Google unloads Frommer's guides after less than a year

SAN FRANCISCO: Google Inc has sold the Frommers' line of travel-guidebooks, acquired just eight months ago from John Wiley & Sons Inc to strengthen its trove of local content and reviews, to founder Arthur Frommer.

Google had intended to use the popular brand to beef up its own local content, listings and reviews, executives said at the time. To that end, it has spent the past few months integrating Frommer's travel content into Google+, its social network, and other services, a company spokesperson said.