Uber Is Adding Vacation Booking, Charter Options, More to the App — What's New
Uber is offering customers even more travel options for their next vacation with new services that allow them to store trip itineraries in the app as well as book limos and even party buses.
Uber's new "Uber Travel" feature, which the ride-share app rolled out on Monday along with several other updates, will allow customers to store flight, train, and car reservations all in one place by linking their Gmail accounts to the app. Travelers who use the feature will also receive 10% back in Uber Cash when they reserve a ride for each leg of their trip.
Courtesy of Uber
The company is also adding "Uber Charter" to its services, which will allow customers to book a party bus, coach bus, or limo directly through the app.
"We are essentially owning the beginning and the last mile of your travel. And what we'd like to be able to do is basically stitch all of your travel together," Jen You, Uber's head of mobility product, told T+L, adding, "Our ultimate vision is really to integrate all aspects of exploration and travel planning intent. And city specific details are a key piece of that."
Camilla Rimmer/Courtesy of Uber
Currently, the new travel integration feature is only available to customers with a Gmail account.
The new initiatives build on Uber's decision to add bookings for dinner reservations and recommendations for tourist attractions as well as its plans to add train and bus tickets in the United Kingdom this summer, followed by flights and cross-channel train tickets later this year.
Uber is also expanding its Uber Eats delivery options by adding the ability to order concession snacks in stadiums in advance and skip the (often long) lines when picking up. The feature will be available at several stadiums, including Yankees Stadium in New York, Dodger Stadium and Angel Stadium of Anaheim in California, and Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
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And for customers in Los Angeles, their next order may be delivered by a "friendly sidewalk robot" thanks to a new pilot program that is sending autonomous electric vehicles out.
Alison Fox is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure. When she's not in New York City, she likes to spend her time at the beach or exploring new destinations and hopes to visit every country in the world. Follow her adventures on Instagram.
