A new experiment from Google adds hotel prices to the ever popular Maps service.
Currently in the test-group stage – where a small portion of users experience the new version of a service – the new feature for Google Maps allows users to plan visits in even greater detail via local search. When searching for hotels on Maps, users will now be able to enter the dates they plan to stay and see the prices at “selected hotel listings.”
Andrew Silverman, Product Manager at Google’s LatLong blog, explained the feature: “You’ll be able to enter the dates you plan to stay and see real prices on selected listings. You can then click on the price to see a list of advertisers who have provided pricing information for that hotel, indicated by the “sponsored” text, and click through to reserve a room on the advertiser’s site.”
“By showing you this relevant hotel rate information directly in Google maps results panel we hope to make this aspect of your trip planning more speedy and efficient.”
The company’s newest addition to Maps adds yet another form of search engine marketing for businesses on Google. Whilst it is unclear whether or not sponsored advertisers will be charged extra for adding more information to their listings, it is likely to attract more local businesses to take out sponsored listings on Google.
By adding another area of visible competition to their service, Google makes it more valuable to users – who will be able to see where the cheapest deal is at a glance - and by extension to businesses looking to attract those users. Like the other sponsored listings on the Google maps service, this feature will not affect how Maps ranks results, says Silverman.
Business listings will still be delivered by the geographic distance from the location entered and their relevance to the search terms entered by the user. Effectively, this new feature is simply adapting the 2009 improvement that added support for restaurants to add visible menus to their sponsored listings, for hotels.
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