Google announced today that it’s introducing three new Search features to make it easier for users to research hotels, book their next plane ticket and discover things to do while on vacation. Most notably, the company is piloting a new “price guarantee” badge for flights.
If you see a flight with the price guarantee badge, it means that Google believes that the price you see today won’t get any lower. If you book with Google, the company will watch the price, and if it drops, you will get the difference back. You can already see whether current prices are low, typical or high compared to historical averages, but this new badge goes beyond the current offerings.
“We’ll monitor the price every day until departure, and if it does go down, we’ll send you back the difference via Google Pay,” the company wrote in a blog post. “Now you can book with the confidence that you’re not missing out on a great deal. During this pilot program, price guarantees are only available for ‘Book on Google’ itineraries that depart from the United States.”
The search giant is also introducing a new way for users to browse and discover hotels on mobile. Now, if you search for something like “Soho London hotels” and tap to view more, you’ll find a new option to explore each property in a swipeable story format. From here, you can tap through photos of the hotel and get a better idea of it. You can also save the hotel, pull up more details about the area or view a summary of what people find notable about the property. When you’re done, you can swipe up to continue browsing.
In addition, the company is making it easier to find things to do on vacation. You can look for an attraction or tour company on Search or Maps, and you’ll find prices directly on their listing, along with a link to book your ticket. For attractions, like the Tower of London, you’ll also find suggestions for related experiences, like a city-wide tour that includes multiple stops.
The roll-out of the new features comes a few days after Google announced that it was introducing new ways for users to verify information on Search and that it plans to launch new extreme heat alerts that are designed to surface information to help people stay safe during heat waves.
Comment