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Google to Offer a Best Price Guarantee on Certain Flights
- johnm1019 7y agoThis appears to be a time-limited promotion. > When we predict the price won’t decrease for select itineraries booked between August 13 and September 2, we’ll guarantee the price won’t drop, and we’ll refund you the difference if it does.
- Godel_unicode 7y agoWhen I read that I assumed that they want to observe the effect this guarantee has on pricing by changing people's booking behavior. Doing a time-limited study seems like a good way to do that.
- giarc 7y agoI agree, but that seems like such a short window for an accurate assessment.
- londons_explore 7y agoI bet its a "50% of flights" trial, so the data is more comparible. If they have enough flight bookings per day, even a 1 day trial could be plenty to see how customers behave.
- camillomiller 7y agoDo they say if this is US-only?
- ehsankia 7y ago> This feature is available for select itineraries originating in the U.S. with domestic or international destinations.
- unityByFreedom 7y agoThis is awesome, I hope Google doesn't kill it! Farecast did this and was bought out by Bing to become Bing travel, who then stopped the price guarantees.
- acomjean 7y agoGoogle putting the finishing touches om the ITA software acquisition. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITA_Software https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITA_Software But oddly closed google trips, which frankly was decent. Google sometimes seems like incoherent.
- minimaxir 7y agoDuring my business/tech econonomics class in college in 2010, one of the main course assignments was to argue for or against the ITA acquisition from a judicial perspective (i.e. would it create a monopoly). No one in the class could really argue against it because as far as monopolies that Google could possibly create, that's pretty minor. A decade later, almost everyone seems to have forgotten that Google did it.
- bitL 7y agoWhat is Hipmunk using underneath?
- jmathai 7y agoI believe they all use several of the services. I worked at one of the airline booking sites and know they used Sabre and ITA as well as others. https://beta.developer.sabre.com/guides https://beta.developer.sabre.com/guides
- kortilla 7y ago>No one in the class could really argue against it because as far as monopolies that Google could possibly create, that's pretty minor. That’s really goofy reasoning. Just because google is huge and could do much more evil doesn’t mean that a small amount of evil (destroying the airline itinerary quote market) is ok. Is that what you meant to say?
- londons_explore 7y agoThe airline industry quote market is very much not dead though.... Skyscanner, kayak, etc...
- aaronarduino 7y ago> To see your trips and travel research, turn on these settings: Private results, Web & app activity This is the main reason why I will never be able to use www.google.com/travel. I used to use the Trips app with no search history, but Google is shutting down Trips in favor of forcing people to loosen privacy settings. It is very disappointing because Trips worked very well.
- daddypro 7y agoI use TripIt ever since Trips was shutdown. While it doesn't do everything, it does quite a lot (have all reservations etc in one place).
- ghaff 7y agoTripIt is a lifesaver for me. I'm sure I'd mess up a lot more than I do if I didn't have an app like TripIt. My only material beef is that I think it could do a better job of flagging possible oversights in your itinerary. "Umm Dave, I'm afraid you don't seem to have anyplace to stay on Wednesday night." On complicated trips, I actually print out a calendar grid and make notes by hand. It would be nice if TripIt had a month calendar view that let you look at things that way.
- umeshunni 7y agoYou can export your Tripit itinerary as an .ical and use it with your favorite calendaring app.
- ghaff 7y agoAh thanks. I either didn't know that or I tried it and it didn't really help. I'll take a look at it again on my next long trip. But basically I'd like TripIt to flag possible problems rather than have me depend on eyeballing it--even though that works OK most of the time. The printing out of calendar pages is more for trip planning. TripIt doesn't (and isn't really intended to do) anything along those lines.
- 7y ago
- primitivesuave 7y agoOnce their algorithm can predict prices to a certain level of accuracy, they can effectively offer investment hedging to the public for free, and use the publicity to drive commissions on referrals. Unlike other commodities whose value is subject to numerous economic forces, the pricing is set directly (by the airlines), and it is likely that simply by observing their pricing over time a sophisticated Google algorithm has "learned" the airline's less sophisticated ones.
