I just got done with a ridiculous road trip.  I met with 6 customers and prospects yesterday, and drove (in less than 48 hours) from Detroit to Toledo, Columbus, Cincinnati, Lexington.  Business travel always takes it out of me.  What electronic / web based tools do you use to help you travel more efficiently?

Here are two I’m using as a key part of my business travel strategy.  I’m in to time savers.  I’m road tired, so I cheated and took their descriptions.  Bottom line?  I can’t live without them:

TripIt – http://www.tripit.com

With today’s myriad of travel sites, even the most experienced traveler has their hands full managing all the details of a typical trip. Booking airline tickets, hotels, rental cars and restaurants leaves you with lots of separate pieces of paper. Throw in maps, directions, things to do, and weather and the chaos multiplies.

TripIt turns chaos into order by making it easy for anyone to:

  • Organize trip details into one master online itinerary — even if arrangements are booked at multiple travel sites
  • Automatically include maps, directions and weather in their master itinerary
  • Have the option to book restaurants, theatre tickets, activities and more right from within the online itinerary
  • Safely access travel plans online, share them, check-in for flights, or print an itinerary

RideCharge – https://www.ridecharge.com

RideCharge completes the online travel booking puzzle, by giving travelers the ability to book taxis and sedans online.

RideCharge allows corporate travel managers to control ground travel costs with electronic booking, payment, and expense management for taxi, sedan, limo and shuttle services throughout the US.

RideCharge gets rid of paper receipts, eliminates the need to carry cash for taxis, and allows travelers to find reliable service in unfamiliar cities, all with a mobile phone.

Check out these sites… well worth it.  What travel tools are “can’t live without” for you???