Those who travel (overnight) for work

[mousefan73]

Windering what you do in your downtime.

My current job has me traveling about 25% of the year. I'm by myself. At the work site for most of the day, take off around 4-5, depending on how things go.

If the weather is decent, I'll try to find a park and go for a 1-2 mile walk. If it's not good, I try to find a mall and do a couple laps.

Most sight seeing things are closed (or closing soon) by then. Plus, I'm cheap unless it's something I'm REALLY interested in.

The rest of the time is sitting in the hotel watching Netflix or other streaming.

I'm not a big drinker, so sitting at a bar isn't my idea of "fun" (at least by myself). I don't dance (cue HSM fans), and am not nearly as athletic as I should be (no longer golf... I sucked when I WAS playing).

Anyway, what do you do to kill evenings?

Well for one I would shift if possible the hours worked so that maybe you take a later flight in and work later... I like to work more hours/get more stuff done while traveling and take half day or less hours when at home.. I never leave a site, office or meeting that early..


depending on location I check out local stuff. whether is be a tourist thing, site, park etc... or mall or high street. I usually prefer to grab or order food in and watch TV and eat from the room.. down time for me...

by time I finish for the day, do a walk, see something etc.. it's late enought to watch TV/netflix in my room.. I am also not a sit alone at a bar type person, but if I was at a huge 5 star place, I would have a drink in the lobby to view the place and people watch a bit.

 

[lovesmurfs]

Well, I totally relate to your preference for low-key evenings. While some people enjoy hitting the bar scene or dancing the night away, I find more enjoyment in quieter activities. Curling up in my hotel room with a good show on Netflix or diving into a captivating book is my idea of a perfect night in.

Agree. In the olden days (before e-readers), I would pack a book for each day I'd be gone.

 

[sam_gordon]

Well for one I would shift if possible the hours worked so that maybe you take a later flight in and work later... I like to work more hours/get more stuff done while traveling and take half day or less hours when at home.. I never leave a site, office or meeting that early..

Just to clarify, my end time on a given day is dependent on a number of things... where I am in the process (good stopping point, or start another step) and what the work time of my contact is. My company has a checklist of what's supposed to be accomplished on Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, etc. Some things can only be accomplished on a certain day because of other requirements.

I *USUALLY* get at least a day ahead (finish all of Day 1 and most of Day 2 on Day 1) and try to maintain that in case there are issues. The checklist has items for five days, but, knock on wood, I can generally finish in three, SOMETIMES three and a half. I'd like to think I'm "efficient" since everything on the checklist gets marked off.

 

[AussieFan8]

I love to travel but for whatever reason can't stand sitting in a hotel room unless there is a nice seating area. I tend to explore whatever city I am in, whether it's sightseeing using public transportation if I can find something open or just walking around looking at the city and parks while on my way to a restaurant, etc. I don't mind being by myself to do these things and actually sometimes prefer it as the constant interaction at conferences wears me out. I have experienced a couple of unsettling incidents, though, being a woman alone at night in a strange city and it has made me a bit more cautious in recent years.

 

[Babs Johnson]

If there was a sports event in the city I might attend. Otherwise I’d just watch TV in my hotel room.

 

[anniemae]

I don't travel for work anymore, but I used to travel about 3-4 times a year. I liked to check out local tourist things to do. I usually would google "top things to do in xyz city" and it usually comes up with lots of stuff to do. A lot of free suggestions too. Sometimes I would walk around the area, check out a mall or restaurant or museum.

As others have said, I would also bring my kindle and read. Usually hotels have seating areas where you can sit and read.

 

[EACarlson]

I have two jobs and travel for both of them at least a few times a year. The day job sends me to conferences and conventions. In the last two years since I took this job I've been to Vegas, St. Pete, DC and leave Sunday for Denver. In Vegas and DC, I had some conference related evening events but enough time on my own to explore the town. My wife came with me to St. Pete and is coming with me to Denver. If I don't have an evening events I want to attend we will go out together.
My side hustle is umpiring softball at a very high level. The organization I contract with will fly me around the country for tournaments. If the tournament ends Saturday or if they are flying me out late on Sunday I sometimes get a day in whatever town I'm in to explore. Last year a bunch of us went to an Atlanta Braves game. I had a tournament in Melbourne, FL and a late flight out of MCO, so a friend and I spent the day at DS.

This actually only applies to people who are paid hourly.
Are there really that many people traveling overnight for work who are paid hourly? (serious question)

Maybe my view is skewed, but everyone I know who travels overnights for work on a regular basis is paid salary. So, it doesn't really matter how many hours you put in per day or whether you travel (or even work) on the weekends. You are getting paid the same regardless.

My day job is hourly and I travel a few times a year. My company goes above and beyond the minimum requirements. I start getting paid the minute I leave my house and keep getting paid until I'm in my hotel with no further responsibilities for the day. Next Sunday I leave for Denver. I have to leave my house at 0630 CDT and have responsibilities until 1800 MDT, so that's 12.5 hours of pure overtime on a Sunday. I get paid for every minute I'm at an event on the conference schedule. The conference is hosting an event at a Colorado Rockies game. Four hours of overtime to watch a baseball game.

 

[HMcH]

If there was a sports event in the city I might attend. Otherwise I’d just watch TV in my hotel room.

This more or less. I travel about one week a month for work to various cities in the eastern half of the US. I spend my nights watching TV, youtube, movies on streaming services, and reading.