How to meet your contacts while traveling, without leaving it to chance

Quick answer. The fastest way to meet contacts while traveling is to: (1) write down where you'll be, leg by leg; (2) match each destination against the people you already know; (3) message them a few days in advance; (4) group small invites when it makes sense. apreet does the first two steps for you.

Why most people fail to meet contacts while they travel

It is not that the contacts are not there. It is that the friction is. By the time you have remembered who lives in Berlin, checked LinkedIn for who has posted from there recently, and messaged each person individually, you are wheels-down and half the people you would have wanted to see are out of town anyway.

This is a coordination problem, not a willingness problem. The system fails before you even land.

The simple system that works

1. List your destinations and dates. Before each trip, write down the cities, airports, and dates where you'll be.
2. Match destinations against your contacts. For each city, look at who you know who lives there, and who else will also be traveling through that week.
3. Reach out a few days early. Suggest a coffee, walk, breakfast, dinner, or airport meet-up. A week's notice converts far better than day-of.
4. Group small invites. If two or three people in the same city are free the same evening, send one message, pick a place, done.

What apreet automates

apreet builds your itinerary from your calendar (date and location field, never the notes) and overlays it against the contacts in your address book using the city in their address record. When a contact also uses apreet, both itineraries are matched, and you each see when paths cross. You can message one person, or a small group, with a single tap.

The list goes from "who do I know who might be there?" to "here are seven people in your network who will be in Berlin on Tuesday, message any of them?" That is the whole shift.