9 Travel Apps That Will Change The Way You Vacation
From our friends at The Zoe Report
Curated by Rachel Zoe and her team of editors and stylists, The Zoe Report is not only your stop for all things fashion and beauty but all-around lifestyle as well. Check out their site for everything from shopping tips to dating advice, to the latest in celebrity news
For whatever reason, we are going absolutely stir-crazy right now—it feels like June here in L.A. at The Zoe Report headquarters, and all we can think about is vacation. Luckily, summer is just a few short months away, which means we should be making our travel plans now. In the interest of satiating our urge to run away to the airport, we decided instead to pull all of our restless energy into researching the best new travel apps and websites. Here, nine that will save you time, money and grief while you vacation. Our countdown officially commences now.
We highly recommend you download this app for the next time your flight is delayed or canceled—AirHelp can get you reimbursed at an average rate of $500 per claim.
Visit AirHelp here.
This is basically Tinder for hotels—enter your travel details and it will show you available properties. The ones you swipe "yes" on will contact you to work out the details.
Visit Chatnbook here.
This app and website are apparently so good at finding you cheap flights that United Airlines sued them for it—and they've since made the lawsuit a bragging point in their PR materials. It does this is in large part by finding what are known as "hidden city" fares, wherein you take a non-direct flight somewhere other than your destination and simply disembark instead of connecting.
Visit Skiplagged here.
Hotel check-in and check-out times are annoying—AsYouStay aims to change this by allowing you to check in at odd hours. So far, it's only available in select U.S. cities, but we're hoping they'll continue expanding to enable more convenient hotel stays everywhere.
Download AsYouStay here.
When you're traveling, it's hard to know for sure which neighborhoods are safe and which are not. This location-sensitive app offers safety scores that can help you get a better sense for the risks involved in a given area. It also crowd-sources information on local thefts and other crimes.
Download GeoSure here.
If you didn't know, now you know that Goop has a travel app called G. Spotting which, despite its somewhat sexual moniker, has nothing to do with sex tourism (ha!). It's not comprehensive—as of now there are only 25 guides—but if you're lucky enough to be traveling to one of the destinations it covers, this is most definitely the only app you'll need.
Download G. Spotting here.
If your schedule is unpredictable, Roomer can help you sell off hotel rooms you booked and can't use but which aren't refundable. It's also great to join if you're looking for a deal on a room, as most that are added to the app are offered at a significant discount.
Visit Roomer here.
There's nothing worse than realizing you have to renew your passport, especially if you're planning to travel internationally fairly soon. The ItsEasy app will handle everything for you, including ensuring you get a passport photo directly from your iPhone.
Download ItsEasy here.
A lot of people use Tinder when they travel, but the newest way to meet people on the fly (pun intended) is via dating apps specifically geared toward travelers.
Read more about Btrfly and other traveler-specific dating apps here.
