Travel hacking has nothing to do with cheap travel

There seems to be a misconception out in the world about travel and the money we pay for it. There are permanent nomads who claim to “travel” all the time. They tend to sleep on other people’s couches, camper vans or hostels. On the other end of the spectrum is the belief that travel is expensive. A friend once told me she was saving for a trip to Germany with her son, and her savings goal was 20,000 (!) dollars to turn that dream into a reality.

I’m not (at all) about cheap travel. I usually enjoy staying in luxury properties around the world. I call the Bellagio in Las Vegas, one of the most beautiful hotels in the world, my home away from home. In San Fransisco I had the privilege of staying in the gorgeous Palace Hotel for a recent conference. Some of my stories create the illusion travel is an expensive rich-mans-game. More than once I’ve been asked whether I was a millionaire, or have some sort of travel secret.

It’s true. I travel all the time. My travel secrets resulted in a tra…