Online accommodation website Hotels.com has launched a search tool offering travellers a new way to find their hotel.

Published: 11 Sep 2008

Online accommodation website Hotels.com has launched a search tool offering travellers a new way to find their hotel.

The Hotels.com Visualiser, termed as a first for the travel industry, is a new visual approach to searching for hotels that allows travellers to use their "VisualDNA" to find hotels that match their needs.

The tool has been developed by Hotels.com in partnership with technology company Imagini.

Nigel Pocklington, managing director, Hotels.com, said this is the first time that travellers have been able to make their hotel selection based solely on their visual responses.

Explaining the utility of the tool, the company stated: Travellers select from a set of pictures that represent the type of hotel stay they are looking for. They then continue through a series of further images designed to gather information on their hotel preferences and hone the selection of properties returned by the search. These steps include the style of hotel and restaurant they are looking for, the types of activities they plan to do plus whether they are travelling alone, with friends or with a family. The Hotels.com Visualiser then cross-references the selection of images chosen with the Hotels.com database to recommend a choice of hotels that perfectly match the users' unique "VisualDNA" profile. Customers can then click through directly to book a stay at any of the recommended properties.

The process takes than a minute to complete.