I am a mobile worker, just like many business people these days, traveling with my suitcases in one hand and a plane ticket in the other; always on the move. To be more precise, I am a corporate trainer who lives her life in hotels.



I have a business card without an address. Ha! I am not making a point about how glamorous the job is; rather, I am fascinated by the fact that I have become, essentially, my own travel agent. I look for my own online deals; I employ my own strategies; make my own itineraries; book my own trips.

One of the most significant decisions for any traveler - whether business or holiday - is to figure out where to stay. For me I must figure out if I will choose a bed and breakfast? A condominium-cum-hotel? An out of the way traveler's inn on the outskirts of downtown? Will I choose a beach resort, a grand five-star hotel, a humble but practical apartment, or a vacation rental? Will I decide to pamper myself, or choose a hotel that is sensibly priced? My personal preferences are not rigid: they depend on a variety of aspects, including the value-for-money, peak of off-peak season, length of my stay, my mode of transportation, etc. Where will I be staying? Where will I rest my head? These are questions I ask myself daily; this is why I use the Internet to look up the best online deals and promotions for hotels. The only hotel I won't consider is the one that is owned by Norman Bates.

It's a hassle, I must admit, the extracurricular tasks. I would hire a personal travel agent, except that I'm a direct-to-direct kind of guy, and because the extra hard work does pay off anyway. Literally. After I have made my hotel bookings from online deals, I often find out that I was able to accumulate an incredible amount of savings - most of them coming from booking discounts, cash-back rebates, credit card points, membership discounts, and loyalty guest promotions. This is important: just like expenses that come from your own pocket, savings earned and made also take on a cumulative effect. And the numbers will surprise you every time you look at it; they always do.

Anyway, my traveling on business can be made rewarding when I am able to save big on costs other than that incurred in looking for accommodation. It helps me take my mind off of the amount of money I am spending. Imagine the things you have to spend when you're always on the move: food, communication and phone calls, transportation, coffee, the occasional night-out, and the occasional "I bought this in such and such" souvenir item. Thus, when I fire up the computer before a trip, I make sure to search website after website for affordable car rentals, airline tickets, travel luggage, accessories, supplies, tour packages and other money-saving online deals for travel. That way, nothing I spend on can be described as unnecessary - which is what a smart and frugal business traveler should always be able to say.