- ghostbrainalpha 7y agoBut can't the airlines then introduce random price spikes into their own algorithm just to abuse Google?
- lordnacho 7y agoAny algo that does this will know what noise is.
- obmelvin 7y agoExactly, noise can be removed or heavily in many problems and in this case you would then just upset regular customers.
- londons_explore 7y agoThat's not quite what this is. The 'best price guarantee' guarantees the customer will receive the lowest price for their ticket. Google will refund them if anyone gets a lower price. The airline can release, for 30 seconds only, a much lower price. Then Google has to refund all their customers, and the airline might only sell a handful of tickets at the lower price. Remember airline tickets aren't fungible. They have names attached, and can't be resold, so nobody can buy up thousands of tickets in a price dip and resell.
- scotradamus 7y ago
- anujbatra 7y agoSome airlines such as Alaska and Southwest already offer this but the pain is monitoring the drops for your fare class etc. If Google is automating that, then more power to them!
- sokoloff 7y agoGoogle Flights doesn't get pricing for Southwest: https://www.google.com/flights?hl=en#flt=/m/01cx_.CMH.2019-08-25*CMH./m/01cx_.2019-08-29;c:USD;e:1;sd:1;t:f https://www.google.com/flights?hl=en#flt=/m/01cx_.CMH.2019-0...
- namdnay 7y agoSouthwest don't distribute indirectly to leisure travellers, so you won't find them in any booking tool (except corporate travel mgmt solutions)
- collyw 7y agoWhy would they monitor it for you? They would need to pay you the difference.
- hangonhn 7y agoGood will and branding. I tend to trust companies who do that for me because it at least gives the impression that they are kind of trustworthy. I now book a lot of my travel (hotels especially) via Priceline because they took care of me when Marriott overbooked and wouldn't honor my reservation I made via Priceline. Priceline put us up at a 5 star hotel that costs $800 a night while Marriott's suggestion was to send us (and other guests like us) to a Motel 8 instead without refunding us at all. So never again Marriott and I'm booking my travels via Priceline.
- cmbuck 7y agoAlaska no longer offers the policy I believe you are referring to, effective September 1, 2018 [1]. Their new policy, despite being advertised under the same name, only covers price drops within 24 hours of purchase, during which time you'd be able to cancel and rebook anyway. [2] This is the kind of change that is not fun to learn the hard way. [1] https://onemileatatime.com/alaska-airlines-price-guarantee-ending/ https://onemileatatime.com/alaska-airlines-price-guarantee-e... [2] https://www.alaskaair.com/content/deals/special-offers/price-guarantee https://www.alaskaair.com/content/deals/special-offers/price...
- pixelHD 7y agoI use hopper [0] for something similar. But considering google's scale and resources, google might give me more accurate predictions. [0]: https://www.hopper.com/ https://www.hopper.com/
- goostavos 7y agoI'd be hesitant on that one, or any prediction software, without the backing of the price guarantee like Google has. Otherwise you're really just gambling. I used to use whatever flight prediction software Bing bought out when I traveled for work. It was pretty accurate most of the time, and I got used to trusting it, but I definitely got burned really badly a few times by continuing to wait as the price sky rocketed under the algorithms assurance that it would drop again before I needed to pull the trigger.
- listenallyall 7y agoPretty sure it was called farecast.com
- Alex3917 7y agoIf the airlines know that most of tickets for a flight have been sold via Google, then what's to stop the airlines from drastically dropping the price of the last ticket just to cost Google a ton of money? There's no way this could work if the airlines were in a legitimately adversarial relationship with Google.
- verroq 7y agoIf most tickets for that airline come from Google then that airline has little incentive to burn Google with its pricing practices.
- human20190310 7y agoThey definitely have an incentive to take advantage of Google. If an airline regularly drops the price, and Google keeps refunding the price difference out of their own pockets, word will get out. People are going to preferentially book on that airline, knowing that the day before the flight they're going to get a big rebate. That brand loyalty will remain even if Google kicks them off of their platform. Moreover, as more airlines get kicked off, Google is left with a smaller and smaller subset of airlines it is brokering tickets for.
