Last week, Google started inviting participants in the Google Local Guides program who operate at level 2 and above, the chance to participate in a new travel related app trial. The invitations to take place in the trial, with a link to join a beta group and access the app are now starting to roll out, and the first impressions of the app are now starting to appear.
The app is an external version of the Trips bundles users of Google’s Inbox service will be familiar with. The app bundles up all your flight information, as well as hotel and car reservations into a handy, easy to use app – the information is even available offline. The app displays details of your trips like flights as familiar looking Google Now type cards that are fast to access.
The app also borrows on other Google services such as Destinations, and inserts recommendations on good places to eat, or things to do while you’re visiting. As well as Destinations, there’s also the use of Google Transit at work, with Google Trips helping you to navigate your way around the city you’re visiting.
The app lets you save multiple trips, as well as offering to let you plan future trips which you’ve booked nothing for. It’s sort of a place for you to plan that dream trip you’ve always wanted to take once that lotto win finally comes in.
The invites are rolling out now, but unless you join the specific Google beta group you won’t be able to access the Google Play page to download the app. It looks like a great app to use for travel and we hope to see a public launch soon – though a release isn’t guaranteed, we’ve seen Google previously shutdown and morph apps into a new idea before. Still, here’s hoping.
