Starbucks Select one of the top expensive Restaurant on 2012

If you are a Travel Business Trip I know you will pass by this restaurant, PORTLAND, MAINE, December 13, 2012 - Employee spending on travel and entertainment rose just over one percent in the past year, and declined somewhat after peaking mid-summer. According to data gathered by cloud travel and expense management software leader Certify, the average monthly expense report between August and November 2012 was $889, compared to $906 from April to July. The highest two-month average ($943) occurred in February and March, and the lowest ($864) was August and September. The late summer spending dip is consistent with Certify data from years past, as this is a popular time for employee vacations.

The latest research from Certify, based on receipts and expenses from over six million transactions between January and November, shines a spotlight on the nation’s top travel destinations and most popular restaurants, hotels, airlines and car rental services. The data is also an indicator of the nation’s economic health, as travel and entertainment expenses encompass 8-12% of the average company’s total budget, according to Aberdeen Group. That travel spending was up even slightly suggests companies are feeling more confident about their financial prospects.

Certify’s cloud software is used by tens of thousands of employees at small, midsize and large enterprises nationwide. The company has been tracking corporate travel and expense data since 2009, and its customers include Pitney Bowes, Subway Sandwiches, Little Caesars Pizza and Dr. Maartens Shoes. Certify is one of the only cloud software vendor that offers integrated travel booking, travel and expense management, and reimbursement in one system.

Most Expensed Restaurants

Starbucks – 20,084 transactions averaging $7.54

McDonalds – 12,419 transactions averaging $6.73

Subway – 8,627 transactions averaging $11.88

Panera Bread – 5,156 transactions averaging $19.12

Burger King – 4,091 transactions averaging $8.45

Top 10 Local Restaurant for Business Travelers

When you are traveler business we'll you can visit this some of the well-know Local Restaurant for Business Travelers, Starbucks locations but spent the most per restaurant visit at home-grown Montgomery Inn, according to expense tracking software company Certify.

“ We've had customers say they've never had a better cappuccino in the entire world,” said Cory Hester, manager of Downtown-based Tazza Mia. “And these are world travele and expenses that have been to places like Italy and France where espresso is an art.”

Certify delivers all the benefits of an on-demand solution, such as instant-on, try before you buy, easy configuration, low technical requirements, and more. Certify is the first true SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) solution for enterprise-level expense management. With Certify's System Launch Wizard, your company can be up and running on Certify instantly, or launch to your users whenever you are ready.

As the local food, some of the traveler business is wanted to stopped and bring with their guest, we know that it will not be a good surprise, said Dean Gregory, vice president of Montgomery Inn. “We like to keep it simple and keep it good.

"Top 10 local restaurants for business travelers"

Restaurant Average Spent

1 Starbucks                                  $6.98

2 McDonald’s                              $6.75

3 Tazza Mia                                 $7.40

4 Rock Bottom Brewery              $42.08

5 Chick-fil-A                               $8.10

6 Panera Bread                            $12.06

7 Subway                                    $9.06

8 Montgomery Inn                       $133.82

9 Skyline Chili                              $18.75

10 McCormick & Schmick’s       $99.29

Note: Average spent includes tax and tips, and could include multiple diners.Source: Certify, January-November receipts.

About CertifyCertify is the leading online travel and expense management solution for companies of all sizes. Organizations worldwide book travel and complete expense reports quickly, easily, and cost effectively using our mobile applications and web based technology.

For more information about Certify please call 207.773.6100 or visit http://www.Certify.com.

Keeping Tracking Your Finances During Holiday Season

Every time when holiday begun we could not stop to expense our money for there are many visitor, families, friends and some are co-workers being filled in that event, in also you cannot resist to travel, cooking and shopping, the question is how to tracking you all expenses or finances during in the holiday season? We all know that the month of December is all people rushing and buy something which that month is one of the busiest time of the year for shopping, with the average American shopper spending over $811 during the holidays. Hundreds of dollars of shopping means, dozens upon dozens of receipts. So, how do you keep track of your expenses during the holidays? The expense experts at Certify have put together tips for keeping track of your finances during the holidays.

Make shopping lists

Before hitting the streets, prepare a shopping list of what exactly you will be purchasing while you are out. Taking a moment to write down who you are shopping for, what you are purchasing or what items at the grocery store you will need, can help eliminate the risk of over spending. Heading to stores without a plan is a recipe for disaster, increasing the possibilities of purchasing unneeded items or making last minute purchases.

Do comparative research

According to Time Moneyland, holiday spending budgets have not decreased since 2010 but comparative-shopping rates has increased dramatically. Now more than ever, consumers are going to the Internet for comparative research before making a purchase. This is a key to saving money during the holidays, while most major retailers sells the same products, it is the job of the consumer to stay informed with the latest prices and upcoming sales.

Use an expense management app

With the economy in a weakened state, it is critical for shoppers to remain within their holiday shopping budgets. With expense management tools, such as Certify, you can keep a running total on your purchases made, helping you stay on top of your finances and remain inline with your holiday shopping allowances, without the timely hassle of using excel sheets, going through receipts and calculating expense.

Be proactive with your shopping

For those procrastinators out there, waiting last minute to do all of your holiday shopping can increase your chances of over spending by 23 percent. In 2010, the average shopper over spent their budget by $118, according to survey conducted by Time Moneyland*.

Beware of BIG sale days

According to a survey conducted for the National Retail Federation by BIGresearch, over 152 million shoppers went out on Black Friday, spending a total of over $19 billion dollars in a 24-hour time span. With TV’s and other electronics hitting record breaking low prices, it is difficult to resist a good deal on big sale days, but beware, large price decreases can be a trap for consumers to spend money on unnecessary items.

