These kinds of insider tips are hard-won through experience — something business travelers have in spades. After all, they make an average of seven long-distance trips per year, according to the Travel Industry Association. Leisure travelers, on the other hand, typically take fewer than three such trips.
Even though they may not fly, drive or stay in hotels that much, vacationers could learn a thing or two by watching how business travelers navigate the airport or the hotel lobby. "They've learned to play the travel game," says Terry Trippler, owner of TripplerTravel.com. The prize? Shorter wait times, less expense and, often, more convenience. Here's how you can play the game, too.
Stay at Business Hotels
Why business travelers do it: Business hotels tend to be located conveniently near places that host meetings and conventions — typically in the vicinity of the airport or downtown commercial district with easy access to major highways.
Consumer payoff: You may get an even better deal than the business travelers. Hotels that cater to business clientele are busiest during the work week, and often drop their prices on weekends in order to fill empty rooms, says Robert Mandelbaum, director of research for PKF Consulting, a hotel-industry research firm. The trade-off: Locations may not be convenient to tourist attractions. "It's not the cute boutique hotel with the great view of the water," he says. In New Orleans, for example, a standard guest room at the 3.5-star Radisson Hotel (near the airport) is $170 from Monday through Thursday, and just $116 a night on Fridays and Saturdays.
Rooms are also more likely to include free wireless Internet and a kitchenette, which is a great bonus for vacationers who can't expense their meals. These little perks can really add up. The average hotel rate for high-speed Internet access, for example, is $10 a day, according to Consumer Reports.
Book Y-Up Fares
Why business travelers do it: On paper, so-called Y-Up, Q-Up and Z-Up tickets are full-fare coach seats. The sneaky thing about them is that these tickets come with a guaranteed upgrade to first class. Considering that companies often restrict which flight class employees can book and how much they can spend, Y-Up fares are a well-known trick of the business travel trade. Not only do business travelers get to fly in style, but they also keep corporate accounting happy.
Consumer payoff: If you were going to fly business class anyway, Y-Up and other auto-upgrade fares are a less-expensive option. But they're never a bargain, cautions George Hobica, publisher of Airfare Watchdog. "It is full-fare coach," he says. "Fares [on discount travel sites] are always cheaper." A round-trip Y-Up from New York City to Las Vegas on AirTran in May, for example, would cost $908. That's $210 less than a first-class ticket, but nearly three times the price of the cheapest coach ticket available.
Booking Y-Up fares is not the most straightforward process, however. You can book them directly through the airline or on major travel sites, but you'll often need to use advanced search options to dig them up. Farecompare.com offers a Y-Up search tool as well as a step-by-step guide to booking these fares through airline and travel sites. Before you buy, there's one more caveat: Y-Up tickets are a lot more restrictive than first class and coach. So you'll pay a premium if you need to change your reservation.
Be Loyal
Why business travelers do it: Loyalty has its privileges. Airlines, hotels and car-rental agencies
often bestow repeat customers with complimentary upgrades and ample rewards. Awards can get pretty swanky. Business travelers who sock away enough flight miles (typically more than 25,000 a year) or hotel points (more than 30 nights' worth) can qualify for elite status at airlines and hotels, enjoying free upgrades and access to airport lounges.
Consumer payoff: While elite status is out of reach for most leisure travelers, racking up miles in your rewards account can still result in some pretty nice perks. Airlines are more protective of frequent fliers when bumping passengers from an overbooked aircraft, and are quicker to offer them inexpensive upgrades when available at check-in. Loyalty pays off even more quickly with car-rental agencies' reward programs. Complete two rentals at Budget, for example, and you're automatically entitled to a 10% discount on all rentals over the next year.
Fly All-Business-Class Airlines
Why business travelers do it: The fight for a noncoach seat has grown increasingly intense. In fact, leisure travelers now take up 25% of all business-class seats, according to AirGuideOnline.com, a travel guide. All-business-class airlines like Silverjet and Eos eliminate that competition by offering a whole plane full of roomier seats, enabling the traveler's schedule to take priority.
Consumer payoff: "The price is very appealing to leisure travelers," says Hobica. You'll pay significantly less than you would for a business-class or even premium-economy seat on another airline. In peak-demand seasons (such as summer travel to Europe) fares may be just $100 or so higher than economy — well worth the upgrade for more legroom, superior food and other perks. A round-trip flight from New York to London in late July, for example, would be $1,371 on all-business class carrier Eos. The same trip on British Airways is $3,132 for business/club class, and $1,418 for premium economy (the class between economy and business that offers slightly more spacious seats).