Christopher Versace Christopher Versace, Contributor + Comment now Image representing Google as depicted in Crunc...
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Yesterday, Google (GOOG) announced it would be acquiring the Frommer’s travel guide business from John Wiley & Sons (JW.A). At first blush, some may be asking why Google would be doing this, but once you start to consider the possibilities it makes great sense on several levels. This is especially true given the $25 million price tag that Google will be paying for the Frommer’s travel guide business.
At its simplest, buying the Frommer business complements Google’s 2011 acquisition of Zagat Survey, which offers reviews and ratings of millions of restaurants, hotels and other businesses. Combined the two properties will cover hundreds of hotels, restaurants, places to visit and so on, arguably forming a one stop trip advisor section that would compete with the likes of Yelp (YELP) and Tripadvisor (TRIP). Pretty simple. Google has already integrated Zagat into Google+, but there are other aspects to consider. One is integrating both Zagat and Frommer into Google Maps... http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2012/08/14/google-buys-frommers-groupon-next/?partner=yahootix