How I Choose a Business Travel Hotel

My business trips always seem to be jam packed, so I am looking for something very specific in where I stay. This is how I choose a hotel, researching a few thing closely before I book, while other details I roll the dice.

Here’s how I do it.

My Business Hotel Criteria

I look for four things in choosing where to stay

Fitness
Food
The Room
Neighborhood

I feel like these things are not too much to ask for, but are somehow tricky to get right.

Fitness

For fitness, I am looking for a simple but well equipped gym with free weights. I will typically do a yoga + strength routine that is good for both strength and mobility while travelling, which I follow on my phone.

Extra points for a rowing machine.

Part B of fitness is a pool. But, as many are too small or ice cold I look at the photos closely. I will often call to see the pool hours before booking, because if it opens at 9am (or is being cleaned) I wont be able to swim at all.

For both the gym and the pool, I am looking for windows. I prefer a smaller well-equipped gym with daylight over a large cave.

Overall, I have to feel like the property cares about the gym. Because, anytime I see a photo I assume some equipment might not actually be there.

Food

Hotel Breakfast in Morocco and Singapore

The breakfast on the left is from a gas station in Morocco, that's how seriously they take breakfast. The breakfast on the right is only a small part of the offering at a hotel in Singapore.

You know the budget hotel buffets that have become so common? The ones with waffle machines. I find them almost entirely worthless. It's all sugared-up junk. If there are eggs, they are out of a box, next to weak coffee.

I prefer a simple restaurant where I can order an egg. But, it's less common now, found more often in large or more expensive hotels.

Therefore, my part two of food is being within walking distance to a grocery store. My go-to hotel in San Francisco is around the corner from a Whole Foods, where I can find snacks, prepared food, and a salad for dinner on a busy trip.

The better I eat, the better I feel while travelling.

The Room

This might be odd, but the room is the part of the hotel I scrutinize the least.

There's lots that can go wrong: A noisy room, poor blinds, insufficient lighting, an uncomfortable desk chair for working, being too hot or cold, etc. And, just this week I wrestled with insufficient Wi-Fi at a Hyatt in Portland where I will not stay again.

But, all of these are tough to tell from photos before booking. So, I take my chances, hoping they will all work out based on the general price-point of the property. For example, if the hotel is inexpensive and near a tourist destination like a beach, I know there will be people in the hall at 1am.

Neighborhood

For business travel, the location needs to support the work. If staying in a cool neighborhood, the question is: will I even have time to enjoy it?

Instead, the priority is transportation. Can I walk, train, bike, Uber to where I need to go. If driving, can I easily park a car? For reference, the room at my go-to hotel in San Francisco could be under $200, but parking might be $50.

Lastly, here's a hidden trap... traffic. I will often Google Map getting around to know if I am making a mistake that could have a colossal traffic implication.