Five New Apps Attempt to Make Travel Easier

As new apps continue to roll out, everyone is looking for the next “disruptive” technology.  Almost every industry has changed in some way due to the era of smartphones, but some have changed more than others.

The travel industry for example is almost unrecognizable from 20 or even 10 years ago.  Explaining the concept of a travel agent to a 20 year-old would probably prove difficult and traveling with a hard copy of a travel itinerary sounds almost ludicrous.  

Skift.com recently published an article about five of the newest travel technologies and their merits in the crowded world of travel apps.

Spottible is a new app that allows users to create virtual itineraries complete with collections of places they would like to visit in a given city.  It helps travelers decide which landmarks they most want to visit before arriving in a new city.  The interactive itineraries can either be used privately or shared publicly with your friends.  Spottible sounds like it may have potential but seems suspiciously like Pinterest’s new feature that allows you to create collaborative travel boards with friends to help you plan trips.  

TripSource is a new release from BCD, one of the larger corporate travel companies in the United States.  The app allows you to track your flight status, gate changes, get directions and more.  While it could be useful, it may be too little too late.  Corporate travel continues to be behind the eight ball and odds are apps that have been doing this for years for independent travelers are probably smoother to use.

MetroMile is the one app on the list that could potentially gain some traction.  MetroMile offers a flash drive-sized device that plugs directly into your car.  It then pulls data about your cars performance and helps you make money and gas saving decisions based on your driving patterns.  It shows you how one route to work affects fuel usage and time spent in the car and can make recommendations based on that data.  It can also recommend the best times to leave for work or a road trip.  It may turn out that sticking around the office for an extra fifteen minutes might actually get you home faster.  An added feature never forgetting where you parked your car.  The device allows you to track your car’s location using your smartphone.