Google makes new push to bolster travel-related searches

Google may be commonly used as a verb for looking for information, but in the online travel world the technology giant isn’t a go-to destination like Expedia, Priceline and TripAdvisor.

Aiming to change that, Google will launch a more unified travel product to integrate flight and hotel search functions, while organizing people’s travel plans and saving research. The new offerings, which were rolled out last year on smartphones and are now available on desktops, will be hosted at google.com/travel.

Alphabet Inc’s Google also plans to “surface” more travel data on Google Maps, and incorporate hotel and restaurant reservations for customers who are logged on. Google made the announcement Tuesday at a marketing conference in San Francisco.