Google Flights has long been the gold standard for flight price tracking and research, but the Google Hotels tool hasn’t been as strong until now. Google.com/hotels has officially launched global hotel price tracking, even for individual hotels.
Google calls it “the perfect way to score great deals this summer.”
I haven’t had a chance to fully explore the new tool, but a cursory investigation finds it to be a powerful addition to my trip planning arsenal. I will write a complete guide like I did with Google Flights and Explore Google FlightsBut here’s what you need to know right now.
Google Hotels
Google users can now receive emails when individual hotel prices go up or down “significantly” at hotels and resorts around the world. Previously, you could receive some price alerts for domestic hotels, but only for cities, not individual properties.
You can now monitor the hotels you want to book to see when the price is lowest, or you can rebook hotels you’ve already booked once you’re notified that the price has dropped (just be sure to book flexible, refundable rates).
If you have your heart set on a specific hotel, simply search for the hotel by name and then tap the new price tracking option. In the following example, I searched for the new edition Lake ComoI entered my dates and scrolled down past the booking options to find the price tracker button.
Once you toggle the button, you’ll see a notification that Google is now tracking the price.
When using a mobile phone, you will find the price tracking option in the pricing tab after searching, as you can see in this search for the Andaz Tokyo Toranomon Hills for August.
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Andaz Tokyo Toranomon Hills Quest. GOOGLE
According to Google, “you’ll receive an email alert if rates change significantly during your chosen dates, so you can take advantage of those price drops and score a great deal.”
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Another thing mentioned above but worth noting: you can also use Google Hotels to track prices for specific cities. I have my eye on Tokyo this summer and asked Google Hotels to track prices in August for all hotels.
Even if you booked with points, it may be worth keeping track of cash prices through Google Hotels. If you receive a notification that cash prices have gone down, it may also suggest that award prices have gone down since you booked, as many hotels now have dynamic pricing (when cash prices match award prices).
Limitations of Google Hotels
The only thing to keep in mind is that Google Hotels aggregates prices from multiple sources, including online travel agencies (like Expedia and Booking.com). We generally do not recommend booking through a third party with hotels in case something comes up. The reason is that booking through third-party sites usually means you have to deal with those sites (rather than the actual hotel) if something goes wrong. Additionally, these reservations do not earn you hotel points or credit toward elite status and generally do not include the benefits of your elite status.
Instead, we recommend booking directly with the hotel.
And Google Hotels will let you know general pricing trends, even if the online travel booking site is offering a cheaper rate. You can always call the hotel directly and ask them to match what you are seeing online.
In a nutshell
This development is great news for deal seekers in the hotel sector. Google Hotels now allows users to track prices for individual hotels around the world, whether you want to stay somewhere reasonable in a city or have your eyes on a specific, special property. This makes Google’s hotel search tool much more valuable. I’ll test the service and report back once we’ve gotten several weeks of good data, but this is a great start.
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