Many travel brands have been toying with financial technology, or fintech, to cater to new consumer needs brought on by the pandemic. Google’s latest revival probably won’t be a one-hit wonder.
-Matthew Parsons
Google will be bringing back its refund policy for flights, which was cut short by the pandemic.
Google is making significant changes to the way it deals with travel, from booking rail tickets to improving its “confusing” tours and activities section. In addition, although Google retracted its earlier carbon emissions calculator decision, it will still try and incentivize environmentally-friendly companies through advertising on Google Search.
Richard Holden, VP Product Management at Google, talked about finding new ways to guarantee flight prices. He said that they’re also looking into renewing their 2019 experiment of a flight price guarantee. Consumers have seemed to like this idea before, although it’s not something that has happened yet.
Holden defended Google’s decision to eliminate some data from their emissions calculations. A BBC report claimed the company was “airbrushing” the emissions impact of flights.
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In an effort to provide high-quality content, Copymatic listened to academia but also looked at the data for a flight. It was decided that there is still room for improvement of the aircraft navigation system.
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Google is reviving the price guarantee program
Travel sites generated more sales from groups rather than individuals, with two-thirds of the group travel last year coming from Europe and the U.S.
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Google could launch new tours and activities tools in the near future. Google is phasing out its Reserve with Google tour bookings tool.
Holden said that while the industry has been fragmented, there is more last-minute planning. She added that consumers are still confused about where to find information.
Google is expanding the features on Google.com by enabling you to book a train directly from their website. This uses machine learning and connections with train operators to provide you with a search experience similar to that of Expedia or Kayak
A list of countries currently included in the Google Price Guarantee Program
Google Is Reviving Price Guarantee Program for Flights As You Can Imagine, This is Just Where We Are Starting