Travel site uses collective intelligence

An online travel company has enhanced its Web site with technology from Baynote. Expedia is using Baynote Social Search to supplement its existing travel booking engine, enabling it to refine results based on what searchers have found useful and interesting in the past.

"The technology is a great fit for Expedia because the collective input from our millions of monthly visitors constantly improves the relevance of the search results," says Tom Taylor, director of strategy for Expedia.

Taylor continues, "The Baynote solution is able to deliver the most relevant results based on what other Expedia customers have previously found most useful for similar queries."

According to a news release from Baynote, travelers who are browsing Expedia for information on specific types of trips, such as golf or beach vacations, can find a new search box in the upper right-hand corner of the site, which enables them to enter countless travel-related search terms. For example, one person could search for something specific, such as San Diego beachfront hotels, while another might enter a more general query, such as beach vacations. Although the queries are different, the customers may actually be looking for the same thing.