It was a fruitful excursion. Bartholomew Park, just outside of the town of Sonoma, continues to produce a luscious Merlot.  One that will make you forget the snide comments in Sideways. The Zin is smooth and rich.  This historic property is always worth  a visit.

A pleasant surprise was finding that Hawkes has established a tasting room just off the Sonoma plaza as well. I am generally not a fan of in-town tasting rooms as I like to see the vineyards. However this saved me me a drive to the Alexander Valley. The tasting was unhurried and the staff friendly and knowledgeable.  Hawkes is known for its Cabs and they are wonderful. They are elegant and restrained, not overly aggressive fruit bombs. Imagine Grace Kelly, not Kim Kardashian. Best of all, the wine club comes with free shipping.

My next stop to LynMar — home to some wonderful Pinot Noirs — in the Russian River Valley. I wanted to drive a bit to ensure that the wine didn’t overtake me. The wine was delightful and the tasting room was elegant. The tasting experience, however,  felt more like Napa than Sonoma: a bit of attitude hung in the air and the tasting fee was not waived even after an $80 purchase on what they acknowledged was a slow day.

I decided to return to the town of Sonoma for one last taste prior to returning to San Francisco. Having had a good experience at Hawkes’ tasting room and with a few spots open in the case I would take home, I decided to try Adobe Road. The Cab, Syrah, and Petite Syrah were all full and supple. Amanda, overseeing the tasting room, was friendly and expansive with details on the wines even though it was nigh upon closing time.

The ride back to San Francisco was a bit laborious as the Infineon Raceway was letting out. Watch the schedule when you visit.

On your next business trip to to the Bay area, be sure to make time for an excursion north. Rewarding wines are only an hour away.

Read the original Saturday Night Stayover post on Sonoma here.

So here’s the good, bad, and the ugly from one business traveler’s perspective.

The trip started out quite well. Virgin’s outpost in Terminal B at BOS is a bit removed from its bigger rivals and so it has its own security line. It was the first time since the creation of the TSA that I have had absolutely no queue to get through security. It was a breeze!

Food service was limited but adequate in the Virgin nook: just one vendor offering the usual array of food and beverages. If you want something special (or hot), get it before security. The staff at the gate was quite pleasant.

At SFO, Virgin is in a new terminal with a wide array of food and shopping options, an XpresSpa (my new travel treat), and lots and lots of outlets for charging one’s devices.

Now my first beef. That didn’t take long, did it? When I checked in online all that showed as available without a surcharge were middle seats (note: I am flying coach in both directions). Upon boarding, I discovered that the window seat next to me was one of several empty seats on the flight. On the return, no seats appeared available save for three that carried a $129 surcharge. I checked in at the gate and am now sitting in an exit row with two empty seats. According to the flight attendant, there are about 10 empty seats in coach on this flight. Hiding available standard seats seems a rather cheeky way to try to extract an upgrade fee. It is becoming increasingly common on air carriers and I think, frankly, that it is disrespectful to travelers. Virgin claims to hold itself to a higher standard. Well, not high enough.

Both planes (A319s with a 3-3 configuration for those of you who follow such things), were new and clean. The seating in coach was comfortable and I appreciated both the white seat backs and trays (they reflect light and brighten the cabin) and seat back pockets that are actually designed to hold something besides the safety card. The mesh front pocket made it easy to see if I had forgotten anything I had stowed there.

Inflight wi-fi was available via GoGo on both flights though I found the $17.95 cost (each way) to be excessive. If I didn’t need it for business, I would have passed it up.

I tried the on-demand food ordering system each way. On the outbound flight the food arrived in a minute or two; on the return flight it took half-an-hour. As best I can tell this is because I ordered after the beverage service on the first flight and before it on the second. All of the requested food was delivered as they wheeled the beverage cart along. I did Tweet a complaint and received a quick inquiry from the social media team at Virgin America although there was nothing they could do directly. The food selection was good and  the quality was what I have come to expect of airline food: keep the expectations modest and there is less chance of disappointment. Although I did not opt for wine on either flight (don’t look so surprised — these were morning flights and I had business to do) but the options looked like a step above the generic red and white offered by most carriers). The Artisan Cheese box came with odd wooden implement that was awkward to use with the brie but that’s a quibble. The food itself was just fine.

