Renowned event planner Colin Cowie has authored several guidebooks for brides, grooms and those throwing dinner parties. In his latest and slightly broader tome Colin Cowie Chic: The Guide To Life as It Should Be, the style guru doles out advice on subjects like home decorating, hosting and gracefully handling work-related challenges. And though, in the travel chapter, Cowie’s overarching mantra is “surrender to the journey” (particularly when dealing with traffic jams and airline delays), there are many concrete suggestions on how to travel with style and class. Below are some of the highlights.

On Packing

“Efficiency is everything! I make every possible effort to get where I’m going with only carry-on luggage.”

On Looking Good

“If I’m traveling in the winter months, I wear only dark colors. I find it easier to maintain a tidy, pulled-together appearance if I’m wearing black, charcoal, or navy blue.”

“By changing your accessories, you can greatly increase the versatility of your clothing. Three different scarves and pairs of sunglasses can transform a single look from day to night, hip to conservative.”

“If I’m bringing a suit with me, I take it out immediately when I get to my hotel room and hang it in the bathroom so that when I run a hot shower, most times the steam takes out any wrinkling or squashing the fabric may have endured during the flight.”

On Flying

“Wear comfortable but sharp-looking clothing. If there’s one seat available for an upgrade to first-class, they’re not going to ask the person who’s wearing Smurf gym shorts.”

“Seats in the exit aisle and the bulkhead have more legroom, but often don’t recline all the way. The same recline problem is true for the last row of any class.”

“First-class seats in the first row have no room to stow a computer or handbag, since there is no seat in front of you. The second row is my favorite!”

“If your flight is delayed, booking a second or even third backup reservation is wise given today’s security concerns. Better yet, while you are waiting for an update regarding your delay, call your travel agent and start your backup plan right away, because the moment the airline makes the announcement, three hundred other people will be doing the same thing.”

On Staying Healthy

“I am an ardent devotee of the immune-boosting product known as Airborne. Air travel, unfortunately, always means breathing recirculated air.”

“Before boarding the plane, I swallow a single aspirin, which can help ward off deep-vein thrombosis, or ministrokes, which occur when a clot temporarily clogs an artery, and a section of the brain doesn’t get the blood it needs.”

“I never use the blankets or pillows provided by commercial airlines unless they’re in sealed plastic covers. Airline cleaning crews launder those blankets only once every eight flights, and frankly, that’s about seven too few washings for me. I bring my own travel pillow as well.”

On Tipping

“One of the first things I do when I arrive at a hotel is tip the hotel concierge approximately twenty dollars a day for every day of my stay. If I plan on staying five days that comes to a hundred dollars. That may sound excessive, but the effort the concierge will then make to earn his money (and my respect) is well worth the price.”

“The best way to tip someone is to enclose the bills in a handshake or, more elegantly, to fold them in an envelope with a thank-you note. I always travel with several sheets of my own personal stationary.”

“I will often pretip in a restaurant, particularly if I am hosting a large party of friends. I take the waitperson aside beforehand and let them know that if they take good care of me, I will take good care of them.”

“There’s no need to tip the airlines reservations clerk who scrambled to get you on a full flight at the very last minute. Instead of a tip, I’ll ask for her card and later send her a personal letter, along with a box of chocolates or a CD.”

On the Concierge vs. the General Manager

“The concierge deals with guests’ needs and makes reservations. The general manager runs the hotel. Discuss arrangements with the concierge, hotel problems with the general manager.”

“If I’m traveling to an unfamiliar city. I will contact the concierge well in advance to ask if there is anything I should absolutely see, hear, taste, feel, or otherwise experience. I’ll then ask the concierge to make the necessary arrangements. Placing a call before your arrival has the additional benefit of alerting the entire hotel staff of your visit. In most top-flight hotels, the GM, concierge and crew have daily and weekly meetings to discuss their upcoming arrivals.”

“If this is a hotel you travel to frequently, make a point of getting to know the general manager. If you’ve had a particular pleasant stay, write a note thanking him when you get home. The next time you return, you’ll probably find a bottle of wine or box of chocolates in your room to welcome you back.”

Read Colin Cowie: My Kind of Mykonos.