It just got a lot easier to search for flight and hotel deals on Google

Being able to conduct an effective online search can help busy travelers save valuable time and money.

Since its introduction of flight search back in 2011, Google has become a way for travelers to quickly find the best options available to them, providing information on flight prices based on chosen times, dates, airlines, and itineraries. The search engine also offers users the ability to search hotel options and their current rates.

To continue making the planning process easier for travelers, Google just announced a new set of features it's introducing into its travel search for both hotels and flights.

Hotel Smart Filters

To make search results even more effective for users, Google has introduced search filters that can narrow down your options based on preferences like price or ratings. The search tool can even recognize more complex queries like "Pet-friendly hotels in San Francisco under $200," for example.

Hotel Deals

Google is also tapping into real-time analysis to improve its search results. Properties that are offering discounts, or those that have prices that are lower in comparison to historic market hotel rates, will automatically have a "Deal" label in Google's search results.

Google's algorithm can automatically identify these deals when there has been a noticeable reduction in prices.

It seems to be working out for the hotels, too - initial studies from Google have found that hotels marked with the "Deals" label receive roughly double the amount of bookings in comparison to their undiscounted competitors.

Hotel Tips

Google's new travel search can also tip you off to the factors that are affecting your hotel price, like if you could save money by adjusting the dates of your trip slightly.

This type of tip will show you how much you can save if you're willing to change the terms of your travel.

Price Tracking

Finally, instead of having to manually check on the prices of flights to your preferred destination, users can now receive price-tracking notifications through both email and Google Now cards.

Google will send a notification when the price of a flight either increases or decreases significantly.

Google has rolled out the smart filters in the US and will launch the service globally later this year. Its hotel deals and tips features will roll out in the upcoming months.

The flight price-tracking feature will come out in the next few weeks and will be available in all 26 of Google Flights' markets.

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