Planning to treat yourself to an exotic getaway or simply visiting family to end the year? Going on a holiday is so much fun, but planning for it can be a daunting task especially when you need to pick the right flight and hotel from a wide range of options. Today, we’re announcing a set of exciting features and updates to make planning your next trip even easier.
#1 Destinations on Google
Earlier this year, we announced Destinations on Google, which helps you discover and plan your next vacation, right from Google Search across devices.
Search on Google for the continent, country, or city you’d like to travel to and add the word “destination” or “vacation” to see an easy-to-browse collection of options. To find a destination that suits your specific interests, search for a country and something you’d like to do there, like “australia surfing,” “malaysia hiking,” or “thailand beaches”, and we’ll suggest the best spots to do those activities.
Destinations on Google brings together extensive information from across the web about all the places in the world. We combine this deep understanding with Google Flights and hotel search on Google so you can sit back, scroll and see available flight and hotel prices instantly. You can also see suggested itineraries, top sights, recommendations on when to visit, videos and more so you can make the right choice for your next vacation.
In India, Japan and Malaysia, you can also use the "Plan a trip" feature to see trip prices for the selected destination for the next six months, so you can find the right time and price tag for you. Flight prices and hotel rates update instantly as you change your travel details and link you to Google Flights and hotel search on Google where you can continue to plan and book your travel.
#2 Expanding Google Flights and hotel search on Google to more countries in Asia
We’ve launched several features this year across Google Flights and hotel search on Google designed to help price-conscious travelers make the best decision for upcoming trips, stay on top of changing price, and help provide confidence that they’re making the best choice before they book.
When searching for a hotel on Google results now automatically identify Deals when a hotel’s price is lower than historical prices or when a partner has discounted rates compared to the existing market price for the hotel. We have also introduced a Deals filter that allows you to quickly see only hotels that we have identified as having good deals. A new Tips feature uses data-driven insights such as how the hotel is rated in its market or whether changing travel dates could get you a better price.
To stay up to date on changing flight prices, we have launched a feature that allows you to easily track fare changes for a date and route combination, or track specific flights in Google Flights. Simply select “track prices” after searching for a flight to receive updates by email or Google Now cards when prices are expected to increase or when they actually do change significantly. View and manage your tracked flights by selecting “tracked”.
Hotel search on Google is live across Asia, while Google Flights is available in India, Japan and Malaysia. We are actively rolling them out to more countries and languages across the region.
#3 Announcing Google Trips
Planning and buying your dream holiday is one thing, but what about when you are actually traveling? We’ve built Google Trips to be your reliable travel assistant, right in your pocket. Google Trips makes your vacation simpler by doing things like bundling all your reservations in one place — available offline — saving you from having to dig through your emails at the check-in desk.
A feature called “Day Plans,” recommends places to visit based on items you’ve saved on Google Maps. You can also modify the itinerary based on the weather, who you’re traveling with, and where you’ve already been. In addition, Trips provides details on how to get around, what the etiquette for tipping is and other useful information — all available offline.
Google Trips is currently available globally, in English. You can download it today by visiting the Play Store or the App store.
We are focused on making travelling better, easier and more delightful, and hope to have more to share soon.
Posted by Eric Zimmerman, Director - Product Development, Google