Adventurous, Relaxing, or Both: Tips for Planning Your Non-Rev Trips

Non-rev travel can be both stressful and rewarding, offering the freedom to jet off to Tokyo for specialty KitKats or dine in London with friends at a favorite restaurant for free (or nearly free and often in style). Having traveled to 64 countries and all 50 U.S. states, here are Jez’s tips for crafting memorable, relaxing, or both types of non-rev trips.

1. Maximize Hotel Status by Being Loyal to a Chain

Stick to a hotel chain and leverage your status for perks like late check-out, free breakfast, and room upgrades. Last year, I qualified for Titanium status at Marriott, which gives me great perks like a 4 PM late check-out, free breakfast, lounge access, upgraded rooms, and even little things like free water bottles.

To further maximize your stay, use airline industry discount codes. I’ve found these codes through various Facebook airline non-rev community pages or by contacting the hotel directly. The best part is that these codes still qualify you to earn elite qualifying nights and points. It also gives you greater flexibility, as many of these rates can be changed or canceled the day before or even the day of. Just make sure to always bring your airline ID in case they need to verify your employment.

2. Consider Location: City Center vs. Airport

Opt for accommodations close to the city center for convenience and savings on commute time. Especially when most of my non-rev travel is either 24 or 48 hours. There’s also something relaxing about simply walking back to your hotel after a nice dinner or going back in the middle of the day to take a quick refresher or power nap.

Alternatively, choose airport hotels for quick access after long-haul flights and early morning departures. Especially after landing from a long-haul flight, I only want to drop my bags off and shower. It also saves me time on the return if my flight leaves early in the morning. These locations are also more commonly included in the airline industry discount rates, while many of the city locations are not.

3. Seek Out a Nice Rooftop

One of the most underrated amenities is a good rooftop, whether at your hotel, restaurant, coffee shop, bar, or co-working space.

Travel can be overwhelming and overstimulating, so sometimes it’s nice to retreat to a safe and relaxing space after a day of adventure while feeling like you are part of the city. One of my fondest memories of traveling was watching the sunset grace the sky in Athens, Greece, while I was enjoying a nice plate of fresh pasta, homemade potato chips with truffle oil, and a crisp bottle of Coke. Ahhh.

4. Do Food Tours

Explore local cuisine through food tours for adventurous culinary experiences. I have done food tours in cities like Paris, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Reykjavik, and all these experiences were some of the most adventurous ones I’ve had traveling. It’s perfect for a short trip as you can typically see where locals eat and frequent without doing too much research or trial and error. I recommend doing it at the start of your trip so you can return to your favorite stops later if you have time. I typically book through Viator for the flexible cancelation policy via their Book Now and Pay Later options. If there is availability and you’re already in the city, booking directly with the tour provider can sometimes be cheaper.

5. Create Your Own Snack Adventure

Before joining the industry, we used to have a snack box subscription where they sent us a selection of snacks from a specific country every month. Now that I can fly anywhere in the world, I can go to foreign grocery stores and try out different kinds of savory and sweet snacks that I would not find back home. This is also a perfect opportunity to take some fresh food back to your hotel for a relaxing nightcap with items you may not be able to bring home due to customs regulations.

6. Tap into TikTok for Recommendations

In addition to Google Maps and reviews, I love using TikTok as a search engine to look up places to eat and see. I love the visual and first-hand perspective. Reading the comments is also helpful to verify or deny a place’s hype.

7. Create Your Own Mini-Traditions

As a Filipino-American, I am passionate about my heritage. Whenever possible, I love to support local Filipino restaurants during my travels around the world. It’s comforting to eat the food and interesting to see how they adapt some dishes to the local taste or ingredients they can access. This has been my long-standing mini-tradition, and I love seeing my community thrive in the most unlikely places despite being far from home.

Non-rev is an incredible privilege that you work hard for, so it’s important to be thoughtful in maximizing your time traveling. Whether your intent is to have an adventure, relaxation, or a little of both – a little bit of planning can go a long way. But it’s also about being flexible given the nature of ever-changing loads, IROPS, and other factors, so centering your planning on flexible hotel bookings and tour options and keeping an open mind is key.

About Jez: Jez was born in the Philippines and grew up in New York City. Ever since he was a kid, he has been obsessed with aviation, which eventually led to his passion for travel. He has been to 64 countries and all 50 U.S. states. His favorite places are Copenhagen, Tokyo, Sydney, Queenstown, and Istanbul. Jez joined the industry in 2018 while he was in college as an intern with Southwest Airlines and now currently works for United Airlines in Customer Strategy & Innovation.