Google continues travel acquisition spree with Frommers

According to The Wall Street Journal, Google will pay about US$25 million for Frommer's in the yet to be closed deal that was announced yesterday.

This deal follows Google's acquisition of Zagat last September for a reported US$200 million and furthers the internet giant's travel offerings. In May this year, Google rolled out Google+ Local, which integrated Zagat reviews with Google Maps and the social sharing component of Google+. 

Frommer's, which runs a website and publishes printed travel guides, will be integrated into Google's Zagat team and could potentially be combined with Google's ITA, a software tool that organises airline data to help users find the best deals. So the acquisition has the potential to turn Google into a one-stop-search for online travel incorporating research, guides, reviews, locations and sharing. 

Integration into Google Maps would tie neatly into the smartphone user's desire for location-based promotion and services. TNS' annual mobile life study found that 20 per cent of the world's mobile users were already leveraging these services and a further 33 per cent would like to use, or were already using, mobile voucher schemes that offered promotions to nearby locations. 

Speaking to WSJ, Google's Bernardo Hernandez, a director of product management within Google's Zagat unit said that while Frommer's printed guidebooks would continue as is, when the operations were combined things could change. 

Frommer's already has an iPhone travel tool app, which was launched in 2010 and has received considerable popularity but still lacks comprehensive mobile digital guides. A stronger digital play for Frommer's by Google is more than likely considering the strong trend towards mobile use by travellers and Lonely Planet's recent deal with iris to help launch a suite of digital products targeting young adventurers. 

Online search is changing the face of travel and no one is more aware than Google. Last year the US travel industry alone spent an estimated US$2.4 billion on travel-related Google adwords, and eMarketer forecasts 76 million travel-related mobile searches by 2016. Travel online research also leans towards peer-based reviews, with TripAdvisor reporting 69 million visitors across 20 travel brands. 

"The Frommer's team and the quality and scope of their content will be a great addition to the Zagat team," said Google in a statement. "We can't wait to start working with them on our goal to provide a review for every relevant place in the world."