• Google Redesigns Hotel Browsing on Mobile   

Excerpt from PhocusWire

Google is gearing up for the summer travel season.

The company on Monday announced new tools to help travelers save money on their flights with a price guarantee, browse hotels more easily and stay organized as they search for that ideal getaway.

PhocusWire was first to report on the pilot program in which Google is offering to give consumers a refund on flights if the airfare purchased drops before departure. Monday’s announcement confirms that policy while also unveiling Google’s other new tools.

First among those is a new way to browse hotels.

“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,” Google vice president of travel products Richard Holden wrote in a blog post. “From here, you can tap through photos of the hotel and get a sense of what to expect on-site. With a single tap, 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, just swipe up to continue browsing.”

Another new feature set to launch on desktop globally starting next week automatically organizes places users have searched on Google Maps by city with a “Recents” tab. Travelers can share them with friends or save them to a new list. The lists and recent places will be saved when users return later.

For the flight price guarantees, the pilot program for now includes only select routes where Google is confident prices won’t go lower before the flight departs. If that happens by at least $5, Google will pay the difference to the consumer in Google Pay, where it can be used to make purchases online, to transfer to another Google Pay user or to transfer out to a bank account.

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