Uber Travel Business in Development for Easy Hotel, Transportation Booking
Uber is gearing up to be more than just about booking a ride across town. Soon, the company will be helping people venture farther out with plans of a travel agency arm dubbed Uber Travel.
According to a report from TIME, the company is looking to expand their business to the travel industry as a new patent emerges, which is described as a tool to help plan and book trips all over the world. The interface reportedly looks like a regular flight search, plus various elements that set it apart from other booking agencies.
Travelers will only need to input their trip details in the search -- dates, time, destination -- and the new Uber Travel will recommend a set itinerary with flights, hotels and even incorporated Uber costs to get the tourists around the area all throughout their vacation.
The streamlined process is a different experience and the patent offered more details on the plans of the company. Uber intends to work with airlines, hotels and other "shared-economy systems" like Airbnb to provide a better experience for travelers and consider factors such as seat preference.
One of the potential technologies included in the patent is being able to calculate when to hail for an Uber car, considering customs, baggage claims, etc. This way, the users get to make the most of their time and money during the travel period.
The patent explained, "The information may include a location at the airport where the user can be picked up in connection with receiving the on-demand transportation service, and a timing indicator to indicate when the user should make a request to receive the on-demand transportation service based on a real-time determination of a number of available service providers in a vicinity of the airport."
It shouldn't be a surprise that the company is looking to expand and bring in more business in the wake of their successful year. The rise of Uber was highlighted as they marked a significant milestone in Christmas Eve in London: the billionth Uber trip in its history, according to a report from The Verge.
The lucky passenger was rewarded a year's worth of free Uber rides and the driver was granted a free all-expense trip to his destination of choice, but the real winner is truly Uber itself. The company's humble two-car beginnings in San Francisco was way back in 2009, which seems like a lifetime ago as the report revealed Uber is now logging in 3 million trips a day in a total of 66 countries.
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