Some of the biggest names in travel are turning to “practical AI” to simplify trip booking and planning.
Between Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s, it’s the time of year when your luggage stays packed. With millions of Americans planning to travel sometime between now and the end of the year, it’s time to start thinking about how to make the most of your trip.
Right on time, Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo just rolled out more than 30 new travel features. Expedia Group, which owns all three brands, said the goal is to make trip planning and execution easier with practical AI.
“Travel is a series of decisions, and travelers want the joy of discovery and planning to last through every stage of the journey,” Shilpa Ranganathan, chief product officer at Expedia Group, said. “That’s why we’re building AI-powered experiences across our brands that help travelers make informed decisions, give them flexibility and value, and personalize every step of their trip. And when travelers need a person, our human agents step in with the full context to make things right.”
Expedia says it’s introducing a more personal homepage, flexible travel packages, more straightforward bookings for families, interactive maps of your travel destination for easier planning and expanded airport perks like Clear Plus discounts and free lounge access for flight delays.
Two new AI-powered products are also rolling out to make trip planning smoother once a trip is already booked. Expedia’s new Activity Planner is an AI-powered conversational shopping assistant that can find and book activities, restaurants and events based on your itinerary.
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