Organizing a trip by yourself is not a bed of roses, regardless of whether you are a business traveller or a tourist. There are a lot of things you have to figure out yoursef – from accommodation, topography of the new city to restaurants serving your favourite food and cars for hire. Fortunately, there are many apps and online services that come to your rescue. Available both on Android and iOS and mostly free, it’s worth to have these business travel apps in your pocket.
Booking an apartment
Business trips often pop up in the agenda quite unexpectedly, and professionals must be able to find accommodation quickly, without much research. VISIONAPARTMENTS app comes in handy as a perfect solution offering an apartment search tool and more. After you enter the dates of your stay and the destination, the app will display available apartments. What makes this this app stand out among the plethora of other last minute hotel searching apps, is that it displays only serviced apartments with tested quality and style. You get a detailed description of furnishings, location and services as well as apartment pictures. If you like what you see, you can book an apartment via your smartphone. As a bonus, you receive a CHF 50 discount for your next stay at VISINAPARTMENTS, and CHF 100 more is guaranteed if you invite 3 more people to download the app. You can also keep all your contracts and invoices in one place , easily accesible on your phone wherever you go.
Getting there
If you have already found a perfect apartment, it’s time to figure out how to get there. Flight aggregator Skyscanner enables you to find the best deals for your trip. After you type in where to and when you want to travel, the straightforward interface will show all available flights. You can filter the results by price, arrival and departure time, airline, length of the flight or number of layovers. When you decide on your flights and click to book, the app will link you through directly to the airline or travel agent. As a bonus functionality, the app helps you to find hotels and cars for hire in your chosen destination.
Moving around the city
The famous car sharing app doesn’t need to be introduced to anybody. You can summon a car via Uber in 590 cities all over the world. Downloading the app is free, but for the ride itself you obviously have to pay. The charges are exacted directly form your credit card, so there is no need to carry cash. Moreover, you can choose whether you want a standard or a premium car, see the user reviews of the driver that comes to pick you up, and rate the service afterwards. The San Francisco based company has expanded and introduced a range of other mobile services. For expample, UberEATS allows users to have meals delivered from restaurants by Uber couriers, or UberRUSH is a package delivery service available in New York City, San Francisco, and Chicago. If you need to be mobile all the time and an occassional Uber is not enough, you will probably want to rent a car. In case of this service, each country has its own specialist. A safe choice would be the Rentalcars.com Car Rental App that deals with all the major car hire companies around the world and helps to find best price for the requested time period.
Don’t waste time on looking for a parking spot
Suppose you’ve already rented a car and you start to familiarize yourself with a new city. However, the necessity of finding a parking space looms large. Where to find a spot that would be close to your destination, cheap and legal? You can browse the ParkU app to find the right one. Choose your location and the app will show the most convenient parking lots near your destination, bookable on your smartphone. You can pay cashless by credit car or PayPal. The displayed parking spaces are safe and trusted, so there is no risk that you will park in a prohibited space and get a ticket.
Feeling at home in a foreign city
Business travellers often complain that although they have been to many cities, they hardly ever had the possibility to really experience them. The concierge services providers can alleviate their fear of missing out. One of them is GETLOCAL. It’s not an app per se, but an online service that allows booking online various city attractions and activities, such as spa treatments, visits to restaurants, city tours and more. Note that it’s a premium club – in order to make use of their services, you need to be a guest at their partner hotels in Zurich or apply for annual membership. If you stay in VISIONAPARTMENTS, you have a guaranteed access to GETLOCAL services. If the concept of concierge services app has appealed to you but you need a more global solution, try Quintessentially. It encompasses over 60 cities around the world providing an unbeatable global lifestyle management service. The app promises a range of exclusive benefits and unique deals wherever you happen to be. The staff at Quintessentially is flexible and they can organize almost everything. Restaurant reservations, VIP access to bars and nightclubs, booking travels, theatre and concert tickets, or even private schools and tutoring for children.
Find your dream meal
The next app is a real lifesaver. You probably know the stress of craving your favourite meal, but having no idea where to find it in a foreign city. You end up a in a closest food place on the horizon and satisfy your hunger with a dish that tastes not quite as you expected. Here is the solution: the Foodspotting app that searches for an ideal place for your craving. You select your location and then choose the type of dish or drink you crave. The app will show you the pictures of this meal from various restaurants and bars in your location. You can click on the one that appeals to you the most, check the address, view it on the map and read the reviews written by other foodies. User-friendly and simple, this app is a cool tool both for travellers and locals.
Surviving at the airport
Long waiting times at the airports and layovers between flights are part and parcel of every business traveller’s life. To lessen the stress, try some useful apps. GateGuru is an airport navigation app that will help you to find your way in 204 airports around the world. It lists restaurants, shops and other amenities offered at the airport together with users‘ reviews, so that you can find the best activity to make your waiting time more pleasant. The app also keeps you informed with real-time updates about security wait times, flight delays, gate changes or layover time adjustments.Lounge Buddy is another great app to have in your pocket when you arm yourself for the hours at the airport. It allows you to quickly purchase airport lounge access in over 900 airports worldwide. You can choose between first class and economy, browse lounges in the airport and view photos and reviews from other members. You can also filter the lounges by amenities and choose what you need – a meal, coctail, shower, business center, kids‘ room and more.