With the purchase of Frommer’s travel guidebooks, Google has Apple in its sights.
The search giant said yesterday it was buying the Frommer’s brand from publisher John Wiley & Sons, bolstering its travel, mapping and local search offerings.
Google didn’t say exactly what it planned to do with Frommer’s — whether it would continue to publish the books or make it an online only brand.
But the expectation is that Google will fold Frommer’s into Zagat, the restaurant review franchise that it bought last year.
“The Frommer’s team and the quality and scope of their content will be a great addition to the Zagat team,” Google said in a statement.
Owning Frommer’s and Zagat will give Google’s travel and listings service more local reviews with which to battle rivals, in particular Apple.
Last month, Apple said it was dumping Google Maps as its default location service and replacing it with its own mapping application. The company also reached a partnership with Yelp to incorporate its reviews into the iPhone app.
Google’s purchase of Frommer’s sent rival sites on a bad trip. Yelp was down more than 7 percent to $23.98 a share. Expedia fell about 1 percent.
Unlike Apple, which is forming partnerships, Google has gone the acquisition route.
On top of Zagat and Frommer’s, Google also has an eye on airline tickets after buying ITA Software, a flight aggregator service.
Google did not reveal the purchase price, which was below the level that would have triggered a regulatory review. One report pegged the figure at north of $20 million.