When it comes to apps, your options are anything but limited. On the contrary – if you don't like a certain application, you could unquestionably find something else with a similar profile. And then there are all the local apps showing you upcoming events worth visiting, nearby restaurants, street food stalls, clubs, bars and whatnot - the possibilities are practically endless. Once you know where your next business trip is taking you, you can happily start browsing through them. If chosen right, the applications will make travel easier and much better, regardless of its purpose and duration. Our specialist made a list of apps that can help you with 10 important aspects of your business trip.

The Best Flight Delay App - Colibra

Colibra is practically a necessity in the COVID era, as flights get constantly delayed or cancelled. The app lets you book flights but you can pay for your ticket after you safely land at your destination. If you get delayed for more than 3 hours the app ensures you get your refund. This feature is called “Fly Now, Pay If Okay” and is one of the best things that ever happen to business travellers in 2021. Basically, if you experience a delay, you assign the legal right for Colibra to make the full claim, but regardless of if they are successful or not, you receive a payout within 24-hours.

The Best COVID Planning App - Atlys

Atlys is another app that every business traveller has to have on their phone in 2022. It provides regularly updated information about COVID travel restrictions worldwide. However, the main bulk of the app is to make acquiring visas and travel documentation as easy as possible. All you need to do is to enter where you are travelling from and where you are going. Then Atlys will inform you about the documentation or visas you may need. You can then easily apply through the app, using the details already saved to your account.

The Best Travel Planning App - TripIt

TripIt is the highest-rated planning app at the moment. It is easy to use and has an innovative way of working. You simply email all of your confirmation emails to plans@tripit.com, and the application will create a master spreadsheet with all of your business itineraries. For each trip, you will receive a separate plan. In addition, a lot of different applications can automatically connect to TripIt, exchanging data for mere seconds. You can find information about your bookings, flights, tracking your mile points and more. The app is free to download, but it has a paid version containing even more useful features.

The Best App for Luggage Packing and Delivery - PackPoint

PackPoint is a packing list application equally good for leisure and business travel or a combination of both. It constructs a customised luggage checklist based on the destination, length and nature of your trip. PackPoint also takes into account the weather forecast and the activities in your schedule, to avoid leaving behind any items you would eventually need. The app's business events cover casual and formal occasions, a fancy dinner, international travel and working, plus you could add new activities and items to the suggestions.

The Best App for Managing your Flight - App in the Air

App in the Air is a personal flight assistant. The flight-tracking application gives you up-to-date information about the four stages of your flight – Check-in, Boarding, Take-off and Landing. Other features include airport tips, maps, offline alerts, checklist and notes, your own statistics. Bear in mind that some of them might involve in-app purchases. The app also has great coverage – more than 1000 airlines and over 5000 airports worldwide. Both PackPoint and App in the Air can integrate with Tripit allowing you to create easily manageable travel itineraries.

The Best App for Relaxing at the Airport - LoungeBuddy

LaungeBuddy will help you have a comfortable and relatively inexpensive stay at the best airport lounges. The app has a list of all the relaxed areas in major airports and offers you to buy a day pass to enter them. You don’t need to be a first or business class traveller to afford to enjoy the clean, comfortable seats and great customer service. You can pre-book your pass or purchase it on your flight day. Once you enter your trip destinations, the app will tell you which lounges you have access to and offer you to buy your pass. Their prices start as low as $25.

The Best App for Last-minute Flight Booking - Skyscanner

Skyscanner is one of the most trustworthy apps for finding affordable flights. It scans all flights listed to depart to your desired destination and offers you the cheapest deals according to your requirements. Skyscanner is easy to use and completely free to instal on your Android or IOs device. The app constantly checks the database of over 1200 tourist agencies and will send you a notification when it detects the lowering of the prices of your chosen flights. Trustpilot places Scyscanner higher in the rankings for customer satisfaction than Kayak, Momondo and Expedia.

The Best App for Tracking Your Expenses - Expensify

Expensify is one of the most popular apps among our customers, and for a good reason. Frequent travellers know how important it is to back up important documents, including receipts. Expensify’s SmartScan photographs the receipts and automatically creates expenses. You can easily submit the generated expense report through the app, or convert it to PDF and save it. Other features you might want to use in the course of your trip are the currency conversion, mileage entry, time and hourly rate entry. Expensify is integrated with various programs and platforms – Excel, Dropbox, Oracle, Xero, Quickbooks, Intacct, etc. The application is free to use after you log in with your email, phone number Google or Apple account.

