Tales From an Infrequent Business Traveler: Sometimes Saving Time & Money Does Neither
Jeanne is the business traveler of the blog, I rely solely on crazy weekend trips and leisure travel to help me maintain status. But occasionally I do travel for work.
Yesterday I headed to a local conference and discovered a fact many of you seasoned business travelers probably already know. Attempts to save your company time and money accomplish the opposite.
The event was in DC and I was debating whether to drive or take the metro. The hotel was charging $50 for daily parking, but I’d found a $24 rate at the hotel using Parking Panda (I love that site!). Taking the metro/bus would only be $7.50 but it would take a little longer. Driving it was!
But then it turned out I needed to swing by the office first. Then it started raining heavily  and by the time I could leave, traffic was getting heavy. Maybe jumping on the metro near work would be faster and easier after all. Especially if there were accidents on the roads.
As I walked to the metro the rain picked up, sweeping under my umbrella, and I started to regret my decision. Even more so when I boarded the train and wound up squished between 5 people. I was thoroughly disenchanted when the train stopped for several minutes due to an earlier medical emergency, the temperature rose, and I started sweating,
I finally arrived at the conference late, needing a second application of deodorant and a glass of wine (even though it was 8:15AM), and looking bedraggled and unprofessional.
At that point the $17 savings wasn’t worth it to my organization or to me!
Do any seasoned business travelers have tips for determining when to go cheap and when not to?
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The dreaded Metro lol
As someone who bus/metros and walks up 14th Street each day I really don’t see this a much of a story, but just general bad luck on commuting that comes with any mode of transportation.
You just as well could have driven and hit traffic and wrote a story about costing your employer $24, arriving late and needing a drink because it took six lights to make your left turn… plus received a ticket when you illegally parked so you could rush up to your office.
Fellow DC-area resident here! I feel your pain!
I’d redeem points for hotel stay near, if not on site, Conference to avoid stated situation.