The Smarttrips application is all about delivering greater convenience to travelers. If we had limited its availability to a single platform, its purpose would have been somewhat defeated. Leonie agreed with our vision to maximize its reach…and as such, separate, customised versions for iOS and Android were created.

Our in-house iOS and Android development teams started working simultaneously on the Smarttrips app. After some deliberation, we decided to make the app available on Apple devices running on iOS 8 and later, and on Android devices powered by Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and later. The app, of course, can be downloaded and used on smartphones AND tablets.

“I wanted Smarttrips to offer certain key points of difference…let’s just say competitive advantages…to the travel businesses using it. The guys at Teks were with me on the same page right through, and created the app just like my plans.”

A trip plan might have to be updated at a very short notice. Travelers might wish to make certain changes at any time. In such situations, ensuring that they can get in touch with their agents on a 24×7 basis is vital. Smarttrips has a built-in messaging system to address this need. This in-app messaging option facilitates greater, and more seamless, client engagements, interactions and overall engagement.

As a travel enthusiast, I often look for travel apps that offer real value-added services. Smartrips fits the bill perfectly regarding that. I feel that the app can play a strong role in bolstering customer loyalty levels…something that is crucial for any business, travel or otherwise.

From flight tickets, country guides and hotel vouchers, to vehicle documents, maps, event tickets and more – Smartrips allows users (businesses) to ‘digitally store and supply’ all types of critical travel documents. There’s no saying which document might be urgently required at any moment – and having everything easily accessible on a smartphone (or tablet) is convenient indeed. Smarttrips is more than an electronic ticket wallet app…it can be a real useful digital travel companion!

Smarttrips comes with an efficiently designed web-based portal for admin login. Business and group travels can be easily managed from over here. Apart from trip counts and client counts, users can also check out information about upcoming trips, as well as view graphical representations of clients and trips (monthwise). Users and trips can be created quickly, and uploading travel documents is a matter of minutes.

In addition to secure cloud storage of important travel data and documents, Smartrips needed to have easy searchability – to be of real use to business users. Hussain agreed, and it was finalised that users will be able to look for any trips or documents directly from the dashboard. Ease of usage is, I feel, a strong factor behind the sustained popularity of Smarttrips.

Right from the start, we had plans to make Smarttrips an effective branding tool for travel businesses. That’s why the overall backend was made customisable (for branding elements to be used). The process of adding new documents is pretty much straightforward, and all trips are arranged alphabetically – for quicker and easier access.

For all the advantages and cool features that Smartrips has on offer for professional travel companies, its benefits for the random Joe…the individual traveller…cannot be glossed over. It’s an app that totally takes out the uncertainty factor out of vacation trips.

It’s not only about storing travel documents digitally and accessing them as and when required, as far as the utilities of the Smarttrips app are concerned. Users can also create and maintain travel diaries, have their very own travel checklists, view mobile travel guides and maps, and even have mobile check-ins. All the things that travelers might need…right at their fingertips!

Yet another advantage of this innovative mobile travel wallet app is the personalised trip reports that can be generated from it. The ‘live currency conversion’ feature also comes in handy.

The API logic or the business logic for this mobile app for travelers was constituted around the data for each particular user (at the app end). All the raw files (for instance, images) were stored on the server. The overall app database contained all the information on all users, together with important file paths and other data.

The main function of APIs in Smarttrips is quick and efficient manipulation of JSON data to enhance the readability, and in turn, usability of the application. The PHP scripting language was used to develop and implement the API logic. The APIs collectively accumulated all data, converted it to JSON, and then parsed the JSON data to find and display the information of a single user. The entire process was fast, accurate, and delivered real convenience to end-users. After all, no one wants to get into travel document-related troubles while on a trip!

The presence of APIs also adds an extra layer of security to this new iOS travel app. Every time an existing user logs in on the application, a secret key/API key gets generated. For all new requests, these API keys are sent to authenticate the users on the server.

On the official website of Smarttrips (http://www.smarttrips.com.au/), users can request to attend a pre-recorded webinar – to familiarise themselves with the main features and benefits of the app. We have recently updated the application (v.2.0.6 of the iOS version and v.1.0.16 of the Android version are currently available) – with select new features and enhancements. 

Smarttrips is available for free download at https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/smarttrips-smarter-travel/id1190242297 (iOS version) and https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.au.smarttrips&hl=en_IN (Android version). It is available in multiple languages apart from English, like Japanese, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese. We had previously tasted success with apps in the travel category…and Smarttrips is definitely one of the most interesting (and successful) projects our team has worked on.