It was just over a month ago I wrote that I was surprised to learn that Google was not keeping pace with the “big three” in travel metasearch (TripAdvisor, Expedia, and Priceline). There has been a lot of criticism regarding Google’s low traction in the travel arena. Google Hotel Finder and Google Flight Search have been operational for quite some time now, but their market share in the world of online travel is still marginal.
Google not in a hurry?
Ironically, it doesn’t seem that Google is in a hurry to penetrate the travel vertical. It looks like they are using the same strategy as they do for Google+. At least, I find myself logging in to Google+ more and more as they are slowly connecting all the dots in making Google+ the backbone for all of their services (Calendar, YouTube, Picasa). I think the new Google Maps will be the backbone for travel related searches.
Read full story at: http://www.olery.com/googles-travel-plans-slowly-becoming-clear/