Google adding new coronavirus-related details to travel search results

Google announced plans to add new content to its travel search results in the coming days.

Officials revealed Google would soon display the percentage of open hotels with availability, as well as the percentage of flights operating at the city or county level. The changes will include trendlines for both categories.

The data necessary to facilitate the chances will be supplied by Google Flights and Hotels data from the previous week. Travelers will also be able to find advisories and the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in an area through links on the website.

Google also announced it would soon offer travelers the ability to filter their hotel and vacation rental search results to only see properties that offer free cancelations, a significant concern during the ongoing viral pandemic.

Last month, the company revealed added features such as information about destination restrictions and advisories, airline change fee and cancelation policies and driving alerts that flag COVID-19 checkpoints and restrictions along a user's route.

Earlier this year, Google began displaying the cheapest and most expensive times to visit a destination, in addition to the typical temperatures and weather conditions travelers can expect based on their trip dates.