The SBT (Seasoned Business Traveller)

Sitting in the lufthansa Business lounge gate C14 in Munich with 3 hours to kill waiting to board a flight to Mumbai, i started reminiscing how it all came about and i started to travel for business…

It was in 2005 that i was initiated to the “joys” of Business Travel. And i don’t mean driving a couple of hours from the office or getting the train down to London to go to an exhibition – I mean the experience of finding flights, hotels, transportation, booking it all, then fighting my way through airports, familiarising myself with security checks, getting visas, and generally y ever
And it started softly. First a couple of trips to Italy, Germany, Czech Republic – I am sure it was on purpose just to tease me and warm me up, and after 2 years I started to progress to India, China, Indonesia, Vietnam,The Philippines. Suddenly and without knowing it I became an SBT – no its not an ailment of sorts but a Seasoned Business TravelerWhat is that you will ask.
What distinguishes an SBT from any ordinary traveler:

Knowledge of all major airports out by heart:

Fastest ways through security and how to avoid baggage checks
Quickest way through immigration
Where all the business lounges are hidden
Where the best sushi Restaurants are hidden (!)
If you are a smoker (i used to be) where all the smoking lounges are hidden
Where the best business lounges are located and what is needed to enter

Knowledge of airlines and their fleet:

Member of the 3 major alliances in order to get highest possible status
able to tell a 747-8 from an 747-400 with a glance of the engines alone!
which are the good seats in every plane as he only ever flies economy
able to recognise flight crew as you have seen the same people a few times

The reality of business travel
In the very beginning it appears to the “Junior” Business Traveler as an appealing exciting opportunity to do something new, escape the daily routine and shine with success. It is even seen as a sort of romantic and adventurous lifestyle. The JBT now has the chance to see the world meet new people and be the envy of friends. The reality is much different though.

A third of your nights away you will be sleeping in an economy seat on a long-haul flight or at an airport as you made a tight plan to catch every meeting.
Conference calls are scheduled for 22:00 due to time zone differences and then changes have have to be made to presentations by 1:00 am.
Hotels that have ignored a reservation and are full, flights that are delayed or canceled and you need to get home for your childs birthday.
You manage to get back home exhausted after traveling for 10 days and need some rest, but everyone believes that business travel is a glorified holiday!
And the best one of all: As soon as you leave for a business trip, everything starts to go wrong. The wifi stops working at home, the car gets a flat tyre, and there is a leak under the sink.

People have written books about business travel, there are even films about it such as “Up in the Air” with George Clooney and Anna Kendrick. But the gist of it is that it unfortunately is something necessary as nothing can bring results more effectively than face to face meetings where you are able to read the situation, scan for alternatives, build momentum, hustle deal to the final handshake. But there is a price to pay – Ryan Bingham (played by George Clooney) was spending 300 days a year away from home.

Personally , the maximum i have been away in a year is 184 days – that is a lot.
My stats as maintained by Tripit that use for my trips are:

No of trips: 124
Days: 837
Distance: 1.226.447 km
Cities: 162
Countries: 45

And that puts huge strain on your family
So when offered a position that involves business travel, think carefully an weigh the offer, what will you gain, what will you loose, and how will it affect your loved ones.

Adam Antoniou

October 11, 2017 0

taming social media…

For my job i have to work with social media as part of my role. Problem is, I think I am starting to become consumed bu them! boost a post on facebook, update linked in, written a blog post for the corporate website, share and like on pinterest, get lost on twitter and #wednesdayhumpday, google pluss +1s….. and on and on.

I blame Google and their algorithms for stressing me out on the hunt for presence glory and brand awareness excellence!!!

Thyratron is a growing brand of specialised solutions for geographic areas with power deficiency. such as voltage stabilisers and displays. After working on strategy for some time we have initiated a full fronted attack with a brand spankin new website and update of social media channels, and all that with yours truly at the helm of sales and Marketing.