- mlindner 7y agoI have no idea what you're talking about. Why would the airline harm their own profit just to harm Google? There's no incentive to reduce how much they'll make. More so if they know that Google is guaranteeing the price, they can raise the price higher (or not lower it when they would, rather) to keep more of the profit for themselves.
- mav3rick 7y agoThe Google legal and business team must already have deals in place.
- izacus 7y agoBut... why? Google is refunding passengers, not the airlines. The airline already sold an expensive ticket thanks to Google. Why in the world would you attack a business partner that brings you customers in such a strange way?
- SteveNuts 7y agoMy question is, with Google's pretty much non-existent customer service (unless you're on G-suite), how difficult is the process going to be to get to a human if you want to make a claim that they weren't the lowest price?
- eunoia 7y agoSuper anecdotal obviously, but very very difficult. Bought some flights on Scandinavian Air through Google Flights that included multiple checked bags for my wife and I about a year ago. Upon arrival at the airport in Gothenburg, they were very insistent we hadn't paid for bags and had to pay the exorbitant fees for checking bags on the spot. We essentially could not figure out how to contact anyone at Google Flights to clear up the situation or achieve any form of redress.
- embwbam 7y agoI don't think it's currently possible to book flights to Google Flights itself. Doesn't it always redirect you to another site to book? You would have to contact that site for help in this siutation.
- notyourwork 7y agoI recall booking through google flights, as I understood they simply booked on my behalf through the carrier but I was entirely in Google eco-system.
- traek 7y agoYou’re wrong, it’s possible. [0] [0] https://support.google.com/travel/answer/7515668?hl=en https://support.google.com/travel/answer/7515668?hl=en
- gergles 7y agoGoogle still isn't the seller of record, though. > Note: All bookings are made with the relevant airline or online travel agency.
- linuxftw 7y agoDo more business with Google? Hard pass.
- youeseh 7y agoDoes that mean that they'll offer a full refund if your travel plans change, since tickets get more expensive closer to the day of the flight anyway?
- ceejayoz 7y agoI very much doubt it. Those would be new tickets, not a changed price on existing ones.
- pastor_elm 7y agoSeems like it will apply to such a small subset of flights (that are already probably higher than you'd want because they're soon). There is no way Google is going to guarantee if there is a potential sale window from the airline.
- hammock 7y agoHow often do prices actually drop? I fly pretty often and I can't remember the last time I encountered a price drop on a flight over time.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- hughes 7y agoThe flight I want has been fluctuating between $400 and $700 every couple of days for the last two weeks. It's $729 now and I need to gamble on whether it will go back down and I should wait, or whether it's about to go up even higher. I _hate_ flying solely because of the gambling mechanic built-in to the purchase.
- hammock 7y agoIt is an international flight that's 6+ months away? And the exact same flights (not just same days etc) Because that's the only time I can remember seeing something like that.
- hughes 7y agoIt's USA to Canada in less than 2 months.
- checktheorder 7y agoI was thinking it might be a domestic Canadian flight. The high average price and high variability fit the standard pattern for our domestic flights as well.
- Ayesh 7y agoAbsolutely! I remember a particular budget-ish airline in Asia dropping their prices more than 50%. I already had a ticket by the time, and I saved money by booking this low fare and canceling the old one. It was worth even after then cancellation fee.
- jonknee 7y agoNote that this is a temporary promotion: > Price guarantee is available between August 13th and September 2nd, 2019. You'll see the price guarantee badge on select flights where travel is completed by November 24th, 2019. Still sounds like a great deal, but this explains why it's not a huge liability.
- H8crilA 7y agoIt may be a test run. Flight pricing is complicated, Google may be reasonably worried about the unknown-unknowns.
