TripIt Blog

How to Plan a Vacation Like the Pros this Summer

Matthew Long — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:10:21 +0000

Last month, TripIt held another fun Twitter chat, where participants shared great tips and ideas for those daydreaming about their summer getaways.
What is a Twitter chat? For those not familiar, TripIt holds a monthly chat on Twitter on the third Thursday of each month from 2-3pm Pacific Time on the hashtag #TripItChat. Every month there’s a new travel topic where we encourage participants to share advice with one another. To learn more, please see: http://landlopers.com/2013/05/01/tripitchat/
Here are some of the key takeaways from our last #TripItChat on summer travel:
August can be one of cheapest months to travel. When it comes to the best time to travel, @Kayak shared that August is shockingly the cheapest time to hit the road. Travelers may want to avoid Europe, however, as August is a major holiday month on this continent.
Plan in advance to take advantage of your points! To avoid the traditionally high cost of traveling in the summer, @LeeAbbamonte recommends planning far in advance so you can take full advantage of hotel points and airline miles. He says it’s important to also avoid popular travel days like the weekends.
Are you a procrastinator? Great deals can also be found last minute. If you’re not using points, @Kayak pointed out that the best time to buy summer tickets at their cheapest is 21-25 days in advance.
Discounts are abundant during the summer. @RoadTripsFeedMe pointed out that certain credit cards offer discounts at theme parks, museums and other travel-related destinations, which is perfect for family travelers.
Need ideas for your summer getaway? We’ve got plenty! Chat participants shared many of their favorite “hidden” travel hot spots. Some of the most popular were Lake Tahoe, South Africa, Delaware, Yosemite, Burlington Vermont and even Death Valley according to @TurnipSeeds.
Lighter bags, warm weather and a chance to unwind were why most of the chat participants love summer travel. What do you love about taking a summer vacation?

The post How to Plan a Vacation Like the Pros this Summer appeared first on TripIt Blog.

Never sit in a middle seat again.

Elisa Haidt — Thu, 16 May 2013 05:00:36 +0000

We all know the pain of traveling, from potential flight delays and gate changes to sitting in a less than desirable seat. TripIt Pro eases the pain with features like gate change notifications and cancellation and delay alerts. And now, Seat Tracker makes the possibility of getting the seat you want a reality. Track your seat in just 3 easy steps:
1) Choose the kind of seat you want. 2) Get notified via mobile phone or email when a seat is available. 3) Claim your seat by contacting your carrier or booking agent — and do it quickly, before someone else gets the seat!
This new feature aids business travelers, jet-setters and vacationing families alike, enabling flyers to set and monitor their preferred seats with any of the following:

Pick window or aisle (or middle, should you desire that).
Specify front or back of the plane.
Track the exit row or bulkhead.
Find seats together, in groups as large as four.
Include premium cabins in your search for seats.

To use Seat Tracker, you need to be a member of TripIt Pro ($49/year), which has all the goodness and travel organization of TripIt plus check-in reminders, point tracking, fare tracking, gate-change notifications, cancellation and delay alerts and alternate-flight information. Visit www.tripit.com/seattracker to learn more about Seat Tracker and set seat alerts for upcoming trips.
With Seat Tracker, we’re now one step closer to achieving “The Perfect Trip.”
What is your favorite seat? Tell us today or, better yet, start tracking a seat now!
Happy travels! The TripIt Team

The post Never sit in a middle seat again. appeared first on TripIt Blog.

Friendly reminder: Thank your admin!

Linda Bao — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:41:04 +0000

Who is the most important person in your working life? The person who has your back, protects you from meetings, organizes your travel schedule, plans team events, keeps the supplies stocked and more? Yes, your administrator or office manager!
In honor of Administrative Professionals' Day (today!), TripIt would like to help acknowledge the important person who keeps your work life running smoothly for you.
Here at TripIt, we're celebrating our office manager, Aman. She’s a rock, always wears a smile and makes life significantly better for our office.

