about it) that embodies the Northern California "good life" of light, luxury, and simplicity.
PLEASURE: Kick back after your meetings in one of the hotel's "Circular Suites" with panoramic 270-degree views of the San Francisco Bay that can be enjoyed from your bed or deep-soaking tub. If you are there on a Saturday morning, take a walk across the street and see, smell, and taste the agricultural bounty of the Bay Area at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. (See jdvhospitality.com or call 415-278-3700)
REST UP FOR LONDON
With the dollar at historic lows in relation to the British pound, every second you spend in London is more valuable than ever before. That's why you should be sure and get a good night's sleep on the flight over the pond.
BUSINESS: To help business travelers snag those precious-and-few hours of shut-eye, British Airways reengineered its overnight flight experience, and now offers Club World Sleeper Service. It starts off with a full, hot meal in the Club World airport lounge before you board. Then, shortly after takeoff, the cabin crew dims the lights and limits in-flight announcements for the remainder of the flight, allowing you to push your seat back into a flat, horizontal bed, and get right to sleep. Depending on which U.S. city you are flying from (and the headwinds) you could settle in for a good five, six, or seven hours of rest.
PLEASURE: Club World Sleeper Service is now available on British Airways' London-bound flights from Boston, Chicago, Newark, New York-Kennedy, Philadelphia, Toronto, and Washington-Dulles.
About 45 minutes prior to your morning landing in London, the cabin crew serves a light breakfast. Once on the ground, don't miss the British Airways Terraces lounge, where you can enjoy a hot English breakfast, a shower, or spa treatment, have your clothing pressed, and be on your way to your first appointment, or your connecting flight.
(See britishairways.com)
PARIS OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
With hotel rates for Americans touching the stratosphere, now is the time to get off the overpriced five-star hotel tourist track in Paris and discover the array of smaller, sensibly priced, business-friendly hotels in quiet neighborhoods.
For example, American physician Jim Braude recently purchased and renovated the charming Hotel Saint-Louis Bastille, using luxurious and warm materials (marble, old terra cotta, limestone, slate, wood paneling, and fine fabrics), which create a delightful, calm setting. An elevator serves all five floors, including the stone-vaulted basement where breakfast is served.
BUSINESS: For business travelers, all rooms are WiFi-enabled, and there is also a small business center with PC, fax, and printer. In addition to breakfast, you'll find cold drinks, beer, and wine 24 hours a day in the lobby. The hotel is located in the "New Marais" neighborhood near Place de la Bastille and Place des Vosges. Rooms start at around $130 per night. (See saintlouisbastille.com, 33 (0)1 43 38 29 29)
PLEASURE: Even if you can't afford the steep rent at Paris's ornate palace hotels (rates now start in the $700 range), you can still enjoy a drink or a meal in their busy lobbies. Cool your shopping heels and enjoy the piano and discreet atmosphere at the Crillon Bar at the Hotel de Crillon, next to the U.S. Embassy on Place de la Concorde. Or check out the glam crowd at Le Bar at the Plaza Athenee, located on one of Paris's hottest shopping streets, Avenue Montaigne.
SHANGHAI SCI-FI
 Known alternately as the "Pearl of the Orient" or the "Paris of China," Shanghai is in full, dazzling renaissance, and chock-full of business travelers and curious vacationers from around the world.
The city is scrambling to build new hotels to handle the influx, and one of the newest and most talked-about is the 555-room Grand Hyatt. You've got to see this place to believe it, soaring 80 stories above the frenetic streets and construction cranes. (It's the highest hotel in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.)
BUSINESS: The hotel is located in the Pudong New Area, Shanghai's new center of finance and banking activity. Contemporary Art Deco and traditional Chinese design, combined with luxurious all-marble bathrooms, jaw-dropping views from floor-to-ceiling windows, and five-star service, make a stay, a meeting, or at least a visit to one of its nine restaurants a must on your next trip to Shanghai. The hotel is located on the 53rd through 87th floors of the mixed-use Jin Mao Tower. (See shanghai.grand.hyatt.com, or call 86 21 5049 1234.)
PLEASURE: If you are flying into Shanghai from overseas and want to experience the future of rail travel, take the futuristic new airport-to-city MagLev (short for "magnetic levitation") train, which cuts the trip into town to just eight minutes instead of the 45 or so by car (without traffic). The new German-built train, which glides along a frictionless magnetic field at nearly 300 mph, is the fastest on earth. —Chris McGinnis
Those Prying Eyes
Okay, admit it. On a recent business trip, you've taken a sidelong glance over at the laptop screen of your seatmate—
not that your intentions are pernicious, but you're simply curious. And on the flip side, when you are working on the plane, you might have wondered who might be peering at your laptop screen.
According to a recent survey commissioned by 3M, there's a lot of snooping going on out there. Nearly nine out of ten business travelers admit to glancing over the shoulder of an unsuspecting fellow traveler. Now that technology allows us to work from virtually anywhere, travelers who are working on personal or proprietary information on their laptops need to be aware of how easily their privacy can be compromised.
New 3M privacy filters that fit over your laptop screen work like vertical mini-blinds to block the view of anyone trying to see it from the side. (The screen appears dark when viewed from an angle. See photo below)
 The filters remain on the screen at all times, and stay in place when the notebook is closed. In addition to privacy, they also provide protection from scratches or punctures that can damage delicate laptop screens. 3M recently reduced prices on the filters, which now range from $50 to $70. (See 3m.com/computerfilters)
Malaria Still a Menace
You're a savvy traveler, so you've probably thought of everything. But chances are, you haven't thought about malaria.
While uncommon in the U.S., malaria still infects millions living or traveling in areas of Central and South America, the Caribbean, Africa, India, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, the vast majority of cases in the U.S. (about 1,300 per year) occur in travelers and immigrants returning from sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian subcontinent.
If your travels will take you to an area where you feel you could be at risk for malaria, consult with your doctor about a prescription anti-malarial medication. This is typically a pill that you take before, during, and after your trip.
In addition on such a journey, you'll definitely need to avoid mosquitoes, which carry the malaria parasite, so be sure to pack insect repellent containing the chemical compound DEET (check the label), long-sleeve shirts and pants, and mosquito netting if you will be sleeping with windows open, or outdoors. (For more information about malaria prevention, as well as a helpful map which indicates high-risk countries, see travelsafely.com.)
Asian Highfliers
To experience the world's best airports, you have to fly East. According to the recent AETRA survey of 65,000 travelers by the International Air Transport Association, the world's top three airports are in Hong Kong, Seoul, and Singapore. In North American rankings, the airport in Halifax, Nova Scotia came first, followed by Minneapolis and San Diego (which also took the "most improved" ranking).
What's so special about these airports? Business-class lounges, like Korean Air's Morning Calm Lounge at Seoul-Incheon (pictured, opposite page) are bright, modern, and luxurious. At Hong Kong-Chek Lap Kok and Seoul-Incheon, you'll find futuristic design, with arching ceilings and exterior walls of glass that bathe travelers in natural light, and offer dramatic views of airport runways and the sea. (Both airports are built on man-made islands.)
While Singapore's Changi Airport is not as architecturally dramatic as its other Asian counterparts, its ambience is warm and inviting—you'll find soothing waterfalls, as well as bamboo, cactus, and orchid gardens.
In contrast, there is nothing stylish about Halifax Airport, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean in Canada's maritime Nova Scotia province. A spokeswoman for the airport said that its top ranking is due to outstanding customer service. Although the airport handles fewer than 5 million passengers per year, it boasts the "Tartan Team," a group of 100 volunteer airport hosts who greet and assist arriving travelers.
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