Have you ever made travel plans which involved a lot of searching for flights, hotels, and itineraries? Well, the geniuses at Google recognized this cumbersome process and they’re changing the way we travel.
I’m sure you’ll all agree that Google has changed the way we look for and consume information, period. They made the whole process easier and more convenient for us, and it continues to change our ways, even the way we make travel bookings.
In recent months, Google has rolled out new travel features and added tools that predict flight delays, hotel prices, and more. And with its latest update, Google improved the process of searching and booking hotels, flights and destinations.
Users are now given a new hotel search experience tailor-made for mobile. It allows them to filter information by price, occupancy, and other categories, while letting them book hotels and flights directly from within the app.
Eric Zimmerman, director of travel product management said: “We’re evolving the way our hotel search works on smartphones to help users explore options and make decisions on their smallest screens. The new hotel search experience includes better price filtering, easier-to-find amenity information and the ability to book right from Google.”
These new features allow users in some countries to make easier mobile searches by showing them their travel options while on the go. For example, if users search on Google Flights, they can now click right into the Hotels tab at the top of the page. This will show them the hotels’ availability and prices in their destination for the dates already selected.
It also works vice versa when users start by searching for a hotel. They can now simply click on the Flights tab and see the prices and fare options. This makes booking the flight faster and a lot easier.
In addition to these awesome new features, the same options appear when users want more information about a specific place, or when searching for things to do in that area. This way, they’ll be able to browse for available hotels and flights while exploring their destination.
Users may click on the More Destinations tab on the top left and it will show them recommended places to visit, weekend destinations, and other trips that they may be interested in.
Finally, Google has also included a feature called Your Trips that helps users see, at a glance, all their upcoming and past travel bookings from Gmail. And although these trips are private, these details may be sent to family and friends right from the section.
By the way, these new features don’t just help with travel planning. It also connects users to travel companies to make the travel experience a whole lot better.
“This year we’re focused on making your mobile phone an integral and useful part of your travel planning—and enjoyment!” said Zimmerman.