Recently and finally discovered Google Flights and Google Hotels

Google Flights is definitely my go-to. I do recognize that I have used it for so long, that I can't give a real comparison to other options. I appreciate it for the fairly clean interface and its sorting/filtering tools.

The thing I like most about using google for hotels is how well it's integrated with maps, so easy to search areas. (Other hotel sites' maps can be clunky). Many smaller/independent hotels I see on google end up not being connected to the pricing/booking databases, so I have to go to the hotel directly to get pricing. But at least google displays those—on most booking sites I woundt even know they existed.

I do often skim trip advisor, looking for patterns in reviews and taking anomolous rants with a grain of salt. TA will also suggest other, similar hotels, which can widen options. (But you've got to notice wich are suggestions vs paid promotions)

Google Flights is great as it even lets you keep the destination open. In other words: you have a free week, you want to travel: put your dates and starting city only, and a map will show all destinations with a price so that you can pick the cheapest one.
Google Flights does not reference Southwest Airlines as far as I know.

As for Google Hotels: I use it directly through Google maps. If you search for hotels, the map will show locations and prices. Most of the price results come from Booking.com or other consolidators/agencies; sometimes Google will be able to get the price from the hotel's direct booking system too. It's not 100% accurate, though: sometimes prices vary when you try to book, and sometimes a hotel does not have a price displayed on the map yet can be booked online.

I love both Google flights and finding hotels on Google. I especially like that Google will send you notifications when the fare for the route you are looking at changes.

I use Google hotels much more than booking.com. The best feature is that there are so many more hotels to choose from. With booking.com, you are limited to the hotels that it has a contract with. Like Scudder and balso, I use it in conjunction with Google maps. You just go to Google maps, plug in your destination, and once it appears, click the circle that says "Nearby" and then narrow it down to "Hotels nearby." A plethora of hotels and B&Bs and guesthouses will show up. You can input your dates of travel as well, if you want to get a better idea of the price.

It's great for last minute booking, too. Last year I was in Cologne, Germany and had multiple problems with the hotel I had booked, so left there and used my phone to start frantically searching for a last minute hotel on Google. I found one in about 5 minutes that was close to the train station and the cathedral and was a reasonable price. It wound up being a great hotel and I loved my stay there.

Google Flights does not reference Southwest Airlines as far as I know.

balso, it does, but SW is listed at the very bottom of the flights. Google shows dates and times but it says "Prices Unavailable."

I am going to have to get more familiar with both Google Flights and Google Hotels because right now, they both seem so "foreign" to me (no pun intended).

I am so used to booking and kayak. They are familiar and known to me and even comfortable for me.

My trip for next month is fully booked but I have a somewhat expensive and complicated trip for October 2024.

I am not giving up booking or kayak but I am going to add Google Flights and Google Hotels to my searches. It can not hurt and might help.

It was actually simple searching for Google Hotels and Flights. All I had to do was go to chrome and type in Google flights which also brings up Google Hotels and Vacations, etc

Thank you all for your feedback.

Oh SW Airlines is its own animal and I do not believe that you get Southwest on Kayak. Southwest wants you to go to the site and not go through third parties.

Boston Phil, I know I have mentioned cruiseplum.com to you previously. I would definitely use that when searching for solo cruises. You can designate NCL in the search engine if you like. I have found some terrific bargains on that site.

Too bad Google Flights does not let you search for multi-city flight destinations. So weird too, because it's Google...they do like everything! Except this, apparently.

@MorganMurphy
“Too bad Google Flights does not let you search for multi-city flight destinations. So weird too, because it's Google...they do like everything! Except this, apparently.”

Yes, you can search multi city destinations. Just use the drop down menu where it says “round trip”. Choose multi city, then input your city of origin and date on the first line and on the next line down input your departure city and date.

Well, I feel blind! I see it better now on my laptop and not my phone. Thanks!

I am flexible in my dates, so the best Google Flights tool is the date grid. Put in a simple round trip (only works on one way and round trip, not multi-city trips) with what ever filters you want (direct, one stop, price, layover cities, etc), pick a date that you think works best for you and then choose the date grid and you can see the cheapest days to fly the route within a few days of the dates you put in. Sometimes shifting things a day or two can save a lot.

As for Google Hotels, also pretty good, but they dont always show all the options. I end up searching Google, Booking.com and at least one other to make sure I see all the options. Then, like with flight tickets, I book direct. Ahhhh, not true, I book through Booking.com quite a bit. But probably shouldn't.

Carol now retired

I did check out Cruise Plum. Liked it. it reminded me of Vacations To Go. Have you ever checked out Vacations To Go?

I have worked with the same Cruise Consultant at Norwegian for several years and cruises. I feel some loyalty to him. He has been good to me,

Next month's cruise is all paid up but I might look at Cruise Plum for my 2024 cruise. I have put down a large deposit on that one which I can transfer to another cruise if I so want through NCL I do not know if I would be able to do that using Cruise Plum but I can check it out.

Mister E

I do research through booking.com and usually book through them but not always.

Last year, I booked a room at a Marriott through booking but I found that I saved $150 booking directly at the hotel website using my membership and senior citizen rate, Needless to say I booked through Marriott.com and cancelled the booking reservation. That was a lot of money saved.

Why do you say that you probably should not book through booking? Is it because of the fees that the hotel and other lodgings are required to pay?

Is it because of the fees that the hotel and other lodgings are
required to pay?

Yup. But don't think bad of the 3rd party sites.

Why do you say that you probably should not book through booking? Is it because of the fees that the hotel and other lodgings are required to pay?

It's also because if something goes wrong with your reservation, the hotel is not required to do anything to fix it since you did not make the booking with them. That said, some hotels will work with you but they are not obligated to. And booking.com usually has a decent reputation for fixing problems.

The other reason is that the hotel has to pay a fee to booking.com, and personally, I prefer that the hotel gets all of my money. :)

Regarding booking.com : besides the issue of commissions paid by hotels (on that one if the hotel's website is unclear or even lacks an online booking option, I do not care), I find that most chain-affiliated hotels (Marriott, Best Western, Accor, etc) will give better rates through their websites thanks to their free "membership" programmes. It is really worth a look!