About Certify

Certify, LLC, is an online expensemanagement company that provides expense report services to corporations and individuals. The company provides the only SaaS expense management solution for capturing receipts via smart phone, camera phone, SMS message, email, scan, fax and image upload. Founded in 2008, Certify is financed by the founding team and a group of angel investors. Headquartered are located in Portland, Maine. For more information, call 207-773-6100 or visit http://www.certify.com.

Guides of the Freelancers Using Certify Expense

Before we will provide let's define what is Freelancer, A Free lancer or Freelance Worker is someone who are self-employed and it's committed to a p[articular employer long term. These workers are often represented by a company or an agency that resells their labor and that of others to its clients with or without project management and labor contributed by its regular employees.

What is the Benefits of a Freelancer? Sometimes a freelancer will work with one or more other freelancers and/or vendors to form a "virtual agency" to serve a particular client's needs for short-term and permanent project work. This versatile agency model can help a freelancer land jobs that require targeted, specific experience and skills outside the scope of one individual. As the clients change, so too may the players chosen for a virtual agency's talent base. This is a common way for freelancers to get work if the non-competing freelancer in the relationship reciprocates the relevant type of work back assuming that both are in the same industry.

We'll if you are a Freelancer I know their will be more variety of clients in different subject, which you are handling and managing invoices for all you clients nevertheless, it will sometime had a problem you face unmanageable if you don't recognized about it. That is the reason Certify is excited to offer you to all the freelancer out their that the option is now created, which you can able to send and manage some of the invoices using the Certify platform for free in entire life, with this Certify WalletMobile App.

Here are some tips to keep your invoices and expenses on track.

• Download the Certify Wallet Mobile App on your phone.

• If you have travel or material expenses that will be billed to the client, capture the receipt with your smartphone to later upload to the Certify Dashboard.

• Once you are ready to create and invoice, make sure you have all your hours spent on the project tallied and all receipts have been captured

• Create the invoice by logging into your Certify.com dashboard and filling out all the fields. Then when you are finished, you can email it off right to your client!

• Make sure your client knows when to be expecting your invoice. It is a good idea to establish a payment schedule at the onset of the project.

How to Spend Smarter?

We'll we can't avoid to spend our money because we need it but here are some for the tips that you will able be more smarter if you are spending you money, It's never too early to start talking about money with your kids, says Stephen Rhodes, a former teacher, father of four, and a CFP and managing partner at Strategic Partners Wealth Management in Creve Coeur, Mo. "Begin by explaining to them why you work -- to make money for the family," he says. Explain to them the reality that the items they use each day all cost money, and you must work to make and save enough to make sure all things are paid for."

For local stores who sell things made by other companies, the price you pay is determined by their “mark up.” Stores purchase large quantities of goods from companies who sell them at “wholesale” prices. These prices cover the costs of manufacturing and shipping as well as profit for the brand name, but are substantially lower than what you pay at the cash register.

If you want to spend your money for good here are the his apps that will able to satify your needs which this apps featured a Travel and Expense Report that you will not worried about your expenses to keep this apps was just one click and presto you will be more light your work.

Introducing... Certify ReceiptParseTM, Automatically extracts expense data from receipt images in real-time. Just snap a photo of a receipt and ReceiptParseTM will automatically fill expense fields in seconds. Of course, not everyone uses a smartphone. No problem! ReceiptParseTM is tightly integrated with Certify's user interface and workflow, delivering intelligent results for all receipt capture methods.

Feel free to try Certify before you buy. With Certify's SaaS delivery you can be up and running instantly.

Featured of the week: Android, iOS Instagram

Instagram has revamped the look and feel of the camera functionality of the application with new Instagram themed shutter button.

Popular image styling application for smartphones, Instagram has just released an upgrade for its applications both on the Apple iOS and Android platforms. The fact that the upgrade has been released almost a year after the last upgrade also makes it all the more special.

Instagram has revamped the look and feel of the camera functionality of the application with new Instagram themed shutter button. Along with that the application also shows a preview of most recent captures in the same frame. This feature becomes all the more better for users of Apple iPhone 5 as now they can select camera roll images right from within the app.

Along with that both iOS and Android Instagram users will see a brand new Willow filter for styling images. Willow is a monochrome filter with subtle purple tones and a translucent glowing white border. This filter works well on portraits, still life and architecture photographs with contrast.

In yea do you know that their was an apps that might be provide you to keep all you expenses just one touch.

About Certify
Certify is the leading online travel and expense management solution for companies of all sizes. Organizations worldwide book travel and complete expense reports quickly, easily, and cost effectively using our mobile applications and web based technology.

For more information about Certify please call 207.773.6100 or visit http://www.Certify.com.

Discover Why Users Lover Certify

Certify, the online leader of expensemanagement and travel booking solutions, has been growing vastly since its launch in 2008. As more companies and business professionals join the easy-to-use online management system, users are thrilled to share their experiences of Certify. Matter of fact Certify was one of the apps using of the people right in this articles we will find out why the users love to use Certify.

“The Certify Expense Management system helped us significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to process expense reports and make accounting entries. A full array of accounting and management reports makes it easy to compare expenses in Certify to expenses in our general ledger and corporate credit card system. In addition, Certify’s sales and support team provides first class service. This system is simply the best value for your money.”

To hear more about our client’s genuine statements about using our integrated services, click the video below.

Want to see what the buzz is all about?  Get a free live demo of the products, click here. 

