Be Two Steps Ahead of Any Crisis
When everyone else is melting down, you’ll be cool as a cucumber.

8. Bad Airbnb? Nasty forecast? When your vacation looks like it’s taking a turn for the worse, salvage matters with a strategic pivot. Don’t fall prey to the fallacy of sunk costs. You can always rebook, reroute, and file your complaints and disputes from a much happier place.

9. Nothing will fix a plane full of crying babies as much as a good, stiff drink. Linden Pride, founding partner of Dante, the World’s Best Bar, says the prime option is to mix your own 50/50 martini. “Take a full cup of ice in one plastic cup, then pour equal parts vodka and vermouth over the ice [on long-haul flights, the air team will have vermouth], stir it with a plastic stirrer, then pour it back into a second plastic cup and add a rind of the lemon they’d otherwise serve you with a soft drink. There’s nothing better.”

10. Worried about a potential flight cancellation? Book a hotel proactively, says  ABC News correspondent Rebecca Jarvis. Her logic: You can’t cancel a last-minute replacement flight, but refundable rooms are easy to come by. And once that announcement is made, everyone will be scrambling for the last decent room in town—except for you.

11. Use the Flighty app to learn about flight disruptions before anyone else. Yes, it costs $50 per year, but you can get a free trial and hear about delays, cancelations, and aircraft issues well before they’re officially announced.

Turn Airports and Airplanes Into Spa-Like Experiences
Family will be impressed when you land looking (and feeling) like a million bucks.

12. Don’t have lounge access? Look for an airport yoga room. They’re free, underutilized, and usually empty, says Jarvis of ABC News.

13. Jen Rubio, co-founder and chief brand officer of luggage label Away, makes her own in-flight dopp kit to make any coach seat feel like business class: she uses perfumed, hydrating, rinse-free hand wash from Byredo instead of Purell hand sanitizer; Barbara Sturm antipollution serum to keep her skin clean and moisturized; and extremely comfortable silicone earplugs from Savears.

14. Do you shop at Sephora? Grab free samples and stash them in your carry-on bag. When you land, you’ll have a small, pampering surprise waiting for you, says Bobbi Brown.

15. Packing genius Palepu swears by coconut oil as a solution to all your beauty woes, for “everything from mangled cuticles to hangovers, dry mouths on planes—you might even be able to use it as shaving cream.”