Since inception we’ve had tremendous good fortune. Amazing people have joined our team. Millions of travelers love our service. Thousands of developers are building innovative applications on top of the TripIt platform. We’ve received more than our fair share of awards, kind press coverage, and enthusiastic tweets, posts, and accolades from our users. And last year we joined Concur, the most disruptive company in the travel industry.

For all of this, we’re incredibly thankful, but it’s now time for two of us to move on from the TripIt family. While this is bittersweet, we leave with satisfaction in knowing there is a stellar team of comrades in place who will carry on with the TripIt mission, that represent the TripIt DNA, and who care passionately about bringing to market all that goodness and excellence you have come to know, love, and expect from TripIt. We look forward to a steady stream of innovations that will delight travelers and the companies they work for far into the future.

What will we do next? The short answer is we’re not sure, and that’s by design — building a business from scratch is an all consuming effort, and after more than 5 years, we both feel the need for a breather. Scott is planning to get back in shape, spend time with his family fixing up their Kenwood house and sampling fine Sonoma wines from the porch. Gregg is going to enjoy some highly-organized travel (thanks to TripIt!) with his family and work on his kiteboarding. Beyond that, it’s hard to say.

Thank you all for making our trip together to this point so much fun. We will be watching and cheering as TripIt moves forward on the next leg of the journey.

Happy Travels,
Gregg & Scott

The post Traveling on… appeared first on TripIt Blog.

One thing I’m particularly stoked about is this year’s SXSW Mentor Session Program, where I’ll be paired with up-and-coming innovators. While the meetings are designed to be one-on-one coaching sessions, I’m sure I’ll be learning as much from my mentees as they will be from me. If you’re interested in signing up, check out the SXSW website for more info. Details should be up soon.

Additionally, our very own Thomas Marks will be speaking on a panel on why social users create unique personas on different networks alongside folks from LinkedIn, Match.com and Spych Market Analytics. Make sure you swing by the Omni Downtown (Longhorn) on Saturday, March 10^th at 12:30PM to check it out or just to say hi.

Thomas Marks, Director of Product Marketing, TripIt

In addition to our shameless self promotion, we’re looking forward to the sessions from some of our favorite thought leaders: 

• Give Me an Invite! Creating User Demand at LaunchFriday, 3/9, 3:30-4:30PM at Hilton Austin Downtown – Salon C
  With speakers from TechCrunch, Rockmelt, SocialCam and Fab.com
• Community First: Lessons for Early-Stage Startups
  Sunday, 3/11, 11-12PM at Hilton Austin Downtown – Salon D
  With speakers from Foursquare, Airbnb, SoundCloud and Photojojo
• No Wallet? No Problem. Enter Mobile Payments.
  Sunday, 3/11, 11-12PM at Hilton Austin Downtown – Salon J
  With speakers from Google, American Express, 360i and NXP Semiconductors
• Let's Get Lost: Surprise in the Social Media Age
  Tuesday, 3/13, 3:30-4:30PM, Omni Downtown – Longhorn
  With speakers from WIRED, Pandora, OkCupid and iCrossing

 
Will you be in town for the festivities? If so, we’d love to see you and hear about the things you love and the things we could make better at TripIt. Drop us a line at sxsw [at] tripitinc [dot] com.

Stay tuned and see you in Austin!

The post Hey y’all – we’re heading to Austin! appeared first on TripIt Blog.

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

The post Quite a Journey: Looking Back at 2011 appeared first on TripIt Blog.

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.

The post TripIt and Avis: Making Travel About the Traveler, Again appeared first on TripIt Blog.

As those of us in the travel industry pow-wow in Denver for the annual Global Business Travel Association convention to discuss future innovation, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on what’s happening right now: 

1) Proliferation of smartphones: We recently shared that 96% of TripIt users carry at least one smartphone. It’s no wonder. Travelers can now research, book, organize, and expense their trips all from the palm of their hand. 

2) What about tablets? We’ve only scratched the surface as an industry (a much larger surface, at that). A cool mapping feature on TripIt’s new iPad app was just the beginning. If restaurant patrons can order from a menu through the popular device, imagine what the airlines could do with passengers. 

3) Apps FTW: Some argue that apps are so 2007, but I disagree. Everyday there’s a round-up of “Favorite Apps for Travel” or “Best Travel Apps for Business.” And it’s not just hotels or travel that make the cut; we’re seeing apps like Yelp and FoodSpotting make the list too. 

4) Dynamic data: It's TripIt’s mission to reduce the number of places where you have to enter or keep track of travel details. We have some exciting announcements coming on this front, but it’s what ultimately drove Concur and TripIt to leverage itineraries for easier expense reporting this summer. 

