TripIt Blog

TripIt.com Gets "iPadified" with New Map View

By Aaron Friedman, Product Manager at TripIt

We're always looking for new, smarter ways to organize all your travel plans in one place, and bring minute-by-minute details of your trip to your fingertips.

But we realize that sometimes the "where" matters more than the "when" - especially when you're in a new place.

Inspired by TripIt’s iPad app, the new itinerary map view let's you interact with your entire trip geographically. You can get the "lay of the land" and quickly create directions between your activities. 

To explore the itinerary map, open an upcoming trip on tripit.com and click the "Map" button.

PS - Did you know there are lots of cool, unique things you can only do on tripit.com? Here's a quick list:

• Total trip cost: see how much was spent on air, car and hotel reservations at-a-glance
• Weather: itineraries automatically include historical averages for each day of the trip
• Calendar sync: subscribe to a calendar feed of all trip plans or download one trip’s calendar file
• Group trip planning: add travelers to an itinerary with the ability to add or edit trip plans
• Social networks: share trip plans automatically on Facebook, LinkedIn, Salesforce Chatter and Yammer
• TripIt Groups: access a company calendar to see when and where colleagues are traveling

TripIt for Business: Bringing Office Travel into the 21st Century

When we created TripIt for Business, we took the same TripIt technology you’ve come to rely on for organizing all your plans in one place, and used it to make office travel easier for travelers, travel coordinators and colleagues.

For better or for worse, a lot of companies are still dealing with unnecessary headaches related to office travel. If the scene below feels all too familiar, you may want to pass this along to your boss.

Today, we’re going a step further by helping managers understand how much travel is on the books, and learn money-saving tips from the company’s road warriors. By accessing real-time spending data in TripIt for Business, you can quickly get answers about how much has been spent on travel this year, what travel spend will be in the next 30 or 90 days, and who the most frequent and efficient travelers are. 

And you get all this great data even if you don’t book all your travel in one place. Freedom to book where you want, plus the intelligence you need to run your business – that’s TripIt for Business.

Perhaps you or someone in your company treks to the same cities over and over? That’s a wealth of knowledge on how to get the most bang for your travel buck. Here are some of my money-saving tips:

Battle Hymn of a Frugal Business Traveler

• Keep calm and carry on: travel lighter to save a buck (bonus tip: volunteer to check for free at the gate if they need more room)
• Avoid hidden fees: hit the ATM before you get on the road, or in a cab
• Skip the taxi line: check to see if your hotel has an airport shuttle
• Built-in meals: look for business-friendly hotels that offer free continental breakfast (and a newspaper, to boot)
• Surf for free: many hotels and airports offer free wi-fi - $20 daily fees are so 2002

What are your business travel tips and tricks? Go to http://facebook.com/TripItforBusiness to participate in our Facebook poll.

Keeping Tabs on Travel: TripIt Now Available on the Samsung GALAXY Tab

Live from CES, TripIt is making its debut on the Samsung GALAXY TAB 10.1 and 7.0 Plus. So no matter what kind of hot new tablet you got for the holidays (or perhaps, pre-holiday splurge?) you can easily organize and view trip plans. 

What’s new with Samsung Apps? Itinerary-driven maps and the ability to view multiple layers of travel details - including air, car, hotel and more - all in one place. Here’s more detail:

Trip Details Organized for Flexible Viewing

You can view your itineraries in two layers at all times, which makes it easy to dive into details like confirmation numbers or seat assignments, while maintaining an eye on the full trip schedule. The other option is to view a list of all trips, alongside a single itinerary overview. Also, new with TripIt for Samsung GALAXY Tab devices is the ability to view a list of all trips in landscape or portrait mode.

Enhanced Maps Make it Easy to Navigate Trips Geographically

Now, you can dynamically view and navigate maps, directly from the itinerary. For example, when you select a flight, the airport location will light up on the map, and you can choose to get directions.

We realize you prefer native apps, so we’re excited to add Samsung’s hot new tablets to our growing family of smartphone and tablet apps. 

Did you recently join the world of tablets? Let us know how your tablet of choice improves life on the road, in the comments section below.

 

Quite a Journey: Looking Back at 2011

It's been quite a year. Before 2012 kicks into full gear, we wanted to take a moment to look back and celebrate the most recent leg of our journey together...

Collectively, you've traveled more than 5 billion miles! That's more than double the miles logged last year. Thanks for taking us with you, and providing suggestions from the road. We love hearing from you - and we celebrate the victories you share @TripIt or on Facebook, whether it's dollars earned back on airfare with TripIt Pro, or when you get the last seat on an alternate flight. 

This year we welcomed fresh new faces to the TripIt team, and there's room for more (check out our open positions here). We even had our first Hack Day! And the team was very busy this year...

