Surviving Business Travel

Secrets of the ultimate road warrior: Tricks that actually make business travel fun

After traveling on business for more than 30 years with with more than two million miles under my belt, there is little I have not experienced. Stellar clients in every corner of the country, wonderful cities and hotels — three decades of highs. I’ve also had my share of mishaps that every traveler experiences: Flight delays, the disappearing hotel reservation, no heat, no a/c, and did I mention the plane engine fire and hotel fire in the same day?

But that is another column.

Business trips for those of us in the executive search industry are characterized by many one night stays — three cities in a week are not unusual. Many of my friends believe my frequent business trips sound too good to be true, while others who know comment, “I don’t know how you travel as much as you do.” So what is the trick?

I have a love-hate relationship with travel. If I am in the office for more than three weeks, I get itchy and I’m ready to head to the airport. I have developed some tricks over the years, and while they don’t guarantee that I won’t go nuts, they have eased me over many rough spots.

Golf

In the late '90s I was rapidly approaching travel burnout. A vacation to Hawaii with my business partner and his wife resulted in me taking up golf in my late 40s. And like any person who takes up golf late in life, I had a desire to make up for lost time by playing as much as possible.

And like any person who takes up golf late in life, I had a desire to make up for lost time by playing as much as possible.

The idea occurred to me to play golf in the many parts of the country where I met clients and candidates. Rather than join the legions of business travelers taking the 5 p.m. flight home on a Friday night, I would find the best public course in that city and head to the links on Friday and take a leisurely flight home on Saturday morning, in time to get in another round on Saturday afternoon.

After five years I had polished off all of the Top 100 public golf courses in the country, and I was featured in Golf Magazine. It was definitely the only time my golf would be worth mentioning.

Friends

When Facebook began expanding beyond college campuses, it offered a wonderful diversion to the tedium of travel. All of a sudden, I could connect with friends from all walks of life. I’m not sure I would call a friend I have not seen in 30 years without having the context of their life that Facebook provides. Facebook made it very easy to pick up with someone even though I might not have seen them in decades.

Basking in the afterglow of a completed bucket list of golf, I made it a goal to try to connect with as many Facebook friends as possible. Some people don’t think it is a good idea to broadcast your whereabouts on Facebook and caution that in doing so you run the risk of “over communicating,” but for me, noting where I am and where I’m going gives my former classmates and business colleagues a chance to surface and connect.

In 2008, I updated my Facebook status to “heading to DC for a quick trip.” Within five minutes, I received a response from my college roommate whom I had not seen in 30 years, and who had just moved to DC the week before. We were only able to squeeze in a 30 minute cup of coffee, but I still smile as I think of the wonder of being able to connect with her.

Concerts or other events

I have always enjoyed a good concert, but it never occurred to me to go to a concert in a distant city until several years ago. I was in Dallas on business and learned that Paul McCartney would be performing his only Texas concert in the newly opened Cowboys Stadium. I quickly nabbed tickets and invited one of my Facebook friends to go. We had such a good time that it launched a new diversion.

Aside from it being easier to get a single ticket at the last minute, everyone at a concert is a fan, and for that two to three hours you come together to share a common experience.

Over the years I have seen Eric Clapton in New Jersey, Nora Jones at the Hollywood Bowl, the Eagles at Madison Square Garden, the Rolling Stones in Philadelphia, and Coldplay in too many locations (including Wembley Stadium) to name a few. Initially, I found it a little strange to attend a concert by myself if I couldn’t get a friend to accompany me, and I had a certain amount of anxiety wondering about cabs and other logistics.

But aside from it being much easier to get a single ticket at the last minute, everyone at a concert is a fan, and for that two to three hours you come together to share a common experience.

Concerts are not the only game in town for the business traveler. While athletic events don’t seem to have as much community as concerts, they can still be a welcome change from the work day. Several years ago I was in Atlanta in April for client meetings. One client could meet on Tuesday, the other on Thursday. It didn’t make sense to fly back to Houston only to return 36 hours later. So, I quickly snagged a ticket to a practice round for the Masters at Augusta.

It was a quick two hour trip, eight hours of the most beautiful golf venue in the world, and two hours back — a lifetime experience in the space of 12 hours.

Games: Register that room number

It seems to me that in the last year I’ve been flying more at night, which leaves little time for friends or events. I needed a new diversion. There are lots of games you can play with fellow travelers or even with yourself. My business partner (who leaves me in the dust when it comes to travel) and I have a running game to see who passes through the most airports each year. Going to the same airport doesn’t count.

While he wins the miles traveled category hands down — he has traveled more than 100,000 miles this year and it’s only June — I hope I have beat him by notching visits to St. Louis, Charlotte and Cincinnati. Last year I made a game up of taking pictures of every hotel room door and making a collage at the end of the year.

