Tagging along on the business conference your spouse is attending can be a great way to explore a new place inexpensively. It has some challenges, though—depending on the location, conference itinerary, and your level of flexibility. I recently attended the Agile 2015 conference with Steve in Washington DC. Here’s my take on the pros and cons of conference travel and tips for how to make the most of it.
Note Your Location
Agile 2015 is an annual a conference for software developers and other IT professionals. It was huge with 2,300 attendees. Consequently, the venue was massive– the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center.
The hotel is like a small town, with 2,000 guest rooms and an adjacent convention centre. There were actually at least two other conferences taking place the same week of Agile 2015. It has a magnificent view of the Potomac River, a 19-story atrium with shops, restaurants and gardens as well as fitness and pool facilities.
A view of the Gaylord from the waterfront.
Gaylord Hotel Greenery
National Harbor is about 18 kilometres (11 miles) from DC so getting to prime sight seeing spots such as the National Mall or Georgetown requires about a $50 round trip taxi or $40 Uber ride. There are daily bus shuttles, which may be less expensive depending on the number in your party. The National Harbor town site was developed in 2008 on what was previously the Salubria Plantation. It’s got a bit of a “manufactured” vibe. There are a few shops and slew of chain restaurants (fast food and upscale). There’s also an outlet mall close by with a free shuttle from the three main hotels in the area. Other attractions include the Capital Wheel (Ferris wheel) and water boat rentals.
The Awakening sculpture with the Capital Wheel in the background is the best view in National Harbor.
I was working remotely for most of the week so the location was fine with me. However, had I been tagging along on for a week’s vacation, I would have found it pretty isolated. If you’re with kids and plan to hang out at the hotel pool and maybe venture into DC for a day or two that might work, but your entertainment options are somewhat limited.
Tip: Before booking a flight to join on a spouse’s convention, check the location and its accessibility to activities and attractions so you can plan accordingly.
Prepare for little time with spouse
The company Steve works for was a sponsor of Agile 2015 and Steve’s role was to connect with people and to staff an information booth. With conference sessions all day and social events in the evening, there was not much together time. We did have one dinner together, which included Steve’s colleagues. We had an upscale dinner, half of which was expensed, and a pleasant evening with great people. No disadvantage there.
Comparing Apple Watches: Dinner out with Steve’s colleagues often means tech talk.
It so happened that my birthday fell during the time of this trip and I did not see Steve that entire day. Thank goodness for Facebook birthday greetings! I still felt like I was celebrating with friends and family throughout the day. I also treated myself to a birthday outing.
Tip: Some large conferences have options for including spouses in social events, but most don’t. This is going to mean a lot of solo time if you tag along. Do some research and plan how to make that time either productive or enjoyable.
Take a Solo Day Trip
Solo travel has many advantages including doing things you want to do when you want to do them, regardless of your travelling partner’s preferences.
On my birthday, when I knew I’d be on my own, I planned a side trip to Old Town Alexandria. National Harbor has a daily water taxi service to this historic area as well as to Georgetown and the National Mall. I booked a 4 p.m. departure and 8:15 return, just in time for a lovely sunset over the Potomac River.
The water taxi is a pleasant way to travel from National Harbor to Alexandria. It’s about a 30 minute ride.
The King Street Trolly ferries passengers along Alexandria’s main drag for free.
In Alexandria I poked around several quaint independent shops, enjoyed music by street performers and took in the Torpedo Factory Art Center, which is home to the largest collection of publicly accessible working artist studios in the U.S. This was a highlight as many of the artists were on site actively creating new pieces.
Window display at The Hour shop in Alexandria. Very stylish cocktail wares.
There’s something cool to look at around every corner at the Torpedo Factory Art Centre.
Before departing, I treated myself to an al fresco dinner at The Majestic Café.
Majestic Cafe’s Papa Weaver’s Pork Chop. Yes, I ate the whole thing. It was my birthday!
Tip: Make time for yourself. Book a spa date, rent a bike, visit sites that you would be more interested in than your spouse. I could have sulked about being alone on my birthday away from family and friends, but really, it’s just a day and moving the celebration to another time was not a big deal. To make the most of tag along travel you have to be flexible and independent.
Sneak into the party!
Remember the scene in the 2009 movie Up in the Air, when George Clooney’s character, his colleague, and his love interest sneak into an IT conference party by stealing conference badges? I lived it!
The evening before the last day of the conference, there was a huge superhero-themed party featuring live music, various yummy food stations, a Batmobile replica, and superhero actors strutting their stuff. I wanted in!
Fortunately, Steve’s co-worker had to leave the conference the day of the party. She gave me her conference credentials and I got to be her for the evening (the fact that she is Chinese American and I am not did not deter me). We decided to have some fun by taking photos of “Patricia” doing outrageous things throughout the evening and then posting them to Steve’s Instagram account. The real Patricia was a very good sport about it all.
Right from the start “Patricia” was out of control.
Superman was not impressed with “Patricia” stepping on his cape.
Tip: Even if there aren’t sanctioned spouse-included events, there may be an opportunity to “include” yourself. Get creative (and a little sneaky).
Extend your Stay
Take advantage of the fact that you and your spouse travelled for half price and tack on some time at the end of the business travel. We added a long weekend to our trip and moved hotels to one close to the National Mall. We had a super time in DC, including my belated birthday dinner. More on that in my next post.
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Great post ! my husband doesn’t do lots of conferences but we just got back from one in Sun City in South Africa so we spent a few days in Johannesburg first where I arranged a driver and then there was a fabulous ‘partners programme’ that included 2 days of safari.
I also got a pass (my own) to the evenings dinners and cocktail drinks parties. I added a post to my site a week or so ago. I’ve just planted the seed for him to give a speech there next year, all in the interests of his career of course !!
I have not done a lot of tagging along on conferences, and certainly not ones that included a partners program. If you’re an independent, flexibly traveller, it’s certainly a good way to get around.