Here's how Google is making booking your next hotel easier
Searching for hotels on Google just got a lot easier. The search engine announced on Jan. 8 that it is adding a slew of new features on Google Hotel Search aimed at helping travelers pick the best hotels for trips.
Here's what that means for your next trip.
The Google Travel site will now show you the best times to visit and typical hotel prices for your dates of travel. A new tab will show how weather, crowds and pricing vary across the year.
One of the hardest things I encounter when picking a hotel is what neighborhood I want to be in. Sometimes, I want to be in an area where there's a ton of good bars and restaurants. Other times I want to be close to public transit. And other times, I want to be as far as possible from the action because I want a good night's sleep.
Related: Google Releases New Flight and Hotel Search Features
Google's new "Where to stay" feature will now give you a summary of top neighborhoods. It will tell you what each area is known for, its location score, and the average cost of hotels in that neighborhood.
Google will also alert you if you've stayed previously at a hotel or if you've searched for a hotel before and will include more personalized results. For instance, if you've searched for fun things to do near the National Mall in Washington, D.C., Google Travel will now show you hotels close to that destination.
If you've ever found a fabulous, cheap hotel and then were surprised that it wasn't the same price at checkout, Google now has a solution for that. The platform is making it more transparent in how much you'll pay for your whole stay by showing both the nightly price and the total price, including taxes and fees.
Finally, the search engine also released its list of the top ten trending travel destinations for 2020 based on hotel searches.
Related: We're calling it now: The 20 hottest travel destinations of 2020
What destination topped the list? Da Nang, Vietnam (DAD). While no U.S. destinations made the list: several TPG favorites cracked the top ten, including Tel Aviv (TLV), Tokyo (HND/NRT) and Perth (PER).
If you've been Google searching some of these destinations, you have plenty of points and miles options to plan your next trip. For instance, Perth, which number 10 on the list has several points hotels to choose from. The Ritz-Carlton Perth is a Category 7 property, with award nights costing 50,000 points apiece at off-peak times, 60,000 points at standard rates, or 70,000 points at peak pricing. And if you're looking for flights, you have plenty of options with Qantas or Virgin Australia.
TPG featured card
Rewards
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro offer
Annual Fee
Recommended Credit
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month
Rewards Rate
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro Offer
Earn 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200K miles when you spend $150K in the first 6 monthsLIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus milesAnnual Fee
$395Recommended Credit
Credit ranges are a variation of FICO® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.740-850Excellent
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month