The Virtual Woman: A Woman's
Weekly Guide To Cyberspace
Internet's Your Ticket To Business Travel
The growth of Internet access at airports is, well, taking off. In fact, NFO Interactive recently polled a group of road warriors: The results? Technology has markedly improved business travel. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Nothing like stating the obvious. I know. But in my many, many years as a philosopher, writer and astrophysicist (okay, maybe that's stretching it) I've found that the one thing about stating the obvious is this: it's generally true. So yup, the Internet is indeed helping business travelers and that's why this week I'm tackling business travel questions. If you are a road warrior (or know someone who is) read on-this week's column is your ticket to some super useful sites. As always, I love hearing from y'all so write to me! (Mailing information is at the bottom of this column).
Dear Virtual Woman:
I am a professional jet lagger.
I fly so much for my company it makes my head spin. Why I want to travel on
my vacations I'm not sure. But I do. All this airtime certainly qualifies me
for those frequent flyer miles, but to tell you the truth, I think I'm a bit
confused about it all. Can the Internet help?
- Head in the Clouds, Burbank, CA
Dear Cloudy:
Surfing can help you fly. This is what I learned when I went to WebFlyer (http://www.webflyer.com/), an all-around frequent flyer's resource that's just loaded with stuff. There's a "Deal Watch," for those last minute air fare deals, program reviews, and tips for upgrading your miles or combining mileage from different airlines. You don't even have to call those bothersome airlines anymore to see if your flight is on time -- there's a Flight Tracker here! Did these folks think of everything? Well, almost.
For the one thing they forgot, log onto bizMiles (http://bizmiles.biztravel.com/). It's a free online service that lets you track the miles and points you've earned with different mileage programs. All you need to do is sign up for a password and you're flying high!
Dear Virtual Woman:
I am a bonafide gadget lover
and web geek (and probably one of your biggest fans too!) I am in technical
sales and travel about 75% of the time so I was wondering if there are any
sites out there that might have remote access software that I can download?
Also, I'm always looking for just general business travel sites to help me
on the road. I'll consider any of your recommendations golden.
- Tiffany R., Vancouver, B.C.
Dear Tiffany:
There are new shareware, freeware and demoware products coming out all the time. Find a sampling at the Business Traveller Info Network (http://www.ultranet.com/~mes/sharware.htm) You can download software that will help you access your PC from remote locations, identify airports and airport features around the world, and book rental car, airline travel, and hotel reservations from your home computer.
Another great place to check out is the International Business Resources on the WWW (http://ciber.bus.msu.edu/busres/utility.htm). This site lists intensely handy online resources that both geeks and non-geeks alike will find useful. Amidst currency converters, country-code servers, an interactive financial encyclopedia, and shipping schedules you'll find things like EURODICATOM, an on-line terminology database which contains translations of scientific and technical terms, contextual phrases and abbreviations in all official languages of the European Union.
Dear Virtual Woman:
I travel all over the world with my job, meeting frequently with many foreign diplomats and business executives. I was wondering if there are any online guides to worldwide holidays. I have found myself in a strange scheduling pinch on more than one occasion.
- Susan T., Baltimore, MD
Dear Susan:
Well, that's one good thing about business travel, you get to celebrate everyone else's holidays! And did you know that 70% of holidays celebrated each year change from year-to year? The Virtual Woman has the perfect solution to your quandary. International Holidays Around the Globe (http://www.go-global.com/cgi-local/holidays.pl) has a few fun facts posted online, but the real beauty of it is, you can sign up to have a monthly worldwide holidays list sent to your mailbox for free! I mean really, who wants to look at the whole year all at once?
Happy Surfing!
Find these links and more at WWWomen.Com (http://www.wwwomen.com) the web's largest search directory of topics for women online. Email the Virtual Woman with your Internet questions or send snailmail to: WWWomen.Com, Attn: Virtual Woman, 3701 Geary Blvd., #325, S.F., CA 94118. Copyright, 1998. WWWomen, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Contributing Editor: Robin Ward
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