With its contentious ITA Software acquisition finally approved by the Department of Justice, Google apparently feels it is able to make further inroads into one of the most popular vertical search markets: travel. It has launched Hotel Finder, a new experimental search tool designed to find "that perfect hotel."

It uses interesting visuals to draw in viewers. For example, to figure out where to stay a "tourist spotlight" can be shined on the most visited areas of U.S. cities. The tool will select an initial shape based on what’s most popular or the user can draw a shape around the area where he or she wants to stay. In the "Compared to typical" section, the user can see how each hotel’s price compares to its historical average.

Waiting for the Main Event

Google is hardly the only search engine to eye travel as a vertical. Last month Baidu.com announced it would invest $306 million in Qunar.com, an online travel site planning an IPO.

But the move that is the travel industry is truly watching is what Google will do with its ITA acquisition. Earlier this month TechCrunch reported that the company is planning to launch an integrated-flight search product shortly. One feature Tech Crunch believes will be in the new offering is a map-based search tool that shows flight prices from destinations.

Another will deliver search results of flights, times and fares based on search terms and a user’s IP address, the publication said.