About Certify 
Certify, LLC, is an online travel and expense management company that provides expense report and travel booking solutions to corporations and individuals. The company provides a true SaaS on-demand travel and expense management solution which is easy to use, quick to deploy and affordably priced for clients of all sizes. Founded in 2008, and headquartered in Portland, Maine, Certify is financed by the founding team and a group of angel investors. For more information about Certify please call 207.773.6100 or visit http://www.Certify.com.

Using a Critical Management Expense Selection

Expenses is one of the major thing who people use or part on their circular life which all of us are buying something that we don’t need it, in addition sometimes when we are spending a money or for example you are travel in many expenses which according to the company you just present all your receipt but even though you trying so hard to keep all the recipe at the end you failed in you had a many explanation and wasting your time for searching a receipt and doing a report that must present on the schedule.

When we estimate expense management solutions, “ease of use” was the majority important criteria for more than a third of 130 surveyed finance professionals. Conducted in the winter of 2011-12, the poll by the Institute of Financial Operations found that another 18 percent cited integration with enterprise resource planning systems as the key. Corporate card integration and “lowest cost” everyone was selected by 17 percent of respondents.

Card addition is important; nearly six of 10 respondents said their companies electronically provide for corporate card data into expense reporting systems. Nearly 29 percent said they don’t integrate card data and 12 percent said their companies don’t have a corporate card program.

About Certify 

Certify is the leading online travel and expense management solution for companies of all sizes. Organizations worldwide book travel and complete expense reports quickly, easily, and cost effectively using our mobile applications and web based technology.   

In if you are interested in a free 30-day trial of Certify travel and expense management? Sign up today...

Using Automated Expense Reports for Company

Manually processing is had a lot to do a word which you are wasting your time and some of the expensive reports that in they you can’t consume the time. In also you have a cost which will your reports generation are also considerably one of the higher if performed manually, Now a day’s software can be much more easy to use in some of it are accurate as what you expected and also suitable to use it, more than ever software much more inception when the smarthphones and androids devices was released in the market, which had made more possible to generate of a expenses report while you are in the move.

So, the question is what the beneficent of using an Automated Expense Reports are be more accurate than manually created reports, allowing employers and employees to effectively predict future business costs with much greater efficiency. Another benefit to employees is that they will be able to minimize the work output of that particular individual, allowing them to place their efforts elsewhere.

Automated expense reporting software will be able to:

• Cut down valuable creation time by roughly 50%.
• Allow employees to get reimbursed by a company faster.
• Completely remove handling fees.
• Reduce the amount of storage space required for physical expense reports.
• Allows companies to get the most out of tax deductions from expenses.
• Gives employers real time spending information.

Basically, companies that are making the transition from manual to automated expense reporting are getting more for their money.

An Automated expense reports are detailed as well as clearly laid out. They can also make available additional information for the employer so that they will be capable to help detect specific trends surrounded by expenses. This will permit both the employee and employer uses the information to make greater savings in the future. All of the information will also be able to get accessed via the internet, meaning that people will be able to keep regular tabs on expense reports in real time.

The AutoFill Technology That Extracts Expenses From Receipts in Real-Time

This time Certify announced the wide-ranging  and accessibility of ReceiptParseTM this application was used to the Certify Mobile and web based applications such as a automatically extracts rich expense data from receipts in real-time.  Because ReceiptParseTM is 100% technology-based with no human operators involved, results are achieved with zero lag-time. It is easy to use this application for no further disturbance, for example you have travel in sought to keep all the receipts of your all expenses, in here is the boom this application if you are a smartphone, android phone this is what will you do, first snap a photo of you receipts using Verify Mobile with ReceiptParseTM if you get the caption it is atomically fill the entire expenses fields in a second. You can use all the Certify automatic expenses reports tools and ReceiptParseTM this ReceiptParseTM will can read the receipt images as a actionable expenses data, streamlining the process and saving you time.

Here a picture to get more specific guides how to word this application. Enjoy!

What is Certify ReceiptParseTM?Certify ReceiptParseTM automatically extracts rich expense data from receipts in real-time. For the reason that ReceiptParseTM is 100% technology-based with no human operators involved, the outcome is achieved with zero lag-time. ReceiptParseTM is compactly integrated with Certify's user interface and workflow, delivering intelligent results without getting in your way. Just snap a photo of a receipt via Certify Mobile and ReceiptParseTM will automatically fill up expense fields in seconds. Use any of Certify's automatic expense report tools and ReceiptParseTM will interpret receipt images as actionable expense data, streamlining the procedure and saving you time.

To begin using ReceiptParseTM download or update Certify Mobile on your smartphone and tablets.

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Using Certify and Key Features

While you are in the Business Travel or just a vacation at your mind you must be budgeting that all your reports must be complete, even though you trying so hard entire receipts to keep it, still it lost that you never expected in the end you had many expectations about your company or to sum up all you expenses to send the monthly report.

Now there was a high-quality news to all you problem regarding a report to be past in exact date, because ether was an application who can manage all you expenses report that some people they tall that you expense management made easy at just in the palm of your hand.

Key Features:

Receipt Management - Certify allows you to load receipts using many different ways. Pick the methods that work best for your work-style.

Certify Mobile Application - Use the mobile application on iPhone, BlackBerry, Android and Windows Mobile.

Camera Phone - Use any camera phone to capture receipts and e-mail them to Certify.

Live Desktop - Directly accesses your PC webcam or scanner to capture receipts.

E-mail - Forward on-line receipts and images directly to your Certify Wallet.

SMS Text Message - Capture expenses on the fly using SMS.

Upload - Scan and upload images directly from your machine to your Certify Wallet.

