Here are the top five cities where you should not rent a car for business travel

There are a handful of cities in the U.S. where I recommend that you should not rent a car but use taxis or services like Uber or Lyft to get around. I will always remember my $40 daily car rental in San Francisco when I arrived at the hotel I paid a $75 daily valet parking fee. You can buy a lot of cabs or Uber rides for $115 a day. Here is my list of the top cities you should NOT rent a car when traveling for business:

#1 New York City – I think everyone could have guessed this one.

#2 San Francisco – This is the one that stung me for the $75 valet parking.

#3 Boston – This city is so compact you can almost walk around the city easier than driving. Taxis here are bad.

#4 Washington D.C. – The METRO is the easiest way around and taxis are also cheap.

#5 Chicago –  If you’re heading downtown the “L” is the fastest and cheapest way. Once downtown Uber is best.

Be careful using public ATM machines in foreign countries – If you are traveling to foreign countries you should be extra careful when using a public ATM to access cash. Many bad guys are placing skimmers over the ATM card slot which allows the thieves to steal your card info and empty out your account. The safest place to access cash is at a bank ATM where security is the safest. I use ATMs a lot when I travel internationally, however, I always try to use bank ATMs instead of the ones unattended on the street.

 Over-tourism is becoming a big problem in Africa – The tourism industry in Africa has come back with a vengeance as thousands flock to find the authentic life experience of photo safaris. Even before COVID, over-tourism was a problem in places like Kenya and Tanzania. I still remember my last trip to Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania I felt like we were on safari in the parking lot at Walmart as once guides spotted a pride of lions dozens of safari jeeps would surround the lions to let everyone get the perfect photo.  It felt more like a zoo than a live safari. The pent-up demand for African travel will no doubt continue in the future and my guess is that you will see time block limitations on key safari areas that will limit the number of safari jeeps and times they can access the parks. You can also bet that there will be a lot of fees attached to these new regulations.

 Those tiny shampoo bottles in hotel rooms are quickly becoming extinct – Every time I travel I usually grab a small bottle of shampoo and conditioner from my hotel room and take it home to use at the gym and to contribute to homeless shelters. Many hotels today are trying to find ways to encourage sustainability (eliminate plastics) and save money. One major way hotels can save money is by replacing those small individual-use shampoo models with wall-hanging dispensers in the shower that dispense body wash, shampoo, and conditioner with the simple push of a button. These wall-hanging shampoo dispensers are in use already at many lodging bathrooms. I have noticed that many hotel guests are now much more accepting of these new dispensers and hotels will continue to replace plastic bottles with wall dispensers at a rapid pace. I think that many five-star luxury hotels will still prefer to offer individual plastic bottles of shampoo with luxury brand products. When the wall dispensers first came out I hated them, however, so many hotels have them that I have come to accept the inevitable.

 Did you know that Executive Travel can refund your non-refundable ticket within 24 hours? – One of the many reasons you should use Executive Travel is that we can refund your non-refundable ticket if you let us know within 24 hours of when the ticket was issued. This can save you hundreds of dollars if schedules change quickly.

Escorted Tours for Everyone – Travel while you Can! – Speaking about travel is always a fun and hot topic. I’m often asked what my favorite destination is. It’s hard to answer. There are so many, but among my top five are Greece, Italy, Iceland, a Christmas market fairy tale tour of Austria and Germany, and Israel. The next thing I hear is, “One day, we will go …!” My immediate response is: “Travel while you can!” – the past years have shown us how important it is to live life to its fullest. CLICK HERE to see all the tailor-made itineraries of my favorite places. To make these trips even more enjoyable, we have limited the number of travelers to 20-30 per tour. Call or email our friendly group department to secure your spot(s) at (402) 858-0033 / GroupDepartment@executivetravel.com. Do not hesitate; travel while you can!