People who have gone on a trip in the last year are likely to have horror stories. There have been many canceled flights. The wait times for customer service with airlines can be lengthy. Rental cars and plane tickets have become more expensive in some areas.
The travel industry has been hard hit by many of the economic problems caused by the coronaviruses, such as high gas prices.
Travelers need to modify their approach to planning their getaways nearly three years into Covid-19. Tech hacks come in that area. Trips were mostly done online to see where we were allowed to go and what was required when the virus was more deadly. Tech can be used to make travel more comfortable and less chaotic.
Even though they can save you money, avoid apps and websites that book through a third party. If something goes wrong with your flight or hotel room, a middleman is another party to deal with, which can lead to more hours wasted on hold.
Brian Kelly said that if you book through a travel agency you are asking for trouble. Go in a different direction. The more people you put in the way, the more complicated the situation becomes.
Some of the most useful tech tools that travel experts and I are using to make our trips more pleasant include apps to monitor flight changes and find the best seats.
It is possible to score a good deal on a plane ticket without booking through a third-party agency in an era of sky high inflation. Track each airline's ticket costs and set up alert for price drops by using services that do this.
Mr. Kelly uses the internet search engine to score cheap airfare. He plugs in travel dates and destinations and then has the option to track prices and receive email updates when the airfare plummets. He buys his tickets through the airline.
The next step is to get the best seats. SeatGuru is a website that allows travelers to review an aircraft's detailed seating chart. The information about the seats is more detailed than the basic diagram that airlines show.
The final step after booking is to check the status of the flight, which is important because of the frequent delays and cancellation. Information on an aircraft's precise location and insights into an airline's track record can be found on the web.
When Mr. Kelly arrives at the airport, he uses the app LoungeBuddy to find the lounges that are easy to slip into.
Travelers had to read travel and tourism websites to find out about the coronaviruses restrictions and requirements for their destination during the early stages of the Pandemic. There is a way to get around it.
Henry Harteveldt, the founder of Atmosphere Research Group, a travel analysis firm in San Francisco, uses JoinSherpa.com to pull up travel requirements for departures and returns. The site loads a list of all the health documents and Quarantine requirements to enter the country, as well as the documents needed to get back into the U.S.
It can still be difficult toggling travel documents and itineraries because we have more information. Several tools are used to keep my itinerary and health documents clean.
I like to organize itineraries with Trip It. After scanning your inbox for itineraries, hotel bookings and car rental reservations, it will give you an all-in-one itinerary.
I use TripIt in my planning. I have a separate email account for trips. Confirmation emails are forwarded to that email account after booking a flight, car or hotel. The inbox is automatically scanned by Trip It and my timelines are updated.
I always have two forms of my vaccine records with me if there is confusion. The Department of Public Health in California has a digitalQR code that I store in my phone. I save a photograph of the vaccine card inside a notes app to make finding it easier later.
Staffing shortages and soaring demand for air travel have led to a spike in lost luggage. Tile and Apple's AirTag are particularly useful because of that. In the event that a bag or suitcase is lost, the Find My app on a phone can be opened to locate the tracker on a map.
Even if you don't lose your luggage, a tracker can give you peace of mind. Mr. Kelly said that when he traveled through Europe, his AirTag gave him a precise location of his bag.
If the hotel has an app, you just need to download it. The sooner you check in via the app, the quicker your room will be ready.
Don't let this step go by without taking it. The hotel may give away your reservation if you show up late because of a flight delay.
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