UK-based online travel booking site, Expedia has launched a new website Expedia Hotel View (www.expediahotelview.co.uk). The new service combines Google Street View technology with Expedia hotel data to enable consumers to virtually experience the location of their selected accommodation, before purchase.
According to a report in breakingtravelnews.com, the new website provides panoramic views of each property and helps travel researchers to check out details such as the location of their nearest restaurant, nearby parks and bars and get a look at the general hotel surroundings so they can book with the assurance that they know exactly what to expect when they arrive. User reviews, hotel images and Expedia rates also pop up, allowing travellers to explore their chosen hotel from all angles before purchase.
With this new website, holidaymakers can now enter their chosen area via an online ad or directly through the site where they will be guided to a Google map with hotel locations pinpointed. When one is selected, the user is taken to a Google Street View image of the hotel. Customers can see the surroundings of the accommodation, the kind of street it's located on, check out nearby transport links and landmarks, travel up and down the road to discover what is in the immediate vicinity and trace their path from their hotel to key landmarks or venues.
For business travellers, the service offers a time-saving route to review their journey from their hotel to their meetings of conferences and book. An overview box appears on screen, which a user can click at any time to quickly access a summary of the hotel's key information, including star rating, room types and the latest rates. For easy navigation, the five nearest hotels also appear at the bottom left of the screen.
Alex Gisbert, Director, Online Partner Marketing, Expedia EMEA, "By bringing together in depth information with a broad choice of hotels, consumers can take advantage of the thousands of deals that Expedia offers with the reassurance that they have already checked out their holiday accommodation practically at first hand. With Expedia Hotel View, we are bringing travellers even closer to their destination giving them all the information they need to make travel booking simple and easy."
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