By Justin Keeperman of WGY Lifestyle

Some of the Best Travel Apps

All great travel apps have one thing in common: they all solve a problem you didn’t even realize you had. That said, with app stores bulging at the virtual seams with software claiming to make your life easier, being simply useful is no longer enough for app developers aspiring to greatness. Whether they’re cutting down journey times, pointing you in the direction of authentic local cuisines or simply showing you how to ask after a toilet in Mandarin, each and every app we have mentioned have earned its place in this list by virtue of being innovative, quirky or – in a few cases – downright space-age. You may never look at the world the same again.

Freebird

Have you ever been stranded at the airport after a cancelled flight? Or, missed the start to your romantic getaway because your flight was delayed for hours? Disruptions that are out of your control, such as weather or airline operations, shouldn’t stop you from getting to the people and places that matter most. Freebird is a new mobile tool that empowers travelers to get back in motion in less than 30 seconds with only three taps on your phone. A bit of pre-travel planning is needed. Travelers who purchase Freebird up to 48-hours before their flight departure will skip the lines and instantly be booked on a new ticket – on any airline at no additional cost – should their original flight is cancelled, significantly delayed (4+ hours), or miss a connection. Power to the traveler! www.getfreebird.com

WIFI Room Key

Room service used to be a luxury for many hotel travelers, but as the technology generation has grown into travel, many are now looking for a faster and more efficient replacement. No longer does it make sense to reach for a bedside phone to order breakfast; now, with a hotel smartphone app in each traveler’s pocket, most amenities once available through the wired hotel system can now be accessed through the cloud. In no place is the technology-forward design more prescient than in the sprinkling of Virgin Hotels now reaching the market. With a property now open in Chicago and another one coming soon to Nashville, Virgin’s hotels nearly revolve around the smartphone. In addition to ordering room service, the thermostat, in-room music and television is all controlled by the smartphone, connecting the user and room.

Among the legacy hotel chains, Marriott is among the first to integrate room service — or at least a portion of it — with a smartphone app. Launched last week, Marriott’s app effectively allows you to order special services like extra pillows or car service up to 72 hours before your stay, though it doesn’t allow you to order meals. Starwood has also recently joined the bandwagon and is offering this at limited properties so far and will roll out more throughout 2015 and beginning of 2016. According to a press release from Marriott, the service has been rolled out to 46 properties already while full-scale launch is slated for this summer. Applications like those from Virgin and Marriott will only grow as the traveling public demands better and faster connectivity as part of the unified hotel experience. Like paid Wi-Fi, which some believe is going extinct, soon smartphones will play an enormous role in any hotel stay starting from check-in and pervading through the entire stay. Now it’s just a race to see who can roll out the best functionality the fastest.

Air Help

We’ve all experienced delayed or canceled flights, and AirHelp thinks you should be compensated for it. AirHelp — which has five full-time lawyers on its 35-person staff — helps travelers determine what they’re entitled to when their travel plans are disrupted. According to AirHelp, 26.5 million travelers are entitled to monetary compensation each year — and less than 2% actually file claims. They resolve most claims within six to eight weeks (unless further legal action is needed). “We’ll follow through and take the airline to court,” said Michaelsen. “We’ve done that a lot of times.”So far, they’ve been mostly successful: 90% of their 50,000 users have received money back — with an average payout of $600 before AirHelp takes its 25% share.

HitList 

A wayfarer’s best friend, HitList keeps tabs on all the destinations you’ve been eying for your next vacation.The site offers an alternative to endlessly perusing the web or waiting to book until a specific time of the week. Users select potential travel destinations, and then HitList monitors real-time flight prices and sends email notifications when rates drop. In addition to acting like a travel agent, HitList’s image-based design encourages discovery. Users can browse locations, see the best time of year to travel and compare flight times. There’s also a Facebook plug-in that shares where friends have traveled (because if everyone’s going somewhere, so should you).

Mobile Passport Control 

The customs process is being digitized. This month, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection unveiled its Mobile Passport Control app, which aims to speed up the cumbersome customs process. U.S. and Canadian citizens create a profile with their passport information. For each trip, they just select their flight info, take a selfie and answer customs questions directly in the app. It produces a QR coded receipt to present to the customs officer. This is a continuation of the Automated Passport Control self-service kiosks at many airports, which have cut down on wait times by as much as 40%. Right now, the free app can only be used at the Atlanta airport, but other U.S. airports plan to accept the technology later this year, according to the CBP.

