When Delta Air Lines raised its fee for a second piece of luggage to $25, it may have occurred to business travelers to drop their luggage at a UPS store on their way to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

UPS stores will accept luggage, though sending luggage via shippers such as Sandy Springs-based UPS and its biggest rivals FedEx and DHL isn't necessarily cheaper than paying airlines' luggage fees.

Sending a 50-pound piece of luggage on a Friday from Peachtree Street to arrive Monday on Wall Street would require shipping via air. That would cost as much as $280 with UPS next-day service.

But if the traveler could wait until Tuesday for the luggage to arrive, the cost is abut $33 via UPS two-day ground shipment.

For the truly pampered traveler, who can't stand the security lines, waiting at the baggage carousel or even taking luggage to a UPS store, there is a luxury alternative. Companies such as Boston-based Luggage Forward will pick up the luggage from the traveler's house and have it waiting at the hotel. In some cases, the hotel will unpack the bag in the guest's room. That would cost as much as $309.

"Bookings during Memorial Day week were up 399 percent this year over last year," said Zeke Adkins, one of Luggage Forward's founders. "We think it's not only related to baggage fees but the inconvenience of an additional transaction. Our price point doesn't overlap with 15 or 25 bucks, but we're giving you a lot more."

Clients can also sign up for a wireless alert when the bag arrives at its destination. "The airlines don't do that," Adkins said.

The closest UPS gets is a tracking number.