Archive for November, 2009
Mali Hotels
Mali is increasingly becoming a major destination spot for travelers with its popular festivals, extraordinary cultural activities and colorful marketplaces.
Accommodations range from two star to the deluxe hotels in Mali, which suits a variety of budgets. For a selection of hotels in Mali visit www.malihotels.us
Bamako, Mali’s capital and usual visitor starting point, offers an intricate blend of modern and traditional culture while maintaining an authentic African identity. Bamako hotels also reflect this. Le Grande Hotel in Bamako is a great value, offering wonderful services at reasonable prices.
Segou is one of Mali’s largest cities and the former colonial administrative center. Segou hotels, like Hotel Independence and Hotel Djoliba allow the traveler to have accommodations that are in close proximity to the village of Sekoro, the ancient capital of the Bambara Kingdom.
When touring Mali, many visitors like to make a stop in Djenne, an ancient city with characteristics of the middle ages. This is the site of the magnificent Grand Mosque, the largest mud-brick architecture in the world. Hotel Campement is one of the popular Djenne hotels to stay, which can be found on www.malihotels.us
Mopti, known as Mali’s Venice because of its location between the Bani and Niger Rivers enables the traveler to experience a fascinating mix of Malian cultures. Hotel Ambedjele is a Mopti hotel that is recognizable worldwide.
A journey to Mali is not complete without a visit to the Dogon Country with its astonishing knowledge of the solar system and the unique structures of the Dogon villages. Hotel Cheval Blanc is a Dogon hotel of choice for many.
Although regarded as a place faraway, legendary Timbuktu has accommodations available to the traveler. Hotel Colombe is a Timbuktu hotel to sojourn on this extraordinary excursion.
For more information on Mali hotels go to www.malihotels.us
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There are a lot of things you can do to ensure a safe and comfortable business trip when you are staying in a hotel. There are a lot of companies that take part in corporate travel savings, when a company is constantly paying for business travel for their employees they will usually try to cut costs of corporate travel by using discount hotels. Here are the top 10 tips for staying safe in your hotel during corporate travel.
1. Before your trip you should make copies front and back of all your credit cards, airline tickets, passports and important documents as well as take pictures of all your Jewelry and luggage and all valuables.
2. If possible, select a hotel which has installed modern electronic guest room locks. The majority of these locks automatically change the lock combination with every new guest.
3. If you are staying in an older hotel which still has the older guest door locks with metal key, one of first signs of how a hotel treats the issue of security is to observe how hotel room keys are controlled.
4. When registering, sign only your last name and first initial. Don’t use titles. This makes it harder to determine gender, marital status or profession. If you are a women traveling alone, you might consider booking your room as Mr. and Mrs.
5. Maximize safety and security. Select a room located between the 4th and 6th floor. Avoid rooms above the sixth floor as this is the maximum height that fire-department ladders can reach. For some fire departments overseas, and within the United States, they do not have equipment to reach hotel floors above the 6th floor.
6. Look for information in room about fire safety and read that information to become familiar with nearest fire exit/stairway. Locate nearest fire exit, extinguisher and fire pull box.
7. When inside a hotel room, for whatever length of time always use the deadbolt. If the room does not have a dead bolt or heavy-duty security clasp but does have a chain, twist it to take up the slack before latching it.
8. If you loose your key, ask for a new room or have the lock or electronic key card changed.
9. Don’t display your guest room key in public or even inside the hotel. Crooks have known to walk by casually, observe the number on the key if the number is stamped on it and make false charges in the hotel restaurant, bar or store using your room number.
10. Wear a minimum amount of jewelry, especially women. Women, wear only a simple wedding band in lieu of a diamond ring. Remove the temptation for a thief to make you their next victim.
By following these simple safety tips you can make your business travel much safer which will make the whole trip much more enjoyable. When you don’t have to worry about your valuables being taken you can keep your mind focused on the purpose of your corporate trip. Don’t leave yourself vulnerable during corporate travel be safe and secure when you are in a foreign country.
