Expedia Goes Green, Repurposing Search Data
Every day is Earth Day, so even though the commemorated date has already passed, the concepts behind it are hopefully lived out on a daily basis. At least that’s what Expedia is going for, with a new Green Hotel program. The new section of the travel search website has a database of nearly 2,000 green hotels for travelers that are eco-friendly.
What the Green Hotel program has set out to do is give users a one-stop shop for their green traveling ideals. Here you’ll find search tools for green hotels, as well as eco-friendly traveling tips and a resource for national parks. To further honor Earth Day and kick-start users’ interaction with the Green Hotel program, Expedia is offering some deep discounts for eco-friendly booking.
It’s a nice perk, and it’s one that is further encouraged and nurtured through a brand such as Expedia using its search and recommendation tools to help its users find resources that may otherwise not be so easy to filter out. Sure, going green is the trendy thing to do. But some companies’ sustainable initiatives go unnoticed or are unrecognized through a third party access point, such as a search engine.
It’s this cross-sectioning of multiple catalogs that most impresses me with Expedia’s move on greener initiatives. This really demonstrates some of the ways in which the future of search will be of greater use to consumers, particularly as needs become more individualized. As the web became more niche, the subsystems of data to be mined also need to become more niche. So while the Green Hotel program takes advantage of a current social trend, it also lends way to more personalized search options later on down the line.
This can become especially important as mobile search and information-access tools grow in demand, but Expedia has even more in sight for its continuous improvements. The travel search company has also made moves towards improving its web presence, with hints at a revamped site to counter rival Orbitz’s latest ante. As Orbitz has partnered with iSeatz to offer more detailed information to customers, Expedia is certainly not one to be left behind in terms of the information it can effectively push out to consumers.
In a time when volcanic ash can disrupt a global economy and the dissemination of information to a wide range of users is pivotal for a business such as Expedia to strive towards a dominating future, updates such as the Green Hotel program are welcomed and expected. We’re sure to see similar efforts implemented industry-wide.
Expedia is represented by Golin-Harris, The Red Consultancy among other PR Firms.
