Expedia improves search options with new tools
Contributors are not employed, compensated or governed by TD, opinions and statements are from the contributor directly
Expedia has unveiled several new features designed to improve the travel planning process.
The three new offerings, ‘Flight Recommendations’, ‘Scratchpad’ and ‘Itinerary Sharing’, utilise user data to analyse search and booking patterns, in an effort to streamline the customer experience.
Flight Recommendations analyses more than three billion flight searches performed on Expedia.com and applies the data to customer search queries, suggesting alternative airports, dates or times of travel. These alternative options and fares reflect patterns recently booked by other customers, and are listed as part of the standard search results.
This new tool is already available for desktop customers in the US, with a global roll-out expected later in 2014.
Customers with an Expedia account will also be able to use a new feature called Scratchpad. This stores and organises a customer’s search queries, meaning they can be accessed on future visits to the website. Expedia noted that customers search for a flight on average 48 times before booking a trip, so the new tool is designed to save time inputting the same search criteria. In addition, Scratchpad will remember searches made using the Expedia mobile app, and save them for viewing on desktop.
Finally, the new Itinerary Sharing feature allows users to share their itineraries with their friends and family. This will also enable users to share their flight notifications, allowing both parties to track flight departures, arrivals and delays.
“Customers spend too much time hunting and pecking for the right deal. For any given search, there are thousands of ways they can search for a particular trip. Each search can produce billions of combinations,” said John Kim, Expedia’s senior vice president of global products.
“Flight Recommendations utilises our flight booking data to help travellers find the best flight at the best price available. Scratchpad makes it easy for travellers to log all their options. We eliminated the hassle of tracking. Scratchpad remembers searches so customers don’t have to. Itinerary sharing makes it easy for customers to share their live data with others. We are making travel easier,” Kim added.
Scratchpad and Flight Recommendations are both powered by Expedia’s ‘Travel Graph’ tool, which analyses the site’s historic booking data to improve search results.
Comments are closed.