Sometimes it can be downright challenging to stay organized during business trips. Business trips have many moving pieces that make them more complex than personal travel. Whether you’re traveling alone or with a team, see how TripIt helps transform even the most complex business travel into a simple trip.
You’ll have more time to prepare your presentation and network with your colleagues as you travel.
Store All Your Important Documents in One Place
You already keep your wallet and passport in a special pocket, but what about your other important documents?
Before you ever leave the office, take a few minutes to put all your must-have documents for travel and work in one place. It’ll save you time scrambling at the last minute hoping you didn’t forget anything important.
It’s a good idea to still keep a paper copy of your most important information in a folder in your travel briefcase pocket, but TripIt can also store these documents and travel contacts in the app.
Regardless of which mobile device you use, your information is stored in the app instead of your phone’s memory. If you need to access a document, phone number, or email quickly, open up your Traveler Profile in the TripIt app and all of your information is instantly accessible.
How’s that for convenience?
Keeping your most important documents on your TripIt phone app can also be more secure if you keep your phone on your body. If you need to show a document to anybody, retrieving it on our phone instead of having to fumble through your briefcase is another way to remain organized while traveling.
Keep Your Travel Plans in One Place
By syncing your Gmail, Outlook.com, or Gmail address with your TripIt account, any travel reservation emailed to you is automatically transferred to TripIt. You can also forward your confirmation emails to plans@ and the TripIt app will automatically import the reservation information.
The TripIt app remembers the following travel reservation information:
- Flights
- Hotels
- Car rentals
- Restaurant reservations
In addition to the travel reservation information, TripIt also stores the contact information and directions too. The TripIt app can literally be the one travel app you ever use again.
You can also take tracking your travel to the next level by keeping all your rewards point balances in one place. Unless your airport is “airline locked” and you can only fly one carrier with business-friendly flight times, you might fly a different airline every month.
Keeping track of your travel rewards points might not be a top priority until you want to book an award flight. TripIt maintains a running count on your point balances and even sends you a notification when your points will expire soon. You work hard to earn the points, but you shouldn’t have to work as hard to redeem them; after all, you’ve earned it either through your travel credit cards, or by traveling.
Receive Real-Time Flight Updates
There’s nothing worse than rushing to the airport only to discover your flight is delayed. If your flight gets delayed or canceled, TripIt Pro sends real-time text alerts. You will also receive alerts if your gate changes too so you’re not rushing to the wrong gate with a tight connection window.
In many cases, TripIt alerts are sent sooner than the airline alerts. Unless you’re sitting in the boarding area to hear the gate attendant make the announcement, you’ll know before many other passengers and will have more lead time to prepare an alternate travel plan.
The TripIt app can also help you find available seats on your current flights so you can upgrade to a better seat too.
Find Alternate Flights and Track Refunds
If your flight gets delayed or canceled, TripIt Pro can help you quickly find an alternate flight with open seats. Having this information instantly at your fingertips can save you valuable minutes when you need to beat the rush to make alternate travel plans.
TripIt also notifies you when you’re eligible for a refund if your flight is canceled or delayed. This is another convenience that can save you time instead of waiting to talk with an airline customer service representative to find out the same information.
Check Security Wait Times
While TSA Precheck is a great benefit to have to bypass most of the security line, you still need to wait your turn. How long you have to wait is longer on certain travel days than others.
Another new feature for TripIt Pro is the ability to check security wait times in real-time too. Some travel days are busier than others and checking the wait times several hours before departure gives you an accurate estimate when you need to arrive so you’re not rushing to the gate as well.
Navigate Airport Terminals with Interactive Maps
Airport terminals can be massive and overwhelming if you don’t pass through them on a regular basis. With interactive airport maps, you can use your phone’s GPS location services to plot your walking distance and step-by-step directions to terminal landmarks including:
- Your gate
- Restaurants, shops, lounges, and other amenities
- Charging stations
You can also use the terminal maps to get more information on shops, restaurants, and amenities including the hours of operation and a description of services.
Share Your Travel Itinerary with Your Team
If you’re traveling with others or meeting up at the destination airport to share a rental car, you can share your travel itinerary with your team members in an instant via email or link and you can also post on social media channels including LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook.
This tip saves time as you only have to share it once. Upgrading to TripIt Pro automatically shares your travel plans with your inner circle--the most important people in your life--so they receive your itinerary and travel alerts when you do.
Staying organized for travel goes beyond having the office travel manager reserve your flights and hotels. You might say that’s the easy part of the travel process as the real fun begins when you leave for the airport to begin your trip. Instead of leaving your travel plans to chance, tracking your flight status in real-time and having all your information in one place makes traveling in 2018 easier than ever before.
Written By:
Johnny Jet
For the past 20 years, Johnny Jet averaged 150,000 miles and 20 countries a year. He has been featured in many major publications and appeared on ABC, CBS, CNBC, CNN, FOX, MSNBC, NBC and PBS.