Fax - Fax receipts into Certify quickly and easily.

In many more...

I know you are excited to use this application to your personal or a company to have no worries regarding the reports, feel free to try Certify before you buy. With Certify's SaaS delivery you be able to be up and running right away.

What is Certify?
Certify delivers all the benefits of an on-demand solution, such as instant-on, try before you buy, easy configuration, low technical requirements, and more. Certify is the first true SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) solution for enterprise-level expense management. With Certify's System Launch Wizard, your company can be up and running on Certify instantly, or launch to your users whenever you are ready.

A New IPhone Release – IPhone 5

We been a lot of days and months waiting for the apple company released a new model which they called as the sequence of the I Phone 4, they called it as an I Phone 5. Enough time to really get to know it, and enough time to stand up and say: best iPhone ever. If you’ve got an iPhone 4S under contract, it’s perfectly fine to not upgrade -- wait for next year’s iPhone 5S or whatever it’ll be called. But if you use an older iPhone -- or you’re new to the iPhone -- you literally cannot do better than this phone. It’s awesome.

Size and Weight:

The first thing everyone I've handed the iPhone 5 to says--exclaims, really--is how light it is. It feels almost like a joke--the glass-wrapped iPhone 4 and 4S that we’re used to, those have heft. They feel like computers. This one feels like an empty shell with a screen on it. Even though it’s a bit taller (0.37 inch), it still fit in my jeans pockets, and with the light weight (just 3.95 ounces, almost a full ounce lighter than the 4S), sometimes I’d forget it was there.

Screen:

The 4-inch screen is 1136 x 640, with a density of 326 pixels per inch. The iPhone 4 and 4S have 960 x6 40 screens, so while the iPhone 5’s screen is 176 pixels taller, it’s the same width as before. This is so you can still navigate with your thumb while holding the iPhone 5 in one hand.

At this moment Apple company had many compatible applications which you can see on the Apple Store which is also by the way if you are in the travel in wanted to keep mall the receipts of all your expenses here’s the link which you can manage a Travel and Expense Management as in easy to touch that you can’t able to worry and explain to you company because here is an apps that take the receipts caption send to the certify account and presto you can keep it on your personal account.

Travel and Expense Made Simple

We travel a lot to one place and another for some personal reason, in yet we don’t had a clue what the amount we expense on our trip that sometimes you want to list all your expenses on your Travel in because it was so hard to written all the receipt which sometimes we miss place it.  Are you looking an software that you can easily customized at you palm in your hand that you can managed all your expenses in a report to get a proof that you are truly travel in that day.

Here it works Travel and Expenses there is apps at your phone just a click you can upload in present your receipt or the annual expenses, automatically extracts expense data from receipt images in real-time. Just snap a photo of a receipt and ReceiptParseTM will automatically fill expense fields in seconds. Of course, not everyone uses a smartphone.

The Highest Parsing Accuracy Anywhere, By analyzing expense and receipt formats across the entire business expense landscape, Certify ReceiptParseTM achieves the highest parsing accuracy available anywhere. Global business travel spending habits, usage patterns and trending behaviors are analyzed with prediction algorithms to continuously improve results.

It is easy which you can bring it wherever you want and don’t have worries about your expenses because it records on the file of certify which you can also your expenses through online connection. So, what are you waiting for if you interested or just to get further information of this just visit us on http://www.certify.com/.

Business Travel Security

Ever since September 11th, the travel industry has changed around the world and whether your travel is intended for private or business purposes travel security is a major concern for everyone. The stark reality of it all is that travelers no longer have that feeling of being secure as they used to. While a big concern for travel security is the airline aspect of it, there are other issues of business travel that can affect businessmen and women.

Business travel is necessary for a v`riety of reasons and it is with this in mind that travel security has become such an important issue with companies that send their representatives to different parts of the world. Whether it is to get their foot into the door of a developing country or to increase business ties with established businesses that they already deal with, business travel will likely be here to stay.

Although a traveling salesman may not look like a "mark" to the average person, to the trained eye many salesmen do actually stand out. First of all they usually travel alone and without any concern for travel security, otherwise the likelihood of them dressing flashy and working in full view with their laptop for all to see would probably diminish. A more toned down approach may be a bit more advisable for these frequent fliers.

When considering travel security businessmen and women should be especially concerned about present crime rates in the country they are on the way to do business with. The criminal element is not always about muggings and other forms of robberies, it should also take into consideration the political climate they could be facing. In the past business associates have faced the wrath of a stray bullet or two just because they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

With the increase of businesswomen entering the fray further issues of sexual harassment or other criminal activities have been added to the equation. Women traveling alone are easy targets for purse snatching and or sexual assaults. While travel security should be considered when the businessperson is en route, further care should be taken for their property that is left behind in hotel rooms as they venture out to meet their clients. Always secure your property in a safe.

While the average business traveler may not have serious travel security issues to think about, other than bodily harm, theft, abduction, kidnapping and the like, espionage has yet to be discussed. The theft of business information is becoming much easier with the amount of information being transferred around on a laptop. Besides its monetary value, depending on who you work for, your laptop can be a virtual goldmine to the right group of people.

Corporate Business Travel Picks Up Again

An airline industry that's for years been casting an anxious eye down the road to see if any business travelers, the cream of its trade, step up at all, is finally being rewarded for its patience. With the recession finally receding, corporate business travel is finally picking up. It is a sign of how strong the revival is that business class travel isn't just attracting rich corporations. Small business owners and executives, sales reps and everyone else who travels on business have begun choosing business class all over again.