Here are just three of the many reasons we’re grateful for Aman:
1. Managing some of our execs' travel calendars (with TripIt for Teams, of course!) to make sure they turn up where they are supposed to be and on time
2. Coordinating new-employee trainings and welcoming visitors and prospective teammates.
3. Planning social events and happy hours, and keeping our kitchen and lunch meetings fully stocked so we can stay focused on making TripIt even better.
Try TripIt for Teams: Free for 30 Days Make your administrator’s life easier with better travel-planning tools. With TripIt for Teams, your admin can automagically organize individual itineraries for travelers, provide shared calendars for the entire team, and get visibility into everyone's plans with a central travel dashboard. Try TripIt for Teams at: http://bit.ly/tripitforteams

The post Friendly reminder: Thank your admin! appeared first on TripIt Blog.

Your Miles Can Make a Child’s Wish Come True

Linda Bao — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 23:32:06 +0000

Do you have more miles than you can use or points that are about to expire? If you fly with United Airlines, Delta or US Airways, you’re in luck because you can put your miles to use toward a great cause.
This month, Make-A-Wish is celebrating 30 years of making wishes come true for children with life-threatening medical conditions. Over 70% of the wishes requested involve wanting to travel far and away to magical lands. Living up to its name, Make-A-Wish indeed makes these dreams a reality by partnering with airlines to turn donated miles into airline tickets.
Here in San Francisco, our local chapter is partnering with television station KRON4 to hold a one-day telethon, “Million Mile Monday” on April 29 from 6am to 7pm to help raise five million miles.
You, too, can be a part of the wish granting by donating your miles to send over 10,000 kids on their travels this year! You don’t have to wait until April 29, you can be someone’s genie and donate your miles (or dollars) here.

As an added incentive, World Wrestling superstar John Cena will personally match every frequent flier mile donated up to 4.5 million, and United Airlines will match the donations of its MileagePlus members, up to 3 million miles, through April 30.
Thanks for your help in making the wishes of many deserving children come true!

The post Your Miles Can Make a Child’s Wish Come True appeared first on TripIt Blog.

Stress No More: TripIt’s Tips for Staying Healthy While Traveling

Linda Bao — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 17:19:14 +0000

Does your vow to eat healthier and to exercise more in 2013 seem like a distant memory? The strenuous demands of frequent travel make it easy for those goals and resolutions to fall by the wayside. But with summer vacations (beaches and golf and adventures, oh my!) just around the corner, now is the time to renew your commitment to healthy living and keep it going strong, even when you’re on the road. According to a recent TripIt survey, frequent travelers said that concerns about eating healthy and exercising cause them the most stress while traveling – more than the scanners, lines and overall gauntlet of airport security! When asked how stressful certain travel-related activities are, 67% of respondents said exercising was either somewhat or very stressful and 66% said eating healthy was stressful. So if you’ve ever fretted over missing a workout or packing on calories thanks to meals on the road, you’re certainly not alone. To help you stay healthy and happy while on the road this spring and summer, here are a few of our top tips:

Carry healthy, portable snacks, like whole almonds or a banana to curb cravings
When ordering from a menu, substitute an appetizer or small plate for the entrée
Opt to walk or take the stairs, instead of the people mover or escalator
Aim to increase your steps with an activity tracker or app, and take the scenic route
Ask the hotel concierge for a map of local running routes or trails
Take advantage of hotels that loan guests workout gear, yoga mats or shoes
Use the hotel room to do crunches, push-ups, and chair dips any hour of the day

How do you stay healthy on the road? Do you have any other tips to add to our list?

The post Stress No More: TripIt’s Tips for Staying Healthy While Traveling appeared first on TripIt Blog.