The game had some practical ramifications, as every business traveler knows the embarrassment of hosting a client for a meal and entering a wrong room number on the check. Who knew hotel room numbers looked so different from each other?

This year I have switched my focus from room numbers to the view from my hotel room window and the art on my hotel room walls. It makes you pause and observe your surroundings, appreciate the birds outside your window, or on occasion, the dumpster.

Next year, if this road warrior is still at it, it will be the year of hotel hallway carpets.

Gratitude

When all else fails there is gratitude. Gratitude is a powerful antidote to self-pity, anxiety and general malaise. I try to feel gratitude for the opportunity to experience new places, meet talented and interesting people and have impact my clients and their organizations. Sometimes it is a struggle to find that nugget of gratitude when your flight has been canceled or you are in your eighth hour of flight delays.

But think about it. Who wants to fly on a malfunctioning plane or in dangerous weather?

As founder and managing director of The Alexander Group, Jane Howze is the ultimate road warrior.

Attending a round of the Masters was memorable.

Augusta National Golf Course during Masters tournament Aprill 2013

Photo by Jane Howze

Attending a round of the Masters was memorable.

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Now hear this

New Texas museum shines spotlight on Tejano music history

Totally Tejano Hall of Fame and Museum, San Antonio, tejano music

Photo by Edmond Ortiz

Roger Hernandez serves as board president of the Totally Tejano Hall of Fame and Museum.

For a city that proudly calls itself the capital of Tejano music, San Antonio has long been missing a permanent place to honor the genre’s pioneers and preserve its history. That gap officially closed In December with the opening of the Totally Tejano Hall of Fame and Museum at 1414 Fredericksburg Rd.

The music couldn’t have found a better steward than its founder and board president. Roger Hernandez has had his finger on the pulse of Tejano music for decades. His company, En Caliente Productions, has provided a platform for countless performing artists and songwriters in Tejano, conjunto, and regional Mexican music since 1982.

Hernandez says his wife, who ran a shop at Market Square years ago, would often get questions from visitors about the location of a physical Tejano music museum, a thing that simply did not exist. In 2022, he banded together with friends, family, and other local Tejano music supporters to make the nonprofit Hall of Fame a reality.

“I decided I've been in the music scene for over 40 years, it's time to do a museum,” Hernandez recalls.

Hernandez says a brick-and-mortar Tejano music museum has long been needed to remember musical acts and other individuals who grew the genre across Texas and northern Mexico, especially those who are aging. Recently, the community lost famed Tejano music producer Manny Guerra and Abraham Quintanilla, the renowned Tejano singer/songwriter and father of the late superstar Selena Quintanilla-Perez. Both deaths occurred roughly one week after the Totally Tejano museum opened to the public.

“They're all dying. They're all getting older, and we need to acknowledge all these people,” Hernandez says.

The Totally Tejano Museum — named after Hernandez’s Totally Tejano Television Roku streaming — has 5,000 square feet of space packed with plaques, photos, promotional posters, musical instruments, and other memorabilia honoring the pioneers and stars of the beloved genre. Mannequins wear stage outfits from icons like Laura Canales and Flaco Jimenez, and a wall of photos remembers late greats. Totally Tejano Television plays legendary performances on a loop, bringing the exhibits to life.

The newly opened Totally Tejano Hall of Fame and Museum includes a growing collection of memorabilia. Photo by Edmond Ortiz

Hernandez says the museum will soon welcome permanent and rotating exhibits, including traveling shows, a Hall of Fame section, and an area paying homage to Chicano music crossovers, such as the late Johnny Rodriguez, the South Texas singer-songwriter who blended country with Tex-Mex music. Plans call for the organization to hold its inaugural Hall of Fame induction in February 2026.

Eventually, a 2,000 square feet back room will be converted into additional display space and host industry gatherings, community symposiums, and record and video release parties. The museum also plans to add a gift and record shop and a music learning room where visitors can listen to early Tejano music and browse archival photos. Hernandez is already talking with local school districts about educational field trips.

Much like Tejano itself, the museum is a grassroots production. Hernandez and fellow board members have used their own money to rent, renovate, develop, and maintain the museum space. The board also leads the selection of the Hall of Fame honorees and curates the exhibits.

Hernandez has been heartened by the museum’s reception, both from media outlets and music fans around Texas and beyond.

“We had a radio station come in this morning from Houston to interview us,” he says. “People have come in from Lubbock, Texas. We have had people from Midland, Texas. We have another person who emailed us who’s coming in from New York. People are learning all about us.”

That includes many of the musicians who helped shape the genre. Johnny Hernandez, Sunny Ozuna, Elida Reyna, and Danny Martinez from Danny and The Tejanos are among the luminaries who have already graced the halls.

The Totally Tejano Hall of Fame and Museum is now open 10 am-6 pm, Tuesday-Sunday, and closed Monday. Admission is free, but donations are encouraged. Fans can call 210-314-1310 for more information.

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