Uber rolls out new travel features: Hotel booking, eats for rides, AI-powered voice assistant
Uber unveiled new travel features this week in an effort to expand the company's footprint through a new partnership that seeks to bring users a streamlined experience for booking hotels and beyond.
At Uber's sixth annual global GO-GET product showcase on Wednesday, the company announced the app will soon offer new features to its services that go beyond rideshares and food delivery, adding travel booking and more all in one app.
"It's not very often when you get to partner with a company that you led for 12 years," Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, previously the CEO of Expedia Group, said at the event. "I'm thrilled to announce that Expedia is partnering with Uber."
Current Expedia CEO Ariane Gorin said the partnership was a "natural evolution of the future of travel."
"The best innovations are the ones that make life feel a little more effortless, and that's what makes this partnership so exciting," she said. "Where Uber can take you, we can help you stay."
Below, read more about the new features and how to use them.
Uber unveils new features and savings: Hotel booking, travel mode, Uber Eats for the Way and more
In an exclusive interview with ABC News, Khosrowshahi explained that the new partnership puts them a step ahead with all things travel in one place.
"When you get into a city, what's the first thing that you do? You open your Uber app to figure out how to get to the hotel," he said. "So we figure we will get to the next step in helping you actually book travel starting with hotels through this really exciting partnership with Expedia."
Ultimately, he said, the goal is for Uber to service "everything in one app" with users able to "directly book an upcoming stay at one of 700,000 hotels worldwide from Expedia’s database."
See more below about the new booking features as well as other features coming to Uber.
Booking hotels on Uber
The new "hotels" icon on the Uber home screen allows users in the U.S. to search, browse, and book from over 700,000 hotels worldwide, facilitated by Uber's new partnership with Expedia Group.
Once a user enters their destination, they can view hotels in a map or list view and refine the search even further through filters including guest ratings, price, amenities, hotel class, brand and more.
The upfront price includes all taxes, fees, and applied discounts, and users will be able to see how many Uber Credits they can earn with a booking.
Those credits are then deposited into the user's account within 24 hours of hotel check-in, so that they can be used while exploring the destination.
Much like booking a ride, users will confirm their reservation using a default payment method and get a confirmation email to the address linked to the account. If booking for someone else, users can simply enter that person's email address for confirmation in place of their own.
After the hotel is booked, Uber will send a reminder in a confirmation email to schedule rides with Uber Reserve. There will also be a breakdown of price details, refund policies and any earned Uber One credits.
Later this year, Uber will also add vacation rental inventory from Vrbo, the company said.
Uber One members can get at least 20% discounts on top of the rates from 10,000 hotels, plus 10% back in Uber credits on all bookings.
Additionally, starting June 1, Uber One members will get international benefits to earn credits on rides, ensure $0 delivery fees abroad and return home with ready-to-use rewards.
Uber One is available in 47 countries, including the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Spain, Germany, Japan and Australia.
Travel Mode for Uber and Uber Eats for the Way
The in-app experiences are also getting an update for both Uber and Uber Eats outside of a user's home city.
In addition to showing how Uber works and displaying local price breakdowns, Uber said it will curate local places from points of interest to tourist hotspots so that people can click and book.
More than 25% of users try Uber Eats for the first time while traveling, according to the company, prompting Uber to create its own version of "room service" that offers commonly forgotten items and local-favorite options that users can get delivered to their door.
Uber Eats will also roll out curated dining recommendations with options to book a table through OpenTable in the app.
Riders who reserve Uber Black or Uber Black SUV will soon be able to add Uber Eats for the way, so that the driver arrives with your favorite food or drink waiting inside the car.
Once an Uber Reserve ride is confirmed, users can simply tap "add Uber Eats" to select coffee, tea, or a bite, and the driver will pick it up on their way.
Eats for the Way will be available in the coming weeks for riders in Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Diego and San Francisco, Uber said, noting that more cities will follow.
Uber 'Shop for Me' feature
Users can request items like last-minute gifts, a cut of meat from a specific butcher shop, or a fresh plant from any store -- even those not on the app -- with the new Uber "Shop for Me" feature, which will show up on the Uber Eats home screen.
If a restaurant is not available to order from directly on Uber Eats, there will also be a new "Shop for Me" option to choose.
Users will be able to provide details and photos to help their shopper find the item, but the shopper won't buy anything without approval. Plus, items are priced just as they would be in-store.
Voice Booking
A new AI-powered Voice Booking feature uses a conversational assistant that understands a user's destinations and preferences.
With a tap of the microphone icon in the search bar, users can state where they want to go, as well as any preferences such as a ride with a pet, and the voice agent will present the best options before confirming the booking.
One Search
The final app update is a redesigned "Where to?" bar that now has a single search to populate results for places, food and items across the Uber platform. Whether it's booking a ride or ordering delivery, users can search once and Uber will connect the dots.
