Google Trips Takes Its Final Trip
- Paul Thurrott
- Aug 06, 2019
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22
Less than three years after it launched Google Trips, Google is killing the service and rolling some of its features into other services.
“We’re saying goodbye to Google Trips on August 6,” a message greeting users of the mobile app version reads. “Many of your favorite features will live on in Google Search and Google Maps, so you can continue to plan and manage your trips with Google.”
Uh-huh.
“Many” doesn’t mean “all,“ nor does this change mean you have a single place to manage everything trip and travel-related: When Google Trips launched in September 2016, it was billed as a way to consolidate all vacation and trip planning into a single, offline-accessible place. In other words, a TripIt competitor.
“Google Trips is a personalized tour guide in your pocket,” Google explained at the time. “Each trip contains key categories of information, including day plans, reservations, things to do, food & drink, and more, so you have everything you need at your fingertips. The entire app is available offline — simply tap the Download button under each trip to save it to your phone.”
If you follow my Home Swap and other travel-related What I Use posts, you may know that I have used, relied on, and recommended Google Trips since it was first released. When Google announced in May that it was further consolidating its travel and trips services into a single service, I figured that Google Trips was going to get even better by bringing in the functionality of Google Flights and Hotels.
Instead, it’s disappearing.
“Support for the Google Trips app will end on August 5, 2019,” a Google support document explains. “At this time, you’ll no longer be able to use the app. Until then, you’ll still be able to access and email all of your trip reservations and notes as normal.”
As for that bit about Google Trips functionality being available in other services, Google says that Google Search is now your go-to for learning about destinations, viewing past and upcoming reservations, and finding saved attractions, flights, and (soon) hotel rooms. You can also use Google Maps to find things to do at a destination and browse saved places, and Maps will soon organize your upcoming reservations by trip too.
We do use Google Maps extensively while traveling too, so some of that makes sense. A better option, perhaps, is the Google Travel website, which combines destination exploration with flights and hotel booking. Hey, I have an idea. Maybe Google could make a mobile app version and consolidate everything in the same place.
They could call it Google Trips. It’s a great idea.
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Conversation 22 comments
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dontbeevil
<p>new day another google service shut down… which one will be next?</p>
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chocolate starfish
<blockquote><em><a href="#447527">In reply to dontbeevil:</a></em></blockquote><p>Really? Do you need reminding how many MS services shut down? </p><p>At least Google hasn't shut down the entire mobile platform or shut down a browser like Edge.</p><p><br></p><p>Why would you make a comment like that with MS's track record.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p>
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chocolate starfish
<blockquote><em><a href="#447531">In reply to paul-thurrott:</a></em></blockquote><p>That was my point to the op's biased post. Look at the responses and down votes. It seems that we can't all agree on that.</p><p><br></p>
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dontbeevil
<blockquote><em><a href="#447528">In reply to chocolate starfish:</a></em></blockquote><p>Edge is not shutting down, will receive a "major update" (and hopefully will keep all the best Edge features)</p>
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chocolate starfish
<blockquote><em><a href="#447533">In reply to dontbeevil:</a></em></blockquote><p>Yeah, lol. Edge Chromium.</p><p>Spin it any way you need to. It doesn't change the facts.</p><p><br></p><p>Nothing Google has done remotely comes close to the capitulation of Edge and WM.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p>
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jedwards87
<p>I never used Trips so I do not know much about it but doesn't Google's new Travel site do basically the same thing ?</p>