The challenge is arriving with managing time affectively – this is the key. and forget cheating using services that post across multiple platforms automatically – these are all lively, but the big G doesn’t like it and sees automatic posts as bots and lowers your standing. Therefore a plan is needed.

Gather materials daily, write blog post latest by Wednesday evening, post all by Thursday evening to catch the Asia Friday and weekend, follow up on facebook, instagram, twitter, linkedin, Pinterest by Saturday morning, and repeat the circle again. Take control of the cycle and maintain your timings so that the followers know what to expect. then once and again throw in the odd side-ball and catch everyone by surprise!!!

Lets see how this works and what has changed in the coming months!!!!

October 4, 2017 0

And the trip is under way

Friday 22nd July! 15:00, and we set off for the first stop, Premmier Inn Sittingbourne Kent. It was the only hotel I could find a room in!!!

5 hours later we check in and get ready for sleep as we have to get up at 5 in the morning to catch a 7:40 ferry from Dover to Calais

And I have to say one thing. Thank you Waze. If it was not for this amazing navigation app from google we would have been stuck in the infamous 12 hour Dover ques. With a quick reroute that it decided on its own and I lucklely trusted, Waze took us through the narrow roads of Dover, right past Dover Castle, and just half a mile from the entrance to the port.

As we later found out and saw on the news, a couple of Antique army trucks we overtook on the way to Dover got stuck in the que for more than 12 Hours!!!!!! All the delay was down to tougher immigration procedures by the understaffed French authorities in Dover?
Travelled across the Chanel with DFDS sea ways. We did have a small delay as we fought the 9:10 ferry instead of 7:40. But can’t complain as the ladies at checkin were just wonderful

Time to board and get to France. We have a 10 hour drive ahead of us all the way from Calais to Milan.

July 30, 2016 0

Buying a tent on Facebook

Shopping on Facebook has taken a totally different dimension for me. Whilst browsing and chatting along with some friends about rugby, there pops up this amazing tent for £50!!!! Thought to myself, thats a bargain. Even if its rubbish, it i still cheaper that a Vango event Shelter i was planning to buy to attach to the 5 birth tent i already have. Immediately I messaged the owner and booked it to go and pick it up later in the evening.

Getting lost somewhere in Orell, knocking on all the doors in the street and every house selling an awning for some reason, managed to find the right door.

2 massive bags with all the parts and accessories filling the boot of a VW Touran!

I couldn’t wait to pitch it!!! `but was getting late.

The next day, after work, late afternoon, I took it upon my self with some help from Beastcode to pitch the beast.

Errrrrmmm, this tent will barely fit in the Garden!!!

After a good wash, repair of the zips, stitch up of a couple of tears, The now refurbished “Outwell Georgia XL” is ready for glory.

I am only worried about on thing. Do you know how much space you need to pitch a 2 single and one double bedroom tens with a Lounge and kitchen?

72sqm, or 775sqft

Fingers crossed we can find a big enough space by the pool!!!! or in the camping!!!! Otherwise we will be sleeping under the stars….literally!!!!

Off to Aldi for a camping table and a inflatable kayak for the boys now…!

July 12, 2016 0

Preparing the small details

A lot of work goes into to making sure that a long road trip is as flawless as possible – not that a mishap is necessarily a bad thing – but with 2 young persons 12 and 9, might not be the easiest at times.

Luckily enough I work from home and therefore have some luxury in having organised a great work space and decide how and when to work.

Ferry tickets have arrived, passports ready, travel money on the way, hotels booked for most of the trip.

Action cams – check
Camping gear – check
Standup paddle board – check

All need to do is finish with some clothes shopping (shorts tshirt a and flip flops !!)
So excited!!!! Can’t wait!

July 8, 2016 0

My very first blog post

Hi! and welcome to my blog. Purpose is for me and my boys to record our summer holidays, play with WordPress and most importantly share with our loved ones our experiences as they happen.

July 5, 2016 0

Author: adam antoniou