The Web Is Your Navigator

If you're a baby boomer, your annual summer vacation might have been planned by the AAA. It delivered by mail a TripTik, complete with strip maps and thick blue lines to denote your route. TripTiks are Web-based now, and the AAA will do it instantly for all comers. Plus, you've got a host of alternatives: Mapquest, Google Maps, and many more. You'll never get lost again—unless you want to, of course. And there is a wonderful new player in the navigation market: the major hotel "families" such as Marriott, Hilton, and InterContinental. Each has literally thousands of hotels, and each offers an advanced "by route" search function that will pinpoint lodging options along any itinerary you select. For my most recent road trip, I used Hilton's "by route" search, and it generated all of the Hampton Inns, Hilton Garden Inns, and Homewood Suites along the way. Hilton not only got all of my business on the trip, I padded my Hilton HHonors frequent-guest account nicely.

The New Bed and Breakfast Battle

Statistics tell us that America is over-hoteled—four in 10 rooms are empty on an average night—and anecdotal observations prove it too. Even smaller cities and towns have at least one lodging option sporting the flag of a major chain. And they are all battling over the business-travel basics: better beds, more lavish breakfasts, and good Internet access. The aforementioned big chains—Hilton, Marriott (with Courtyard, Residence, Fairfield, and SpringHill), and Intercontinental (with Holiday Inn and its distinct Holiday Inn Express brand)—dominate the interstates nationwide. But Hyatt is growing fast with its well-regarded Hyatt Place concept. Several smaller chains, most notably Drury and Red Roof, also have their dedicated customers. Other familiar roadside brands—Best Western, Motel 6, and the myriad of chains controlled by Choice and Wyndham—tend to be less consistent from property to property. The trick is to find the combination of price, location, and free amenities that work for you.

The Coupon Connection

Although I recommend sticking with one chain wherever possible—it'll build your frequent-stay points, and the elite status matters—there's a burgeoning market for hotel discounting via coupons. Operations such as Roomsaver, Travel Coupons, and Hotel Coupons offer special "walk-up" rates if you're willing to travel without reservations or can't plan ahead. There are even road-specific guides such as the Interstate 95 Exit Guide, the Interstate Highway Guide, and I Travel, a service that specializes in displaying interstate-based lodging information on your smartphone.

Travel With the Basics

Any dedicated ground-traveling road warrior will tell you that the keys to a successful trip are the basics: a good cooler, plenty of ice, and a travel mug. A cooler serves a myriad of functions besides keeping beverages cold. It allows you to expand your meal options to the elaborate prepared take-away items available at supermarkets such as Whole Foods and regional competitors such as Wegman's. And since some roadside motels now have in-room microwaves, you can even indulge in the heat-and-eat options those markets offer. (If your stomach won't stomach one more take-out meal, consider options such as Chowhound, where rabid foodies exchange tips about great dining.) Meanwhile, if you have a big, honking travel mug, you can fill up on coffee at your hotel or at a convenience store, Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts, or a local coffee bar.

Creature Comforts

If you like luxurious towels, bring your own, because roadside lodgings, no matter how good they are, tend to have rather paltry offerings. (By the way, a lot of hotels have guest-accessible washers and dryers.) If you're an eat-in-your-room-while-you-work type, carry your own utensils. Most roadside hotels don't offer room service, so you'll be relying on take-away meals, and carry-out joints specialize in plastic utensils. And always travel with an RJ-45 cable; hotels often have wired Internet in their room and forget to provide the cable.

The Amtrak Option

The fate of nationwide passenger rail was essentially sealed when the Eisenhower administration made interstate highways America's mass-transit option. But for all of its all-too-obvious flaws, Amtrak does have some benefits. Of course, those benefits tend to be concentrated on the coasts. Fourteen of Amtrak's busiest stations are located either along the Boston-Washington corridor or in California. If you are using Amtrak elsewhere, the problem is getting to and from your final destination from the train station. One potential solution: Enterprise Rent-A-Car recently struck a deal with Amtrak to extend the chain's "we'll pick you up" policy to many train stations. It has established a special reservation number (866-836-4091) and also a venture tied to Amtrak's Guest Rewards frequency program.

The Fine Print…

Bus travel as an option for business travelers isn't practical, although Greyhound says one in five of its passengers claim to be riding for business reasons. But there is a luxury bus line called Limoliner that operates between midtown Manhattan and Boston's Back Bay. And a new-wave line called Megabus operates cheap and cheery service between 19 Midwest and 14 Northeast cities.