- londons_explore 7y agoAirlines can easily abuse this guarantee if they want to. The airline can calculate the loss Google would incur through any price change, and they don't necessarily incur the same losses. They can make price changes specifically to make sure Google flights doesn't make money. This isn't the stock market - flights aren't transferable, since tickets are named.
- JMTQp8lwXL 7y agoI recently searched for flights via Google Flights (for Frontier). The price shown for the exact same itinerary was ~$50 more on Google Flights than when I used my smartphone on a different network (disabled WiFi), going directly on Frontier's website. This could be because Google counted for things like, for example, 1 checked bag when comparing all flights. I don't have enough knowledge on the matter, but I will absolutely use a different device and book directly on the airline's site to ensure I get the best price with no middleman fees.
- mav3rick 7y agoGoogle flights charges no middleman fee. It definitely would have added a carry on. you can easily remove it
- JMTQp8lwXL 7y agoI just checked and, by default, Google doesn't add a carry-on or checked bag. It could be taxes and fees.
- JMTQp8lwXL 7y agoI don't know why they wouldn't start charging a middleman fee someday. What other value would they get from building Google Flights?
- xur17 7y agoI've never been given the option to book directly through Google flights - I don't think they offer that option, so I'm not sure how they would charge a middleman fee.
- Ayesh 7y agoIf you get access to someone's travel history, future travel plans, and their purchase habits (luggage weight, how many people you travel with, etc), this information is worth a lot more to an advertisement company than a mere middleman fee.
- 7y ago
- ww520 7y agoI would never book flight or hotel through 3rd party portal unless there's a substantial discount. Booking direct work better 90% of the time.
- robert_foss 7y agoI feel like that is a recipe for getting price gouged. Or do you search for trips with 3rd party tools and then book it directly?
- ww520 7y agoSearch on 3rd party as part of the research. The thing is if there's anything comes up during the flight or stay, it's way easier to deal with the hotels or airlines on direct orders.
- matwood 7y agoMost airlines show the same price on their site that I find on the aggregators. The exception is multi-itinerary tickets that can save money, but are risky since you are booking separate, multiple tickets.
- londons_explore 7y agoLook around more. Many aggregators offer big discounts for minor things like logging in or signing up for a newsletter. $400 off for logging in - sure! I think they have contracts in place about pricing for non-logged in users (ie. Neither of us will undercut the other). But when you're a customer, they suddenly offer much better deals. Yes I will take the 'loyalty bonus' of free extra 5 days stay for booking a weekend - thanks! Some of the aggregators are so desperate to get customers that they will give you something for $0. I rented a car for a week for $0 through easyrentcars because I signed up through a refer link for example.
- jonknee 7y agoGoogle owns ITA software which many airlines themselves for ticketing, as such they know more than the airline itself does about what's a good deal.
- hirundo 7y agoThat's ridiculous, if they had an AI that could accurately predict prices, they would quickly become one of the largest, most powerful corporations in the world. Uh, wait ...
- everdev 7y agoThe profit from accurately predicting future prices would dwarf advertising / computing revenue. The problem with any prediction is as soon as it's acted on or made public it starts to affect the system requiring an updated prediction. If enough people buy into the prediction it's a self fulfilling prophecy. So much of pricing is influenced by human nature though. Good luck predicting that consistently over time.
- chiefalchemist 7y agoAlso, the airlines could change their algorithm - randomly. If for no other reason than to muck with Google.
- koolba 7y agoFrom their detail page: > How much money can I get back? Price guarantee pays you the difference between the flight price when you book and the lowest ticket price. To get money back, the price difference must be greater than $5. You can receive up to $500 back total for all of the flights you book with Google price guarantee. That’d be pretty hilarious for an airline to explicitly dick them over for $500 a pop.
- jonknee 7y agoSomehow I think Google would manage to outsmart them at their own game.
- 9nGQluzmnq3M 7y agoOnly problem is that it would also mean $500 less revenue for the airline.
- namdnay 7y agoI believe there was a startup that offered this as a paid service, using some sort of price prediction algorithm
- darkhorn 7y agoAnd please don't show 737s.
