TripIt

Favorite Apps of an Invention Hunter

Recently, I sat down with Steve Greenberg, author of Gadget Nation and host of the new kitchen gadget discovery show "Invention Hunters," which premieres tonight at 9/8c on the Food Network.

"Road warrior" does not do justice for the amount of time Steve spends on the road. And while he relies on TripIt Pro to keep him in one piece (while earning hundreds of dollars back on airfare), Steve turns to a handful of other apps to keep him entertained and informed while conquering planes, trains and automobiles. 

Here are some of Steve's go-to apps while traveling:

1. TED Talks - Not technically an app, but TED's prolific speakers can be viewed in airplane mode by downloading each episode from iTunes. Prepare to be inspired.
2. TV Food Maps - Want to dine like a pro? Sync your TripIt account, and the app will find nearby restaurants where hosts from the Food Network and the Travel Channel have ventured. If Anthony Bourdain likes it, I abide.
3. Roamz - Now that you're fed, here's an easy way to find something to do in the neighborhood. The app aggregates photos and content from social networks to help you navigate the town like a local.
4. 2CamShoot - Here's a great way to share a video message with loved ones while spotting something noteworthy during your travels. This app allows you to simultaneously shoot video from both forward and rear-facing cameras.
5. Trulia - Have you fallen in love with the destination enough to make it your second home? Or, are you simply a fantasy real estate shopper? Trulia will keep it real, by showing you nearby listings.

What apps do you use while in flight, or after you land? We'd love to hear from you.

Also, see more from Steve Greenberg on Facebook, Twitter and his blog.

Sneak peek at Concur’s new free on-the-go, in-the-know expense tracker

No one likes doing expense reports.

Here at Concur, we know that we can’t change that fact of life but we can make it much more tolerable. That’s why today at the Finovate Conference in San Francisco, we’re excited to give a sneak peek at an easier way to do expense reports with SmartExpense, our brand new, free expense tracking and reporting app.

SmartExpense is the antidote to expense report procrastination. It will do a lot of the work for you by instantly tracking business expenses, receipts and mileage on the go.

Expense reporting can be easy as 1-2-3. Here’s how it works:

1. Simply add an expense.
Snap a photo of your receipt, email an electronic receipt, enter it manually or sync with a credit card. It’s up to you. Categorize your expense, enter the amount and you’re done.

2. Create a report in seconds
Select all the expenses you want to include—from mileage to cash tips and everything in between. Create unlimited reports and access them any time.

3. Submit from anywhere
You can forward your completed report at any time, from anywhere, with a click of the button. Getting reimbursed just got a whole lot faster… and easier.

What makes SmartExpense truly amazing is how it connects with TripIt, the easiest way to organize your travel. SmartExpense will automatically create and pre-populate expense reports with flight, hotel and car rental reservations from your TripIt itinerary, no matter where you book.




By combining the power of each of these free apps, we are making expensing your business trip simple and easy.

You can now throw out your receipts and reclaim your wallet. Instead of spending hours creating expense reports, you can now spend minutes.

To be one of the first to try SmartExpense, please visit www.smartexpense.com.

 

TripIt Launches Personalized Hotels & Offers

By Madalynn Priester
Product Manager at TripIt

It's exciting to book your flight for a big trip, but does the time between booking and takeoff feel overwhelming? Do you ever wish travel sites would recommend hotels you would actually stay at, or help you find personalized deals for your upcoming trip?

Today, TripIt is making those wishes a reality with personalized hotel recommendations and offers.

We’re excited to give you a smarter and easier way to book a hotel and find offers for restaurants and other activities. Here’s how it works:

Personalized Hotel Recommendations:

Once you’ve sent your flight confirmation to TripIt, we’ll recommend a hotel at your destination based on hotels in your past trips. If you’re a TripIt Pro user, we'll factor in your reward point programs.

No more pop-up windows cluttering your screen - it's now easy and convenient to book right from TripIt.com, and earn hotel reward points in the process.
 


Use the map view to see even more personalized hotel recommendations, as well as hotels where other TripIt users have stayed – frequent travelers who know how to get the most bang for their buck. You can filter hotels by price, star rating and brand to find the perfect hotel for your trip. 



Offers:

With offers, your online itinerary is now home to a selection of great deals from Yipit, which sifts through hundreds of the best daily deal sites. Find discounts on restaurants, spas, museums, performances and more, all located near the specific places in your trip.

Wondering if that restaurant offer is between your meeting and your hotel? Jump over to the map view to see if you should walk or take a cab. You can also use the map view to add any offer location to your itinerary.




Heading on a big trip soon? Take our new features out for a spin and let us know what you think!

Past Trips Makes Its Debut on Android

It’s important to look forward, but it’s just as important to reflect back on where you’ve been. Here at TripIt, we believe that this mantra doesn’t only apply to history but to travel as well – look forward to your upcoming travels, but also appreciate and share knowledge from the trips you’ve already taken.

That’s why we’re so excited to debut past trips on the latest version of TripIt’s Android app. No matter where you are, you can now get all the great info stored in your past itineraries.

So whether you want to share that great hotel you stayed at during your travels to Beijing, or get a cost estimate for a past business trip to Atlanta or if you simply want to show off your road warrior record, all that information is now available at your fingertips.

The updated app is now available in the Android Marketplace. Check it out, and let us know what you think!

Why I Can’t Live Without TripIt Pro

TripIt Pro Customer Testimonial: Pablo Paciello, Android Widgets



Being someone that has to travel several times a month, keeping all of my hotel rooms, flight times and client meetings can be a tough task. I used to have one of those primitive and large black organizer folders around until one of my colleagues introduced me to TripIt. Since discovering this travel app for my Android phone, my life has been much more organized and less hectic. 

While having a smartphone to play Angry Birds and chat on Facebook is nice, I feel that Android widgets such as TripIt Pro are where the real power in owning a smartphone lies.

I forward all of my travel confirmation emails straight to TripIt and its ability to read these emails and transcribe them into a simple itinerary is amazing and handy. I also love the ability to sync my travel information from my laptop straight to my phone and not having to enter everything in manually twice.

The TripIt Pro feature I love most though is the notification system that lets me know if my flight has been delayed. Knowing this information instantly and ahead of time is very important for me and provides me great peace of mind.

Fun aspects of TripIt are big pluses for me as well such as: seeing the weather forecast for my upcoming destinations, keeping track of my flight miles and the ability to share my trips on Facebook and LinkedIn.

On more than one occasion, TripIt Pro has notified me when my airfare ticket has dropped in price and is eligible for a refund. This in itself has made the Pro version worth it as it has paid for itself several times over.

As someone who cannot afford a personal assistant, TripIt is the next best thing and I can’t imagine traveling now without it in the palm of my hand. I would recommend TripIt Pro to anyone who travels on a regular basis. For managing all of my travel plans, TripIt does it all.