There is a $25 per bag fee for any checked baggage that is waived for one bag if you spring for the coach upgrade or all bags if you are in Upper Class. My checked “bag” was actually a case of wine I’d put together in Sonoma — and it arrived intact.

Will I return? I am back to SFO in a few weeks and haven’t yet booked my flight. It isn’t a slam dunk. Let’s just say that I’ve lost my Virginity but am still weighing monogamy.

Photo credit: The Sky Steward

The Horasis meeting was held at the Radisson Blu at the airport — convenient but not very interesting. I stayed in town at the sleek and modern Hotel Greulich and saved enough money on the room to more than make up for the train trips back and forth. The staff was friendly and helpful. The room was spacious if a bit odd in layout — the TV couldn’t be seen from the bed. Bottled water was included as was free wifi.

Staying in town also gave me the chance to explore the city a bit. I was about 12 minutes from the train station and the main retail district along the Bahnhoffstrasse.

The Bahnhoffstrasse offers all of the shopping one could ever want — including an English language bookshop, chocolate shops, and the usual collection of international fashion houses. A bit more original were the shops near the hotel. I was particularly fond of Weisbrod, a  maker of fine silk accessories for men and women. A new purple and grey pocket square was soon mine!

The most memorable meal of the trip was at Caduff’s Wine Loft just around the corner from the Greulich. The restaurant works with fresh, local ingredients — whatever the market has to offer that day — and offers more than 2,000 wines.  I had a simple winter salad followed by an Irish fillet of beef with long beans and spaetzle. There were two amuse bouche: one a corn chowder of sorts and the other a bite of veal with fresh peas. I accompanied this with a hearty Bordeaux. Everything was delicious, well prepared, and served with a smile. It would be a lovely spot for dinner with a business associate although be warned that the menu is only in German (although the staff speaks English pretty well).

Zurich is a business city but it has retained a good bit of charm. Its streets are pleasant for walking and there is ample public transportation. One can get to meetings and still have time to take in a bit of culture and history. We’ve added a new Zurich page to give you all of the tips you need for a great business trip.

Our traveler was unable to get a seat at the time she booked the American flight. She was told to do that closer to the date of the flight. She called prior to her outbound flight and was told she had to wait until she checked in for the return flight. About 24 hours before that flight she logged on to check in. The only seats available were premium seats which carried an extra charge. Concerned, she called American and was told that a non-premium seat would be assigned at the kiosk at the airport. Not to worry, she was told, there was plenty of room on the flight.

When our Nomad arrived at the kiosk she was told that seats could only be assigned at the gate. Now frustrated, angry, and concerned, our traveler went to the gate where she was told that the flight was “horribly overbooked.” The gate agent was also frustrated and commiserated that she, too, thought that the system was stupid. The Nomad managed to get on the flight but had to go through the same exasperating experience when she transferred in Dallas for the second leg of her flight home — but just by the hair of her chinny chin chin: she got the last seat on the plane.

Once on the flight — both legs — there was no food available although “food for sale” was supposed to be on offer. Our Nomad had to get by with a cup of water on each leg.

There are several ways to look at what happened here. One would be that American is simply inept. As an airline that has been in business for decades that should neither be the reason nor the excuse. Another would be that they are doing everything possible to get people to opt for premium seats — after all, airlines are now fee machines and it seems to be the only way they can make money. That doesn’t, however, explain how they failed to load food which should be a profit center. A third would be that American simply doesn’t care a whit about passengers who don’t have some elevated frequent flier status. Our Nomad is not a regular American flier and so was traveling as one of the great unwashed mass of plain old customers.

A fourth view, of course, is “all of the above” and that’s the one I am betting on. I think that they have lost clarity around their purpose, their values, and their business model. I think that any convenience — even a seat — is now up for grabs unless you pay an upcharge. And finally, I think that they have resigned themselves to providing a commodity product with minimal service. Together this is a recipe to disengage both customers and employees. It is a corporate death spiral.

