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Open Booking has traditionally been a controversial topic among the managed travel community. Open Booking is the process of booking travel outside the approved channels set forth by the company, and frankly, many travelers are guilty of this. In an effort to collaborate with that natural tendency to occasionally book outside of their travel program, NexTravel has launched an Open Booking functionality.

The Open Booking feature allows travelers to import reservations that were booked outside of NexTravel into the NexTravel platform. This enables the traveler to keep all of their trips and receipts centralized, despite different booking channels.

Open booking

Ready to start booking travel now? Click here to sign up.

Interested in a demo of the NexTravel product? Click here.

 

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At NexTravel, we’re always striving to provide business travelers with more choices and costs savings for their flights. Our newest flight results feature, Mixed Fares, pairs one-way flights from different airlines to build cheaper and more flexible round-trips.

So, how does it work?

Let’s say you’re taking a business trip from San Diego to New York City. Our search results will now display a combination of regular fares and Mixed Fares, providing cheaper and more flexible options for the trip. Simply choose which regular or Mixed Fare result is the most ideal for your business trip and choose “Select”.

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Business travelers are now on their way to saving more money for their companies and having the flexibility to travel the way they want to.

Ready to start booking travel now? Click here to sign up.

Interested in a demo of the NexTravel product? Click here.

Already a NexTravel business traveler? Click here for detailed instructions about how to use Mixed Fares.

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On January 27, 2017, President Trump signed an executive order suspending entry of citizens from seven countries – Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen – to the United States for at least the next 90 days. Since then, a federal judge has issued an emergency stay temporarily halting the removal of detained individuals. Regardless, we recommend that individuals from these designated countries do not travel until the travel ban has been lifted.

You and/or your employees may be affected by these changes, either with employees stranded away from home or unable to enter the country.

Please contact us directly for any travel plan changes and we will work towards helping those affected as much as possible. In addition, our partners at Airbnb are offering free housing to anyone affected by this event – please contact us or go directly to Airbnb.com.

For more information on the travel ban, please click here.

Wen-Wen Lam
Founder, CEO

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We’re really excited to announce that we now work with companies internationally.   After hearing hundreds of companies ask about working with their offices across the world, we’ve recently partnered with WTravel to provide best in class service globally.  What exactly does this mean?

Over the next few months, we’ll be working toward initiatives that provide a truly global experience for our customers. Rather than having customers set up each of their offices for travel individually, we allow our customers to do so with a one time global implementation.

  • Same easy to use platform, but for offices everywhere.  We’ll be working on rolling out localization across our platform to service companies with a global presence.
  • Better pricing for local customers.  We’re working on adapting best practices in 33 major markets so that our customers can take advantage of localized pricing through air fare carriers.
  • Best in class customer service no matter where your offices are.  Our partnership with WTravel allows customers access to best-in-class customer service, with 9-5 coverage in their local time zone.

As a team, we’re really excited to be doing things differently and bringing a new, better travel experience to our customers.  Over the the past year and a half we saw so many things that we thought we could improve, and this is a huge first step for making business travel simple- globally.

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Technology is all about making our lives easier. Boarding your flight after noticing a few potential crying babies or chatty neighbor; you’ll need all the aid you can get.

We have compiled a list of cool gear and tech hacks that can keep you from losing it 30,000 ft in the air.  Our goal is to keep you being productive as ever.

 

Mophie Charging Case-

Thank goodness for smartphones; but curse their short lifespans. A Mophie slips onto a phone as easy as a regular case fitting like one as well.

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They can hold anywhere from 80-120% of your iPhone battery depending on the case. As a bonus it also allows you to charge your phone without even removing the case with a micro USB charger.

Available here: www.mophie.com/Charging_Cases

TimBuk2 Backpack-

Carry on bags take on a lot of shapes from Nike duffel bags to beach totes; but how many of those allow you to get through TSA checks faster? None.

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TimBuk2 bags open up flat for security checking. Whilst still providing fantastic laptop support and enough space to secure your belongings.

Available here: www.timbuk2.com/

Kindle-

Sure paper books are great, but who has space in their bag? And wouldn’t it be better used by snacks or an extra power bank. Kindles have an impressive battery life and a ton of space for the reading you’ve been putting off.

Available here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00I15SB16/ref=topnav_storetab_kstore

LiveScribe Smart Pen-

This pen memorizes not only everything it writes but also uploads them on your app. Which makes them accessible at any point.

As opposed to the notebook now serving no use in a conference room halfway around the world.

Available here: http://store.livescribe.com/smartpen.html

Blue Smart suitcase-

Smart suitcases are the best new thing that used to be stuck in the old age. Bluesmart offers a builtin scale, USB chargers, a digital lock, and location trackers!