Glimpse 

While you’re Instagramming a picturesque vacation, you might as well meet some new people. Enter Glimpse. Technically a dating app, the photo integration (it connects to a user’s Instagram account) and geolocator make it a perfect opportunity to meet those around you — especially because they might be Instagramming the exact same places. Users choose a profile picture and add eight Instagram photos to their profile — that’s it. You can browse photos of those nearby (or around the globe), and the app notes who’s been to the same locations as you.”We use your photos to connect you with people you’d like to meet,” said cofounder Elan Miller. “When traveling, you usually have limited time but want to get the local experience.” Backed by First Round Capital and Google Ventures, Glimpse released a new version of the app in August (it initially launched in February 2014).

WeSwap 

Instead of dealing with banks and costly exchange rates, London-based startup WeSwap offers a peer-to-peer exchange.Customers connect their WeSwap account to a bank account and are given a prepaid MasterCard. When traveling, users request to exchange funds with another user who has the desired currency. Any new funds are accessed through the MasterCard. Each transaction incurs a 1% swap fee — unless a match can’t be found in time, in which case WeSwap steps in (this incurs a 1.5% fee). With anti-money laundering measures in place, it’s safe to make swap with anyone on their platform. Right now, it’s only available to customers in ten European countries but founder Simon Sacerdoti says they’ll “absolutely” expand to the U.S. in the future. They’ve raised $3.75 million in funding and are in the process of closing a larger round of founding.

DUFL

We’ve been taught that if you want something done right, do it yourself. But, what if there’s a travel app out there than can pack your bags better than you (and save you a lot of time and energy in the process)? DUFL, a service that acts as a personal valet for frequent fliers, does the packing and luggage transportation for its clients.

Here’s how it works:

• Request a DUFL Welcome Kit
• Receive a DUFL travel bag and pack it with ALL your travel essentials, returning to DUFL headquarters with a pre-coordinated return label
• The DUFL team dry cleans and presses all received garments, photographing them and creating a virtual closet
• With any upcoming trip, visit your virtual closet within the app, ‘packing’ what you need
• Select when and where you’d like your DUFL suitcase

When returning home (or to your next destination):

• Pack up your items
• Fill out cleaning preferences form
• Leave your suitcase for DUFL pick up

That’s it! No arriving at the airport hours before a flight. No paying for bags. No fighting for overhead compartment space. And, no spending precious minutes waiting at baggage claim. DUFL is available on iPhone for $9.95/month for storage and $99 per round trip.

Tap There

One of the coolest new Apps I have seen recently is “Tap There” Tapthere is the perfect app for those vloggers out there. It’s basically like Instagram but with videos. TapThere is much more fun than the other apps because people from all over the world can watch you live as you’re filming. I have met so many great people on here, and have never experienced anything negative in this app. Once you start tapping a couple of videos, you will definitely get addicted to it. Essentially, you make requests to your friends or strangers anywhere to check out venues, local scenes, news- without the filtering from news stations, live weather and coming soon, you will be able to make money from requests people give you. As well as offer people money to show you things, want them to give you some entertainment in your favorite city? Offer them some money and see what happens. Miss your favorite bar or restaurant from back home? Have someone upload a tap and see what’s going on there -live! Want to check out a hotel pool before you get there? Request a live tap to scope out the scene! This app is endless as to what you can do with it! Definitely a must try!!

About WGY Lifestyle

In 2012, Luiz and Justin formed WGY Lifestyle to create a full-service, lifestyle management company and luxury travel agency certified by the IATAN network of worldwide agents, to completely change the private concierge industry by offering its clientele customized A to Z experiences, insider tips, luxury privileges (not available to just anyone) and 24/7, 365 days a year service no matter how short of notice. The company prides itself on its strong relationships with major airlines, hotel groups, vendors and suppliers such as Commune Hotel Group, Starwood Hotel Group, American Airlines and TAM Airlines, to name a few. No request from their clients is too outrageous to fulfil. They come with over two decades combined of expertise in the hospitality industry and have top notch international contacts on speed dial for every client’s individual needs. Big or small, near or far –consider it booked.