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Google Looks to Cash in on Online Travel Demand, Ramps Up Site

Zacks Equity Research

In a bid to make the most of the booming online travel space, Alphabet’s GOOGL Google division recently made a few advancements in its travel site.

Notably, the company has now come up with a tab, which offers three options upon searching for any destination.

The options — Where to stay, When to visit and What you’ll pay — eases the process of finding accommodations, comparing prices and booking trips.

“Where to stay” will recommend hotels, “When to visit” will provide key information about the destination like weather conditions, peak months and less-expensive periods for visit, and “What you’ll pay” will notify about the prices of hotels.

Hence, Google’s updated features will aid in seamless travel planning by providing information on different months about a destination.

Online Travel Market Holds Promise

Online travel booking sites are witnessing rapid adoption in this fast-paced world, thanks to quick travel planning, and flight and hotel booking services.

Further, growing proliferation of smartphones and increasing Internet usage across the globe are driving demand for online travel sites.

Per a report by TechSci Research, the global online travel booking market is expected to see a CAGR of 12% in the 2020-2024 period.

We believe Google is well-poised to tap this booming market through its latest move, ramped-up travel site initiatives and improving search results.

Moreover, the company’s innovative search tools and strong search results have been helping it gain investor confidence.

Coming to price performance, shares of Alphabet have gained 31.7% over a year, outperforming the industry’s rally of 11%.



Competitive Advantage

We believe strengthening online travel services will help Google gain competitive advantage in this particular market against traditional online travel agents like TripAdvisor TRIP, Expedia EXPE and Booking Holdings BKNG.

Moreover, Google’s latest move will intensify competition for e-commerce companies like Amazon and Alibaba who are leaving no stone unturned to capitalize on the online travel prospects.

Further, Google is likely to continue posing tough competition to the above-mentioned companies, courtesy of its evolving AI skills and ML techniques.

Currently, Alphabet carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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TripAdvisor, Inc. (TRIP) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Expedia Group, Inc. (EXPE) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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Zacks Investment Research