Depending on the duration you board with a brave face and hope that nothing runs out of batter before you land. Did we mention they raised 2M on indigogo?

Available here: www.bluesmart.com/Suitcase‎

Toshiba encrypted flash drive-

The Flash Drive incorporates a rechargeable battery enabling users to authenticate access before plugging into a USB port.

Users simply enter their secure PIN and plug the drive into any USB 2.0 port on a compatible device. Once access is authenticated, the drive “unlocks” the media.

Available here: us.toshiba.com/storage/usb-flash/

Lithium Card Hypercharger-

Slim enough to never consider leaving it behind but important enough to never forget to pack it.

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The credit card sized charges 1% of your microUSB compatible device in a minute!

Available at: www.linearflux.com/lithiumcard/

Moshi Ion Bank-

Charger sports 10,000 mAh, enough to charge your smartphone multiple times.

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This is a blessing on a 12 hour flight with no layover.

Available: www.moshi.com/power-charger-battery-portable-ion-bank-10k-usb

Knomo Knomad Portable-

The Knomo Knomad packs your work essentials in a sleek and easy to use lay out.

If you fly with a small tablet for work or entertainment such as the iPad mini a knomad will help to organize and prepare.

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Also juicing your tech if you’re not using it.

QuietComfort 25 Noise Cancelling headphones-

By producing counter waves against background noise you can sit in some long over due peace and quiet. They ensure the best sound cancelling on the market.

Finally you can keep participating in mental Karaoke without being interrupted by criers, snorers or chit chatters.

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Did we mention they’re gorgeous and just as great to use in the office?

 

With so much new tech out there tell us below in the comments which one you think needs to be added onto the list.

If you liked this article be sure to check out our tips for long flights.

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We all know that long flights are a an incredible pain. Such hauls test your patience, professionalism, and how well you can occupy yourself at 40,000 feet above ground.

 

Here are the essential tips we’ve collected over the years.

1- MOVE!

Keeping your body in a sedentary state will drive you crazy if you’re used to a high paced environment. Maintain your activity level.

Being stuck in the middle seat of the 20th row, may not leave you with much space to stretch your limbs. Yet getting up often will aggravate your neighbors unless you fly the aisle seat.

Setting an alarm for every few hours (*3) can aid in both issues. Reminding yourself to stretch out and use the restroom and toss in a few stretches when you’re ready to throw on the eye mask.

2- Fly light

Keep your carry-on light. Check everything you can, take advantage of the service.

If you were considering bringing a carry-on and a “handbag” remember that it must be stored under your feet. There will be more space left for you in that already offensive amount of legroom if you don’t carry on too much.

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3- Dress for the occasion

You don’t need to be all dressed up for the flight anymore so why do it.

Flights tend to get chilly so boarding in a light jacket and a comfortable tee and switching slacks for lounge pants is also a good choice. 

To shorten your check-in process slip on shoes and wool socks make it a breeze to go through security especially if you are going through a multi-stop itinerary.

If you need to be fully suited coming off the plane, bring on your suit in hanger bag. Flight attendants are often more than willing to store it in the cabin closet.

Airline blankets are a germophobes worst nightmare. Consider bringing your own; which often come with travel pillows.

4- Bring it on!

Don’t count on airline food to sustain you, but take it as a pleasant treat when it does come around. 

  • Freeze Dried fruits~ All the fruit without all the drippings, core and seeds.
  • Nuts~ Preferably unsalted to avoid further dehydration from those cabins.
  • Bars (Moderate to low sugar) ~ Some of our favorites are Quest Bars, Clif Bars, and Complete cookies.
  • Dark chocolate ~ It takes longer to break down so it won’t leave you with a sugar crash. There are so many options too, chili chocolate is a personal favorite.
  • Please avoid tuna, yes it’s compact but just don’t. Same rule applies for foods you might have to ask are stinky or not. If you have to ask they probably are.
  • Reach for options like whole grain salads including quinoa or tabbouleh.

5- Don’t forget your must need gear!

Here’s the gear we consider near essential to bring with you. Technology will keep you occupied as time passes.

How to Make the Best of a Long Haul Flight

Noise canceling headphones~ Do not rely on the ones they hand out, they will disappoint you and likely lead to unnecessary stress. Always plan on a crying baby and a chatty neighbor.

Eye mask- Light dimmers only go so far.

Battery pack-Electronics will die fast. Worst thing to have your screen go black as you are just about to finish and save a file or at the high point of the show you’re binge watching. 

Count on bringing a long lasting tablet to save space and an extensive battery.

Long flights are a cruel and unusual test of endurance.

Meaning that people who like long flights are about as rare as marathon runners. More often than not, we sabotage ourselves by not having a course of action that seasoned flyers have acquired.