Reid Bader

After two decades in the travel business and twenty quick minutes to think about my travel style:

1. Perception matters. A properly picked luxury hotel brand is sufficient, but not necessary for a luxurious trip.

2. Travel companions matter. If the wife and two teenage boys are happy, then all is well with the trip.

3. A good time matters. I like fancy dinners and a nice spa (fancy and nice being qualitative descriptors, not quantifiable ones).

4. Lists matter. Particularly checklists (and parentheses, too) always make for a better experience (there is dissension from my family on this one, which I take the responsibility of managing intrapersonally).

5. Ownership matters. A local experience means that the money stays locally.

6. Logistics matter. A well-planned transfer with backups or where a hotel is located is just as important as the hotel itself.

7. Learning matters. I like museums (a half-day tour with a half-day to browse).

8. Exercise matters. I want to know if there's a decent treadmill available and/or what my outside running options are.

9. Libraries matter. If a hotel has a great library and someone on staff that can talk locally inspired books and authors, then I'm a fan for life.

10. Music matters. Every trip should have a playlist so your brain can easily go back to the trip when you return.