There comes that time where we just want to escape from work, get away from home, leave our friends and family and just be away from everything. We want to enjoy the nice warm weather somewhere else, explore a new town or place weve never seen before, perhaps go to the ocean or maybe even see the Statue of Liberty. Regardless, we all need a vacation sometime.
There are people that dont get to go on a vacation for 10 years, yet there are other people who find those amazing deals and have the opportunity to go every few months.
If youre looking to take some time for yourself, enjoy life a little bit and get away from the stress at home, a vacation is needed! There are several destinations out there to explore and many places you can enjoy. So, to find that affordable vacation for just you or your friends and family as well, consider a few of these tips to help you find that excellent deal!
How to Find Cheap Vacations:
Websites: First of all, there are several websites out there that are willing to help you find a cheap vacation. You can try everything from Expedia, to Hotwire, Booking Buddy, Kayak to Bookit, etc. Check out all the popular websites out there and see what the best deals are on each site.
Travel agent: If youre not Internet savvy you may want to get help from a family/friend or a travel agent. They know vacations better than anyone else and can probably find you a steal!
TravelZoo: There is a website called TravelZoo that just so happens to be one of my favorites. It has a new list of travel deals that come out every Wednesday. They have everything from hotel deals, car rental deals, cruises, flights, etc. I would highly recommend checking out this website and signing up for e-mail alerts. They will only send you the best deals that are worth looking at.
Days: Also, another way to find a good deal on vacation is to figure out which days you want to travel. Some days are much cheaper for a hotel and flight than other days. The cheapest days are usually Tuesday and Wednesday. Days can make a huge different if you travel on days that no one does compared to days that are the most popular.
Last minute: If you can, try to find a vacation that is last minute. Hotels and that will really lower their prices trying to get anyone to come in the door instead of no one. Some hotels can run for $200 a night, yet if you wait last minute and book it for the next couple days it could drop to something like $75 a night. Last minute is definitely the way to go!
Finding a cheap vacation is very easy to do. As you can see we have some helpful tips that can get you started. Dont limit your vacations because theyre expensive, just find better deals instead!
If you are thinking about checking out the sights in New York City or the other areas, the internet is the finest place to grab an excellent New York travel deal. There are endless websites presenting savings for astute, self-motivated travelers.
Here are a few tricks to securing online deals for a subsequent jaunt to NY:
1. Discount Airfare There are hundreds of websites that put forth unbelievable airfare to New York. Some are the big-name vacation sites, some are through free-lance agents, and even some are the airlines themselves!
Most of the sizable airlines reveal discounts on selected routes and they advertise them right on their website. They are frequently called “special deals,” “special offers,” or “hot deals.” With simply a bit fact-finding in regards to your trip, you can locate a considerable New York travel deal!
2. Discount Hotels Deals on accommodations are everywhere, even in the Big Apple! Again, with a modicum of fact-finding, you can come across excellent deals on New York accommodations that are both frugal AND secure.
Some websites focus on presenting excellent rates for digs throughout New York. You can also search by hotel brand name because sometimes going to the hotels website will save you more than a large-scale vacation site.
Also consider Bed & Breakfasts, Hostels, Inns, Guesthouses and even renting a provisional apartment. Saving money on your sleeping place while in the metropolitan area is one of the easiest ways to net a major New York travel deal!
3. NY Travel Packages If you don’t really delight in tracking down a outstanding deal, then you should take into account websites that offer vacation bundles. You enter in your particulars, and they find the “greatest” rates out there for you.
Vacation bundles partner air, hotel, car rental, activities, etc into a solitary purchase. This is outstanding if you want a single-stop vacation shopping event. Since you are merging multiple reservations into a one and only purchase, travel packages can present some of the greatest New York travel deals and you can reserve beforehand or last minute.
The major players are apparent: Travelocity, Expedia, Orbitz. But there are others on the web that may submit a more preferable price.
4. Last Minute Deals If you don’t like to make arrangements at all, last minute deals to New York are all over. So if you are impulsive or a procrastinator, you can get wonderful buys by waiting for the last minute to sign up for it. I am talking about airfare, accommodations and/or tickets to shows or games in the city!
