Come on the Go!

Does your company book your hotel reservation for you? Make sure that the hotel has your reward number before you arrive...just in case.

About a month ago, one of my clients booked me at a Hilton. "No worries," I thought. "I'm a Gold member, so I should get a good room."

Well, I would have. Except for the fact that (1) the hotel didn't have my rewards number (even if I had given it to the client a couple times) and (2) the hotel was totally booked.

My punishment: A smaller-than-small room with enough room for a bed - period. And no chance of an upgrade.

I learned to never (ever) assume that the hotel has my rewards number. It's a smart bet to call your hotel at least 72 hours in advance and confirm that they have all of your information. Sure, it's an extra step during an already-stressful travel time. At the same time, it can make a difference between a nice room - and getting stuck with a room next to an always-dinging elevator...

The latest TSA travel regulations do more than just prevent us from bringing on bottled water and hand lotion (oh, we must look soooo dehydrated when we step off planes!). Now, Toys in Babeland, the famous women-friendly toy shop, has advice about traveling with toys. This includes:

"All electronic devices are now required to be removed from carry on baggage and placed in separate trays before screening. This means that while technically you still can bring your vibrator on the plane with you, you’re expected to take it out and put it in full view in one of those plastic bins before it goes through the X-ray machine. "

(Goodness, can you imagine watching the Rabbit go through the security belt. Probably about the time that you had an entire children's church group behind you. Argh. "Mommy, what's THAT....? Double argh.)

Not to mention....

"If you have any sort of lube or sex lotion in your carry on, you’ll be subject to having it publicly confiscated. You probably want to be spared the humiliation of having an air screener waving around a bottle of your Banana-Flavored Juicy Lube while your fellow passengers crane their necks to see what’s causing the delay."

Ooh. But would it help you get dates on the plane? Imagine the pick-up line possibilities. "I see you're using banana-flavored. I'm a strawberry girl, myself...."

SeatGuru.com has saved my travel-sore ass more than a few times.

Simply choose your airline and the kind of plane you're flying. Up pops a cool chart showing the really bad seats (like the shitter seats in the very back of the plane near the bathroom) - and the super-premium seats (emergency exit aisle seat, baby!).

The chart also flags seats that may not recline all the way back. Plus - my personal fav - seats that have power outlets. Although "I ran out of laptop juice" works as a great rationalization to do nothing but read Cosmo and eat first class cashews (assuming my upgrade came through.)

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for my latest upgrade - YVR to LHR. I've got a great seat anyway, but a better seat would rock even more....