The Best App for Finding WIFI - WiFi Map

For most business travellers, having wifi on the road is essential and here comes WiFi Map. It’s an open-source application, meaning anyone can add information about a free network to the database. The app is easy to use and even has a VPN function to ensure the security of your phone and documents. It has over 100 000 000 users worldwide and includes more than 100 million free hotspot networks. At any time of your business trip, you can check the online map and find directions to the nearest free wifi.

The Best VPN App - ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is amongst the top 3 VPN providers worldwide. If you know what this technology does, it essentially hides your IP address and encrypts your data, making it impossible for third parties to find and enter your device. Having a reliable connection is extremely important, especially for business travellers who work from their smartphones and laptops. ExpressVPN offers 256-bit encryption and unlimited bandwidth. On top of that, you will get a 30-day money-back guarantee if you are not happy with their services. Truth be told, you most likely will never use this benefit, as ExpressVPN has one of the highest customer satisfaction rates amongst its competitors.

The Best App for Converting Currency - XE Currency

Travelling abroad often requires comparing currency rates, which is why XE Currency is indispensable to the business traveller. The app can convert every national currency used worldwide. Rates are updated regularly and XE stores the last updates, so you can convert prices even when your device is offline. In addition, the application boasts several business-oriented features like rates for precious metals, currency charts for historical rates and simultaneous monitoring of up to 10 currencies. XE Currency can be downloaded from both the App Store and Google Play and is free.

The Best Translating App - Google Translate

Many app providers have tried to overshine Google Translate over the years, however, their efforts weren’t sufficient enough. It is still the most used app around the globe, helping millions of people overcome the language barrier and do their business effortlessly. Granted, there are still a few bugs and hiccups here and there, but in general, Google Translated can help you a lot in day-to-day interactions.

The application can translate both the words you type in and say out loud to your microphone to over 100 different languages. One of its best features includes photo text recognition - scan a sign with your phone, and Google Translate will tell you what it says. You can even download whole dictionaries into your phone’s library so you can use it offline. Google Translate is completely free and is available for both Android and iOS users.

The Best App for Finding Your Way Around - Citymapper

The journey planner Citymapper helps people to get around a city by public transport, taxi and Uber. It finds the fastest and most convenient routes and makes a suggestion with all options, available at the moment, accompanied by the length of the journey, costs, live traffic and weather updates.

The app can provide you with information for over 60 of the biggest cities on the globe and is constantly being updated. You can make all the payments from Citymapper, and there is even a cool feature for those visiting London - you can order your transport pass or Oyster card. The application is available for Android and iOS and is free for download.

The Best App for Dealing with Jet Lag - Timeshifter

One of the biggest challenges for international business travellers is Jet lag - a sleeping disorder that affects people flying from one time zone to another. It alters your work performance, causing tiredness, migraines, loss of concentration, etc. But no more!

Timeshifter is an app created by neuroscientists that helps our circadian clock to adapt faster to the change avoiding the negative effects of the Jet lag. A circadian clock is a special part of the brain controlling all of our biological systems. The app is used not only by ordinary travellers, but it's shown to immensely help astronauts adapt once they arrive back from their space missions. At the moment, Timeshifter is the most downloaded app on the market. The first plan is free after that there are different plans you can benefit from, as well as a business package you can buy for your entire company. The application is available both for Android and iOS.

The Best App for Planning Your Free Time - TripAdvisor

The world’s largest travel site has its own app, and it is amazing. Here you can find information and honest reviews about more than “8.7 million accommodations, restaurants, experiences, airlines and cruises.” TripAdvisor helps around 460 million travellers monthly and is essential for your trip. Find valuable insights, tips and recommendations. Use it to plan your free time or choose the right dining place for your important business meeting. The app is free to download and available in 28 different languages.

Bonus: The Best Site for Traveling in Europe - Rick Steves' Europe

Why keep your trip strictly business when each city offers you so much to explore! Rick Steves' Europe is directed to the American audience, but it’s useful to anyone travelling in Europe. The site presents over 50 European destinations, general country/region/city overviews, tips and interviews with local guides and experts in different areas. What is valuable about this combination is it gives a deeper understanding of the culture and atmosphere that the traveller is about to experience. Also – and this is one of the best features – there are audio walking tours for the most famous attractions and museums. Everything can be downloaded in advance, so you don’t have to use WiFi to play it.

If you feel overwhelmed by all the organisational and travel aspects of your next big journey, let us manage your trip. Fair Point can help you with your business accommodation and planning, you don’t need 10 or 20 apps when you can rely on your trusted personal account manager.