You can get away this weekend and get up to 70% off on some sites! But watch out! Some last minute sales are NOT as quality as others. In some instances, we found offers for “last minute deals” that were only $10 under the cost of the same outing coordinated 2 months beforehand.
5. Entertainment Deals There is something for everybody in New York, and thankfully for every pocketbook also. Luckily, if you are amenable to coordinate ahead of time, you can use the internet to identify great New York travel deals on entertainment prior to you even getting there. Some quality options to contemplate purchasing are: the New York CityPass, the New York Pass, or the New York Entertainment Book.
6. Transportation Deals Between taxis, the subway and buses, you can get anywhere you want to go in NYC. However, you will reserve the most money by avoiding taxis whenever you can.
From the airport, you can take the Port Authority’s Airport Express Buses, it is a dependable , cheap, consistent service. If you feel brave navigating a mixture of buses and subways, you can go anywhere for only $2.00 USD by purchasing a MetroCard (it permits free transfers). If you plan ahead to take multiple rides each day, then you should analyze all of the possible passes.
Get a map of the metropolitan area, digest the general design of the city and the subway system prior to your trip. With a modicum of preparation, you can save a lot on your transportation expenses while in NYC.
7. Travel Newsletters If you are the preparing sort and you are engrossed with securing a superb New York travel deal, then it would be to your greatest advantage to sign up to obtain a newsletter from a site that features trip deals.
A great one to consider is TravelZoo. They will email you once a week with the best web deals for trips throughout the world. Occasionally they will send you vacation deals that are detailed to your area. This is a tremendous service and I have pocketed some awesome deals this way. They commonly have a least one New York travel deal a week.
Not every hotel is geared for business travelers. Some are simply meant for holiday travelers, and focus on leisure features. Some hotels offer rooms geared for business travelers, with a stress on committed work areas. Once you’ve found a potential hotel, call the front desk directly and speak to the concierge or to a well-informed front desk clerk. Enquire about the facilities provided by the hotel such as internet accessibility, conference rooms; transportation etc. if the hotel has the features out lined below then you will definitely have a successful business trip.
Essential features of a great business:
Location: Hotels that are positioned near an airport or located in a city’s business quarter generally cater to business travelers. Airport hotels rarely offer views, but they make up for it with expedient location. Location is why many recruiters characteristically plan interviews in airport hotels. It is easier to fly in, meet numerous applicants, do some work in the business center, and fly back home.
Internet Access in the Room: Most hotels offer some form of Internet access whether it’s use of the business center’s computer, high-speed access in the room, or wireless. The business travelers need to know where the next high-speed Internet fix is coming from, so he can stay productive on the road.
Speedy, Customer Service: Hotel specialists are in the business of providing good customer care. Business hotels make the important difference of offering good customer care quickly and proficiently. A guest’s requirements must be met speedily so that he or she can concentrate on the professional reasons they are there primarily.
Business centre: It is absolutely a must for a hotel to have this facility. It should also be equipped with the latest technologies and state-of-the-art office equipment, services include tele-videoconferencing, high-speed Internet access, high-speed duplicating, printing, colour printing, colour copying, scanning and document processing, as well as courier, secretarial services, telex and fax.
Conference Rooms: Conference rooms or boardroom and a meeting room are a must if you plan to hold meetings seminars, promotions and exhibitions. These rooms must be equipped with audio + video conferencing facilities.
Easy Transportation: Business travelers need to be places punctually and with minimum hassle. Good business hotels more often than not offer transportation shuttles to all key business areas, or aid travelers with hiring taxis or private cars.
Restaurants & Bar: Business travelers need to be able to have the facilities of in hotel restaurants, to be able to meet associates over drinks, lunch or dinner. It’s best to have at least two types of specialty cuisine restaurants and a bar in the hotel itself.
100% Effort:Good business hotels allow travelers to concentrate on their jobs by working out the small and big stuff (taking care of problems like misplaced luggage etc.). The extra level of service in a good hotel is a boon to the traveler.
On a business trip avoid family or holiday hotels and it is always best to research the business hotel before booking.