Business Travel App and web site of the week: TripKick, Delivery status touch

Posted by: Dean Foust on June 30

Okay, so it only took, ur, one week for me to fall down on my pledge to make sure my new feature, “the business travelers’ App and Web site of the week” appeared, well, weekly. But I have a good excuse: I volunteer each summer as a den leader at the Cub Scout Day Camp my son attends and the demands of corralling nine hyperactive boys from activity to activity in 96 degree heat left me with no juice to post to the blog. But when you have moments like this—when my son, who’d never shot a BB gun, earned his “Team USA Sharpshooter” scout patch on his first try—then blogging can wait, no? Without further ado, this week’s picks:

TRIPKICK (http://tripkick.com) provides a lot of the same information about hotels in major cities as other web sites, but goes one further with insider information on which rooms or floors to request—and which to avoid. Relying on the “wisdom of crowds”—aka, travelers who have already stayed at these hotels, and who post their findings—Tripkick can tell you, for instance, which rooms to request (and reject), give you the square footage of each room classification (i.e., “King Deluxe” vs. “King Terrace Suite”), give you the transportation options—and costs—to and from the major airports, as well as user reviews that discuss noise levels, view, location and even bathroom size.

At the Hilton New York, for instance, you’ll learn which floors have been newly renovated (10-16, 21,22, 29-33) and which haven’t (those on floors 34-44, which I learned the hard way when I took my wife and kid to New York over spring break two years ago. The bellman led us down a floor where the carpet was pretty threadbare—by Hilton standards—but when I returned to the lobby and reminded them I was a Gold level member, I got upgraded. But this kind of intelligence would be great to have when you check in and get your room assignment.)

The only downside of the site is that’s it’s a work in progress: Tripkick launched with information on roughly 450 hotels in 21 cities, and is adding hotels and cities as best it can (Phoenix/Scottsdale was just added). So while you’ll find intelligence in New York on the major chain’s properties—like the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, or the aforementioned Hilton New York—you may or may not find intel on the smaller brands like The Time.


The bane of anyone who travels is getting that urgent call—from a customer, supplier or even from the Big Boss—demanding information that is back at your office, or isn’t at your fingertips. That’s why apps like DELIVERY STATUS TOUCH (http://junecloud.com/) make you feel like you never left home. If you get a call from a client wanting to know the whereabouts of that package you sent, or if you are sweating whether those materials you shipped concurrently for a big out-of-town presentation is going to arrive in time, there are a number of apps that can help you track a package while on the road.

There are several rival apps like TrackIt or TrackMyShipments, but Delivery status touch (a $2.99 download via iTunes) does the job as well or better than the competition. For anyone with extensive international operations, Delivery status touch tracks shipments not just by FedEx, UPS and DHL, but Canada Post, DPD, TNT, GLS, Hongkong Post, Purolator, Post Italiane and on and on.

The app also integrates and synchs with a dashboard widget for when you’re back in the office. The only complaint I hear from users is that to track a package, you either have to transfer the information via the dashboard widget before you leave, or you can sync a bookmarklet to Mobile Safari or convert your deliveries into separate bookmarklets (what’s a bookmarklet? An app on your desktop that grabs the URL for a tracking link and helps you add it to the Delivery Status app on your iPhone). Or heck, you can manually enter the tracking number when you’re on the road, but who wants to do that?