Automatic for the people

Since TripIt launched back in 2007 we've been on a mission to make organizing travel effortless. The Itinerator–the technology that automatically creates rich itineraries from emails forwarded to plans@tripit.com–is a great start. It understands emails from thousands of travel suppliers and does its job almost instantly.

While forwarding emails to plans@tripit.com is great for lots of people, it can be hard to remember to do it for all your plans. Many TripIt travelers have set up email filters to automatically forward all their travel booking emails to plans@tripit.com. That works okay, but setting up the filters you'd need is complicated. And once you have them set up, important plans still fall through the cracks. We've always thought there's got to be a better way.

Well, now there is.

We're thrilled to announce the beta of auto-import for Gmail and Google Apps. It’s a true "set it and forget it" experience that benefits travelers no matter how they access TripIt: via our free apps for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry; the dozens of partner apps built on our API; our mobile site (m.tripit.com); calendar feeds; or www.tripit.com. 

How does it work?

First, you establish a link between TripIt and Gmail. That link is built on OAuth, a secure protocol that lets you grant services like TripIt access to your Gmail without ever revealing your Gmail password to us. It also means that you can turn it off easily, either from TripIt or Gmail's account settings.

Once the link between TripIt and your inbox is set up, TripIt automatically imports travel plans, no matter where you booked them. (We only import and parse travel plans from your inbox. We don't import anything else.) It bears mentioning that TripIt is proud to be TrustE certified. We built auto-import using the same best practices with which we've built the rest of TripIt.

You can choose to be very hands-on with your plans as they flow from your inbox to TripIt. You can have TripIt put the plans it imports into your Unfiled Items folder on TripIt, where you can assign plans to trips manually. (Of course, you can also turn auto-import off at any time and resume forwarding confirmation emails to plans@tripit.com, too.) Either way, you're in control.

Now, you can think of TripIt with auto-import as the Internet's smartest travel email filter. It's always working to make sure your plans don't get lost in your inbox, and DO get into your calendar, onto your phone, and shared with your key people. You don't need to lift a finger–it all just works.

At this point, auto-import works with Gmail and Google Apps email accounts. We will be adding support for other email services soon.

We think this is a game-changer for travelers and for developers who build apps that work with TripIt. More data with less work: what's not to love? :)

We can't wait to hear what you think of it! You can set it up here.

Thanks and Happy Travels.

Comments

[Laura]

Yall should develop a space on each person's account for them to put trip notes, not just itineraries. So after the trip is over they can add in their favorite spots, what they would do next time they go and comments about the sightseeing and eating they did there. It wouldn't have to be available to for all tripIt customers to see but that would be neat too.

[Angie Ryan]

Hi Laura, Angie from TripIt here. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

There actually is a comments area on every itinerary, that can be used for all things you described. Look for the box about halfway down the page on the right hand side of your itinerary.

Happy Travels!

[Louie]

Thank you for this feature! This is practically the best solution for people who have been asking for a way to email their itineraries directly to TripIt from their travel confirmation page. If they want to keep their existing Gmail accounts clean, they can always set up a separate account dedicated to itineraries, etc.

I can't wait to start planning my next trip!

[Tweetsbyscott]

Tripit was the coolest travel tool I had. Now it's even cooler.

[Leachy]

What Louie said is right on the money. Just like the Facebook "Like It" plugin, it would be great if all your affiliated merchants/companies can have a "Send to Trip It" button on the confirmation page (or similar)... sites like Orbitz, Expedia, Hilton Hhonors, Low Fares, etc. I am enjoying using TripIt, thank you :-).

[Justin]

There doesn't seem to be a mention of Auto Import in your Privacy Policy. Can you please update your Policy and/or add a section in the support pages. I would like to know what information TripIt reads/collects before signing up to this.

[Pyyhkala]

I agree it would be best if TripIt were able to pull data from travel suppliers directly at the request of a traveler.

The Auto Import sounds interesting but I have two concerns:

1. Like the other poster, I'm not sure if by enabling this TripIt can read any and all emails in my Gmail account? I don't think TripIt would be doing this, but yet still somehow this is a concern that TripIt can now access all my Gmail; and
2. How smart is the system for handling when email confirmations for changed travel plans are sent in either before or during a trip. Right now overall its not that efficient at all to change TripIt itineraries. I'm constantly flying standby, upgrading, and otherwise making day of departure changes. TravelTrackerPro by SilverWare software partially lets you make these changes on the fly, but still, TripIt is not really built well to handle changing itineraries quickly and efficiently say when you board the plane and there are 2 minutes left before they close the door.

[Jeremy Bonney]

Having a problem with this... TripIt automatically imports all itineraries into my TripIt feed (which syncs to my iCal and iPhone). This includes flight details that my friends email to me about their trips... which makes my calendar look really confusing.

Is there a way to set it so it only registers flight confirmations made in my name and not anyone else's?

In addition, ultimately, I would still like to see my friends' travel plans on my calendar *if I so choose.* Is there a tripit feed that can be imported into iCal that lists all of your friends on tripit and their bookings?

[jose luis]

I have the same as Pyyhkala about my gmail and the possibility for Tripit to check it. I guess that Tripit is not really interested in my e-mail, but this is worrying.

Another issue. If I send my travel plans to a friend, and we exchange some e-mails on that same thread, Tripit imports the same journey every time an e-mail is sent. This is also rather confusing and annoying.

And on top of that, I don't remember setting up this service....