The Maintenance Summit and Travel Tips: There’s an App for That
(Editor’s Note: As we close in on the beginning of the 6th Annual Oracle Maintenance Summit in Nashville, TN (March 26-29th), I thought it would be a good idea to introduce you to our own Tina Thames. Besides being an outstanding PeopleSoft consultant, Tina is gained fame in MIPRO for knowing “there’s an app for that”. While all MIPRO Consulting consultants are travel savvy, I asked Tina to share some of her travel favorite travel-related smartphone apps that might make your journey to Nashville a little easier. )
Have a smartphone? Your travel is about to get easier.
Does this sound familiar?
It’s Monday morning. You’re running late for the airport and you’re sitting in your office going through emails trying to find and print various flight, car and hotel reservation confirmations. You stick them in your briefcase and make a mad dash for the airport. As you board your plane, you find out that your window seat – has no window, AND the seat doesn’t recline. Fast forward to the end of the day and you find yourself standing outside the client office, in the pouring rain, without a cab in sight!
Well frazzled road warrior, there’s a better way! Check out some of these mobile phone applications and websites to make your life on the road much easier:
TripIt! 
This mobile phone application allows you to consolidate all of your travel reservations/confirmation by trip for easy access. All you do is forward your email confirmations to the TripIt application (to an email address it creates for you) and it builds them into itineraries based on dates — including maps and directions from the airport to your hotel! Upgrade to the proversion and track all of your membership rewards in one place. This is a go-to app for me.
SeatGuru.com 
This isn’t an app, per se, but you should check out SeatGuru.com for a review of every seat, on every plane by airline. Does a seat require frequent flyer status? Is there a power outlet near your seat? A quick stop on this website and you’ll easily find what you need to know to pick that optimum seat.
TaxiMagic 
This application takes the hassle out of finding a cab in a new city. Simply select your city and a list of taxi companies appear. In larger cities, the app lets you directly integrate to the company’s dispatch system to book your cab, track the arrival of your taxi, charge the ride to your credit card — and it even emails you a receipt. In smaller cities it will connect you directly to the cab company to make a reservation over the phone. If you’re not renting a car or surrendering yourself to mass transit, this app is a lifesaver.
These are three on which I rely heavily when I’m about to hit the road. There are tons of travel apps, some more useful than others. What are your favorites?
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More links:
MIPRO Consulting main website.
