Google Travel Is Now One Step Closer to One-Stop Shopping
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Google has taken a huge next step, putting all the pieces together, by including flights, hotels, packages, and trip-planning tools on a dedicated website and in Google Search and Google Maps. Google's foothold in travel just got even larger.
If you've been waiting for the proverbial next shoe to drop when it comes to Google Travel putting all the pieces together, it just did.
Google on Tuesday launched a Google Travel desktop website that puts flights, hotels and vacation packages, as well as a variety of trip-planning tools and recommendations, all on one page. The features are also available in Google Search and Google Maps, the latter making Google Maps more of a superapp for travel, dining, events, spa appointments, and more.
In a blog post written by Richard Holden, Google vice president product management, travel, Google said last year it made it easier to navigate between Google Flights, Google Hotels and Google Trips "easier on smartphones," and the company claims the desktop treatment is similar to what it did on mobile. But the mobile rendition of these features didn't assemble the various travel components in such a one-stop-shop manner.
For those waiting for Google to start doing transactions, beyond the limited number it does for hotel advertisers today, Google
