Traveller checking CityBook app

Booking.com launches CityBook, a new pilot app for global travellers

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Going live in Amsterdam, London and Paris, the pilot product leverages machine learning to make instant city guide recommendations for travellers

CityBook, a responsive digital guide for cities that seamlessly combines inspiration, planning, navigation and experience all in one place, launches today in Amsterdam, London and Paris.

The app will be fully focused on helping travellers once they have arrived at their destination, whether it’s by providing curated recommendations around things to do, showcasing local offers and discounts, or providing content to help travellers get a feel for the city - all with the purpose to help Booking.com better understanding what is most relevant for travellers in-destination.

The CityBook products, content and features that users like best will then be rolled into the core Booking.com app, furthering Booking.com’s vision to support customer choice and bring simplicity throughout their entire travel journey.

Machine learning insights

Leveraging machine learning models that take into account a traveller’s location, the composition of their group (family, couple or solo traveller), the stage of trip (first day vs the last day), as well as the weather and real-time availability, CityBook makes contextually-based recommendations to help travellers get the most out of their trip. The app also provides directions back to the guest’s accommodation from any spot in the city. The technology that powers CityBook brings together powerful trip research with instant recommendations, so there is limited need to plan extensively in advance.

“With CityBook, we want to put all the best possibilities for experiencing a city in the palm of your hand,” says Ram Papatla, Vice President of Experiences. “Bouncing between dozens of sites and apps to get the best information and then still having to book everything separately is not the most enjoyable or seamless process. We want to help people focus on the fun part of travel planning - inspiration - and make the booking and organisation for a trip a snap, with actionable content that’s all bookable in a couple of taps and all conveniently organized in one place.

“Exploring these new functionalities and a more connected in-trip experience through a pilot product like CityBook, enables us to innovate quickly, collate learnings and iterate in an even more agile fashion and with a heightened level of focus,” Papatla adds. “Based on how travellers engage with CityBook, it will evolve further with various features potentially being incorporated into the core Booking.com app.”

Using the app

Whatever device or platform customers prefer, their trip experience is completely synced. Whether downloading the app for Android or iOS or simply visiting the web version of the CityBook site on desktop or mobile, once a customer has logged in with their Booking.com account details, they are set to discover, make plans and experience the city - all on their own terms.

CityBook is currently available in English for Amsterdam, London and Paris, with Tokyo, New York City, Berlin, Barcelona and Rome scheduled for launch over the coming months. Once available for a city, Booking.com customers with an upcoming booking will be invited to use CityBook for their upcoming trip.

 

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Takeaway
  • CityBook, is a new pilot app, providing a responsive digital guide for cities that combines inspiration, planning, navigation and experience all in one place
  • From launch, the app is available for guests travelling in Amsterdam, London and Paris, with other destinations planned for 2020
  • CityBook uses machine learning models that consider a traveller’s location, the composition of their group, the stage of trip, as well as the weather and real-time availability, to makes contextually-based recommendations to help travellers get the most out of their trip
  • The app also provides directions back to the guest’s accommodation from any spot in the city