Today, cautious travel policies born of an instinct of self-preservation in businesses all over for years, have all but disappeared. No longer are executives required to check to see if they could use videoconferencing in lieu of travel. And when they do travel, no longer do they have to restrict themselves to premium economy and three-star hotels. The airlines for their part, have thrown themselves open to the corporate business travel crowd. Airplanes have new $150,000 business class seats, special spa-like business lounges and superior menus on board. In fact, getting a free upgrade to first class can be quite difficult for any business traveler these days; first class is usually clogged with paying vice presidents. Companies today are beginning to realize that perhaps they cut back too much during the recession.

Still, not everything is hunky-dory in the hopes that airlines have for the corporate business travel. With double-digit unemployment figures, the country still isn't where it needs to be economically - even if Wall Street seems to be booming. Flight reservations have plateaued more or less. Sales have been growing by a mere couple of percentage points each month. And booming fuel prices are beginning to put a tenuous resurgence at risk. Airlines, buoyed by high demand from paying business-class customers, have used the confidence it has lent them in raising prices for economy class flyers as well.

And just to be on the safe side, the airlines are building up their services as much as they can to attract the business custom. One of the more innovative services they have in mind has to do with the use of location tracking. With these airline apps installed on your smart phone, if you happen to be stuck in traffic so that you won't be able to make it, the airline will automatically put you on the next flight. If they are about to close the boarding gates and there you are, rushing down the escalators, the app will be able to tell them where exactly you are and alert the staff manning the gate to hold on for just a minute longer. Things could get really exciting.

Business Travel Advice

How to make the most of business travel

To some, the idea of traveling to Los Angeles one weekend and Bangkok the next for business sounds exciting and exotic. However, 2 a.m. red-eye flights, expense account over-eating, short weekends and most importantly the time spent away from families can get old quickly.

Business trips are an important part of many careers and are inevitable. Business travel shouldn't be seen as a chore; it allows you the opportunity to travel to places you might not normally visit and to do so practically for free - so why not make the most of it?

There are several ways to enjoy your business trips. First, consider bringing along spouses, boyfriends/girlfriends, children or the entire family and extending your business trip to include fun vacation time. The flight and hotel are already paid, the only extra costs that would incur would be airline tickets for anyone coming along and the cost for the extra days spent away. Many hotels don't even charge extra for children. However, before taking along other people on business, especially children, make sure first that it is okay with the boss. Second, make sure you'll have time to spend with anyone traveling with you and that not all your time will be spent in meetings.

The truth is, the more you enjoy business travel - the more relaxed you'll be for any meetings or presentations. In fact, your company may even see this as a good thing.They realize business trips aren't always fun, therefore the more you enjoy going on them, the more willing you will be to go on more in the future. Also, if you travel often to one destination for business, the more sightseeing you do within the city, the more familiar you'll be with the location making it easier to relate and talk with local executives.

If extending the trip or bringing along family isn't an option, there are other ways to make business travel more fun and less of a chore. First of all, visit the Convention and Visitor's Bureau Web site for the city you will be traveling to on business. The Web sites give tons of information on the sightseeing opportunities and often will have sample travel itineraries. Also, greeter programs are popping up in many major cities like Chicago and New York. A greeter program allows you to be paired up with a local, bilingual tour guide who can show you around the city. The perks of greeter programs are that they can be arranged at whatever time works for you and they oftentimes are free.

Hotel concierges are extremely familiar with the city within which they work and the immediate area by the hotel. Whether you have a free afternoon, an hour to spare, or are just looking for somewhere to eat, the hotel concierge can inform you of many fun, local activities to partake in.

Last, you don't have to limit your business travel fun to just simple sightseeing. Try taking a cooking class one evening or do something daring like skydiving or swimming with the sharks. The*options are limitless.

Business Travel Jobs Explained

All travel agent work can be exciting and demanding - but perhaps business travel jobs especially so. Why is this?

If you are providing general travel agent services to the public for things such as holidays and weekend breaks, then although challenges and problems will arise, there may be a core stability around the travel plans that is unlikely to change. For example, someone booking a holiday to Thailand is unlikely to call you on only the second day there and say that they now want to travel immediately to another holiday in Australia. Yet with business travel jobs, that can happen - and fairly regularly!

Global business is characterised by the frequency of how things change. A business traveller may be actually en-route to Hong Kong and suddenly his or her employer will call you to say that, upon arrival, their employee must now travel immediately to Los Angeles. If you think that is simply a question of arranging other tickets from Hong Kong to Los Angeles, then you are mistaken. All existing accommodation arrangements in Hong Kong may need to be cancelled and car rentals and connections likewise. Then you have the problem of trying to arrange those same things to all be in place and ready for when the person arrives at LAX. Just as you finish making all the revised arrangements is the time that your client normally calls you again to ask you what you can do about the fact that the person in transit doesn't actually have a US Visa!

If that sounds an unlikely scenario, be warned - in reality it happens regularly in business travel jobs. That is also why travel agents are typically demanding in terms of their requirements for people going to work in business travel sections. It is an exciting, dynamic but also potentially highly pressurised environment that may not suit everyone.

Some employers prefer to offer junior and trainee positions in business travel to those who already have general travel agent experience. Others may be willing to offer trainee roles to people without any experience of the travel industry, but they may look very favourably upon those applicants that hold higher academic qualifications in a related travel and leisure field. There is now a wide range of courses offered by numerous colleges, universities and other educational institutions, in various aspects of this industry sector. These may offer qualifications at BA or HNC level and some are accredited by organisations such as IATA and ABTA.

