(Bloomberg) -- At Bloomberg Pursuits, we love to travel. And we always want to make sure we’re doing it right. So we’re talking to road warriors to learn about their high-end hacks, tips and off-the-wall experiences. These are the  Distinguished Travel Hackers .

Restaurateur Eugene Remm started his career at Level V, the bottle-service spot that was an early outpost in the reimagining of New York’s Meatpacking District 20 years ago. He went on to open his own spot nearby. TenJune—a nod to his birthday—was a celebrity magnet in the 2000s, a staple in gossip columns that defied all downturns in the middle of the Great Recession. Remm pivoted to focus on restaurants in 2011, when he opened the first site for fish-focused Catch. He’s since grown what is now Catch Hospitality Group across the US, via twin brands Catch and Catch Steak, in cities from Las Vegas to Aspen, Colorado.

Upcoming projects include Catch Miami Beach, a 23,000-square-foot outpost opening May 10 with an open-air rooftop terrace in the South of Fifth neighborhood. Additional locations in Dallas and Scottsdale, Arizona, will follow.

Remm logs around 250,000 flight miles annually, but when it comes to airlines, he’s agnostic. “Whichever one gets me fastest to where I’m going,” says Remm. He tries to avoid what he calls “chunky planes”—older aircraft. Remm’s always checking seat configurations to be certain that a given plane is equipped with the latest lie-flat seats. 

He’s also immune to the VIP chasing that bedevils so many frequent flyers. “I focus on the best flight, and that’s it. I have zero interest in status.” The 45-year-old lives with his wife in Manhattan.

A unique form of travel insurance costs $40.It was years ago that I realized how valuable the information on my phone was. Without it, I’d just be useless. I would not know how to get anywhere without Uber. I wouldn’t know what my schedule was. And I wouldn’t be able to call anybody, since I don’t memorize a single human being’s phone number aside from my mother’s.

To me, the best insurance policy for traveling is to carry a spare, old iPhone with a $40-a-month basic plan. I keep it in my carry-on, no matter what. It means you can get back to things without literally stopping your life for the next 24 hours. It’s never happened—I swear—but I don’t want it to.

When traveling for business, where you stay matters—but it’s not only about convenience.Unless you’re just looking for a bed to put your head in and then leave, the whole point of a hotel isn’t the bed. It’s the common areas and amenities provided. For a business lunch, that’s important.

If you want to connect in Los Angeles, stay at the Beverly Hills Hotel. People who live in LA will be happy to meet you there, because they always enjoy the experience. If you’re just looking to meet people at the pool, they’ll be excited to see you.

If you need some tips when traveling, don’t start where most people do.Google search is all about [search engine optimization]. When I Google things in my own city, the top 10s aren’t anything. You can trust Instagram much more than Google. Go on Instagram and find the most popular Instagrammers of that city, the ones that have the most followers for cool restaurants.

Need some help with your travel bookings? Use these two companies, and you’ll be sorted.I use a company called Ovation, started by a guy named Adam Gwosdof. Basically, they’re the best executive assistant that deals with travel, including flights. It doesn’t cost me a dollar more and they handle everything.

But when I’m booking big experiences or complex itineraries, where I need something very specific, I use a company called Open Doors. It’s much more niche, just a two- or three-person team. The gentleman who started it used to work for another concierge company I knew, and he worked in the office next door to me. I knew him when he was a young man, then he went off on his own. I’ve been to Japan with them. They organized an entire two-week trip including all meals, all translators, all special experiences.

Take a snap of your meal every time you eat out on the road.I take pictures of food everywhere I go, because to me, the most important part of every trip is understanding the cuisine of that market. And if I forget the name of the restaurant, I’ll have taken a picture of it.

I’ve been spending a lot of time in Miami—and I just went to ZZs, and the food there was particularly beautiful, as it was at Carbone. I thought Mila had a really unique take on certain dishes, and then I went to a place called La Natural in Little Haiti. It’s a simple place with very little design, but just amazing pizza and pasta. And a place called Boia De, too, which I love; it’s in a strip mall, and it’s amazing.

 Pick this travel suitcase if you’re a devoted sneakerhead.I bring the largest carry-on backpack possible, so I never have to check a bag. It’s actually a sneaker backpack from Shrine. Sneakers can literally fill up your entire carry-on. To me, if you have a backpack like this—compartmentalized for sneakers, and wide enough—you can basically get three pairs in.

Packing sneakers is a stressful thing, because you want to make sure you have a workout pair, you want a couple of fresh pairs for the trip. I wear everything, but right now I’m wearing a pair of New Balances. It’s a great way to not have to take up all the space. And it’s never been too big that I’ve been stopped from carrying it on.

Follow this rule when you’re planning a trip and need an instant read on a restaurant.If you could get a reservation on a Friday night with 30 minutes notice, be warned. If you could see there’s a wait on a Monday or Tuesday, be excited. That means that people who can go anywhere on any night choose to go there. To be busy on a Monday means that you’re a quality product, usually attracting locals who can go anywhere. If it’s busy on a Monday, then you know it’s a good place.

Remm always turns his hotel room into an instant hydration station.There’s nothing worse than not being able to drink water when you’re in your hotel room. I ask hotels to put a little tea kettle and a few cups in the room. I want boiling water in the room so I don’t have to spend 35 or 40 minutes when I wake up in the morning, ordering a cup of coffee. And I love room-temperature water. When I get into a hotel room, I immediately call the front desk and ask them to send me four room-temperature waters.

Attention New Yorkers: You don’t need to get on a plane to really get away.If you’re from New York and you don’t want to get on a plane to travel, take [a 75-minute ride] into Fairfield County, Connecticut; in the summer, you literally could be in Aspen if you close your eyes. They still have crazy mountains and beautiful scenery and greenery, lots of charming little boutiques and stores, and antique shops.

There are some great, unpretentious places, and you will know nobody. It’s not a hotspot like the Hamptons or Nantucket, or even like upstate New York is right now. It’s serene and beautiful and lacking any of the arrogance, I guess, of New York. I like Farmer & the Fish, which is a cool little place where you can tell the owners are there every day. I’m a very big fan of the staff, because it feels like they’ve worked there forever.

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