I think I'll start a regular feature on this blog where I tell you about cool stuff that makes my life easier and, therefore, better. I know lots of people already do this sort of thing, but hey, my two cents are worth at least two cents too, so here ya go.
First in this inspiring series will be
TripIt.com. I've been using TripIt in my day job for a couple of months now and I feel confident in recommending it as a tool for travel planning. It makes my life soooo much easier on a day-to-day basis. I've gone from a many step process like this one:
1. booking each different travel item (airline ticket, rental car, hotel, etc.)
2. emailing confirmations of each different travel item to traveler(s)
3. pulling everything together in a Word doc itinerary
4. adding directions for how to get from place to place
5. printing itinerary for traveler(s)
6. emailing itinerary to traveler(s)
7. telling traveler(s) all info over the phone because said traveler(s) lost printed itinerary and can't get to email
Now to a much simpler process:
1. booking each travel item
2. forwarding travel confirmations to TripIt
3. point-and-clicking to add directions
4. sharing the TripIt itinerary with all travelers at once thereby allowing them to print it or access it online from any computer
5. allowing traveler(s) to access info via their mobile phones
Of course, this involves some training of your travelers. Apparently logging in to a site is a concept some people just don't get. And then, of course, they have to actually remember to print the itinerary, and learn to use the mobile shortcuts faster than they can call their tireless assistant (me), but the concept is good and right and I love TripIt for thinking of this stuff, even if my travelers are still a bit baffled. (It makes sense to
me.)
In the larger sense, even if you're not a booker of travel in your day job, I think TripIt would be infinitely useful if you were, say, planning a group cruise or something. Everyone gets on the same page and can see all the plans and who's supposed to pick up whom from the airport, and life is good. Check it out, and add me as a connection while you're there should you feel so inclined.
I'm not getting paid to say all this stuff, but,
TripIt, if you're watching, I accept thanks in the form of cash, chocolate, and linkbacks.
1. Decide what kind of champagne cocktail you want to make. My favorite is raspberry.
It was refreshing to read a Regency era romance that colors outside the lines. I’d always taken the fact that peers marry peers as sort of a rule for that period, but this book breaks the rules and does a marvelous job of it. I loved the story and really enjoyed learning some of the history of the period too, without having to wade through a lot of narrative or info dump. Expertly done. 
My name is Sonja Foust. I’m a romance author and internet dork. More?
