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Alternatives for Business Travelers
Private villas and bed and breakfasts are top choices for
business travelers
By David Leonhardt

"I'm coming home. I've been away too long. Been away so long.
I'm coming home"
-- Ian Thomas, in "Coming Home"

I still recall my road warrior days. It seemed like every other
week, I was hopping on a plane for Orlando or Vancouver or Palm
Springs or Washington or Chicago or Toronto.

It might not be Rome, Paris, and Monte Carlo, but Washington,
Toronto and Orlando are pretty classy places. I went to crucial
meetings. I was an important person. I was a frequent flyer.

However, after a while, all the towns begin to look the same.
One airport hotel looks amazingly like another. Surely the taxi
driver in Washington and the taxi in Orlando were twins separated
at birth. I was yearning to just stay put. I had had enough of
hotels and restaurants

Traveling sounds glamorous until you have to do it over and over
and over. Especially when you have a family, you want to spend
some time at home between the episodes of jet lag. Comfort
becomes a much bigger deal, and you want every place to feel like
home.

You just can't do that in a hotel. Not in a Marriott. Not in a
Sheraton. Not in a Hilton.

I wish I knew then about two other options.

Private Vacation Homes (or rental villas)

Private vacation homes, known also as holiday homes or villas are
essentially houses that rent on a weekly basis. They are not
much help for fly-in meetings. For those, only an airport hotel
will do.

But if you plan to be in town for the better part of the week,
there is nothing like kicking back in your own private home - a
rental home, of course.

"Hotel rooms are cramped; a villa is spacious with room to walk
about. Hotel rooms have a TV and desk in the bedroom; a villa
has surround sound TV and stereo with comfortable couches and
chairs in various parts of the home. A hotel has a public pool;
a villa has a private pool," says Florida villas rental agent
Stewart Granville. "It's private. It's comfortable. It's like a
home away from home."

Mr. Granville notes that a vacation home rental also serves as an
office away from home, with one room dedicated to the office.
"In a villa, you don't have to sit on your bed when you type
those memos. And what a great way to entertain business
contacts."

Mr. Granville specializes in villas in America's vacation
heartland: Orlando, Florida. Business travelers often bring
their family along to enjoy Walt Disney World, Universal Studios
and other famous theme parks. The family plays while the
business traveler works. When the meetings are over, they all
head for Disney together, perhaps for another week. With family
in tow, a private rental home makes much more sense than a
crowded hotel room.

Bed and Breakfasts

Bed and Breakfasts are also an option. Although they do not
offer the same privacy and space as villas, they are warmer and
more homey than a hotel. And like a hotel, they rent by the
night, not by the week.

Is a bed and breakfast for you? If a relaxing atmosphere is more
important to you than room service, a bed and breakfast is for
you, yes. They are comfortable and relaxing, so the business
traveler can walk confidently into his meeting free from stress
and worries.

Bed and Breakfasts are growing more popular for weekend getaways
in the country, but most major urban centers have bed and
breakfasts right in the heart of the city...and these are ideal
for road-weary business travelers.

So forget about room service and the mint on the pillow. For a
stay of several days, the business traveler can rent a spacious,
private vacation villa. And for just a night or two, it's a warm
and comfortable bed and breakfast.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David Leonhardt is a freelance writer, and an online and offline
publicity specialist. Contact him at:
mailto:info@...
or visit his website at:
http://www.thehappyguy.com
For Florida vacation villa rentals:
http://www.lastminutevillas.net
For Orlando vacation home rentals:
http://www.orlandovillaowners.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (html)

David Leonhardt is a freelance writer, and an online and offline
publicity specialist. Contact him at:
info@...>Info@... or
visit
http://www.thehappyguy.com>his website. Look for an
http://www.orlandovillaowners.com/search.html>Orlando
vacation rental or a
http://www.lastminutevillas.net/enquiry.html>vacation
rental elsewhere in Florida.



+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

David Leonhardt
The Happy Guy
Info@...
http://www.thehappyguy.com/l/daily-motivation-inspiration.php

Hotel Booking

For the business traveler the hotel features meeting and banquet facilities, making any business trip a little more pleasant.

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