If you are a die-hard runner, then you may have had a difficult time traveling for business because you have felt that it took you away from your running routine.

Of course, an airline flight early one morning when you usually would run during that time segment will interrupt your running schedule that day. But you do not have to let all travel days turn into days of no running. No, there are many opportunities to run when traveling, if you take some time to think about. And here are some ideas for running when traveling.

Time Idea #1 – Get up early so that you can go for a run from and back to your hotel before your business day starts. You may have to excuse yourself from your clients or business colleagues a little early the evening before that morning, so that you can go to sleep in your hotel room early enough to get a good night of sleep before you awake extra early the next morning. But excusing yourself a little early the previous evening can actually impress the people whom you tell — because they may assume that you are extra studious about your business project or are otherwise extremely disciplined, which can be an excellent impression to leave with them!

Time Idea #2 – Excuse yourself at the end of the business day from joining colleagues or clients for dinner or drinks, so that you can return to your hotel room early that evening and go for a run before retiring for the evening. If you do not want to tell your listeners the specifics of why you are excusing yourself, then you could make a vague reference to a family obligation. (Hey, running is part of your life, and you are part of your family, so running is a family obligation, if you think about it!)

Location Idea #1 – If you awake early or return at the end of the day to your hotel room early only to discover that there is lightning or other dangerous weather outside, one of your options is to run on a treadmill in the gym of your hotel. Although treadmill running is definitely not the same as road running, you can still get a very good workout while you are exercising most of the same muscles in essentially the same way.

Location Idea #2 – Another indoor option for inclement-weather conditions is repeatedly to run up the stairs of your hotel and to walk back down them. This will give you a type of hill training that you may find especially beneficial after you return home after your business trip.

Bottom line: Be creative when you travel. You can find opportunities to run while traveling on business!

Dr. Kirk Mahoney loves to walk and run, and his SpryFeet.com website provides practical research for runners and walkers. By going to the Books section of his website, you can learn more about the books that he has written for runners and walkers, including the book Mental Tricks for Endurance Runners and Walkersand the book 123 Cellphone Tips for Runners and Walkers.

Every company is looking for hotel discounts as tough economic conditions continue. But it can be time-consuming and difficult to find the best business lodging rates that will save your company money.

And how do you know you’re getting the best deal?

That task gets easier when your company signs up for and use a business lodging savings card.

It’s available to any size company, whether you have one traveler or several. The best part is that it will save a company’s business travelers every time they check in to a hotel. It gives access to 20 to 40 percent savings off hotels’ lowest published rates.

Typical candidates for this service are workforce travelers who use their cars or truck to get to their job sites and who prefer discounts when they stay in economy or midscale hotels.

Companies with crews, drivers, field service representatives, maintenance teams and other employees who travel can participate. The size of the company doesn’t matter, either. It can be a sole proprietor business or a company that has a few or lots of employees.

These cards offer several advantages for low-cost travel, including the fact that there are no minimum usage requirements. That makes a business savings card great for workforce travelers on per diem or who have a lot of seasonal travel.

Who uses these cards to save on business lodging? To name just a few enthusiastic supporters: truckers, pilot car companies, construction firms, alternative energy installation crews, well and drilling companies, artists who travel the festival circuit, traveling salespeople and more.

Many companies find that they can save thousands of dollars annually with a lodging card.

No matter if you are visiting London on business or pleasure, whatever your budget is, however long or short you’re staying, you are sure to get a good room in one of the many London hotels. The augmented trades taking place in London has increased the need of good and quality business hotels in London. Few years back, the hotels were not so well equipped to welcome the business travellers specifically, but London being world capital for finance and trade the demand of London hotels for business travellers is continuously rising.

Many hotels have emerged in London to meet this demand. Some of the London hotels for business travellers are luxurious and provide all amenities to its guests for their business conferences or meetings. These hotels in London offer fully integrated systems with personal computers, high-speed Internet and digital movies and even music on demand. The systems are generally connected with flat-screen television sets which offer the clarity of a PC monitor without any issues of reformatting pages to fit traditional Web-TV services. Using a wireless keyboard from anywhere in the room, guests can receive and reply e-mail messages, surf the Internet, download digital music and movies on demand, and even listen to radio from cities around the world. Many business hotels in London are now offering Wi Fi Internet access in guest rooms and public areas.

Apart the big luxury hotels, there are also many mid-range hotels in London located at key commercial hubs of the city providing a perfect blend of contemporary international facilities with traditional hospitality including the best of it’s class dining to the discerning business travellers in London. One should make sure to spend little time in surveying the right hotel from the lot. In addition to the basic or luxurious facilities of the hotel, the locality is also important. A hotel being in a central location or near a tube station is always advantageous. The commitment to impeccable services by hotels serving business travellers in London expresses themselves in their attention to detail of everything starting from business appointments, secretarial services to travel arrangements.

You are sure to find a good business hotel in London, with increased availability of rooms especially in central London hotels which are close to business districts.