What you need to know
- The Digital Markets Act in the European Union has forced Google to change or remove some trip-planning features in Google Search.
- Price comparison sites are asking for more, and Google is proposing new changes to its DMA compliance for trip planning in Search.
- As part of the changes, Google will test removing advanced hotel-booking features entirely in Germany, Belgium and Estonia for a limited time.
Google is a useful resource for trip planning, with features aimed to help users compare prices and book directly with airlines, hotels, and more. However, that might be changing for users in the European Union. Google has made significant changes to its offerings in the region to comply with the Digital Markets Act. Price comparison sites still aren't happy, and are advocating for Google Search to go back to basics, at least as it relates to travel.
In the past, the company explains that it boosted listings for comparison sites in certain categories, including flights and hotels, for free. It also removed features from its travel maps and stopped showing flight information. The company says that these moves were made to comply with the DMA, and benefitted travel aggregators and comparison sites. Meanwhile, it argued that the changes negatively affected small businesses.
To meet the asks of price comparison sites and travel aggregators, Google is proposing the following changes, as outlined in a blog post:
- Expanded and equally formatted units that allow users to choose between results that take them to comparison sites and results that take them directly to supplier websites when they are searching for products, restaurants, flights or hotels.
- Other new formats that allow comparison sites and suppliers to show more information about what is on their websites, like prices and pictures.
- New ad units for comparison sites.
That still may not be enough, as Google claims some sites are requesting "a complete ban on anything that’s more sophisticated than a simple blue link to a website." If enacted, that would mark a drastic shift for Google Search's travel offerings in the EU. To find out what that would look like, it's removing these advanced features entirely in a few countries. It's similar to a test from earlier this month, where Google removed content from news publishers in the EU to test its impact on Search.
Users in Germany, Belgium, and Estonia stopped seeing free hotel features in Google Search on Nov. 25, and will be without them for the duration of this "short, temporary test." The test takes away the map, hotel results curated below the map, hotel property info, and other Google Search information. Some features will be available if a user searches for a hotel directly, rather than a vague query like "hotels in Germany."
It's unclear what long-term changes the EU may require Google to make in order to remain compliant with the DMA. However, if price comparison sites have their way, Google may have to go back to the basics — and that may not be such a good thing for the average user.
