22 October 2008

Lastminute unveils 'revolutionary' new search tool

Lastminute.com is introducing a sentence search tool, claiming it will revolutionise the online travel industry.

Called ââ¬Ëœprontoââ¬â¢, it is a one-box search function that allows the construction of a sentence to search.

For example, customers can type in phrases like ââ¬ËœParis on Fridayââ¬â¢, or ââ¬Ëœtable for two in Covent Garden this eveningââ¬â¢ and the search will begin.

It allows customers to search for hotels, flights and restaurants across all categories using just the one box.

The technology was developed following intensive research which found people newer to online travel sites do not have the patience to fill in all the different boxes and find traditional websites too cluttered.

At present, the lastminute.com homepage has a total of 78 search boxes across its 10 travel and leisure product. When you include the ââ¬Ëœadvance search facilityââ¬â¢, there are a total of 162 search boxes.

Following the research, Lastminute tested seven alternative search prototypes with its customers.

These included a circular ââ¬Ëœpolo searchââ¬â¢ function with options appearing as your mouse sweeps around a circle, and a large intricate drawing showing all kinds of trips and holidays, with the ability to zoom around and choose visually.

But pronto received the most positive feedback.

Head of innovation Marko Balabanovic said: ââ¬ÅâœThe search engines have made the one box search system the standard way to search for information online, so it makes sense that travel and leisure products should be searched for in the same way.ââ¬~



By Bev Fearis

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• sentence-based search
  
  

  I truly admire meta search engines in their efforts to simplify search and make it more intuitive. To share our experience, instead of getting people to use a search engine, since 2002 we have had a sentence-building approach: 1) I want to fly from ... (list of countries) 2) Cheap flights from UK ... (list of UK airports) 3) Cheap flights from Manchester to ... (list of arrival airports) ... with (direct links to airlines) And it was this search principle, not any sophisticated technology, which built our success.

  By Martino Matijevic, Wednesday, October 22, 2008