5) Personalized travel: The more we know (and remember) about your preferences as a traveler, the better and more personalized the experience can be. Tell us where and when you’re going, and we’ll help you remember when to check in and where to pick up your bags. The more you put in, the more you get out. 

The travel industry will continue to evolve; but for now, my goal is to help get the latest innovations into the hands of travelers everywhere. Chances are, there’s an easier and faster way than what you’re doing now.

As seen on the Concur Insights Blog.

The post 5 Ways Travelers Are Front and Center in Innovation appeared first on TripIt Blog.

If your company is one of the thousands of global businesses using Concur to book travel (like Salesforce, Constellation Brands, or Cinemark), you may have noticed the option to connect TripIt to your Concur account. Creating an itinerary is even more automagical than before.

Today, we’re taking it a step further, making it possible for companies to automate Concur expense reports from TripIt Pro itineraries – no matter where you book. It’s one less step for you to get reimbursed, and helps fill the gaps for your employer, making expense reporting painless for everyone involved. Full details available here.

Also, companies who sign up for Concur Breeze can get all the benefits of TripIt Pro for their small business in one powerful package, including the ability to automate expense reports. The best part is that travelers can continue to book travel as they always have. Full details available here.

Both integrated solutions make the tedious process of expensing your travel a whole lot easier. And let’s be honest, we could all use a little extra time in our day. 

There's much more to come! Meanwhile, everyone can look forward to more TripIt mobile updates and new features – all designed to solve the problems you face as a traveler, so you don’t have to. 

The post TripIt and Concur Make Expensing Travel Easier appeared first on TripIt Blog.

The big news I’m honored to share with you today is that TripIt will be the single go-forward mobile app offered to all Concur clients and their employees.

This means all 10,000 current Concur client companies and 15+ million people who work at those companies will be using TripIt as their mobile travel AND expense app.  We are targeting the integration of Concur’s mobile app functionality into TripIt by the end of the year for these customers.  So, if you work at a company that uses Concur’s travel and expense solution (such as American Express, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Pfizer and more), you’ll be getting the added benefit of being able to easily manage your travel and expenses with TripIt.

For everyone else, all the goodness of TripIt you’ve enjoyed to date will remain the same–except for the usual improvements we are looking to ship on our current roadmap. 

Lightweight and simple to use expense management has always been on our TripIt roadmap, but was non-trivial to deliver. This example is one of many benefits clients and their employees will enjoy as a result of TripIt joining the Concur family.

Stay tuned for more exciting integration-related announcements we’ll be making soon.  We’re not wasting any time executing on ideas for customers and users of TripIt and Concur to benefit from our recent combination.

In the meantime, we’re in Las Vegas where this strategy is being announced at Concur’s premier client conference, Fusion, taking place Feb.15-18.

If you want to learn more on this specific news, here’s the full press release.

The post TripIt Taking the Reins In Mobile appeared first on TripIt Blog.

I’m excited to share some news about how TripIt’s mission to help “decrease the chaos, and increase the peace” for every traveler and business in the world just got a huge boost.

Today, we signed an agreement to be acquired by Concur (Nasdaq: CNQR) in a $120 million transaction (for details, see the press release).  For those not familiar with Concur, it’s a company we’ve long admired that provides integrated expense and travel management solutions.  Founded in 1993, they’re now a company with annual revenues of $300MM, a market cap of $3B, and over 10,000 companies and 15 million people around the world using their services.  We’ve always respected their laser focus, the foresight to see new opportunities in the market, and the courage to embrace change and move faster at meeting market needs before anyone else.

This is where TripIt comes into the picture. TripIt brings a service millions of business travelers love, expertise in creating simple and intuitive user experiences, our fast, “do it for me” technology (the Itinerator!), mobile prowess, a new SaaS service aimed at businesses, and our 40+ rock-star team who can innovate and execute faster and smarter than the best of them.

This combined entity is great news for all of you--our loyal travelers, developers, partners, and business customers.  Moving forward, TripIt will be able to develop and innovate faster, continue to offer great customer service, expand our customer base, and leverage the expertise and support Concur has to offer to solve the tough travel problems that still exist today. 

So TripIt will continue to be offered as it is today, but better and more available to travelers and companies everywhere.  All of our employees are now Concur employees and our offices are still here in San Francisco.

I’m invigorated.  I see this as a new beginning.  We climbed up the hill to this point, but we’re not resting on our laurels.  There are more opportunities, challenges, and adventures ahead.  With Concur we’ll expand our presence among current customers, tackle the unmanaged travel space, reach out to new geographies, and go where no travel company has gone before.  Watch us.  This next part of our journey is going to be a great one and I’d be honored if you join us.   

