For years, technology has made it possible for travelers to track the best prices on airfare for a selected destination. From tracking individual flights, to seeking the best prices to a destination over time, mobile apps and other tools have made shopping for airfare infinitely easier.
However, the industry has continually lacked a tool that makes tracking hotel prices just as easy. Without an automation tool, travelers have been forced to track prices manually in the hopes of securing the best price.
That position may have just changed. Waylo is the latest tool developed by a group of travelers who grew exhausted of not knowing if they were getting the best price on rooms for business travel. With a little ingenuity, they worked together to create an artificial intelligence program that would allow travelers to track hotel prices from within Facebook.
How Waylo Works
When I first heard about this product, I was immediately intrigued. After requesting early access from their website, I was introduced to their process – and a whole new world of hotel booking that I did not realize existed. A short tutorial walked me through using Waylo: I would submit my cities and dates via Facebook and the bot would go out and find several hotels for me to choose from.
As a test, I asked Waylo to track hotel prices for an upcoming stay in Toronto this July. After plugging in my dates, I was shown one hotel at a time, with the option to see where that property existed on a map. The choices ran from a two-star hotel in the heart of downtown, to the five-star luxury tower that shared the name of a certain head of state. I asked the bot to track one of the moderately-priced hotels before continuing my search.
What There Is To Like
After some time, I ran across a unique glitch that reminded me the program was still a work in progress: the program kept showing me the same hotel over and over again. I typed in “support” and a human quickly came to my rescue, helping me where the bot could not. The human even helped me track several hotels, with the option of booking at the best predicted price today. The intervention was well received and encouraged me for where the program was going.
What I admire about Waylo is the ability to search for hotels in a place I’m already at. With the ability to check messages on my computers and through my iPhone, Waylo will send me updates when prices change, which allows me to get the best deal on hotels in real time. Additionally, if I ever get looped by the bot, I can always get help with one word.
A Few Drawbacks
On the downside, I’m not sure that I’m ready to book my hotel through Facebook. After selecting a hotel, the booking transaction takes place inside Facebook – not a stand-alone website.
Even though confirmation and hotel details will ultimately get e-mailed to me, the potential exists for losing out on bonus points and perks for booking through a traditional channel, such as the double points on travel purchases earned with the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card.
Overall, Waylo shows a lot of potential for travelers who wish to save money by getting the best price for their hotel. As the technology improves, I look forward to using it to book a hotel in the future – even if it may come from an unusual arena.
Would you use a booking application through Facebook to save money on a hotel night? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Written by Frugal Travel Guy @ http://www.frugaltravelguy.com
Written by Frugal Travel Guy @ http://www.frugaltravelguy.com