January 22, 2008 10:45 ET

TripIt Brings Travelers Closer Together With New Closeness Alerts

Travel Organizer Enhances Social Network Features to Keep Travelers Connected Online and When They're on the Road

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - January 22, 2008) - TripIt (www.tripit.com), a free online travel organizer and social network, is helping travelers stay connected with the release of its new location-based social "Closeness" alerts.

The new features include "Who's Close To Me?" which automatically notifies users if their travel plans overlap with fellow travelers while on the road, and "Who's Coming to my City?" which automatically identifies colleagues who will be visiting their hometown when they're not traveling.

TripIt is an online travel assistant that organizes trip details including flight, hotel, rental car, train, restaurant reservations, and activities -- even when booked through different online services. Travelers simply forward their travel confirmation emails to plans@TripIt.com and TripIt automatically builds one master online and printable itinerary with everything travelers need to have a great trip, including confirmation numbers, daily weather, local maps, driving directions, city guides, OpenTable restaurant reservations, and more.

With the new Closeness alerts, TripIt offers a unique social network for travelers and their community of contacts. In addition to knowing who's going to be where in the real world, TripIt also allows travelers to "connect" with each other online to share and collaborate on trips. And, TripIt automatically syncs itineraries with calendars and eliminates the need for manual entry, even if plans or details change, so that travelers are always "in sync" wherever they are.

Gregg Brockway, CEO and co-founder of TripIt, commented, "Frequent travelers just don't have the extra time to keep track of their travel as well as the travel schedules of their friends, family and associates. With our new Closeness alerts, travelers are automatically notified when they're in the same area, which allows them to stay in touch better."

TripIt is accessible from any browser or from mobile phones to keep people linked to their travel plans, allowing them to finally leave that manila folder and stack of separate itineraries at home.

About TripIt

Launched in September 2007, TripIt is an online personal travel assistant that automatically organizes all travel plans. The company was co-founded by Gregg Brockway, co-founder of Hotwire and former president of Expedia's luxury travel company Classic Vacations, Inc. More can be found online at http://www.tripit.com.