Google Assistant now has hotel booking and flight check-in

Those looking to book hotel rooms can now book them through Google Assistant on both Android and iOS devices. This update comes after a teaser made by the company's president for travel product management, Richard Holden at The Phocuswright Conference last November.

For now the system can handle bookings via Choice Hotels, AccorHotels, InterContinental Hotels Group, Priceline, Expedia, Mirai and TravelClick, but Google says more partners will be added.

The bookings are powered by the partners’ existing “Book on Google” integration.

Requests can be specific or general, such as, “Hey Google, I’d like to book the Cambria Hotel in New York on January 12^th,” or, “Find hotels nearby for tonight.” In either case, Assistant will display availability and pricing options from both online travel agency partners and the brand itself, if it is integrated.

The Google Assistant is a virtual assistant developed by Google that is primarily available on mobile and smart home devices. Unlike Google Now, the Google Assistant can engage in two-way conversations.

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