Use TripAdvisor to do research and compare prices for conference travelling

The street beach in Brisbane, really worth a visit

I only joined TripAdvisor in 2013, but since then this website is an important part of my research ritual for conference travelling. This is not the only site I use for research. When attending a cruise conference or combining a conference with a cruise, I also check Cruisecritic and for flights also Travelstart and Airwander. Mostly, I use the Tripadvisor site to read reviews by other travellers before deciding where to book accommodation especially when we are not familiar with the city or neigbourhood. 

A recent trip to Trinidad to attend the Transatlantic Race and Religion Round table (TRRR) conference (which will be held in Washington in 2017), we decided to end the conference trip with a weekend in Tobago. The reviews on Tripadvisor helped me to search for something nice, not too expensive and with a good average rating. 

Another time, when we visited Brisbane in Australia, I booked the hotel that was recommended by the conference organisers and nearly fainted when I read the reviews afterwards on TripAdvisor. So I did damage control by requesting a room not facing the railway tracks, on a higher floor where the noise level would be less and the refurnishing already done.

When reading reviews, make sure that you read both positive and negative ones and also check the dates as some of the reviews dates back a few years. You will get a more accurate description of both the positive and negative points of the hotel here, rather than on the hotel web page. However, when you want to book, make sure that you also check the hotel web page for better structured packages and prices.   

Use TripAdvisor to plan, compare, review and even book accommodation, flights, restaurants, things to see and do (including tours) or to ask questions about your travelling which often comes in very handy indeed. 

Save money and see the world with stopover flights

On our way back to SOuth Africa from Australia, we opted for a stopover at the magnificent Viceroy Abu Dhabi hotel - worth every cent and a must for all Formula 1 fans like us

A relatively new search engine to look for nice stopover experiences when flying is Airwander. The purpose of this page is to travel more by adding stopovers that allows you to discover more of the world while on your way to and from your destination. More often than not, these stopover flights are cheaper than non-stop flights, and you get to see places that your normally would not. This works best when you do not have a preferred airline because adding stopovers for less often requires the use of regional airlines (which can be challenging and adventurous).

When using the Airwander page to search for nice and affordable stopovers, do not change the currency to South African Rand. Keep it in US Dollar of Euro or Pound (I usually keep it in US Dollar and convert later to our currency). For some strange reason, when changing the currency to our Rand, some Internet pages start to act strangely. I saw this also when searching for hotel rooms, and it is even true for large hotels that have South African interests, like the Hilton group. If the currency is in US Dollars, there are 15-20 options on the page, but change the currency to Rand and suddenly there are no rooms available. Why providing such an option then, we all ask but as you know, there are no answers to such questions.

Keep in mind the time of year when you search for stopovers. In some places, winter can be a challenge if you are stuck in a small city due to a snowstorm and unable to get to your destination in time. Other places, like the United Arab Emirates, is much cheaper during their summer months than during their winter time. Talking about the UAE, I just got the call for papers fro the 4th International Conference on Humanities, Social Sciences and Education (ICHSSE-17), and the due date is the 1st of January - so not much time if you want to present at this conference on March 13-14, in Dubai.

Avoid paying for seats on the aircraft and getting faster service

Emirates has a nice selection of special meals to order from but on the down side they also charge additional fees to select a seat on long international flights

After many many years, we once again had a rainy Christmas. Nearly 20 mm of rain soaked the earth and the day went by much quieter than usual because the neighbours preferred not to gather around the pool and the barbecue. With Christmas gone for another year, we can start looking at those abstracts (you still have a week for the ICDE early bird abstract), conferences and travelling. 

Well, let us focus on how to get faster service on aircraft first. When booking, you can choose your meal preferences. Make sure that you choose something other than the standard meal and you will be served first with your meal. That way you will be finished with your meal and already sleeping or watching a movie when the standard meal cart arrives at your side. Depending on the airline, you will have a good or great selection to choose from and if you are adventurous, try something you do not usually eat at home. There are also religious food options on most international flights. The down side of this is that more and more people are ordering special meals and therefore even this service is becoming slower than what it used to be. 

More and more airlines add fees when you want so select a specific seat, even on long international flights. This must also be brought into consideration when doing the initial research for the costs of the ticket because you normally pay in US Dollars or Euros which could add a significant amount to the price of the ticket. One way to avoid this is to select your seat only when you check in, usually 24 to 48 or 72 hours before the flight but then most of the better seats are already taken. You can also use your loyalty membership benefits to ensure that you do not need to pay for your seat. Normally, when you reach the second level of membership, your benefits include options to select a seat when booking without having to pay for it and the option to board with first class and business class passengers even if your seat is in economy class. So do check the benefits of the different levels of membership of your preferred airlines and start to use them to your advantage the next time you travel. 

Get set for next year but do take a break

 Christmas roses outside a store in Montreal

Due to the fact that the sale of air tickets will soon end - Qatar and Emirates sales will end next week - I bought our 2017 tickets yesterday. I did not know this beforehand, but one piece of important information that you need to know when trying to book by combining miles and cash, is that if one part or leg of the itinerary is not provided by your preferred airline,  you cannot use your miles to pay. We have a short leg from Los Angeles to Seattle and the service provider is not Emirates but Air Alaska. And we cannot use our miles to book the other legs. Fortunately, we will also fly to Toronto with no other short legs, so we will be able to use our miles to book that flight. We used Emirates because the fly to more destinations than Qatar, and we get better service due to our higher loyalty status with Emirates but I am still investigating a few other options for the flights later next year. 

Remember to also research and book your hotel stays and airport transfers. And also the extra tours if needed. I have a notebook (yes even in the computer age note books do have a purpose), in which I write the entire itinerary, including all the booking reference numbers and also indicate if the booking is already paid or not. This small book fits into my backpack and I can easily refer to it when at the airport for the reference number of the shuttle or the hotel. 

Academic life is coming to a standstill for a while over the Christmas and New Year festive time. The university closed at noon today and those of us who are planning to do some academic work will have to do it from home or on our lap tops from where we will be. As usual, most academics have to work on abstracts, overdue articles or research that just never get done in time. May your work be successful and may you also have a wonderful time with your loved ones during this festive season. 

A few more travel assistance tips to investigate during the holidays

This was the view from our hotel room in Sydney where we got a room upgrade due to our loyalty membership

Paying with your credit card for air tickets usually means that you do not need to buy additional insurance from the airline. Contact your credit card provider or bank to find out what type of insurance they offer before you make the booking at the airline because different cards and different levels (for example gold or platinum) have different benefits.  Some countries also ask for proof of medical insurance when you apply for a visa. Your medical scheme also provides some medical cover depending on the option you have chosen, so also contact the medical aid to enquire about your options.

Be flexible if you can when investigating hotel costs and remember to check for extended stay discounts. Hotels often offer cheaper deals when you book for a longer period, sometimes more than three days or more than five days or seven days. This means that you can plan for an extra day or two to do sightseeing and visit local tourist attractions without paying much more.  Also, check if it is really cheaper to book Bed and Breakfast because the breakfast is often very expensive and if you do not need to be at the hotel early morning, you can get breakfast at a fraction of the price elsewhere. I already spoke a few weeks ago about the benefits of a loyalty membership at hotel groups and I really think this is a good way of saving money and getting nice upgrades to what we can afford.

And check the rand value before you book air tickets, hotels, excursions, or make any other travel related payments. This is not an easy thing to do because we never know what the rand will do next, but I always try to do bookings when the rand is on an upward curve (and not when there is sensational breaking news that upsets the financial applecart).