It might be a pain in many ways, but travel is an essential party to many businesses. Whether it’s meeting with clients or attending conferences, odds are you’ll have to make travel arrangements at some point. You might even have to include other employees in the plan, which adds dollars to the equation and complexity to the arrangements.
Thankfully, smartphones can help on both fronts. They can help you book and store your itineraries, making everything that much easier.
Here are a few of our favorite business travel apps for various smartphone platforms.
Booking: Orbitz
Say you have an upcoming conference in Chicago. The Orbitz website gives you great means to get you and your employees there. You can book packages of flights, hotels, and other amenities and save some money when compared to booking them separately. But see, the Orbitz mobile app takes this a step further. You can actually save even more money on things like staying in Chicago hotels through the Orbitz mobile app.
Yes, you can still book your flight and hotel as a package with the app. It’s the same as on your computer. But Orbitz offers mobile-only deals on hotels as well. So while it might seem pointless to book on your smartphone when you can just do it from a computer, Orbitz adds incentive to use your smartphone. It all works the same, but you stand to save a little money when booking from your smartphone.
It works well in last-minute situations, too. If you find out just a couple of days beforehand that you’re traveling, you probably want to get on that ASAP. The price has already risen, and it’ll probably rise again before you get to a computer.
Organizing: TripIt
Staying organized while flying used to be a pain. Most people would carry around manila folders with all of their information in it. That’s not ideal, of course, but for a time it was the best method available. The last thing you want is to be stuck without the name of the hotel where you’re staying. Our mobile phones have made that a lot easier, and apps such as TripIt mean you’ll never be stuck without vital travel information again.
When you receive your confirmation email, you forward it to TripIt, which automatically populates your smartphone app. It then syncs up with your calendar, so the information is stored in multiple useful places. So when you’re heading to your flight and need your confirmation number, you can just pull it from the app. Forget your hotel when you land? It’s there, too. TripIt is the ultimate travel organizing tool, and since its on your smartphone it’s always with you.
Tracking: FlightTrack Pro
Having all the information about your flight is great, but what if something changes? What if you’re delayed or cancelled? That’s something you want to know, especially if the information is available before you get to the airport. TripIt does offer a premium service that includes flight tracking and alerts, but it costs $50 per year. If you’re looking for a cheaper option — and an option that integrates with TripIt — look no further than FlightTrack Pro.
Part of FlightTrack’s value is its graphics. You get clear maps that show all relevant flight information. That includes not only the route, but also weather radars and other real-time information. It ensures that you know everything about your flight before you even get to the airport. Gotta love that.
In-airport amenities: Wi-Fi Finder and GateGuru
Seasoned travelers might not heed the warning, but TSA does recommend people get to the airport two hours before their flight departures. This is to ensure that a long security line doesn’t cause you to miss your flight. Yet even those of us who get to the airport after that two-hour window know what it’s like to wait forever for our flights. If they’re delayed, all the worse. We need something to fill that time. These two apps help fill that.
GateGuru helps you plan ahead. It lets you know what type of services are available at over 120 airports worldwide. You can figure out where to eat, where to get a book to read, and even more. There are few worse situations than being hungry and facing a delayed flight — when there is only a food cart in your terminal. Make sure you’re prepared beforehand by checking GateGuru. It’s free, too.
WiFi is another amenity that most of us need. Unfortunately, there are many airports that don’t offer it as a free service. If there is a free or otherwise public network near you, Wi-Fi Finder can, well, find it. It’s an absolute must-have for not only airport situations, but any travel situation.
About the Author
Joe Pawlikowski is the Senior Editor for both Android Geeks and Blackberry Geeks. In addition Joe also serves as considered a well respected expert on all things prepaid wireless and serving as the Senior Editor of Prepaid Reviews for almost five years.
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