TripIt Blog

4 Easy Ways to Put Your Itinerary Data to Work

Today at PhoCusWright, we announced four exciting new innovations built on TripIt's open platform, which is now a vibrant community of more than 1,200 developers.

Put your itinerary data to work, and get personalized reservations, travel guides, and deals in return:

1. Personalized Reservations in Fewer Clicks on Avis.com

Booking a rental car is now easier and faster if you connect your TripIt account with Avis.com. Itineraries auto-populate new reservations and help Avis anticipate any changes in your travel schedule.

2. DIY Travel Guides with Frommer’s® Remix by HP

To get a personalized travel guide from Frommer’s Travel powered by HP custom publishing technology, import your TripIt itineraries at www.frommersremix.com, and you can get expert recommendations on activities, restaurants, nightlife, shopping, as well as money saving coupons for your trip. 

 

3. Trip Recommendations from Friends by FlyMuch

By sharing trip itineraries automatically on FlyMuch.com, you can get recommendations from friends and social networking connections, and build an online travel profile.

4. Destination-Based Dining Deals from FoodieBytes

Get personalized restaurant deals in the cities you’re traveling to by connecting your TripIt account with Foodiebytes.com.

To date, TripIt’s open platform has welcomed hundreds of apps and services to improve life for travelers before, during and after the journey; some of which include USA TODAY Auto Pilot, GateGuru and MemoLane.

To see more examples, go to http://www.tripit.com/uhp/tools. 

Android Takes Flight in 2011: Version 1.9 Now Available

Time to get the charger out, your smartphone has been busy! Today we announced that overall mobile usage has doubled - and Android usage in particular has tripled - in one year among TripIt users. 

Also, Android 1.9 is now available for download in the Marketplace. The design changes will help you find important trip information quickly. Other highlights:

• Links and phone numbers in your notes are now fully clickable, so you can quickly make a call, right from the app. 
• You now have more options to preserve memory when you're not running the app.
• TripIt Pro users can customize reward point expiration alerts.

 

“It’s exciting to watch mobile adoption take off this year, as innovation in the industry heats up,” said Gregg Brockway, Executive Vice President and General Manager of TripIt. “Each generation of smartphone provides even more opportunities for us to improve life on the road for travelers. The idea of a personal assistant in the palm of your hand – one that organizes important trip details, or sends helpful reminders and alerts – is becoming a reality.”

What do you think of the Android app's new look?

TripIt Wins Across the Pond: Telegraph Travel Awards

By Lisa Hutt, VP of Marketing, Concur EMEA

Each year, the world’s most renowned travel brands flock to The Telegraph Travel Awards annual ceremony in the hope of winning one of the coveted awards. A new category of "Favourite Travel App" was introduced this year, and we were delighted to hear that TripIt had bubbled up top alongside Trainline.com and Skype in this category.  

This year, the ceremony was held at the newly opened Renaissance St. Pancras Hotel, originally built in 1873 and hailed as London’s most romantic building. The ceremony was filled with familiar faces, well known editors and presenters like Judith Chalmers OBE. 

Shortly into the proceedings the highly respected travel journalist Graham Boynton, comedian and impersonator, Rory Bremner and actress and founder of the children’s charity Starlight, Emma Samms took to the stage to present the awards.

TripIt was voted Favourite Travel App and we were thrilled and honoured to join other category winners like Virgin Holidays, Eurostar, Emirates and Tripadvisor on stage to accept the award. 

This is a tremendous accolade considering that the awards are in their ninth year and attract over 23,000 voters. 

We’d like to thank everyone that voted!

 

 

TripIt and Avis: Making Travel About the Traveler, Again

In 2009 we started talking about the concept of a “traveler-centric future.” What we meant was that the needs of travelers would increasingly drive innovation because fundamental technology trends like mobility, social networking, and open data offered powerful new opportunities to make life easier for travelers. 

Well a lot has happened since then. Especially lately; we’ve witnessed a juxtaposition of nostalgia and innovation. Within the same week that Facebook broke new ground for the social web at F8, we were swept back to the Golden Age of travel with the premiere of “Pan Am.”

Today, I’m very excited to tell you that we’ve partnered with Avis to bring travelers the best of both worlds. The Jet Age meets the Information Age.

Together, TripIt and Avis are supercharging car rental reservations by putting your itineraries to work for you. By connecting your accounts, you’ll be able to make new car reservations in just a few simple clicks. And in the future, Avis will be able to anticipate your need for a car and present you with options without requiring any searching at all.  Surely this is how they would have rented spacecraft on the Jetsons.