I remember when the slogan used to be, “We’re American Airlines. Something special in the air.” I guess they define “special” a little differently than the rest of us.

What have your experiences on American been like lately?

I’d like to share three lesser-known attractions with you. The first is a trip to the Boston Harbor Islands. This off-shore national recreation area is easily reached by ferry and offers a great escape from the hustle-and-bustle of downtown. Head out for a hike and picnic and take in both nature and history while you are at it. It is a perfect half-day excursion.

The second is a walking tour of Cambridge, just across the Charles River from Boston. Take the Red Line from the Boston side and you’ll be there in under 10 minutes. I suggest a walk in the Brattle Street neighborhood just outside of Harvard Square for a 60-90 minute urban hike rich in beautiful architecture and historic sites. The houses, now some of the most valuable real estate in the country, includes several that date back to the Revolutionary War period.

To trace one of my favorite routes, start in Harvard Square and head west on Brattle Street. Either side of the street offers much to see so take one side on the way out and the other for your return. Continue on Brattle until you reach your first traffic light at Fayerweather Street. Turn right on Fayerweather and walk until you see Reservoir Street. Take a right again. Take your next right on Highland Street. Go one block until you hit Appleton Street. Take a right. Now take your next left on Brewster Street. Just across from the intersection of Brewster Street and Riedesel Avenue you’ll see Robert Frost’s former house. Take a right on Riedesel and this will bring you back to Brattle. Take a left on Brattle and walk back to Harvard Square.  There are many potential variations to this route so explore to your heart’s content.

If you are starting or ending around mealtime, stop by Casablanca in Harvard Square for a juicy burger or some of their north African inspried cuisine.

The third destination requires a train or car ride north to Salem. There you will find the Peabody Essex Museum, an outstanding museum that is often overlooked by those who stay in town. The Peabody Essex has an outstanding collection of artifacts relating to the China Trade and New England’s seafaring roots. The collection comprises more than one million objects. A must-see is the “Chinese House” that was brought from China and painstakingly rebuilt by hand at the museum. However the Peabody Essex also hosts contemporary exhibits including photography, fashion, and much more.  

On your next business trip to the Hub, find a way to spend an extra night and explore some of the many interesting and unusual sights that make Boston a favorite city for many. See our Boston page for hotel and restaurant recommendations.

Traveling to another city or a different country and locating quality nearby attractions just got easier. These interactive travel apps are designed to help executive travelers find the best deals, the best restaurants and everything they need to enjoy the best travel experience. Here are a few of the top apps that no business traveler should be without:

1. WikiHood Guidebook App

This free travel guidebook is one of the most consistently top-rated apps in the entire iTunes store. WikiHood uses GPS technology to display local attractions and historic information for destinations around the world. Use this app at home and abroad to locate popular tourist attractions and historic sites. The WikiHood app makes it easy to sort by distance, relevance and user rating. WikiHood has data on everything from the best pizza place in the city to where the nearest bus or train station is located.

2. The Phone Book App from YellowBook

The free smart phone app from YellowBook is like having a phone book for the world complete the store hours, phone numbers and integrated maps. The YellowBook app uses technology from Google Maps to locate nearby businesses in a virtual reality format. Users can also use the automated voice search feature to access data on millions of restaurants, hotels and businesses around the world.

3. TripIt Travel Organizer

Now available as a free app and a premium, ad-free app for $1.99, TripIt consolidates travel data and itineraries for multiple trips. TripIt stores flight information along with maps and directions. Users can check-in for flights, verify flight status and check local weather from one location. TripIt is consistently recommended for jetsetters and anyone who needs to organize travel plans for themselves or the entire family.

4. The XE Currency Converter App

This mobile currency conversion tool makes it easy to tell how much you really spent on lunch at the cafe or how much that four-star hotel room will cost at the discounted rate. The XE Currency Converter app is available for free with download options for all phone platforms. This handy app automatically updates conversion rates for 190 international currencies.

