My feeling is that the travel search engines should define a standard for a certain category of travel, and then show the price that achieves that standard. That this hasn't happened shows a sort of industry capture or lack of competition, IMO.
If a hotel is said to be 4-stars, then amenities like WiFi, gym, and pool access should be included in the rate. If they have a resort fee, that should be included on the search engine.
For airfare, economy class should have a reserved seat, printed ticket, with X inches of legroom, Y inches of width, 1 standard carry-on, 1 check-in bag, a soft drink and crunchy snack of your choice for short flights, and a meal at 4+ hours. Whatever price that ends up being is what is shown on the search engine. If it requires "economy plus" to achieve that level of service, then that's what you get if you search for "economy" class fares.
Let the search engine have a "steerage" search class for the 2-star hotel experience at a 4-star hotel, and the "water costs extra" economy airlines.