Mark Peacock is the host of the TravelCommons podcast, one of the longest running travel radio shows on the internet. Mark has been a frequent business traveler for more than 30 years.  He travels all over the world for high-tech companies and management consultancies.  

Mark Peacock’s first TravelCommons podcast was recorded in May 2005 in the bathroom of the Wardman Park Marriott in Washington, DC. Originally, TravelCommons was going to be travel blog, but Mark turned out producing the “Voice of the Traveler” podcast.  Ask Mark frequently says, “it is more about the journey than the destination.”

Mark has lived all over the United States, and is currently living in Chicago for the third time with his wife and two kids.

In this episode of The Millennial Travel Podcast I discuss with Mark Peacock: 

• How Mark started a travel podcast and hosts one of the oldest travel podcasts on the internet.
• How Mark started TravelCommons podcast in a hotel bathroom in 2005 and what has kept him going.
• How does Mark get any work done while traveling? Does travel spark creativity? 
• How technology interrupts our ability to chat with the people around us while traveling. 
• Why Mark advises his family not to travel during “rush hour” in airports on Monday mornings and Thursday evenings. 
• Should you invest in TSA Precheck? 
• Why Mark always focuses on flying with one airline, goes to the airline lounges, and has the airport credit cards.
• Does Mark get upgraded as a frequent business traveler and is airline status worth it? Why is it more difficult to get upgrades these days? 
• Mark Peacock’s tips for rental cars. Should you lock in your gas price with a rental car company? Is it worth it? 
• What are some of Mark’s craziest travel stories as a business traveler?
• Mark’s tips for traveling during the winter and having backup plans. 

The Millennial Travel Podcast Rapid Fire Questions I ask Mark Peacock: 

• Favorite domestic airport
• • Terminal 2 in San Francisco 
• Favorite international airport
• Favorite airline
• Favorite booking website 
• • Direct with airlines, but search with Google 
• Favorite travel bloggers
• • Craig and Linda Indie Travel Podcast past Millennial Travel Podcast guests!
  • Chris Christensen Amateur Traveler another past podcast guest of ours! 
  • Flyer Talk--The World’s Most Popular Frequent Flyer Website
  • The Cranky Flyer--an airline industry blog
  • Boarding Area--required reading for frequent flyers 

Resources from Mark Peacock: 

• TravelCommons.com
• Twitter @Mpeakcock
• Facebook TravelCommons
• Instagram @TravelCommons

You can find all the links and past show notes on millennialtravelpodcast.com

Direct support for The Millennial Travel Podcast comes from The Millennial Travel Guidebook: Escape More, Spend Less, & Make Travel a Priority in Your Life.

Looking for more great content? Check out The Ultimate Guide to Solo Travel.

Casey Fenton is the founder of Couchsurfing, a global travel community, especially great for solo travelers. Casey helped to spearhead the sharing economy & grow the platform to over 20 million users worldwide.  I consider the platform to be one of the best domestic and international travel hacks and for solo travel on a budget.   Casey is also co-founder of Upstock, a cloud-based platform to give employee equity in the company they work for.

If you don’t know the meaning of “couch surfing” it’s basically where you stay on someone’s couch when traveling.  The platform Couchsurfing however doesn’t mean you have to sleep on someone’s couch… The point of Couchsurfing is  to “share authentic travel experiences” and your host will put you up in their home absolutely free. 

In this episode of The Millennial Travel Podcast I discuss with Casey Fenton, Founder of Couchsurfing: 

• His story going to Iceland
• • How a trip to Iceland was an impetuous for him starting Couchsurfing and us starting Under30Experiences. 
  • The story of how Couchsurfing started
  • How Casey flew to Iceland as a solo traveler and decided to find a couch to sleep on with locals
  • Why Casey loves Iceland and has traveled their five times
  • The quick story how Under30Experiences started.
• Why Casey Fenton is starting his new company in Iceland and is mentoring Iceland Startups
• How they picked the name “couchsurfing”.
• How Casey Fenton got the “travel bug” and considered himself an explorer. 
• How he got over a break up by traveling and buying plane tickets to random places. 
• Casey Fenton’s formula for intensity, diversity, and frequency of experience, and how he got out of his comfort zone. 
• His idea for “hacking destiny”. 
• What Casey Fenton learned about himself traveling? 
• • He learned to be less shy, and improved himself. 
• Some examples of how Casey traveled to different places and how Couchsurfing was a great travel hack for saving money
• Casey Fenton’s idea of “ego hacking”.
• • The book that opened up Casey’s eyes that we are all sleep.
  • How a silly fight with his best friend opened his eyes to a lot of things about life.
  • Casey’s idea of a “feedback ratio”. 
  • Why it’s important to have ego and how we can use it as a tool. 
  • How we can avoid suffering through non-attachment
• How to learn to trust yourself more and let others trust you. 
• Casey finishes talking about his startup Upstock and how you can incentivize employees with equity to anyone in your company with his tool. 

Resources from Casey Fenton:

• Book: In Search of the Miraculous 
• Couchsurfing.com 
• Upstock.io
• CaseyFenton.com to sign up his newsletter

You can find all the links and past show notes on millennialtravelpodcast.com

Direct support for The Millennial Travel Podcast comes from The Millennial Travel Guidebook: Escape More, Spend Less, & Make Travel a Priority in Your Life... and from our new USA hiking and camping trips at Under30Experiences!