Compete against major OTAs for direct bookings with Google Hotel Ads

Google Hotel Search is a powerful tool provided by Google that serves as a metasearch platform, guiding travelers toward accommodations that align perfectly with what they are looking for. What sets Google Hotels apart is its ability to put your hotel in direct competition with major online travel agencies (OTAs) such as Booking.com and Expedia.

About 57% of travellers start the process of booking accommodation through a Google search. A Google-sponsored hotel ad contains your company's name, direct booking rate, availability, and text callouts to highlight the unique benefits of booking through your website. Here are two ways in which your sponsored hotel ad could be displayed:

Location-specific searches: When travellers search for a place to stay in a particular area or near a popular tourist attraction, a hotel search module will appear with suitable listings from OTAs and hotels. If you are running sponsored Google ads, your hotel's direct booking link will appear at the top of the results for maximum visibility.

Brand name searches: When a traveller searches for your hotel, your Google Business Profile will appear with an extended hotel search module. If you are running sponsored Google ads, this module will showcase your direct booking rate at the top of the results with relevant information from your website, increasing visibility and encouraging direct bookings. Your rates listed on the OTAs you're partnered with will also appear in this module for comparison. This proves that running Google ads is imperative to prevent OTAs from pinching traffic from your direct search results.

Google Hotels operates like an OTA. There will always be a commission for bookings made through this service. However, the commission you will be charged by Google will be less than that of OTAs like Booking.com, which can charge 15% or more! Commission cost is only calculated for confirmed bookings, meaning it's pay-per-stay (not pay-per-click.) RoomRaccoon's PPS model reduces the risk of your hotel's advertising budget being spent on click-happy travellers on the hunt.

Please contact us if you have any questions regarding our Google Hotels pricing. We would be happy to provide you with more information.

Google Hotels is a specialised platform within the Google ecosystem designed specifically for the hospitality industry. It allows travellers to search for accommodations, compare prices, view reviews, and make bookings directly through your hotel’s website.

Additionally, Google Hotel Ads appear in various places across Google's search ecosystem, including Google Maps. They also contain different types of content, such as room rates, availability, and marketing callouts like free cancellation.

Take a look at the infographic below that compares Google Hotel Ads and Google Ads.

Paid booking links are prioritised at the top of the search results and provide greater visibility, helping to increase click-through rates and ultimately drive more bookings. On the other hand, free booking links are listed below and receive far less visibility, essentially failing to shift bookings from OTAs to your website. Ironically, free listings may end up costing you more money as OTAs gain greater visibility and win the bookings. Hence, investing in paid booking links can be an effective strategy to improve your direct booking performance and increase your revenue potential.

A Google Business Profile is a useful and free tool for hotel owners to manage their business information and engage with potential customers. If you want to run Google Hotel Ads, creating a Google Business Profile is mandatory. Setting up your profile as completely as possible can help you increase direct bookings.

Here are a few tips to help you get started:

• Add contact information like your phone number, website address, operating hours, and email address.
• Show your hotel’s personality with photos, a cover image, your logo and more to stand out.
• Add posts to your business profile to promote special offers, events, and updates to keep customers in the loop.

Incorrectly setting up your Business Profile: When creating your business profile, it's crucial to ensure that the provided business name and location align with the physical location and official business name for validation purposes. For example, if you're a property management company looking to advertise for a property within your portfolio, you must use the business profile associated with that specific property when running ads.

Here are the additional property requirements for hotels listed on Google Hotels:

• Accommodate overnight guests
• Maintain a physical presence with a fixed, publicly accessible location
• Have permanent walls and plumbing facilities
• Operate with a staffed front desk or on-site management available during business hours
• The minimum stay requirement should not surpass 7 days

Your direct booking rate is higher than your OTA rates: In order to outcompete OTAs such as Booking.com and Expedia, it's important that your direct booking rate is more attractive. One way to achieve this is by offering different rates on your website and OTA platforms. You should also be mindful of running OTA-specific promotions simultaneously with your Google Hotel Ads.

Not maintaining your Business Profile: It’s important to keep your business profile up-to-date with recent images of your property and to reply to public customer reviews to build trust with new and returning customers. You should also keep your business information, such as phone number, email address, and operating hours, updated to avoid any confusion.

Here are the differences between RoomRaccoon and other providers: