Google adds new features & improves navigation for mobile hotel & flight searches

Google is stepping up its hotel and flight search features on mobile, aiming to make it easier to plan travel no matter the size of the screen being used.

Starting today, a number of new features will begin rolling out across Google’s mobile travel search experience. According to the announcement, the updates include better price-filtering options, easy-to-find amenity information and the ability to book a hotel stay directly on Google.

In addition to more hotel search features, Google has designed a better navigation experience between hotel and flight information.

“In the next few days, you’ll see that if you search for a flight in Google Flights, you can click right in to ‘Hotels’ at the top of the page,” writes Google’s director of travel product management, Eric Zimmerman, “This lets you easily click over to check hotel availability and prices in your destination city for the dates you’ve already selected.”

This feature will work both ways, so if you’re searching for a hotel, you’ll be able to access the “Flights” tab for pricing options.

“The same options appear if you want to learn about a specific place, or when searching for things to do there. Let’s say you’re checking out a trip to Sydney. You can now easily click to browse available hotels or flights while you’re exploring the destination,” writes Zimmerman.

Google is also adding a “More Destinations” feature via the “Explore” tab to showcase an expanded list of travel destination ideas, as well as a “Your Trips” tab that displays at-a-glance information for any upcoming travel that is attached to the user’s Gmail account.

“You can email your trip reservations to friends or family right from Your Trips, and also make edits and access them directly offline with the Google Trips app (Android, iOS) when you’re traveling.”

About The Author

Amy Gesenhues is Third Door Media’s General Assignment Reporter, covering the latest news and updates for Search Engine Land and Marketing Land. From 2009 to 2012, she was an award-winning syndicated columnist for a number of daily newspapers from New York to Texas. With more than ten years of marketing management experience, she has contributed to a variety of traditional and online publications, including MarketingProfs.com, SoftwareCEO.com, and Sales and Marketing Management Magazine. Read more of Amy’s articles.