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Google Accelerates Moves to Become Leading Hotel-Booking Player

Dennis Schaal photo
Dennis Schaal

Photo Credit: Images in Google Hotel Ads of the Chicago Athletic Association property. Google

Skift Take

After lots of experimentation, Google realized it didn't need a hotel metasearch site like Google Hotel Finder because it has the Google search engine. That is a formidable asset, to say the least, and it will be a challenge over the years to the powers that be in hotel booking.

When the U.S. Department of Justice decided a week ago not to stand in the way of Expedia's acquisition of Orbitz Worldwide, the DOJ cited Google's hotel and flight products as a sign that new players are emerging to ensure a competitive market. Right on cue, Google announced a series of moves this week to ramp up its hotel advertising and booking features. And you can bet that similar initiatives to enhance booking flights on Google can't be far behind. On the hotel front, Google killed its Hotel Finder site, launched in 2011, in favor of offering hotels from hotel websites and online travel agencies right in Google search

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