5 Must-Haves for Seamless Ground Travel

Ken Kantor — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 19:41:25 +0000

If you’ve ever missed a meeting because your car service was late, ended up stranded at the airport or had to dispute a charge with a shady local cab company, read on. These are the five must-haves when it comes to selecting a car service.
1) Available Worldwide: Whether you’re in New York City or Tel Aviv, you need a car service that’s reliable and trustworthy. By choosing a car service with worldwide coverage, you know you’ll be getting the same, consistent experience no matter where your travels take you.
2) Reliability: You need your car to be on-time because, well, you need to be on-time too. Find a service that commits to a reliability rate. (GroundLink has an on-time rating of 99%.) Why gamble with your time? Choose a service that knows how valuable it is.
3) Mobile Technology: Your car service should make travel less stressful, not more. Very few services adjust pick-up times for late flights, send a new car if there is a sudden traffic delay and keep you informed with SMS location alerts until the car arrives. Mobile apps take the experience to the next level – offering fast booking, a GPS-connected map and a direct line to the driver.
4) Quality: Look for a car service that ensures premium vehicles, offers quality service and vets the drivers. For just a few more dollars, you can ensure a courteous driver and a clean, modern car that will get you to your big meeting.
5) Transparency: There’s nothing like getting hit with extra fees after the ride is over. The best car services show you itemized charges before you book, so there are never any surprises.
This post was contributed by the team at GroundLink. For more information visit GroundLink.com or find us on Twitter or Facebook.

The post 5 Must-Haves for Seamless Ground Travel appeared first on TripIt Blog.

Top Austin Restaurants for SXSW, According to TripIt Users

Katie Dally — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 15:55:49 +0000

No bones about it: Austin has some of the best cookin' in the country. It does regional classics such as BBQ and Tex-Mex to perfection, and a swath of up-and-coming chefs are making names for themselves and their city in more inventive, foreign fare. As techies, music lovers and cinephiles make their annual pilgrimage to SXSW (occurring in 2013 from March 8-17), we at TripIt want to ensure attendees are kept both organized and well-fed – so we launched a search for the TripIt community’s 10 most popular Austin restaurants.
The list, like a great meal, is well balanced: there are options for formal and no-frills; ribeye and raw oysters; even American and Asian fusion – to help you make the most of your SXSW experience.
Best of all, you can book an online reservation for yourself and load it into your own TripIt itinerary to keep everything organized. Which of our top picks will you choose?
Top 10 TripIt Restaurants in Austin: 1 & 2. Uchiko & Uchi – Tyson Cole's two flagship restaurants* offer inventive sushi and either farmhouse (the former) or contemporary (the latter) Japanese cuisine to satisfy every palate. Our users overwhelmingly agree – these Austin institutions are not-to-be-missed. [*Though Top Chef winner Paul Qui no longer helms the kitchen at Uchiko, his new restaurant, QUI, is slated to open by SXSW should truly loyal fans opt to hunt it down.] 3. Parkside – Right in the heart of downtown, celebrated Austinite Shawn Cirkiel serves up a killer raw bar alongside gastropub fare from steaks to rabbit. It’s adventurous food for serious eaters – but fear not, comfort-foodies: the burger gets rave reviews as well. 4. Lambert's Downtown BBQ – What trip to Texas is complete without authentic barbecue? Your time at SXSW is valuable, so save yourself the drive to the country or the wait in an hours-long line and book a table here. 5. Perla's – Seafood and oyster bar in a land-locked city? Believe it. Fresh fare flies in from both coasts and the Gulf of Mexico daily, making Perla's a seaworthy café in the South Congress district. 6. Congress – Upscale fare in the heart of downtown offering three- or seven-course menus that change nightly. A great place to splurge on a dinner companion or business acquaintance you seriously want to impress. 7. Wink – If any city could pull off "unpretentious fine dining," it would be Austin. Head to Wink to see the oxymoron come to life. 8. Midnight Cowboy – Built in a former brothel, this tongue-in-cheek speakeasy is cocktails-only, reservations-required. 9. The Salty Sow – This Austin-based “swine dining” restaurant expands to Phoenix next year, so put it on your list now while it's still a Bat City original. 10. Olive and June – Another celebrated restaurant from Parkside's Cirkiel, this one featuring classic yet sophisticated Italian fare (a cuisine unexpected in the wilds of Texas). Need a respite from the hobnobbing and networking? Head here on the 10th for family-style Sunday dinner.
Have we missed any of your favorite Austin eateries? Let us know what spots you’d add to the list. Cheers to a successful – and delicious – SXSW!
Want mobile alerts for gate changes and flight delays on your way to SXSW? Get them free for two months with this trial of TripIt Pro: http://bit.ly/ZB2jYU

The post Top Austin Restaurants for SXSW, According to TripIt Users appeared first on TripIt Blog.

