TripIt: I'm Just a Travellin' Librarian

Having recently returned from a national conference (primarily for genealogists, not for librarians, but they do have a librarians' day at the beginning), I am reminded of another tech tool that I have become seriously dependent upon: TripIt.

TripIt is a free online service, combined with apps for iOS (separately customized ones for iPhone and iPad), Android, Blackberry, and Windows Phone.  You use it to track your trips, including air travel, hotel stays, meetings, and other travel-related events. 

One of my favorite features is that you can take those airline itineraries and hotel confirmations that you get in your email and forward a copy to a general email address (plans@tripit.com), and TripIt automatically creates a new trip (if you haven't already created one) or adds the information to your existing trip.  You can let TripIt know which email addresses you send from (probably your work address and your home address), so it knows when something is coming from you.

Another fantastic feature is that you can share your travel itinerary with specific individuals (say, colleagues or family members), so that they know where you are at any given point.  No more guessing on their part whether you're on the road or in a meeting, and they know where you're staying, etc. 

There is a Pro version (isn't there always?) for $49/year, which adds notifications to your phone about flight changes (delays, cancellations, gate changes), automatic sharing of your travel plans with selected individuals (in other words, you don't have to manually add your need-to-know library colleagues or family members...you define your "Inner Circle"), and automatic finding of alternative flights if yours develops a delay or problem.  It adds other features too that I haven't taken advantage of, yet.

TripIt has some synchronization features with calendars, and the Pro version can track your frequent flyer points for you.

For me, I like the fact that I've got all my travel info in one place: all my confirmation numbers, all my dates/times of flights, all my dates/times/locations of meetings.  I just glance down at my phone and I know what's up.  I get those text messages on my phone when there's a change in my flight time or when they've assigned the baggage claim carousel number.