In a bid to conquer competitors from almost every aspect in the Internet and become possibly an all-in-one "Swiss knife" app, Facebook begins using its "Pages" to help people book with accommodations immediately as they see the page advertisement in the form of City Guides. The social media giant has made no press about its new feature -- which could be a game changer against existing booking websites.
According to Skift, this latest update includes a "book now" button for certain accommodations and destinations. Some still had the traditional appearance of a page promoting the accommodation's services and contact details. According to a Facebook spokesperson, Facebook intends to "centralize it in a way that is more personalized and relevant to users" to help them "get a better sense of their city through their friends' eyes."
According to The Next Web, Facebook may have gone through a "test run" earlier last year, with results possibly lackluster, and this year had planned to try the feature once again to possible success. The tech website states that the new feature might still be in its test phase and claims that Foursquare -- which leads in this feature -- is still the best application to use.
The City Guides feature is different from the Nearby Places feature that has existed with the app for many years as of writing. The Nearby Places feature only lists places of interest near one's location -- the City Guides app is intended to alert the user regarding events or places that may interest them, especially if it is their first time in the area.
The feature Places The Locals Go within the City Guides app show functions as it is described by its name; it lists the trending topics about the area such as "great food" or "horrible service" or dishes. The app may hypothetically list places friends frequently travel to or wish to travel to in the near future.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
