Barnett on Business Travel for 1998 WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT CHRIS Chris Barnett writes about business-travel tactics and strategies that save time and money and help minimize hassles. He is based in San Francisco and has written for a wide variety of newspapers and magazines. Chris was a contributing editor of Frequent Flyer when JoeSentMe.com founder Joe Brancatelli was the magazine's executive editor. He was the first columnist Joe approached to join JoeSentMe. Chris' column, syndicated for decades in newspapers around the country, has appeared exclusively at JoeSentMe since 2012. October 1: IS MIDWEST EXPRESS LOSING A LITTLE LUSTER? Repeatedly ranked by travelers as America's best airline, Midwest Express' gleaming crown may be tarnished a bit. In the past, Midwest Express always reminded me, and other business travelers, of the way air travel used to be: lots of personal pampering, roomy and comfortable interiors and helpful, friendly staffers. But on a trip from Milwaukee to Washington, I was startled to find Midwest uncharacteristically impersonal. January 11: TIME TO CHANGE THE RULES OF THE HOTEL GAME If you play by most hotel check-in/checkout rules, you pay theoretically for 24 hours but only get the room for 21. The other three hours are devoted to the housekeepers who sweep and tidy. So why not get a three-hour discount? Savvy road warriors and frequent pleasure travelers know the real rules of the road: Ask and ye shall usually receive at no extra cost. Copyright © 1990-2017 by Chris Barnett. All rights reserved.