On the Road: Alon Baranowitz
The founder of a global architecture and interior design business, Alon Baranowitz shares his travel highlights
DETAILS
Name: Alon Baranowitz.
Position & company: Founder and Creative Director, Baranowitz + Kronenberg Architecture.
Nature of your business: Architecture and interiors for lifestyle venues including hotels, restaurants, clubs and event spaces. To name just a few examples:
W Amsterdam, Sir Joan Hotel in Ibiza, Mad Fox Club Amsterdam and we're currently busy with W Ibiza, W Prague and The Milan EDITION. Based in: Mainly Tel Aviv, but we also have an office in Amsterdam. Business trips per year: 30. Estimated annual mileage:
Around 60,000 miles.
Regular destinations: Los Angeles, New York, Barcelona, Ibiza, Milan and Prague.
Most recent trip: Barcelona and
Los Angeles.
Next trip: Ibiza to visit an upcoming project there.
GOOD & BAD
Best business travel experience: Early morning jogging along the New York Highline and feeling the Big Apple waking up.
Worst business travel experience: Flying out of Heathrow Airport on Christmas Eve.
SUPPLIERS
Preferred airline or hotel and why: Chiltern Fire House in London for keeping the kitchen open especially for us for a very late dinner – and embracing us with a great bottle of Champagne after we won the Best Bar and Restaurant Award. How they found out about it, I will never know. Loyalty points – obsessive collector or not bothered? Just keep flying and the points will eventually reveal themselves...
Favourite loyalty scheme: There isn’t one that clinches it for me, which says more about them.
STEPPING ONBOARD
Flights: work, rest or play?
All of the above.
Onboard connectivity – take it or leave it? Stay unplugged.
Onboard habits: I always start off with a great expectation to catch up on work – which usually dissolves at high altitude into a good read, a sketch or a power nap.
DESTINATIONS
Happy never to go back to: Buenos Aires Airport during a strike. It was like something out of Kafka but with a South American touch. Send me back to: The endless pristine beaches in the Algarve, Portugal. Top overseas landmark: You can't beat the bright blue icebergs in the stunning Torres Del Paine National Park, Chile.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
One thing that would improve business travel: Definitely having more speedy e-gates at airports. I hate the queues.
Biggest business travel irritation: Why do hotels always have tiny amenity kits and little bottles of shampoo? They are next to useless and certainly not luxury.
Pack light or go prepared?
In between – I would say I am lightly prepared!
Never leave home without:
A good book. Traveling allows me ample time to catch up on my reading list.
TRAVEL POLICY
Stick to the travel policy or a bit of a maverick? I don’t think I’ve got time to improvise.
If you could change one thing about your travel policy: Abandon early morning flights.