Expedia is joining forces with disruption technology with the launch of Expedia Labs, a new website dedicated to experimental tech and travel concepts built within the online travel agency and through company partnerships. Designed to give developers a dedicated platform to test and expose new travel ideas and technology, Expedia Labs provides travelers a portal to experiment with the latest trip planning tools and applications before new features may become available on Expedia’s sites and apps.
Last week Expedia hosted its first Travel Think Tank hackathon at its offices in San Francisco, demonstrating the company’s dedication to tech openness and industry collaboration. The event aimed to increase the number of travel projects currently featured on Expedia Labs, and cultivated relationships with partners who seek to improve the future of travel through technology. Developer teams presented mobile concepts to a panel of experts and influential industry executives, including Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Expedia.
“We are constantly exploring new ways to engage with developers to solve great travel questions,” said Tony Donohoe, chief technology officer of Expedia. “Expedia Labs and Travel Think Tank are a direct reflection of how the company will continue to create new opportunities – both online and offline – for partners to share and test their latest travel apps and learn through direct feedback from Expedia executives and engineers, as well as our massive audience of customers and travelers around the world.”
Several travel-related projects are already showcased on Expedia Labs, and can be explored and tested. Based on user feedback, Expedia will focus on identifying concepts travelers find worthwhile. So far, there are eight applications available:
-ExpediaThis – An application that uses Twitter to analyze inspirational images and provide users with the location of the image submitted and relevant Expedia content to facilitate travel planning.
-Meet in the Middle – A group travel planning solution that allows users to input multiple origins to find common destinations sorted by the lowest total cost.
-Triplane – A tool that helps individuals and groups collect and organize travel inspirations into an itinerary by enabling users to collaborate and add activities from across the Internet to create the perfect vacation.
-Treasure Island—A map that contains everything necessary to plan a trip in one place. This includes lists of hotels, things to do, attractions and places to eat and drink. Users can also search Yelp recommendations and get results on one single map view.
-Expedia Facebook Bot—By analyzing information provided in Facebook Messenger, a bot gathers details and comes up with relevant hotel options. It can also send booking confirmations for conversations started on the messenger app.
-Expedia Cruise Compare—Cruise results are compared along various data points including prices, number of nights, price per night and departure date. An extended list of filters such as price ranges, destination ports and amenities can further narrow down search results based on individual preferences.
-SwipeSmart—This app simplifies the hotel shopping experience on mobile devices by bringing images to the forefront and providing an intuitive way to quickly brows and explore available hotels.
-HotelExplorer—Based on the most important search factors—price and hotel ratings—the booking process is further simplified by requiring only pertinent information and filtering results without bias.
-In-App Mega Cruise Booking—With quality graphics and succinct information, customers can learn about passenger ships within a mobile-booking experience before booking their next cruise.
