In April we told you about Amazon offering travel booking. Now, it’s Google’s turn. Travelers are now able to book some hotels on Google Search, Google Maps and Google+.
Skift reports the “Book on Google” initiative, currently running a beta version in North America, is a partnership with Sabre. The initiative allows hotel partners to either pay a commission to both Google and Sabre for handling credit card transactions on Google platforms, or to continue to pay for clicks.
“When travelers search for a hotel on Google Search, Google Maps or Google +, they will be able to select the property and rate they want, and then book the room directly with the hotel without ever leaving the page, reducing the abandonment rate commonly seen when consumers have to switch sites to complete a transaction,” Sabre stated in a press release.
Google has become increasingly present in the travel industry, what with all their crazy Google mapping antics, and is clearly looking to make itself known as a power player.
Elizabeth Ann Gerber is a freelance writer and a University of Georgia student with an unhealthy coffee addiction.