londrum - 9:05 pm on Oct 31, 2010 (gmt 0)

i dont think this new thing is going to go anywhere. it's not going to kill our sites. think about it... all they are doing is stuff that other sites do ten times better.

if i want a hotel in new york i can go to google and get one map with six hotels on it and next to no info. even if i click through to a place page all i'm getting is the basic address, map, 1 picture and a few snipped reviews. i cant check availability. i cant do nothing.

ok, so i can put in a date and get a few prices, but it's useless -- it doesn't even ask what room type i want. i cant compare different hotels like i can on other sites, because there's only one hotel showing. comparing different hotels would take ten times longer on google because you have to go in and out of each page.

on the other hand, i can go to a site like expedia, or hotels.com and get everything google's got but 100 times better. more photos, prices, availability, complete reviews, facilities... everything.

what is google aiming at here? they are hoping that we're going to decide which hotel we want at google, and then click through to the provider to buy it. but what is tempting us to do that? nothing. because the provider's sites have 100 times more info. we may as well just go straight to them.

it's like asking someone to browse through a flimsy 5-page catalogue every time they go to the shops. whats the point? they may as well just go straight to the shops.

people aren't going to plan their holiday on google. they will check it out once, maybe, and then do their proper planning and booking on the same sites as before.