5. The TripAdvisor Travel App

Search for affordable airline tickets year-round, from January business trips to December holidays.   Looking for  accommodations, attractions and the best restaurants? There’s and app for that!  The mobile app from TripAdvisor.com is available in one dozen languages and includes business reviews from 35 million travelers. The TripAdvisor app includes information on vacation rentals, hotels, tourist attractions and many international destinations. The large selection of travel data available with the app makes it a go-to choice for selecting the best accommodations and attractions.

Whether you’re traveling near or far this year, download these apps and enjoy great vacation.

Written by FirespinJay a Travel and Tech enthusiast from London always looking at ways to improve the Travel experience.

The Shanghai Museum

There is no shortage of diversions in this city located in eastern China on the mouth of the Yangtze River. It is a bustling city built for business but with a vast array of interesting experiences waiting for you. We introduce you to three of the best and quickest to-do things in this happening town. These are activities you can sandwich between business meetings and they are definitely worth the investment of time.

Here are three “must-see” things if you’ve got a few hours to spare in Shanghai. If you don’t have time, make some: Shanghai has too much to offer to limit yourself simply to business.

The Shanghai Museum- This is a museum of ancient Chinese art. What is unique about this museum, is that the building itself is a work of art. From the enormous skylight, to the sweeping staircases. This museum houses collections ranging from beautiful calligraphy, to ceramics, to sculptures, to coins and currency. This museum is a modern building safeguarding the most ancient of relics and treasures. This contrast cannot be missed. Well appointed, with interesting and unusual artifacts, this is a museum that is well worth the hour or so, you may have to spare.

Say you’ve got about two hours or so to spare, it may be a perfect opportunity to fine tune and update your wardrobe! Shanghai fashion is hip and stylish, and the possibilities are endless for what you may be able to obtain. Forget about wasting time going to endless stores, trying to find the best merchandise. Enter the Shanghai Personal Luxury Shopper. This is the fastest and most efficient way to shop in Shanghai when your time (and patience!) is limited. They can take you to couture by appointment, fittings for custom suits, footwear boutiques, and even artisan bedding and household furnishing design houses. Tip: The best personal shoppers live in the city, and have a firm pulse on the latest society happenings and activities. Ask your concierge for a recommendation.

The Bund in Shanghai

Shanghai’s third must-do, is taking a walk on The Bund. The Bund is a one mile long river walk in the Huangpu District on the banks of the Huangpu River. The Bund runs from  Yan’an Road to Waibaidu Bridge. You’ve probably done boardwalks before (think Atlantic City, New Jersey), but this one is different. It is uniquely Shanghainese! From the rich Art Deco buildings that adorn the river walk, to people-watching, to the merchants who want to sell you their wares. If you really love architecture, hire a guide to show you the different buildings and styles that adorn this lively thorough-fare. Otherwise, you can just take a leisurely stroll, and take in the local flavors, sights and sounds. When you’re done, take a seat at M on the Bund, (The super trendy Bund hotspot that is often mentioned as a Shanghai must do as well!) for a pick me up cocktail, or a delectable full course dinner while you marvel at the fabulous views.

Andrea Spooner the founder of Executive Travel by Andrea, a business and first-class travel concierge service for corporate and senior executive business travelers. You can learn more at http://www.executivetravelbyandrea.com

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An enticing offer but...

It was a lovely (if not eco-friendly) offer that arrived in the mail from American Express the other day:  a platinum box filled with colorful brochures touting the benefits of the the Platinum Card including 100,000 bonus points if I spent $1,000 in the first three months.

The Platinum Card is attractive for the frequent traveler in that it offers extensive airport lounge access, no foreign transaction fees, a rebate of the Global Entry program fee, and much more that can make its hefty $450 annual fee worth paying. So while I normally immediately toss the many credit card offers that come in the mail, I decided to act on this one.

As I had a couple of questions about the card benefits, I decided to give the good folks at Amex a call. The first problem that I encountered was that the toll-free number in the package no longer worked (well, the number to which one is transferred to apply for a new card no longer works, the alternative number provided was spoken too quickly for me to capture, and there was no option to repeat the message).

I then opted to try via the Web. However the url provided with the offer was also invalid. Is this the kind of exceptional service I could expect if I became a card member? I found a number on the Web site and called to find out if the offer I’d received was legit or some elaborate scam.