Our goal is to make your journey go smoother. Using itinerary data, we’ll remind you when you haven’t booked a car yet, and Avis will know if you’re running late. 

Oh, and there are prizes involved. Check out Avis' and TripIt's “Supercharge Your Itinerary to Win” sweepstakes.

 NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.

Promotion open only to residents of the 50 United States and District of Columbia who are at least 18 (or the age of majority in entrant's state of residence). Promotion starts 12:01 AM PT on October 3, 2011 and ends 11:59 PM PT on November 27, 2011. Winner will be selected by random drawing on December 6, 2011 and notified by phone and/or e-mail by December 17, 2011. Prize: (1 winner): one 14 day Avis car rental (luxury, passenger van, or convertible) (approx. retail value: $2876 and one 12-month subscription to online TripIt Pro (approx. retail value: $49). Combined approx. retail value of all prizes: $9,054. To enter, follow the directions in Section 7 of the Official Rules at www.tripit.com/promotions/rules_avissweepstakes ("Rules") to enter online (via www.tripit.com/promotions/avissweepstakes) or by mail. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Void where prohibited. Promotion subject to Rules, see Rules at www.tripit.com/promotions/rules_avissweepstakes for full details. Sponsor: Concur Technologies, Inc., 500 Treat Ave., Suite 100, San Francisco, CA 94110.

Wanderlust & Weddings: Why Couples Travel to Tie the Knot

Part II of TripIt’s Destination: Wedding Week series

Last week we debuted the Where in the World are Weddings? data visualization and Labor Day wedding travel infographic. Today, we’re diving into the ins and outs of destination weddings, and why couples choose to hit the road to get hitched. 

“There was never a doubt in our minds that we'd have a destination wedding on the beach. It was just a question of where and how many people would be there. 

Fortunately, our friends and family share our love of travel, and are willing to fly to Mexico for our wedding trip. We'll end up having 80-100 people join us for our most special vacation.”

-David Hotz, TripIt user

Destination weddings can be the stuff that fairytales are made of, or just darn practical. Lucy Williams, of Gallery Events breaks it down:

A land far, far away

A destination wedding brings excitement for your guests - a new environment, new cultures and typically beautiful scenery - plus I have never heard a guest complain for having an excuse to travel somewhere they might never have, otherwise.

Destination weddings provide you with the peace of mind that your guests will experience something completely unique. 

When it makes cents

I've met many a couple who just want to escape the stress of feeling like they need to invite their 400 nearest and dearest family members. 

And more often than not, a destination wedding will save you money and help you control your budget. A lot of couples use it as a way to limit the guest count.

Location, location, location

I love when a bride & groom select a hidden gem - the small hotel up in a mountain village in Spain, among the vineyards of Napa Valley, a private home cliff-side in Hawaii, or a charming neighborhood park in Southern Italy. Privately owned venues will be far more flexible with timing, music requirements and menu selections. 

- Lucy Williams

Did you know?

TripIt allows you to add travelers to a group itinerary. So if you’re planning a destination wedding, the whole bridal party, or your future in-laws, can coordinate travel plans - all in one place. 

Up next: hear from an international wedding guest on what it takes to get there - and back - in one piece.

Introducing: Company Calendar

By Edith Harbaugh, Senior Product Manager

Is Brian out? Is Scott in today? When is Mike going to Redmond for training? Uh-oh, I didn't realize IYang was taking a week vacation this month!

TripIt is a small office; smaller than you might think given how much cool stuff we get done. However, even with 50 people, I often have no idea when my coworkers are in and out of the office.  

If someone's not at their desk, it could mean they're in a meeting, or at Coffee Bar - or at a meeting at Coffee Bar.  Or it could be that they're in Portland for a Java conference, in Yellowstone with family or otherwise "out". A very common travel problem is just knowing when and where people are.

To help offices get organized, today we announced a new company travel calendar. Now, the 25,000+ companies who already use TripIt Groups and the chrono-philes out there (you know who you are), can see when people are in and out. Don't worry, your group still only sees your trip location and dates, no details.   

TripIt’s company calendar will help you pinpoint those high traffic out-of-the-office days (hello, summer Fridays), and plan meetings if several people are visiting a remote location.  You might have an a-ha moment when you realize multiple people are in New York and you can have a spontaneous get-together. 