We launched the iPad and Windows Phone apps, gave the Android and iPhone apps design refreshes, and joined the Amazon app store and Kindle Fire in December. There's more to come in January, so all those recently unwrapped tablets will be able to download TripIt in no time.

In October, we announced an exciting partnership with Avis to make booking a rental car even easier in less clicks. We're also helping power the new Frommer's Remix by HP. Putting itinerary data to work for you is an idea that we'll continue to bring to life with the 1,200 developers now using our open platform.

Joining Concur in January opened the door for exciting new features and partnerships. In June, we made it easy for TripIt users to automatically create an itinerary any time they book travel through Concur, and for TripIt Pro itineraries to feed expense reports in Concur. Companies of all sizes now have endless options to organize travel and expenses, seamlessly.

TripIt for Business really started to take off this year with a convenient way to see who's in or out of the office - and it's about to get really interesting in early 2012. We also introduced trip sharing through Salesforce Chatter and Yammer, as another way to keep colleagues in the loop.

One of the biggest highlights of the year was winning our first Webby Award. We were delighted to be recognized among top innovators in tech, and also later within the travel industry, when we received honors from Travel Weekly's Magellan Awards and the Telegraph Travel Awards.

It really is an exciting time to be a traveler, and we can't wait to show you what we have up our sleeves for 2012. 

Cheers,

Gregg, Scott, Andy and the TripIt team

 

Itineraries on Fire: Download TripIt in the Amazon Appstore

For those of you asking when TripIt would be available on the Kindle Fire, your wish is our command! TripIt is now available for download from the Amazon Appstore for Android.

Have tablet fever? So do we... 

“The compact size of Kindle Fire and its growing ecosystem of apps make it a solid match for travelers,” said Gregg Brockway, Executive Vice President and General Manager of TripIt. “Tablets are becoming a popular choice for life on the road, and we’re excited to take part.”

Stay tuned, there's much more to come. Happy downloading!

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. 

5 Ways to Get Peace of Mind & Money Back Over the Holidays

If you're traveling this month, there's a good chance TripIt can help put money back in your pocket. To date, we've identified more than $300,000 in airfare refunds for TripIt Pro users traveling in the month of November. (Not a Pro member yet? See tip #2!)

Without further ado, here are 5 ways to get peace of mind - and money back - this holiday travel season. Less time waiting in line at the airport, or the mall, means more unwinding and unwrapping with loved ones:

1. Skip the Mall: New this year, you can purchase, print and wrap the gift of TripIt Pro without leaving the house.
2. Gift Yourself, No Strings Attached –TripIt Pro acts like a personal travel assistant, sending helpful reminders and alerts. Give it a test drive during the holidays with a free 30-day trial.
3. Put Money Back in Your Pocket – TripIt Pro monitors airfare after booking, and notifies the traveler of a potential refund or credit - as well as how to claim it – by text or email.
4. Hit the Snooze Button, One More Time – Have TripIt Pro notify you if there’s a flight delay by text or email, and catch a few extra zzz's, or get alternate flight options right from the app.
5. Ditch the Manila Folder – No need to carry around extra baggage to keep trip plans organized. Access TripIt itineraries for free on any smartphone, including iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone.

Okay, so #5 is an obvious one by now, but don't be afraid to send this as a hint to that person in your life who still walks around with a printed itinerary...

'Tis the season of giving, after all!

Share Trips with Colleagues in Chatter and Yammer

By Edith Harbaugh, Senior Product Manager

Traveling can be lonely. And finding out later that a colleague or friend was in your city and you didn't know can be even more frustrating. In Barcelona for a conference several years ago, I thought my jet lag was causing a hallucination, as I stumbled on my coworker Tam in the lobby. 

Part of the power of TripIt is not just organizing your trips, but letting friends and coworkers know when and where you're traveling (and vice versa). That's why we've added two more ways to share trips today, in Salesforce Chatter and Yammer. If you choose to do so, we'll let your colleagues know when you're planning a trip, about to leave, and returning - just like you can share with friends in Facebook. 

To mark the occasion, we're featured today at Yammer on Tour in San Francisco, along with collaborative services like Box and ZenDesk that are making it easier for coworkers to keep each other in the loop. 

Beyond Yammer and Chatter, here are some other easy ways to find out when and where colleagues are traveling:

• TripIt Groups is a free service for companies that makes it easy to view and share travel plans with colleagues all in one place - in a company calendar or map view. More than 25,000 companies use TripIt Groups, ranging from those in the Fortune 500 to small businesses.
• TripIt for Business is a simple solution for companies who want to take the pain out of traveling, planning, and organizing office travel.  Plus, TripIt for Business customers get premium calendar and group features including: a quick view of who’s in/out today; historical and future month access; and company sub-groups. TripIt for Business pricing starts at $29/month.

So, let your coworkers know where you are, and be a little less lonely on your next trip!

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!