Expedia Group has announced new features and tools for travelers to get the most out of their booking experience while also removing some of the stress of planning travel. With Trip Planner, travelers can collaborate with friends and family on their group travel. Users can also enjoy new AI tools to help make the travel experience better.
A touristic boat makes its way along the river Main during sunset in Frankfurt am Main, western ... [+]
Introducing Trip Planner, A New Way To Collaborate
Expedia Group, whose brands include Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo, has a new way for groups to collaborate on their travels. With Trip Planner, users now have ways to share and save their bookings or their saved destinations with others. Invitees can add their own findings to share with others regarding accommodations, flights, car rentals and itineraries. It gives users one place to view everything instead of having to comb through emails and texts.
Trip Planner also has features that will be available soon. One is the ability to like and vote on the options that have been added to the trip. Users can vote on a favorite idea or destination. Additionally, users will be able to comment on saved items. These votes and comments will be collected together so that everything is available in one place. Trip Planner is available on the Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo apps.
Travel Guides
Expedia Group has also introduced dynamic travel guides. These guides can help users find the best times to visit a destination. They also help users find hotel prices, explore weather conditions and determine how crowded a place is.
Users can also use the neighborhood section to converse with AI to help them find the ideal neighborhood to visit and stay in. The dynamic travel guide is available on both the Expedia and Hotels.com app.
Amenity Answers
Another tool available on all three travel apps is Amenity answers, which uses AI to comb through various guest reviews to help users find answers to questions about amenities.
Property answers
Also available on the Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo apps is Property answers, which uses AI to help users get more information about a property.
Flexible Date Search For Stays
Users who don’t have an exact date they plan on traveling can use the flexible date search for stays tool. This search allows users to find better options for accommodations. Users can search by plus or minus a few days of their preferred travel date. They can also search by how long they plan on staying and by the time of year they plan on traveling. This is also available on all three apps.
Influencer Travel Stories
Users can watch travel stories that were made by influencers. However, these stories are only available on the U.S. Expedia and Hotels.com apps.
AI-Generated Tools
EG Labs is the first open space for U.S.-based adopters can test, discover and share feedback on beta products that may change travel.
Project Explorer, the first beta project available for testing in EG Labs, can help users discover new destinations and types of trips based on their preferences, including their interests and budget. Project Explorer (only available for testing on Expedia’s iOS U.S. app) generates a list of recommended places with a multi-day itinerary that includes photos, average prices and further information.
Users Have More Control
Other features that users can enjoy include the ability to change and cancel flights in the Expedia app. Users can also add their booking information to their Apple or Google Wallet also via the Expedia app. The Expedia and Hotels.com apps now come with the ability to add breakfast to their reservations, up to a day before check-in.
One Key™
One Key is the name of the rewards program that unites Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo. Enrollment can be done via any of the brand’s apps.
Summary
Expedia Group has some exciting new tools for users to play with. Travelers can get better deals and even discover destinations that they may have overlooked. While some features are already available, the rest of the tools are expected to be rolled out by the end of 2023.
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