Want to know more about the Concur and TripIt collaboration? Read Concur's blog post or take a look at our FAQs.

The post TripIt Joins Concur to Become Bigger, Better and Stronger appeared first on TripIt Blog.

Before I get into the details of this incredible year, I want to take a moment to thank all the travelers who use TripIt. We couldn’t have accomplished our goals without your feedback, especially your constructive criticism. You have made an invaluable contribution to our growth, and, as always, you’ve helped us make TripIt better. 

In 2010, we set out to do two things – get bigger, and get better. Happily, as the year comes to a close, we can say that we achieved these goals, and then some!

Getting Bigger

First of all, the TripIt team more than doubled in size in 2010. We added many smart, talented new folks to the mix, and everyone, new and seasoned team members alike, did a bang-up job in 2010. I’m grateful to have such a fabulous group of people working so hard for TripIt.

Another area of 2010 growth for TripIt was funding- we closed on our third round last March, a whopping $7 million from the terrific people at Azure Capital Partners and O’Reilly Alpha Tech Ventures. The support of these world class investors was crucial to accelerating the development of more great products to streamline the travel experience.

On the subject of more great products, here is an overview of our product releases in 2010:

• In Jan, we added TripIt for Blackberry to our catalog of free mobile apps.
• In March, we launched TripIt Groups to make it easier for companies to track their trips using a group travel map. By May, more than 10,000 companies were using Groups!
• Also in March, new TripIt for Google Apps was the only travel app featured in the launch of the Google Apps Marketplace.
• In August, we made itinerary creation truly effortless with Auto Import for Gmail and Google Apps.
• In Sept, TripIt Pro started tracking airfare refunds and alerting subscribers who might be eligible for money back from an airline. By November, one in ten monitored flights was eligible for a refund!
• In Nov we launched some special TripIt for Business features that let travel planners create itineraries for other travelers, organize all office travel in a convenient dashboard, and keep travelers in the know, on the go.
• And, just in time for the holidays, TripIt Pro Gifting has made it possible for people buy gift subscriptions of TripIt Pro for the travelers they know and /or love.

And last, but certainly not least, 2010 saw a huge increase in the number of travelers using TripIt. In fact, TripIt users traveled nearly 2 billion miles (and even more kilometers!) this year. Amazing!

Getting Better

With a bigger team and more funding, we had the opportunity to make some valuable improvements to TripIt. These were largely driven by feedback from our travelers, so again, I have to say thanks, and please, keep it coming! 

In April, we gave our iPhone app a face lift for easier access to important trip information. In June we updated TripIt Pro alternate flights with more flight search returns, flexible date ranges, and other tweaks to make it even more useful for frequent travelers. This fall we launched some major improvements to the TripIt Itinerator (the technology that automagically makes itineraries out of the emails you forward to plans@tripit.com). We stopped it from adding duplicate flights to trips, and helped it identify changes and updates in flight reservations. These have been two of our most oft-requested product improvements, and we were thrilled to roll these out, and watch as the Itinerator continued to get even smarter.

We entered into some great partnerships this year:

• American Express partnered with TripIt on a NEW American Express® Travel App for iPhone and Blackberry.
• Orbitz for Business offered their travelers the option to synchronize their Orbitz for Business bookings with TripIt in one simple click.
• TripIt integration with Cornerstone-enabled travel agencies gave them a complete, multi-source trip management solution, with virtually no implementation effort.
• Hertz #1 Club Gold and Regus Gold each teamed up with TripIt to offer TripIt Pro users a free year of their premium services for travelers.
• Christopherson Business Travel integrated their AirPortal web platform with TripIt.  
• Lexmark added a TripIt app to its Pinnacle Pro touch screen printers.
• Jet Blue selected TripIt as its official mobile partner for their 2010 “All You Can Jet” promotion.

And we also worked with a fun creative partner called Epipheo to make an animated video that explains TripIt’s secret sauce.

Moving Forward

With 2010 now behind us, we’re ready to take a bite out of 2011! We learned a lot in the past year, and we’ll be dialing it up to 11 in the coming months…look out for lots more product updates, some exciting new developments on the mobile front, and even bigger, even better things to come. Happy New Year! 

The post 2010: What a Short, Great Trip It’s Been appeared first on TripIt Blog.

…oh, we finally dropped the “Beta” from our website too, but nobody noticed

The post TripIt is rocking with funding and more! appeared first on TripIt Blog.