Using Visual "DNA" to Select A Hotel Warrants An Audible "WTF"

September 10, 2008 at 10:03 AM | by Jenna | Comments (2)

UPDATE: Right now, the Visual DNA feature is available for the UK site only.

Perhaps we are just overly-skeptical of all things that link image identification to deep untapped psychological desires (or whatever) because we're the type that tend to see phallic images in every one of those ink-blotter tests, but goodness: even we had never heard of "Visual DNA" before hearing about Hotels.com's latest scheme.

NMA is reporting that the site has launched "a social network to help users personalize their search for a hotel" that utilizes Visual DNA. That is, users are asked to select from a range of images -- like beaches, room decor and restaurant styles. From there, the site will produce hotel suggestions based on the images from Hotels.com's library.

Okay, so maybe this isn't a total crock of crap. It actually sounds kinda cool if it works out -- but we hope they're using real images when presenting the users with selections for room decor, and not some crazy photoshopped, overly-prettified images that the hotel's marketing people provide. We all know how that turns out.

The site is powered by Youniverse, and it actually is a social network, too (hooray for not just throwing around web 2.0 buzzwords!): users registered on the site can use it to vote for places they like, leave comments and share hotel recommendations with friends. Check it out here.

We can play that game, too. Ready? Pick a color: black or white.

If you picked black, we suggest the Night Hotel. If you picked white, we'll steer you toward the Betsy.

And look, you can have a social network, too! Leave some comments -- surely Bangerang will be your friend.

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