Out of the Office – Whats hot in travel + deals and information to make a gals travel life smooth sailing
At TripIt offices checking out their technology. This screen shows all the trips happening at once. Pretty awesome.
Let’s talk about travel organization apps. I have been traveling consistently for the last few years, and have just now discovered an app that has saved soo much time. If I had known about this earlier, I would have been a very happy camper. TripIt.Haven’t heard of it? It’s a 5 year old company that is revolutionizing how we store our travel information. They were recently awarded “Best Travel Mobile App” by the Webby Awards in 2011 and ranked among TIME Magazine’s “50 Best Websites” in 2009. Remember the ol’ days where we actually printed our itineraries and brought them to the airport? Oh, wait! People still do that! Well now that it’s 2011, this app is making everyone savvy, organized travelers. Prior to the app, I would also keep all my travel information through email. Or print off all my confirmations and put it in my travel folder and bring it with me to the airport. Today, I simply book the trip! The app will actually auto import from Gmail new travel confirmations (you can also forward itineraries to plans@tripit.com).
Viola! When I arrive at the airport or need to change a flight or just need to find the right gate, its all good! Everything is stored through the app. Any additional details (show times or dinner reservations) that I need to add later can be done manually online . Once it’s in my phone, I don’t even bother to send it to my calendar because the interface of the app keeps the data looking nice and organized. If you are planning a group vacation this year and want to keep everyone afloat with all the details, add them to your trip online so they can comment and make changes. No more emails back and forth. Genius.
TripIt alert on price change
So yes, I am a big fan of this app and so much so that I recently visited their office space in San Francisco’s Mission District. Amy Jackson, PR, gave me a quick tour and some updates and tips. She said, “TripIt acts like your personal travel assistant that keeps travelers in the know about flight status, flight tracking, gate changes and even maps”. She said “if you are a frequent traveler, TripIt Pro is a premium service that provides even more features like flight refunds and a travel point tracker”. The annual $49 subscription is worth it given the nifty flight refund system. I love this feature as it not only alerted me about a $30 price drop in my ticket, but sent me information on how to call the airline and what to say when asking for the difference. A few weeks ago, it also paid for itself when my flight was delayed by 6 hours. Received the text alert right before I got to the airport. Hooray for no gross expensive airport food for 6 hours!
Amy also mentioned for GPH readers that own a small business, “TripIt provides visibility into employee travel for small to medium-sized businesses. The TripIt for Business dashboard is a great solution for handing all business travel”. It basically can create personal itineraries that will make you look like the most organized person on the planet.
Set up an account with TripIt. You can do it right in the app or at the TripIt website.
I am a total Geek for Tripit (you will be too).
Happy travels!
Kat
Kat writes a monthly feature Out of the Office, what's hot in travel + deals and information to make a gals travel life smooth sailing. Her day job consists of traveling to the top colleges around the nation to talk to students about life after college. She consistently takes time every month to turn her “out of office” on and relax from work. When she’s not on the white sandy beaches of Cancun or Hawaii she can be found researching where the next happening spot will be. She is passionate about encouraging ladies to get their “OOF” on and experience quality vacations. She'd love to hear from you at facebook.com/ketreona-say.
* This post is from a Girl Power Hour featured blogger. It is not written, edited or endorsed by Girl Power Hour. The authors are solely responsible for content.
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Samia
12.16.2011
Hi Kat,
So great to meet you at the Girl Power Hour holiday party last night! You looked fabulous sporting the amazing Stella & Dot necklace with your gorgeous outfit and warm smile!
Thanks for such an informative overview on TripIt. I’ve heard of them, but have not used them yet…so now with your recommendation I’m excited to become a more savvy traveler with their app as well.
I look forward to staying in touch and reading more of your blogs!
Cheers,
Samia Kornweibel
Kat Say
12.19.2011
Thank you so much Samia!
It was great to meet you as well
IT was a great event.
Cant wait to read more of your posts on here.
Happy Holidays!
-Kat