These Apps Will Make Booking and Planning a Vacation Easy By Kelsey Marie
B
ooking a vacation can be stressful. As we celebrate National Plan A Vacation Day (January 26, 2021), we wanted to make things simple. This national holiday is celebrated to encourage Americans to plan their time off. With 2020 putting a pause of most plans, people are looking ahead to what the future of travel may hold. Are you planning a trip for a group, and no one is on the same page? Do you have vacation time but don’t know exactly where you want to go? Have you decided last minute that you want to get away, but you’re on a budget? There’s an app for all of that. Booking a vacation just got a little easier with these mobile apps. 1. Travel Noire Did you know that we have an app? Through deals, travel stories and community input, we help travelers discover new destinations through the lens of others like them. When you join the TN app you’ll have access to conversations from other millennials of color about different travel destinations, customized city guides and masterclasses based around travel. https://travelnoire.com 2. Hotel Tonight Hotel Tonight is a must-have app for last minute staycation or vacation plans. How does it work? As you get closer to the date of your staycation, hotels take inventory of their empty rooms and place them on the app at a discounted rate. It’s a way to guarantee the rooms get booked. www.hoteltonight.com 3. Airbnb Do you have the Airbnb app downloaded on your phone yet? If not, what are you waiting for?! This app gives you the ability to explore the world, extend your stay and feel like a local. From a treehouse in Atlanta to a houseboat in Amsterdam- Airbnb gives you the chance to
vacation while feeling like you are a local. www.airbnb.com 4. Roadtrippers Do you remember when we had to print out directions? Now we have apps like Roadtrippers. Plan your road trip, or access pre-made guides of past roadtrippers for inspiration. The app also has a collaboration feature for your friends and family to add in their suggestions as well. https://roadtrippers.com 5. TripIt Are you the planner in your group? TripIt: The Trip Planner takes away the stress and creates a master itinerary for your trip. Sync your flight, hotel, car and any other reservations into the app, and it will store and organize every detail for your trip. www.tripit.com 6. Mobile Passport This is the holy grail for U.S. or Canadian travelers. The last thing you want after a long vacation and landing back in your home airport, is to wait in long customs lines. Mobile passport helps expedite the process. Once you land, complete the brief questionnaire, take a picture of your passport and a current picture of yourself. You can then bypass the regular lines for the mobile passport lane, where a CBP officer will scan your app, so you can be on your way. www.mobilepassport.us https://travelnoire.com/apps-make-bookingplanning-a-vacation-easy
56 | ABA Publications | Africa TRAVEL | May 2021
