Google on Monday unveiled a “cheapest time to book” feature that will let travelers know when airfares should be lowest to book their favorite destination.
Users on Google Flights can already see if search prices are low, typical or high compared to past averages for the same route and can set up price tracking alerts. Now, for searches with reliable trending data, users will also see a prediction of the cheapest time to book for the selected dates and destination.
Similar advice is already offered by other sites. For example, in June Kayak presented its “best time to travel tool” which takes into account not only historical price data, but also the weather and seasonal crowds at a destination. Furthermore, Hopper offers a price prediction tool to help users determine the best time to book. Skyscanner offers to help you users find the cheapest month to travel and set up price alerts to book the best price.
Google said it decided to upgrade its flight information after hearing feedback from customers who want to know when is the best time to book travel. “With this feature, we’re now giving more specific information, informed by past trends, so people can make an informed decision about whether to book now or wait for prices to drop,” a doorman said. -word.
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To make this work, Google uses several years of historical price data to identify consistent periods when lower than normal prices occur for similar trips. On some searches, prices only tend to increase as the departure date approaches. In these cases, Google says it tells users when the cheapest prices end, such as five months before departure.
The advice is based on historical data for trips of similar duration, during the same season, with the same origin and destination, the same number of stopovers, the same seat class and the same airline. 2020 data is not included as it has been significantly impacted by COVID-19.
Since March, some Reserve on Google itineraries in Google Flights have been accompanied by a price guarantee badge, which means Google is “highly confident” the fare won’t drop before departure and will pay the difference if it does.