Some employers may be willing to offer business travel jobs to trainees on the proviso that they have reasonable GCSE results, particularly in geography and English although maths is also usually very well received. Employers will also be looking to see evidence that you are the sort of person who:

• enjoys pressure; 

• is a natural problem solver rather than problem creator; 

• is a gifted communicator (verbally and in writing).

Business travel jobs offer a pathway to success for the right individual. They can be well rewarded, and successful individuals are usually very sought-after by both travel agents and their corporate clients.

Communication Skills and Business Travel Jobs

Business travel jobs are frequently seen as requiring special skill sets and considerable experience. In many travel agents, corporate travel is quite distinct from the general service provided to holidaymakers and other members of the public. The reality is that securing a position may not be easy - particularly if you have no previous experience of either general or agency work.

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From this point on, it will be assumed that you have no previous background working in a travel agency. There are academic qualifications relating to both general and corporate travel disciplines. Although these may help secure an entry-level position, not all travel agents will necessarily apply the same weighting to these qualifications (BA, HNC, City and Guilds etc).

Certainly, however, having such qualifications cannot do your application any harm. In fact, if you are able to secure a trainee position in a business travel section or company, they may look favourably on you studying part-time to obtain such qualifications.

Whether you have these qualifications or not, you will be required to attend an interview if your initial application generates some interest in the potential employer. General interviewing skills and techniques are critically important, but in the case of business travel jobs there are a few things that the interviewer(s) will typically be looking for, over and above the requirements for a general travel agent position:

• You will need to demonstrate excellent verbal (and written) communication skills, as in-house corporate travel departments will typically be extremely demanding and will expect exemplary service by telephone, email and fax/mail etc;

• You must be able to show a very good knowledge of basic global geography;

• You must also have at least a basic grasp of business fundamentals such as invoicing, statements, debits/credits, business accounts, volume discounts and so on;

• Basic numeracy skills will be very important;

• You must be presentable and capable of being seen as someone that would be able to represent the values and professionalism of your employer.

Business travel jobs do not necessarily demand fluency in other languages, however, having an understanding of one or more of the world's major languages might prove to be a huge advantage in your application.

Perhaps above all, potential employers in this sector will be looking for indications that you are a problem solver and are capable of working under severe pressure. 

Business travel is a lucrative area for some travel agents, but if business travel clients are paying for a premium all-round service then they will be extremely demanding - and rightly so.

Travel agents may, therefore, be equally demanding in their selection criteria when they are looking to fill business travel jobs. Preparing for your application thoroughly and with great attention to detail will be to your definite advantage.

Business Travel Jobs Demystified

All jobs that involve helping people make successful travel plans require a high degree of professionalism, but this is particularly the case with business travel jobs.

Anyone travelling will expect their agent to be excellent at their job: nobody likes to think that they may suffer problems that could have been avoided had their agent been a little more proficient!

But this not only applies in the context of problems. A private or professional traveller is extremely unlikely to be amused if they find that their plans were sub-optimal (e.g. overly expensive) simply because the travel agent didn't really know their trade. So, 'getting it right' and providing an exemplary service is important if you work in a travel agency. Yet in the case of corporate planning, it becomes potentially even more complicated and your customers may well be considerably more demanding.

What makes corporate travel different to recreational travel?

• Business travellers need to depart at their convenience and in line with the demands of their business, meaning that they may be very reluctant to fit in with any plans that do not conform to their needs. Compromise may sometimes be impossible for them to contemplate.

• Clients may have multiple requirements that involve them travelling around the globe, stopping and changing flights regularly - that can be a major logistical and coordination effort for the travel agent.

• Clients may need to depart at short notice and they will expect a fast, efficient and above all, knowledgeable, service.

• Sometimes vast sums of money may depend on the business traveller being somewhere at a specific date and time - if things go wrong, they may be very pointed in demanding an explanation and an alternative from their agent.

How does this affect business travel jobs?

There are some agents that specialise in providing dedicated services to corporate clients. Some other agents may offer general travel agency services but also have a dedicated department/office/team to cope with the specific challenges presented by business travellers.

Typically,*agents tend to put more experienced and knowledgeable employees into their business operations, although that may not always be the case and some may offer training opportunities for beginners. There are City and Guild (plus other) qualifications in many aspects of travel and leisure, and some of these may offer specific modules or courses on business travel.

If you are interested in business travel jobs specifically but lack any previous travel agent experience, it may be advisable to consider finding a position in an agency to learn the basics of the trade, then seek further qualifications and the opportunity to move into the business field. If you would like to search for business travel jobs directly as a trainee, and without previous travel agent experience, you may find this difficult unless you can show a relevant higher academic qualification.

The route to take towards business travel jobs will depend on a number of things, such as your experience, qualifications and perhaps your overall financial position in terms of whether you can support yourself through academic studies on either a full or part-time basis.

Importance of Business Travel Insurance

Traveling is section of our day-to-day life. Most of us travel because of a single reason or other allowing it to be national or overseas. Traveling always involves probability. So, whether you traveling for pleasure or enterprise, it always safe going with proper travel insurance coverage. If your are appropriately insured, there is a lot worry about the risks associated with traveling like loss regarding luggage or baggage, flight journey delay, accident, medical unexpected emergency or evacuation.

Formerly, Travel Insurance was thought to be a luxury. But now travelers are sensitive to factors that are definitely not under their control for instance trip cancellation, medical unexpected emergency, evacuation, flight delay, losing baggage etc.

