Google ups flight tools

GOOGLE has begun stepping up services offered through its Google Flights platform, outlining new tools that show how airfares fluctuate around peak holiday periods and identify whether prices are relatively high or low.

The digital giant has also flagged new tools for monitoring hotel rates, giving insights on how prices vary over time.

The initiatives are outlined in a blog post by Google’s vice president of product management, travel, Richard Holden, and are timed ahead of the upcoming festive period.

“With the help of the Google News Lab and Polygraph, we created a handy tool that shows how prices change - based on when you book and where you’re travelling - for flights to popular holiday destinations,” he writes.

“It’ll even help you find hotel deals for Thanksgiving, Dec holidays and New Years.”

A new tool introduced ahead of the US Thanksgiving holiday shows whether a given airfare is low, typical or high, based on historical prices.

Another function added to the Explore Map in Google Flights allows users to choose a region such as Southern Europe, then view destinations where comparatively good airfares are currently available.

Holden says Google is also adding price insights and market comparisons for hotels, allowing users to see how rates evolve, determine whether a rate is higher or lower than usual and compare to other properties.