Smartphone apps are a headache for travel, banking, hotels, apartments, laundry

Just got back from 12 days in Germany to follow Scotland in the UEFA Euros - team was a bitter disappointment, experience was once in a life time.

Having to use my phone for everything from buying/selling my match tickets on stubhub, match tickets on the UEFA app, Deutsche Bahn train ticket on an app, online QR code attraction entry ticket, audio walking tours, restaurant menus (much less of these thank god), and more, made me VERY anxious every day.

If my phone's battery died through the day (which it did FAR too often), or if i lost my phone, i was completely screwed and would not have access to my overpriced match tickets nor my much needed train ticket.

I felt like a luddite carrying a paper guidebook so I didn't have to really on my phone for maps and location/attraction details, but I don't know how else I would have managed.

Luckily my mobile plan allowed international data so I didn't have to roam.

Our reliance on our phones is frightening, and every company locking us into their apps for 'basic' information/tickets is bothersome. I get it from the business point of view (and the 'let's save the trees' perspective too), but from a traveler's point of view it is very cumbersome and overly complicated to have to not only juggle all the apps, but also focus on maintaining the battery and connectivity of your device so you don't lose access to must-have important documents.

I sorely miss the days BEFORE ubiquitous internet, connectivity, and mobile devices. Maybe I am a Luddite.

I wonder if this will end up being another circle/wave, where at some point "we have non-app features!" will be the selling point.

Though in the long-term I envision more of a maturation: both in terms of apps being more reliable, and non-app features/solutions being (re)introduced. As in: sure your door lock will have an app, but it will also have a physical key, because nobody would buy one that did not have both.

So far I have gotten by avoiding apps for travel, the one I was forced to use was Ticketmaster to get into an MLS game. I was traveling with a tablet, not a phone, and had no trouble connecting to the WiFi although the staff didn't really want to let me in with a tablet instead of a phone. (Overall the game was a great experience, if you're not a believer in US soccer this can change your mind.)

I also wound up using LuggageHero's web site on my tablet to drop off my bag at a Bodega near

https://intrepidmuseum.org/

I was able to get the process started using the WiFi at the Starbucks 2 blocks down the street and managed to get my bag back even though the app wasn't working when I got back to the shop.