Travel companion London, from the Heathrow Express to the journey home

Staying at W2 1EE on Praed Street, W2 2TY above Hyde Park or one of the hotels along Buckingham Palace Road means you are in Zone 1, and nothing about the booking is unusual. Message the desk from the airport, check in, and she normally steps off about an hour after your seat is held, a little more if the rush is on. One hour starts at £400, yet after a long flight two hours at £750 tends to feel kinder: a shower, a drink, a slow first evening that makes jet lag almost pleasant.

The hotels at Heathrow and Gatwick lie beyond Zone 2, so a different rule applies: a three hour minimum, her journey counted inside those three hours, and one total given to you before you say yes. It suits the traveller on a long layover or a dawn departure who would rather not spend a last London night alone. Tell the desk the terminal, the hotel and your flight time, and the evening will be timed around your alarm.

A companion can also travel with you, whether that means a night in Bath, a weekend of country walks in the Cotswolds or a short city break by Eurostar from St Pancras. Trips away are quoted in writing for the dates and the route you describe, with tickets and rooms agreed as part of that quote. Train seats and flights are booked as soon as the trip is agreed, so the route, the rooms and the times go into the chat in writing before a single ticket is bought. For anything abroad, raise passports and timings early, since clearing a diary for several days away takes a little longer than clearing an evening.

Laura, green eyed and toned at 169 cm, lives in Paddington, adores mountains and Italian hill towns, and is usually free for same day bookings from midday. Nora, her honey blonde neighbour in W2, especially loves an arrival evening and plans something a little special when given a day's notice.

Nancy swims, loves a road trip and has a laugh that carries clear across a station concourse. Sonya, graceful and hazel eyed, keeps early evenings from five until ten, which is perfect for a calm dinner before a late flight. Laura, Nora and Sonya all belong to our toned and athletic girls.

Airports reward a little planning. Give the desk your landing time rather than a guess at when you will reach the hotel, and allow an extra hour for passport queues at Heathrow in high summer. Before an early departure, an evening booking that ends around eleven is often wiser than an overnight, unless you would like company right up to the car. If a flight is delayed, message as soon as you know: with three hours of notice or more, a hotel booking moves or cancels at no cost.

Arrival evenings in central London and visits to the airport hotels count as hotel bookings and are confirmed in writing like any other. Trips away are travel bookings, quoted in full for the route and the dates. Everything is written into the same WhatsApp or Telegram chat before anyone leaves home, and the rates page carries the full ladder.