New Tool for Booking Hotels, Gondola, Is Now Available to the Public

Over the past few years, we’ve seen a wave of new tools and services designed to make searching and booking award travel with points and miles easier. Today, we can add another to that list.

Gondola is an AI-powered search tool that compares hotel prices using points and cash and tells you which is the better deal. It also offers cash back on bookings, but you still book directly with the hotel, so you don’t lose your elite night credits and points.

Confused? Intrigued? Let’s take a closer look.

Gondola Points Hotel Search Engine

Gondola is an AI-assisted tool for searching hotel stays that’s now officially available to the public. After quietly building a solid base of beta users, anyone with an Outlook or Gmail email address can now use the free tool.

At its core, Gondola is a search engine for hotel stays. Unlike other platforms like Expedia or Hotels.com, for example, Gondola will show you the cash and points rates and then automatically tell you which is the better deal. No more guessing or performing your own calculations!

Plus, when you book a hotel via Gondola, you can earn 3% in Gondola Cash, which can be used for future bookings. What makes this unique is that you are still directed to the hotel website or app to book, so you will still earn your points and elite nights with your favorite brand.

Not only does that save you the headaches of booking through a third party, but you will be triple-dipping your rewards and credit card points.

Speaking of rewards, Gondola can compile your award accounts, which will automatically show how many points you have in each program and how much they’re worth. While some might not be comfortable sharing that information, others may appreciate the convenience.

In the search results, users can then filter based on which programs they have available points, cash cost, reviews, and even AI recommendations.

Is Gondola Worth It?

Gondola is free to use, so getting 3% back just for clicking through the site is a pretty good deal, assuming other portals, like Rakuten, aren’t offering anything better.

While many have privacy concerns about linking personal accounts, that feature is optional. You can still use Gondola without providing personal information.

Plus, Gondola respects the fact that many people pursue elite status and allows double-dipping among award programs — which is really triple-dipping when you consider the credit card you will use to book.

Final Thoughts

Gondola is no longer an invite-only platform — everyone now has access to this powerful search engine. While it is a bit niche, if you like to make your points go further, this new AI tool is worth checking out.

We will have a full review soon, but if you’re curious, start searching!