The (Less) Lonely Life Of The Road Warrior
Business travel has gone Web 2.0. Frequent fliers can now build their Rolodexes electronically by searching for other travelers’ profiles and then arranging to meet contacts on a flight, at a golf course, or over dinner. Here’s a look at a new breed of sites aiming to make every part of your next trip a chance to enlarge and enrich your web of business contacts.
PAIRUP
Start networking as soon as you know your itinerary. Simply upload the contents of your Outlook address book and post your flight info and any trade shows or conferences you’ll be attending. PairUp will notify you by e-mail or desktop widget when it finds a colleague or client heading for the same place.AIRTRODUCTIONS
Guarantee that your seatmate is a fellow business traveler, not a screaming child. Create a profile on the site, enter your itinerary, and search for network members headed the same way. Contacting fellow travelers costs $5 per round trip.FLYING BLUE GOLF CLUB
Networking on the golf course has new meaning, thanks to this online golf club for frequent travelers launched last August by Air France and KLM. For 55 euros a year (about $73), members can search for fellow golfers by location and handicap and organize a round.DINNERPOINT
Tired of dining alone on the road? Dinnerpoint will link you up with like-minded travelers for a meal and conversation. The company arranges social-networking dinners at restaurants around the world for groups of four to eight people. After you register for a meal at your destination, Dinnerpoint makes the reservation and sends you the profiles of your fellow diners.Photo by MSDesigns.
SEGuy on May 26th, 2007 1:18 pm
These are great ideas, and I am sure there are many more ways too of meeting up with like-minded people whilst travelling. Life hanging out at the hotel bar can be quite soul-destroying. If you have to work away from home, have fun!
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