The TripIt calendar is completely free to you and your company. However, you can upgrade to TripIt for Business for more goodness: 

• Get a "today" quick view of who's in and out right now (and where they are)
• View travel in the coming months and see past travel on the company calendar
• Make multiple custom groups for your company, so each group only sees each other's travel. Or invite people outside of your company (like contractors or potential hires) to join your company group.  

To learn more about how company calendar works, click here.

 

Who are You? TripIt Reveals Portrait of a 21st Century Traveler

Do you ever wonder what your fellow TripIt users look like? Well, today we announced the results of a survey that more than 3,000 of you participated in. Thanks to you, we have a pretty good idea what a 21st century traveler looks like. 

If this doesn’t ring a bell, here’s a little background: we asked survey participants about preferred gadgets, traveling for business vs. pleasure, and favorite pastimes. 

What does this mean for you? Well, if you’re a TripIt traveler, chances are you…

• Own at least one smartphone (most likely Apple or Android)
• Travel twice as often for business as pleasure; but when do you travel for fun, it’s go big or go home!
• Keep family and colleagues informed of travel plans
• Spend your down time on culinary pursuits and dine out at least 4-8 times per month

Did you catch that last one? There’s a whole population of foodies in the TripIt community. Think of the potluck possibilities…

This is just a sample of the interesting tidbits we discovered about modern day frequent travelers, like you. Check out more information here: http://bit.ly/qwmdNz.

More iPad Goodness: Add/Edit is Here

When we released the iPad app in May, we told you at the time that there would be many more features to come. Well, good news: the first round of new features is live in the Apple store.

So when you update your app, you’ll now be able to add, edit or delete trips or plans directly on the iPad. 

But wait, there’s more.

We’ve also enhanced the directions feature so you can create turn-by-turn directions using plans in your itinerary, your current location, or any other address. It’s like your own personal “nav,” minus the bossy dude telling you what to do.

As always, we’re curious to know what you think, so meet us on Twitter, on Facebook or through our support form. And thanks to those of you who shared your comments with the first release, you help us help you!

Gotta go, we’re busy working on v 2.7! 

TripIt Flexes Android's Muscles

By Hootan Mahallati, Mobile Product Manager for TripIt

Here at TripIt, we're always keen to take advantage of the unique features that different mobile platforms offer users. Fresh on the heels of releasing our first iPad app, which leverages the larger screen size, we are excited to announce one of the more significant TripIt for Android releases in a while - version 1.6 - which in turn takes advantage of Android's strengths. 

With TripIt for Android v1.6, you will have a choice of installing two widgets on your home screen, allowing you to stay updated on the current plan in your itinerary with just a glance. Just press and hold your screen, choose widgets, and look for TripIt.

Signing in to the app is much more streamlined now. You will no longer have to sign in through a browser and in addition, a scroll-down menu will store all the email addresses stored on your device with which to sign in. Less typing is always a good thing.

The app itself is much more powerful now, offering you the capability to add, edit or delete trips and plans, a feature that had been available in our iPhone app for a few months.

Once in the app, you will have a second way to interact with the app. As an alternative to tapping the menu button, you can press and hold the screen to expose the action menu.

We hope that Android users will love the latest version of the TripIt Android app. Let us know what you think and as always, stay tuned for more good news soon. TripIt for Android v1.6 is available here.

 

The Webby Has Landed

By Gregg Brockway, General Manager and co-founder of TripIt

In a truly momentous week worldwide, I'm proud to report that today TripIt is celebrating a victory of our own: we won a Webby!  

The Webby Awards are the most prestigious honor an Internet company can achieve. It’s a tremendous compliment as it’s judged by people who know great design and usability: the members of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, which includes Martha Stewart, Arianna Huffington, Biz Stone, David Bowie, and Richard Branson, to name a few.

TripIt is in good company among a host of great winners in other categories - Foursquare, Flipboard, Yelp, Pandora, Evernote and many more.  In its 15th year, more than 10,000 Webby entries from 60 countries were judged.

Of course, when I shared the news with my kids, they only really got the significance when I mentioned Angry Birds won too.

And last but never least, we’d like to thank all of you for your support, loyalty and feedback, which has helped shape TripIt into what it is today. (Note: your extra help voting in the People’s Voice awards didn’t go unnoticed – and congratulations to Kayak.)

Now to condense this into five words… more on that soon.

Combined with our iPad release, today is one heck of a day!