Like many businessmen clutching leather travel cases on one hand and a plane ticket on another, I am a mobile worker - always on the move, without an office or a swivel chair to call his own. To be more precise, I am a financial management consultant who lives his life in hotels. I have a business card without an address. Ha! I am not making a point about how glamorous the job is; rather, I am fascinated by the fact that I have become, essentially, my own travel agent. I look for my own online deals; I employ my own strategies; make my own itineraries; book my own trips.

One of the most important decisions for any traveler like me - whether leisure or business - is find out where to stay. A bed and breakfast lodge? A classy condominium-cum-hotel? An obscure traveler's inn on the outskirts of downtown? A beach resort, an all-inclusive five-star hotel, a humble but practical apartment, or a vacation rental? Will I indulge myself, or make a choice that is reasonably priced? My preferences are not invariable: they depend on factors such as value-for-money, season (peak of off-peak), duration of stay, mode of transportation, etc. Where shall I stay? Where do I make my bed tonight? I face these choices daily, so that is why I use the Internet to look up the best online deals and promotions for hotels. The only place I won't consider is the one that is owned by Norman Bates.

It's a hassle, I must admit, the extracurricular tasks. I would hire a personal travel agent, except that I'm a direct-to-direct kind of guy, and because the extra hard work does pay off anyway. Literally. After I have made my hotel bookings from online deals, I often find out that I was able to accumulate an incredible amount of savings - most of them coming from booking discounts, cash-back rebates, credit card points, membership discounts, and loyalty guest promotions. This is important: just like expenses that come from your own pocket, savings earned and made also take on a cumulative effect. And the numbers will surprise you every time you look at it; they always do.

Anyway, my traveling on business can be made rewarding when I am able to save big on costs other than that incurred in looking for accommodation. It helps me take my mind off of the amount of money I am spending. Imagine the things you have to spend when you're always on the move: food, communication and phone calls, transportation, coffee, the occasional night-out, and the occasional "I bought this in such and such" souvenir item. Thus, when I fire up the computer before a trip, I make sure to search website after website for affordable car rentals, airline tickets, travel luggage, accessories, supplies, tour packages and other money-saving online deals for travel. That way, nothing I spend on can be described as unnecessary - which is what a smart and frugal business traveler should always be able to say.

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