The helpful customer service rep told me that the offer was indeed real and in fact the 100,000 point bonus offer (good for up to four domestic airline tickets according to the brochure) was the most generous he’d ever seen. And that led to the next big problem: the offer was extended to my wife, but not to me.

It turns out that she had tossed the mailer on my desk as she was not interested but thought that I might be. I travel far more often than does she (and for those of you analytics pros and marketers out there, 0ur credit scores are comparable and my income is higher — Amex would make more money from having a card in my hands than in hers). I explained all of this to the phone rep and he said that he’d be happy to set me up with a Platinum Card — sans the 100,000 bonus points offered my wife.

I’ve written a bit about analytics in addition to executive travel, leadership, and sustainability. I was once a marketer. I know that offers get sliced, diced, and go through all sorts of permutations in attempts to get the most tempting promotion to the right person at the right time. And I know that sometimes things go awry. That is when companies are put to the test: can they recover gracefully or do they get wrapped around the process pole, stymied by restrictive approval procedures, and flumoxed by disconnects between marketing and service?

Making promises is easy. Delivering exceptional service is difficut — anyone who follows me knows that I am a stickler for service and try to direct business toward those organizations that make the grade. Great service requires coordination and collaboration across a complex enterprise that runs from highly paid execs to frontline personnel who may be many miles (and pay grades and perhaps outsourcing agreements) away. In organizations where the purpose and values of the organization are crystal clear, it can all work. If that were the case here, the rep would have been empowered to extend the offer to me or, at the very least, take my information so that someone could get back to me. After all, he had a live prospect from a qualified household ready to plunk down $450 smackers for the privilege of carrying a charge card.

Instead, all he could say was “sorry, sir.” Sometimes “sorry” just isn’t good enough. I am currently engaged with the Amex service people on Twitter. If grace grows there, I’ll be sure to update this post.

To keep yourself striving for an ecologically sound life, it’s worth thinking about whether the cruise company will be one working hard to reduce the impact on the environment (C+ Friends of The Earth Report company princess cruises) or one that, frankly, doesn’t care. Additionally, it doesn’t help that the ones doing sterling work for some reason (marketing cuts) don’t sing and shout about it, and the ones that do often are not all that they seem.

Cruises can make a big difference in the environmental impact. They can consume a vast amount of power and produce large levels of emissions and waste, so take the time to investigate:

1. FOE Report – For the BIG companies a Friends of the Earth report card was released at the beginning of the year clearly showing, in easy to understand categories, major liners ‘grades’ as determined by the FOE and their improvements in working towards becoming ecologically sound methods of transport.

2. Search – There are lots of green cruise companies from specialized small cruises, sail cruises and box cruises to conventional popular destinations such as the Mediterranean. The problem you will face is the large companies will have prime positions in Google due to budget so make sure you are checking through the pages and being a thorough surfer, not just repeatedly skimming the top. This is the same in the offline world. Check out more specified magazines to see what gems you can find – it’s out there.

3. Smaller trips – Smaller cruise trips, such as through wildlife conservation areas, are good to judge the companies ethics and green credentials. They should limit numbers to make sure that they don’t impact on the local habitat. Do they do that? Or do they pack the boat in to maximize revenue?

4. Eco Tourism – There are accreditation programs, with badges to display, given to genuine eco tour operators such as a business registered with the International Ecotourism Society (IES).

Here are some eco tourism key metrics, from the IES you may want to look for:

• Minimize impact
• Building environmental and cultural awareness.
• Provide direct financial benefits for conservation.

5. Ask for a reference – As simple as it sounds, many people will keep pouring over the glossy brochure hoping to find more secrets, but nothing can help more than a candid report of another clients experiences. Good companies will of course be happy to show you the many happy customers they have had on the books.

The Green way of doing business is getting more established, which of course means more and more open interpretations of what that means. Keep informed and make sure that you make the right choice. Using the above tips you will pick a good ship with a lowered footprint and respect for the area it will travel in. Knowing you did your homework beforehand – you can enjoy your trip and focus on business.

Guest Post by Firespin Jay. His interests are Travel, Business and Ecology hope you enjoy his posts and come say hi @FirespinJay