Source: http://worldcityweb.com/home/MIA/publications/magazine/15/593/

Sky Warrior

by Joachim Bamrud

Eduardo Hauser, executive vice president of Fort Lauderdale-based AOL Latin America, oversees the operation of the AOL online services in the Latin American region, as well as the company’s advertising sales and business affairs areas.

How many business trips did you take this past year? How many days did you spend away from home?

On average, I traveled every three weeks. I estimate that I spent about 86 days away from home.

How many air miles did you log last year?

Less than in prior years. In fact, American Airlines made a nice concession allowing me to keep my Executive Platinum status despite only logging 99,000 (The airline’s threshold is 100,000 miles.)

How many miles did you put on your car last year?

About 15,000.

Three most frequent destinations?

New York City, Sao Paulo, Mexico City

What do you do to relax when you are away on business?

I usually take several movies, thanks to two great services: Netflix and Movielink. Depending on the hotel’s facilities, I usually work out in the evening, order room service and go to bed as early as I can.

What is your favorite hotel for business travel?

The Grand Hyatt Hotel in Sao Paulo. This hotel offers an amazing combination: It is a large hotel, so it provides all the facilities that you’d expect in a major world-class hotel, but the service is highly personalized. In addition, it’s one of the few hotels that I have visited recently where the rooms are designed with the needs of the business traveler in mind. A very good desk for working, great lighting, sound proof rooms, quiet a/c. The health club is tops; the food is fantasticI could go on and on

Do you have favorite restaurants when you travel?

I usually have several “favorites” in each city that I visit

In Sao Paulo my favorites are Figueira Rubaiyat; Massimo; Rodeio; Jardineira Grill; Antiquarius. Kinu maybe one of the best Japanese restaurants I have ever visited, but it’s expensive. Sao Paulo has such an amazing culinary offering In Mexico City, I love Los Almendros (I prefer the one in Polanco try the Tzik de Venado); La Pigua serves amazing fare from Campeche (mostly seafood); El Charco de las Ranas offers some of the best tacos in town (the tacos al pastor are great); actor Diego Luna’s Sushi Groove is a lot of fun, serves great drinks and offers good people watching, especially at dinner time; I like Villa Maria for its Mariachis and it’s the perfect place to take visitors; Patricia Quintana’s Izote offers great Mexican nouvelle cuisine Caracas steakhouses are fantastic. Carso and Lee Hamilton’s are some of the most traditional steak ones. I love the Maute Grill for carne a la parrilla and good local fare. Also Mokambo offers very good eclectic food and is conveniently located in Las Mercedes. Spanish food in Caracas is very good and I like the Urrutia in Sabana Grande. In Buenos Aires, besides the obvious Cabaa de Las Lilas, there is Sucre; and El Parrillon del Pobre Luis.

If you had to spend a weekend away from home on business, where would you like to be stuck?

Either Caracas or NYC. It’s the two cities where I have family. Outside of these two, I love the weekends in San Francisco.

What cellphone do you use? Does it work in all your destinations?

I use AT&T wireless (now owned by Cingular). It does work in all the cities that I visit. Travelers sometimes confuse between the carrier having coverage and the phone having the proper band. With GSM, travelers need to make sure that their handset operates in the local band. I recommend GSM quad-band phones for near region-wide coverage.

How do you pass the time while onboard?

Reading or watching a movie, when not asleep.

What is your favorite airport? VIP lounge?

Is there such a thing as a favorite airport? If I had to pick a favorite airport, surely I would pick a small one like Palm Beach International followed by Fort Lauderdale. Of the major airports that I travel to, I think Ezeiza (Buenos Aires) is among the best; the Departures wing has been modified and is well designed. I don’t mind doing some shopping at Amsterdam’s Schiphol.

PET PEEVE:When traveling on business, what annoying thing or problem or inconvenience drives you absolutely crazy?

Several things: Long lines at the airport, especially the immigration lines inbound and outbound at Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos; hotels with an inflexible check-in/check-out policy; hawkers at airports, especially “pirate” bag handlers and taxi drivers.