There are numerous kinds of insurance insurance policies. Travel Insurances comes looking at you in different shapes like Travel Medical care insurance, Travel Medical Insurance, Holiday Insurance etc. Whether it an enterprise or leisure trip, proper insurance is essential because of many motives. It protects your go investment, belongings and health and fitness. You can hold take a trip insurance for personal and business purpose it is usually true that a right insurance makes ones trip memorable.

Apart coming from personal insurance, Business Travel Insurance also covers computers and also other business equipment of marketers or travelers who travel for your business purpose. Business Tour Insurance makes perfect sense it is always a policy or contract under that the insurance company agrees to pay a amount of cash to the insured to get a damage or loss or injury by means of some uncertain event in the course of his trip. This range from flight delay, baggage damage, medical emergency, accident or perhaps disasters. Under a Internet business tour insurance contract, the insurer pays pertaining to business loss or damage faced by insured during his visit.

Many things can make a mistake during your business journey. This can be a person's baggage loss or a new flight cancellation, or your destination become unreachable because of bad weather, or even you are able to fall ill and ought to postpone the trip. You can not control such events, but through proper Business Travel Insurance cover, you can minimize the outcome. Whether it is usually a small enterprise or a sizable corporation, the success of your business is largely dependent on the dedication and effort of the members of their organization. But it doesn't matter how industrious you might be, because one disaster or perhaps catastrophe can destroy your online business and wipe out each of the profits. The only way to assure that the effort and money that you just invested doesn't fade away each time a disaster smacks is by protecting your organization with appropriate insurance.

Small Business Tips - How To Save On Business Travel

Travel can be a huge expense for any small business that does business in different places. If you are a consultant or if you are a self employed professional then traveling will be a huge part of your business. Although it can be mean a lot more business it can be very bad for your cash flow and making sure that you save wherever you can in really important - especially in this day and age. Another important thing to remember is to charge your clients for your travel expenses as its part of your service.

Finding simple ways to save on business travel expenses can make a huge difference. Saving a little on every trip can add up and if you have several employees then it can quickly add up. Here are 3 basic tips to help you get started.

1. Flights

Air travel, although convenient, can be expensive. With all the checks and regulations its not all that quick either these days as getting to and from the airport, checking in and checking out can be very slow. Its well worth looking into alternative means of transport. Driving or taking a rain can be a faster and more economical way of doing it.

2. Hotels

Accommodation represents a significant part of travel expenses and its probably the one area you want to try and save. There are quite a few alternatives that is well worth looking into. Guest houses are not only cheaper but offer a lot more comfort and value for money and is great for extended travel to prevent yourself from getting the "hotel blues".

3. Travel Insurance

Taking out individual travel insurance for each trip can quickly add up. If you travel with valuable as part of your business then its an important consideration. Try and put your travel insurance under the same umbrella as your business insurance - it can save you quite a bit.

For small businesses there are some advantage that's probably not available to bigger businesses. You can certainly look into business grants and government programs. Some programs allow you to write off your travel expenses and some even allow you to conduct business internationally and write off all the travel expenses. The point is that there are a great many options and exploring them all will help you save. As the economy continues to tighten up we all have to spread our wings and look for business opportunities elsewhere. Travel will continue to take a more prominent role in your business, so take advantage of these opportunities.

5 Tips For a Smooth First Business Travel Experience

Travel help from business travel experts is as good as meeting a business tycoon for management tips. Learning from them will bring smoothness in your trip.

In today's working world, business operations have become more global. There are many business travel opportunities for the newly hired or promoted employee. While grabbing these travel opportunities a must, first time business travellers like you should travel smarter.

Sort Things Out 

For first timers, it is best to be aware that you have two major classifications of the things that you will be bringing. One is your work-related things and the other one is your personal stuff.

Therefore, while choosing a light carryon luggage, it is also suggested that it is multi pocketed so you can enjoy more spaces.

Be Organized 

In order to have an organized business travel, create a travel checklist of the work-related things that you need like your laptop, flash drive, printed reports on folders, brochures, calculators and the like. This will protect you from forgetting important or urgent tasks that your boss asked from you.

Make sure that you brought a good number of your business cards. Businesses can start with your plane mate or some other people you have bumped in the airport lobby.

Also check the lifespan of the batteries of your communication device so you won't miss any important office correspondences and instructions.

Be Budget Conscious 

If your office allows you to take care of your own transportation and reservation as part of your per diem during your business travel, the internet is your tool to check online for the best flight and hotel deals in Europe or Asia available.

Look for package deals, promo flights, and reasonably-priced business hotels or even nearby hostels. Tips would be to ask if the published rates are inclusive of applicable taxes. Also ask for the rates of late check-ins so you can include it in your travel budget.

Always Be Prepared 

For your personal belongings particularly your clothing, it is best that you have brought clothes with business colors and shades like black, dark blue, brown, white and gray. This will allow you to be flexible in doing some mix and match so you maintain your being presentable as well.

In the business world, there are times that first impression lasts. As first time business travellers, you may not be familiar or accustomed to the foods of your destination, it is highly recommended to have anti-histamine with you all the time. This will help you stop allergic reactions instantly in order not to disrupt or disturb your meeting schedules and appointments.

Follow Airport Rules 

Your liquids, including gels, in the array of your toiletries should be in zip-lock plastics as it is mandatory in any airports. It is also best to use slip-on shoes going to the airport so it would not be time consuming for you to untie and tie your shoelaces during security checks.

With these travel help gathered from seasoned business travellers, you will be ready for a remarkable business travel that will widen your perspective of the career you have chosen and loved. This might be the start of a series of world travel experience from work to leisure.

