New Website Automatically Creates Master Travel Itineraries and Provides Maps, Weather, Directions and Destination Information
Throw away that bulky manila folder with all the print-outs of flight, hotel and rental car details, maps, directions, weather forecasts, and notes for a trip. Now there's TripIt, a free online service that automatically organizes all of a person’s travel information into a master travel itinerary, no matter where the traveler booked. Using TripIt itineraries, travelers can see their trip details wherever they happen to be, and instantly share them with the people who need to know.
The service offers a new solution for the challenge of organizing travel plans. Do-it-yourself travelers -- those who research and buy direct from multiple travel providers -- can now free themselves from the frustrating and time-consuming task of keeping track of all of the scattered information that comes with planning their own trip.
"We came up with the idea for TripIt because we were frustrated do-it-yourself travelers ourselves and know firsthand that using the Internet to make travel plans and organize the details is time consuming and difficult," said Gregg Brockway, TripIt co-founder and president. "TripIt can do a lot of the dirty work of travel organization. Our goal is for TripIt to be like a great personal assistant and take care of all the details so that travelers don't have to."
Here's how TripIt works: A traveler simply forwards their travel confirmation emails -- no matter where they booked -- and the TripIt "Itinerator" instantly incorporates them into their master itinerary. Then, TripIt puts that information to work on the traveler's behalf by automatically anticipating basic needs to make the trip easier, such as adding daily weather, local maps and directions, helpful destination information and more by using information pulled from a variety of other popular websites. Travelers can then print out all their bookings neatly in a single document to take on their trip.
Once the itinerary is created, TripIt leverages the power of social networks to further enrich the travel planning experience. With TripIt, it's easy to share and collaborate on trips with friends, family and colleagues. TripIt users can also create networks of TripIt "Friends" who are able to see each other's travel calendars, which is ideal for frequent travelers.
TripIt integrates with the applications people use most, so travelers can access their information when and where they need it -- online, printed, via mobile, or in a calendar. Additionally, once trips are over, TripIt is a way to store and share details about past trips, so travelers don't need to sift through dozens of emails to replicate a vacation they loved, or give recommendations to friends.
TripIt is a free service and travelers can get started by visiting www.tripit.com to learn more, or by simply forwarding a travel confirmation email to plans@tripit.com
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