7 Surprising Ways to Earn and Use Reward Points

Amy Jackson — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 22:35:18 +0000

Just when you think you’ve exhausted all the ways to earn and redeem reward points, there are more avenues to explore. And in many cases, you can collect perks for things you’re already doing. This was the focus of our recent Twitter chat on January 31, where @LandLopers, @ThePointsGuy, @RoadWarriorette and @EarthXplorer hosted a lively Twitter discussion about earning and using points in 2013. Here are some highlights:

Spend strategically – Use one miles-earning credit card for all purchases. This was the #1 recommendation during the Twitter chat.
Go shopping –United MileagePlus Shopping and Delta SkyMiles Shopping give you a portal to shop on popular sites like Macys.com and earn points for each purchase.
Go out to eat – Several major airlines and hotels participate in dining reward programs, so you can earn miles when you nosh at participating restaurants.
Join a wine club – Alaska Airlines serves up bonus points when you sign up for Vinesse.com, an online wine club.
Skip housekeeping – The Starwood "Make a Green Choice" program rewards bonus SPG points for opting out of housekeeping during your stay.
Go somewhere new – There’s nothing to lose if you’re using points to pay for a vacation. Try a destination you’ve always been curious about, but didn’t want to pay out of pocket for.
Travel like royalty – One of my personal favorites is to use United MileagePlus miles to stay at 5-star hotels. Another chat participant said she finally took the vacation of a lifetime to Hawaii for her 10^th anniversary using points.

What tips would you add to the list? Join us for our next Twitter chat using hashtag #TripItChat on Wednesday, Feb. 27 at 11a PT/2p ET, and follow @TripIt on Twitter for other helpful travel tips.

The post 7 Surprising Ways to Earn and Use Reward Points appeared first on TripIt Blog.

Trip Sharing Gets More Intuitive

Melissa Shahbazian — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 19:22:20 +0000

We’ve made it easier and more intuitive to share itineraries directly with friends, family and colleagues.

Trip sharing is now part of your trip itinerary page.

Add invitees to your trip itinerary without navigating away from the "Trips" tab.
Start a conversation with others on your trip in the "Comments" section.
Select contacts to share trip details with directly from your Gmail or Yahoo! address books.

When you share, you can choose from three different levels of access:

Traveler – someone who is going on the trip and can collaborate on the trip details.
Planner – someone who is not going on the trip but can help to organize the trip details.
Viewer – someone who can see the details of your trip but can't change or add to them.

You can also visit our Trip Sharing FAQ for more information about the new way to share your trips.

PS - Did you know, you can easily publish your trips on Facebook, LinkedIn, Yammer and Salesforce Chatter? What’s your preferred way to share?

The post Trip Sharing Gets More Intuitive appeared first on TripIt Blog.

TripIt for Teams: Organizing Travel for Everyone in One Place

Edith Harbaugh — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 07:00:01 +0000

When we started TripIt for Business two years ago, we had a simple but ambitious plan. Take all the goodness that TripIt gives to the traveler -- organizing trip plans in a simple, easy to use format -- and give that power to a business to share and organize travel plans for a whole team.

When our first customer signed up, I was so excited I rang a gong in our office. This became tradition every time a new customer signed up. The whole team (product managers, engineers, designers, customer support, and Mike our incredible customer evangelist) celebrated together, and then got back to work making the easiest way to organize travel for teams.

Since then, gong-ringing has become a cacophony as teams of all company sizes – from startups to Fortune 100s -- ditch the old way of manually creating itineraries for travelers, or struggling to keep track of who’s out of the office. We’ve welcomed a range of customers all over the world, like a traveling jam band, a boutique pension fund firm, a racing team, and an architecture firm.

Our new name, TripIt for Teams, better reflects this diversity.

In addition, one of my favorite things is hearing from these teams. I’ll never forget the time one of our early customers told me that TripIt for Teams helped her be more present with her family than ever before, because she saved so much time creating itineraries automatically.

In the coming weeks, we’re going to share more of these stories with you. We’d love to hear from you as well, in the comments below.

And, if your team hasn’t yet tried TripIt for Teams, enjoy a complimentary 1-month free at http://tripit.com/teams.

The post TripIt for Teams: Organizing Travel for Everyone in One Place appeared first on TripIt Blog.