The TripIt app is the perfect business tool

There are a bunch of apps for the iPhone and the iPad that I would not want to miss. But there is one that certainly sticks out because it really helps me. I am talking about TripIt. TripIt is a very cool service for all business travelers. Before I found this service I always struggled with filing and arranging all my different travel details. Adding the stuff to my calendar was even worse. My wife Jen hardly ever knew where I was staying. And I can honestly admit that I have driven a bunch of cab drivers crazy when I tried to retrieve hotel addresses on my Blackberry. But one day I heard about TripIt. And wow….I was blown away. It’s not fancy but it does a few very simple but highly effective things:

  • It consolidates all your trip information. When I receive the confirmation emails for flights, hotels, rental cars and such, I simply forward them to TripIt (my email address is registered with them). TripIt then automatically groups all related travel confirmations into trips and syncs it to the app. That alone is perfect: all travel info in one place instead of multiple confirmation emails.
TripIt Review
TripIt consolidates all your tip data in the app
  • Once the data is in the app you can quickly retrieve all the important infos about your journey. When I check in at the airline kiosk, for example, I use TripIt to retrieve the booking code. Or when I get into a taxi, I use the app to quickly pull up the hotel name and address. No need to search for the confirmation email to pull out papers.
TripIt iPad app
All the infos you need
  • TripIt also let’s you share information with other travelers and that is pretty cool! Whenever I go on a trip with colleagues we share the stuff and that way we all have our flight infos etc.. No more emailing and exchanging of details. It’s right in the app with your travel data.
  • The app also allows provides an iCall feed that let’s you sync the trips with your different calendars. All flights, train rides & ship journeys automatically appear in my Lotus Notes and MACBOOK calendar. My wife also receives the updates.
TripIt ical feed
iCal feeds rock
  • Last but not least, LinkedIn & Facebook have a plugin that allows you to share the travel info with your network. I only use the LinkedIn option and do have to say it’s pretty cool. Over the past two years, I was able to re-connect with a bunch of people that I hadn’t seen in a while. People basically reach out and TripIt shows people who are close by. It’s an optional thing – I like it.
If you travel for business, I highly recommend TripIt. It is easy to use and really simplifies managing your travel stuff. It is a solid work horse and does its job extremely well. That’s why I love this app and that’s why I wanted to share it with you! Let me know if you have other apps that make the life of a business travel easier.

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