Traveling Providers: What do you love/hate about touring?

[guest060112-3]

I just wanted other women to weigh in on what they liked about touring and what they didn't like. As for me I really enjoy when I'm going through smaller towns that don't get a lot of providers because the gentlemen are so eager and happy to have a woman come through who's looking to have a fun time.

I also like going to new restaurants and visiting old favorites since my main traveling trail at the moment is overlapping my previous dancing travel-trail so I have several years of going back and forth on various big highways. Travelling also makes it so much nicer to go out with clients and providers for a bite to eat or a drink to get out of the hotel, and have a new experience

I'm not a huge fan of the heat, so that's a downside at the moment, but in a little while I'll be visiting the beach so that'll be an upside

Oh, and I LOVE coming across providers who have a strong regional presence but also travel a little bit. There's been a handful of really friendly, informative, witty women who've just been a real pleasure to get reference requests from, and I'm really looking forward to having a stronger networking friendship with them in the future.

One downside is obviously the expense of hotels--which is a given, but when I'm travelling I'm more stuck time-wise with a few choices, versus really doing my research and liking and trusting a handful of hotels I've stayed at in certain towns. So going into a new town that I don't have any experience in can sometimes be a little bit of a pain. I just wish when it came to Priceline that I could specifically request certain amenities before bidding.

[shorty]

I can see where hotels is the biggest headache for touring ladies. Which hotel is in the right part of town and newly built or remodeled.

[LynnT]

I like it all around.

The only thing I hate is the creeps/scammers come out of the woodwork trying to take advantage of a visitor.

[Guest101811-4]

Originally Posted by shorty

I can see where hotels is the biggest headache for touring ladies. Which hotel is in the right part of town and newly built or remodeled.

Originally Posted by SugarBeth

I just wanted other women to weigh in...

Yup. That's what I thought it said.

[kattimakittykatt]

Originally Posted by SugarBeth

One downside is obviously the expense of hotels--which is a given, but when I'm travelling I'm more stuck time-wise with a few choices, versus really doing my research and liking and trusting a handful of hotels I've stayed at in certain towns. So going into a new town that I don't have any experience in can sometimes be a little bit of a pain. I just wish when it came to Priceline that I could specifically request certain amenities before bidding.

Just an FYI, betterbidding.com is a godsend. It's not 100% fool proof, but once you learn how to work the hotel rating system, it's guaranteed to take A LOT of the guess work out of hotwire and priceline.

As for me, the biggest upside is getting to experience new places (many of which I probably never would've visited otherwise) and people. Different accents, different food, different paces of life; it fascinates me to see how differently people live, although they're living a relatively short distance away from me. Another upside of touring is networking with other providers. One of the biggest downsides is getting lonely; I especially miss my cat when I'm on tour for any length of time. Also, sometimes I really wish I could get out and really explore some of the fabulous cities I visit, but at the end of the day, I'm there to work, not to play, and with the costs of hotels and flights, I can't always afford to block time out of my tour schedule to go galavanting.

[1ThickBlond]

I absolutely love to tour, especially extended road trips. It's like being on one big adventure. I get to explore new places, meet new people, have fun and make money doing it. It's awesome! Houston is home for me and the market is pretty saturated here so it is nice to visit some smaller markets where they truly appreciate it when a good provider comes to visit. I also enjoy finding new and interesting places to eat wherever I am visiting. I always ask my clients for suggestions on the little places that the locals like to go to.

I totally agree with LynnT about the creeps coming out of the woodwork playing games or trying to get over on the new girl.

My main downside with touring is having to lose the 5-10 extra pounds I gain from all of the eating out while I am on the road.