Benefits For Business Travelers

Business travel can be exciting. There are many who hate the idea of traveling for business. And there is a case to be made that the waiting at airports, cramps airline seats, and bland hotel rooms can be off-putting to many people. However, when traveling for business there can be ways to make it easier, if not down right rewarding.

First, there are all the perks to those who take advantage of the frequent traveler programs. These programs provide free flights from the airlines and free stays from the hotels. It is like a bonus from work. However, some positions may require any mileage or points be given to the job. Still, if one flies frequently for work, it could provide a free trip from work. Couple that free trip with vacation time, and the whole paid vacation could be a bonus from work.

Next is just simply learning the ropes of a frequent business traveler. The travel companies provide frequent travelers many perks for traveling with them. Both hotels and airlines have dedicated, quicker check-ins lines for elite frequent program members. There are also upgrade programs so flyers can get into first class or hotel guest could get upgraded rooms. These little perks can make a big difference for those traveling frequently.

Also realize that there will be a natural learning curve that will happen that will make trips easier. Things like what seats make the most sense for certain travelers on the aircraft. Individuals will even learn the different aircraft and where to sit on each. Packing will become an art form and everyone eventually discovers the necessity of carry-on only travel. The hotels provide certain amenities and that could save the need for packing some things like a personal hair dryer, shampoo, or even toothpaste. One will begin to pick-up these tricks of the road warrior trade.

Business Travel Trends 2010 - Part 1

It's that time of year again; time to predict marketplace trends. Whether trying to explain the past year's business ups and downs or preparing for next year's marketplace, those in the know have begun forecasting, prognosticating and generally gazing into their crystal balls. After having read many of these predictions, including the results of various, pertinent surveys, here's my take on what we can expect in 2010 and beyond with regard to trends in business travel.

Corporations will gradually begin to concentrate on managing trade and reducing travel. While everyone seems to agree that face-to-face meetings will continue to remain fundamentally indispensable in the way of doing business, most notably with regard to client relationships, corporations will put the emphasis on managing trade and reducing travel. Even so, businesses will carefully study how they may obtain the greatest return on investment from travel, doing away with any needless or excessive business trips.

The competition for employee talent may well lead to a noticeable reduction in limiting travel protocols, balanced by stronger compliance standards. Travel guidelines may also turn out to be less restrictive as businesses increase their attempts to draw and maintain suitable professional individuals. Further attention will be focused on employees' work-life balance as well as managing productivity and less on accomplishing savings at the expense of traveler comfort and well-being.

Companies will ramp up attempts to control travel-related hazards. Preserving the safety of business travelers will continue to be of the utmost importance to travel managers, especially with regard to high-risk travel destinations. Corporate travel professionals will be looking for the ability to recognize services which will facilitate the improvement of traveler safety.

Consumers will depend upon merchants to become a motivating force in discovering "green" solutions. Fundamentally, businesses will seek to balance environmental issues with economic obligations, putting into practice a holistic, sustainable methodology with regard to travel.

Technology will continue to enhance the business traveler's experience. Significant concepts will feature self-service, plug and play, one-stop shop and cellular phones. Simply put, from the decision to travel to post trip reporting of expenses, corporations will persist in seeking out technology that is more user-friendly and of worth to employees during their travel process. At the booking stage, additional travelers will make use of on-line tools as companies strive to better accommodate individuals within their travel design.

Believe it or not, this is not the complete outline of significant changes that may impact business travel as a whole. In Part 2 of 2010 Business Travel Trends we will continue to explore the very real possibilities that may play out for the business traveler in the not so distant future.

Travel Agencies - For a Comfortable Business Travel

There are a lot of things that one has to take care of while going on for a business trip to a foreign destination, more so when it is one's first business travel. To make it convenient and comfortable, it is better that one hires the services of a travel agency. They will take care of all your requirements. There are a large number of travelling agencies in Australia who can fulfil all your travelling needs.

Some of the benefits of hiring travel agencies for the business trips are discussed below.

Since business trips are very different from the leisurely trips these need more meticulous planning and execution. These are more serious in nature and any loophole in the planning may lead to huge losses. Taking care of both the business deal and the business travelling details is not easy for a person. Therefore it is better to hire a travelling agency which understands these things and therefore give utmost attention to each detail.

These travelling agencies will look into all the details of your business trip and plan accordingly, right from the start of your journey to the last moment of your stay as well as getting back to your home destination.

For people who travel frequently for business purposes must go for travelling agencies specializing in the business tours. These agencies have a lot of experience in this field. They can provide you the best of services at very low rates.

From business air travel booking, hotel booking to meeting arrangements, everything is done by the travelling agency.

These agencies have a lot of experience in handling these business trips and therefore know each and every requirement of a business trip. This is the reason why you can rely on their services.

These agencies understand that businessmen travel frequently on business trips. Therefore to attract more travellers they give discounts on frequent basis. They have a lot of alluring business tour packages to suit the needs of all types of business travellers. These packages help you save a lot of your money but this does not mean that they compromise on services. These discounted packages provide you affordable business tickets, comfortable stay, fine dining options and the best arrangements for meetings and conferences.

You can also take your family along with you on the business trips. These travelling agencies can include all the facilities for the family members also. So your business trip can easily be turned into a family vacation.

They can in fact provide you with packages which have the business trip combined with sight seeing. After your work for the day is over you can indulge in a lot of pleasure activities also. The sight seeing will include visits to all the popular attractions of that place. There are many travelling agencies which provide these two in one services. There is always a lot of ample time between business meetings and work. This time can easily be utilized for sight seeing and pleasure activities.

Hiring the services of these travelling agencies will help you save a lot of your time, money and energy and you will have a comfortable trip without a doubt.