Trip planning in Google Search adds hotel scores, December price tips, more suggestions

Abner Li | Sep 27 2018 - 11:59 am PT

Earlier this week, Google announced a number of updates to Google Search as it prepares for the next 20 years. Today, the Your Trips feature is getting ready for the holiday travel season with improved organization, more suggestions, and hotel ratings.

The Google Trips app is also available on the web by entering “My Trips” into Search, or through the “Your Trips” tab in Flights and Hotels search. An upcoming update in October will tweak the interface, with a focus on organizing trips that are still in the planning stages.

For example, if you’ve recently started looking at traveling to Milan, we’ll show you potential trip information in Your Trips like flight prices you’re tracking (if you have any), destination-specific flight and hotel searches, and places you’ve saved. That way, you can easily pick up your travel research when you come back to Google.

Meanwhile, when users search for a city, Google will note your current trip details and offer a carousel to “Continue planning.” This includes Things to do, Weather, Events during your trip, and Top rated and nearby restaurants. It is similar to the Activity cards that Google announced earlier this week to help users see past queries while they are searching for similar topics.

Google is expanding tips that note whether flight prices are higher or lower than usual for December holidays and New Year’s.

This tip will appear worldwide over the coming weeks when you search for flights on your phone over the December holidays. We’ll also notify you if prices are not going to drop or if they’re likely to rise in the next five days.

Lastly, Google Search is adding a new “hotel location score” that takes into consideration and notes nearby restaurants, landmark, and 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.