LIFE HACK
Last-minute travel hacks
If you’re making last-minute travel plans, we have two pieces of advice: Download these apps and...actually that’s all. Just download these apps and you’ll be fine.
Save Your Cash
‣ Last-minute travel doesn’t have to be expensive. Hitlist will alert you to the best deals by destination, while Hopper offers expert predictions on the optimal time to book your flight.
Crowdsource Your Airport Experience
‣ App in the Air, the Swiss Army knife of travel apps, lets you search tips from other travellers for which airport coffee shop is open at 5 a.m. (and which wall has an outlet to charge your iPhone) while keeping track of your itineraries, boarding passes and frequent-flier points. An annual subscription unlocks real-time flight status updates for more than 1,000 airlines worldwide.
Crash the Airport Lounge
‣ Savvy travellers know there’s only one thing that makes a long layover or delayed flight less frustrating. No, it’s not the overpriced airport bar. We’re talking about lounges – those spaces reserved only for the most frequent of fliers, folks with fancy credit cards...and anyone who’s downloaded LoungeBuddy.
Purchase access to airport lounges worldwide for roughly what you’d spend on lunch in the terminal, or see which ones you might already have access to by entering your itinerary into the app. Then sit back and enjoy the complimentary snacks and Wi-Fi.
Find a Precious Unbooked Hotel Room
‣ So your parents turned your childhood bedroom into a gym and every hotel in town seems to be booked. Fire up HotelTonight, which specialises in last-minute reservations. Hotels love the app because it lets them fill their remaining open rooms; you’ll love it because it’ll keep you off your mate’s sofa bed.
If you can’t find what you’re looking for there, Airbnb is always a good bet for a comfy bed at a reasonable price in the right location.