Car chief Paul McLoughlin travels so light on business trips that he doesn’t
even take toiletries and pays a hotel concierge to buy him new shirts.
“I suppose I take travelling light to the extremes and will never check
anything in on a transatlantic flight,” said McLouglin. “If I’m in Boston,
which is fairly often, there’s a shopping mall opposite our hotel which
stays open all hours and I’ll buy toiletries from there. I never iron
anything and the first thing I’ll do is give the concierge everything in my
bag and get it back pristine clean the next day. I’ll also tell him my size
and the colours I like and he’ll go and get me some new shirts. But I never
put the charges on my expense claim!”
Paul McLoughlin, 38, is the UK managing director of Zipcar,
the company which provides cars for use by the hour. It currently has
250,000 members and 5,500 vehicles in several cities around the world. Last
year it achieved a total turnover of around £75 million across all its
operations and McLoughlin travels frequently, particularly to Paris, Spain,
Boston and New York, to visit staff and customers.
Why don’t you check anything in?
I struggle with the fact that the bags might not be there at the other end and
waiting will make me late. But it causes problems. If you are first off the
plane, you have no problem at passport control, but then at customs you come
across as suspicious if you’ve only got one bag. I’ve been interrogated for
three hours at Boston by officials who’ve said ‘you’re here for five days,
how are you going to manage with such a small case?’ I should have learned
my lesson by now and just checked bags in!
Have you always been like that?
It started in 2006, because I was living a double life, working in London and
staying in a flat in Pimlico during the week and then flying home to my
family just outside Belfast on a Friday evening. I never checked anything in
because I didn’t want to waste time waiting for bags when I could have been
with my family. I just had two sets of clothes – one for my London life and
one for home. But then we all moved to England and some sanity was restored.
What do you look for in a hotel?
In Boston, we go straight to one of the Kimpton hotels, which are lovely
boutique properties where I’ve been six or seven times. The personal service
is great. In other US cities it’ll be either Kimpton or Westin – you can’t
beat the latter’s Heavenly Beds for a decent night’s sleep. I like a hotel
to have a gym and usually have the best intentions of using one, and of
course you need internet connectivity. I’m not really bothered about the
hotel restaurants, because I don’t tend to eat in the hotel.
Do you always use your own company for business?
I do – I don’t own a car, although my wife does because she has to be able to
transport our two children. I live in Sevenoaks and so I’m living the dream
of getting on public transport every day, taking the train to our office in
London Bridge. But if I’m going to a meeting from the office or I need a car
for the weekend, I’ll use a zipcar. I’m an Audi man and like the A3, but
also use the Toyota Prius. I’m not saying that we are only focused on the
environment. We’ve got to make a return on the business, but if we can also
do our bit for the environment in the process, then so much the better.
What’s your view of the public transport?
