Nearly one in five U.S. adults have access to a smart speaker and adoption of these voice-powered devices has grown to 47.3 million adults in two years–or 20 percent of the U.S. adult population, according to research from Voicebot.ai. More travelers are looking to book on emerging platforms through voice assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, and more hotels are searching for ways to reach customers on the technologies they are using today in their homes.
Expedia.com this week announced the launch of the Expedia Action for Google Assistant, giving the ability to manage travel plans through hands-free voice commands on Google Assistant-enabled devices. After travelers link Expedia accounts to the Action, they can get personalized assistance with existing itineraries, check Expedia Rewards balances, get packing lists, and more. The OTA already has a skill in place for Amazon’s Alexa.
“We’re excited to innovate with ways to make travel planning easier, no matter where you are or what device you’re using. The market has seen rapid adoption of these new technologies within the past year and we want to make sure that Expedia customers are able to get the travel information they need, exactly when they need it. The Google Assistant is a step in that direction,” says Expedia’s Brent Harrison, vice president of product and technology.
With the Expedia Action for the Google Assistant, which is available in English, travelers will be able to browse and book hotels, cancel flight and hotel reservations, add a rental car to an existing round-trip flight reservation, check available Expedia Rewards points, access Expedia trip itineraries, and get packing lists for an upcoming trip. They start by saying, “Ok Google, talk to Expedia,” and choose options from there.
