Where Google goes, people follow. So consider Google’s excursion into the travel industry. The move seems a logical part of the company’s strategy to challenge established markets; the recent launch of Google+ to take on the social media behemoth Facebook, Google Offers encroaching on Groupon’s territory — the track record is definitely there.
And then there is Google Hotel Finder, essentially a sophisticated, fully functional online travel agency. The only thing it needs to become a full-scale online travel agency (OTA) is to add a “book-it” button (for now the site leaves final bookings up to the likes of Kayak, Priceline, and Expedia et al).
Book-it buttons aside, Google has been on a “gobble” in recent years. Its new Hotel Finder joins an expanding list of travel-focused services like Google Flights and Google Plus, along with a host of other acquisitions — most recently foodie favorite Zagat for $25 million — to make the search engine (and the anything and everything portal to the web), a formidable player in the online travel industry.
Read full story at: http://gigaom.com/2011/10/01/bon-voyage-travel-agents-googles-taking-over-travel/