Google Expands Data-Driven Travel-Planning Tools

Google announced it is launching new travel features that aim to make travel planning and finding the right hotel easier.

“There are so many travel booking resources out there it can feel like you spend hours researching flights, hotels and sites before you feel prepared to book your trip,” Berna Erol, product manager, Google Travel, and Emmanuel Marot, product manager, Google Hotels, wrote in a blog post. “In fact, 46 percent of leisure travelers globally think travel planning takes too long, according to our recent research with Phocuswright. To make trip planning faster and effortless, we’re working on new ways to help bring your existing travel plans together—and even plan your next trip.”

One feature aims to help holiday travelers save money by showing when to book flights for Thanksgiving, the December holidays and New Year’s based on last year’s prices, as well as show hotel deals.

In addition, the search engine will help find the best neighborhood to stay in during your trip. “You can see if the hotel is close to things like bars, landmarks or public transportation. For example, you’ll see if a specific hotel is near boutique shops to fill your fashion fix or within walking distance from the Milan Duomo. You’ll also get information on getting to and from airports.”

In October, Google will also launch an update to Your Trips, which will collect any information saved about a potential trip in one place. “We’ll show you things to do, day plans or travel articles. As you start booking and receive your flight or hotel email confirmations in Gmail, these travel recommendations will be further customized in organic search results on Google,” according to the blog post.

And these trip-planning features will automatically come up whenever a Google search is performed, including day plans and articles about the location.