[plibither8]

One of my biggest irks with Google Maps is how aggressively it shows pins for hotels, bars and restaurants, even on their search results map. Do users really feel the need for this constant in-your-face advertisement?

But as I type this, I realized Google is primarily an ad business and whatever will drive that revenue will get pushed further. Oh well.

[Humbly8967]

Yes, there are many possible conflicts of interest in mapping. This is why I'm excited to see the improving usability of Open Street Maps through apps like Organic Maps, and big commercial investments in open mapping data from the Overture Maps Foundation.

In many cases OSM has much more detail than google maps, with business listings and addresses being the biggest exceptions I have encountered. Fortunately, business listings are one of the main things added to the first data release from Overture Maps. For the curious, you can interact with the POI data [here.](https://bdon.github.io/overture-tiles/places.html)

[WA]

If you really just want a map, go use OSM. I love it as well and even contributed. But Google Maps is much more than OSM. The biggest difference and most important feature is its real-time traffic. OSM is just a totally different product seen through the car navigation lens.

[inadequatespace]

The non-starter with OSM for me is lack* of high-DPI ("retina") support, making it like rubbing my eyes with scratchy wool when I try to read it

* well, there's https://osm.rrze.fau.de/testhd.html , but that has no search.

[fouc]

What irks me more is that I'll see pins for hotels, restaurants, etc.. but a search won't surface/highlight the pins I'm looking directly at!

Also attempting to search for a property that happens to have "hotel" or "apartment" in their name automatically switches to the stupid hotel finder interface, which only shows hotels that are bookable from online.

[kristopolous]

Google maps can't be a cheap service to run. If this is the trade-off then ok.

There's always OSM

[londons_explore]

Google telephones most businesses in the world multiple times per year to confirm opening hours and ask what their hours will be at Christmas/other holidays.

Let that sink in. They have an actual human put actual minutes into speaking with every single business in their database. Think how much that alone must cost.

And they put all that money in simply so users can be a little more certain that the opening hours shown are correct.

[bambax]

Yes, absolutely. They seem to be imprinted on the tiles, too, you can't filter them out with an ad-block rule.

The API doesn't show all this in satellite (aerial view) mode, so sometimes it's tempting to use a service that relies on the maps API.

But even with the API it seems that now the maps view has all those pins for places; I seem to remember it wasn't always the case, but I'm not sure.

[rf15]

yeah nobody cares about the "Latest in <location>" menu that takes up a third of your phone's screen when you use the Maps app.

[ryan_lane]

I'm probably one of the few who really likes this feature, though I do wish it was something I navigated to, rather than it being so obtrusive.

I moved somewhere new in the past few years, and it's pretty great when you're exploring a new neighborhood you know nothing about.

[passerby1]

Does anyone know how to turn it off forever?

[dimator]

This feature has surfaced locations that I never would have known about. I don't mind it.

[gundmc]

I'm pretty sure only the square pins are ads. So the deluge of hotel pins showing in the map near my house isn't even making them money, it's just an out of control algorithm or terrible product choice.

[lopis]

But Google makes commissions on hotel bookings through maps.

[true_religion]

Many people use hotels, bars, and restaurants as landmarks.

If you know an area, it’s easier to remember something is near so and so resturaunt than to remember street names (if in fact your streets actually have names).

[francislavoie]

Honestly yes, I usually am looking for restaurants etc nearby.

[oefrha]

Restaurants, to each their own. A dozen hotels marked within a five mile radius of my home, which Google knows very well about, at all times? That’s just stupid.

[plibither8]

Interesting. I have an inherent distrust with reviews and descriptions on Google Maps, at least for where I live (India). I usually resort to other services to look for good restaurant/hotel recommendations.

[satvikpendem]

If I do I just search for restaurants though.