- not_a_cop75 7y agoSounds like Google is trying to dominate one more market. I'm sure they 1) wouldn't mind being the middle man of one more thing 2) continue to transmit travel plans and would be plans to whoever wants to pay. Google is an advertising and information company.
- baybal2 7y agoI hope it's not a plain fraud. For a part of my work in OEM industry, I do duties of a professional purchaser, so I know how to get deals. I had many times such refund and guarantee promises thrown out of the window with explanation "so use us if you want." All kinds of booking agencies being the worst offenders. One time when I still lived in Canada, I went to a small claims court, and and civil tribunal with "ahem..., commercial contracts are not our jurisdiction"
- mav3rick 7y agoGoogle is not some small company to commit fraud for a few pennies
- sumedh 7y agoWhy am I getting a feeling that they will shut it down in 6 months.
- tyingq 7y agoHmm. Interesting move with all the antitrust sentiment floating around. Google has certainly focused their "everything above the fold is us" approach heavily on travel. Don't believe me? Do a few travel related queries and see how much above the fold IS NOT google. They have been VERY aggressive in this area.
- lowdose 7y agoIs this the next industry taking a hit from an asset-light strategy?
- jayalpha 7y agoWell, this is boring. I would prefer an insurance that locks in the price for some time. dohop.com was offering this for some time.
- NumberCruncher 7y agoForecast was doing that, quite successfully (115 m$ exit).
- listenallyall 7y agoSay what you want about Google/Alphabet as a whole, but Google Flights is incredible. It's absolutely amazing how quickly and largely that Google crushed all its competitors in terms of usability. Kayak, Hipmunk, Orbitz, Skyscanner were all my go-to's at one point but G.Flights is far superior in so many ways. It actually remembers your airline preference between searches. You don't have to beg or change settings to see a few days before or after... every search has a date grid and long-term graph, both which respond almost immediately to additional changes to date ranges. Searching multiple airports or destinations is super easy. Plus the calendar view, with lowest price for every day -- sure other sites have it but only for unfiltered searches. Google's calendar view is updated with every filter change. There was a time in the 90s when eAAsySabre was publicly available to anyone, and text based searches were simple and fast and so easy. But Google Flights is even better, IMO. Pretty amazing that sites entirely dependent on travel search seem satisfied with 10-year old UI while Google showed how much better it could be.
- the_reformation 7y agoThe UI is so smooth that I visit almost daily and just punch in cities to see what itineraries come up. I just moved to New York and I'm having a blast seeing all the new nonstop destinations I have.
- devIO 7y agoI used to think it was great but it’s no different than an Expedia, which is what my wife uses. Earlier this week Google had fewer flights than Expedia.
- guiambros 7y ago(disclaimer: I work at Google, but no relationship with the Flights team other than as an individual user) Funny story: just last week I was booking a complicated multi-city trip with 5 legs, multiple countries, etc. I tried several times via united.com, and it wasn't showing me any flights available in one of the legs (which I knew they had a codeshare agreement). I went back to Google Flights, chose all my flights, selected "Book with United", and was able to finish the reservation on united.com (!), with all the flights properly populated, including codeshares. It's remarkable that the integration between Google Flights and the airlines is better than even the airlines' websites themselves.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- hnburnsy 7y ago"and notify you when we predict the price may go up soon or won’t get any lower" This feels like a different version of only 3 seats left or only 2 rooms available at this price. Why not notify me when the price goes down or is likely to go down?
- worldexplorer 7y agoFlight prices shown in India by Google are always been higher than other booking sites. Never heard of anyone around booking flights through Google here.
- Ayesh 7y agoI mostly blame the lack of Integration with reservation systems in certain carriers like Indigo, Nepali Airlines, Air Asia, etc. Then there is a whole range of smaller carriers (including Nepal's numerous airlines). Some airlines are downright now searchable through any means other than the airlines own web site.
- jhack 7y agoUS-only, of course.
- Fnoord 7y agoTANSTAAFL. What is the catch of using Google Flights? What would Google do with this data?