This week Google announced improvements to Hotel Ads. Those changes include:
- Broader availability for the Google Hotel Ads Commission program
- An expansion of the “Book on Google” feature to more partners
- The inclusion of more amenity information within Google Search
Along with these changes, Google will be retiring the dedicated site for Hotel Finder within the week, as users are now able to access the hotel information they need directly from Google search.
Ease Of Generating Qualified Leads
Earlier this year, Google started testing the Hotel Ads Commission Program with a small set of independent hotels. The hotels are charged on the industry-standard commission basis rather than cost-per-click, making it easier for smaller, independent hotels to use Google Hotel Ads.
This week, Google announced more hotels will be able to participate in this program now that they’ve partnered with hotel technology solutions providers.
“Google Hotel Ads allows hotels to be there when a traveler is ready to book, and pay only when a booking is made or consumed,” says Klaus Niederacher, General Manager and COO at Seekda – a participating hotel technology solutions providers. “This new commission model gives smaller chains and independent hotels the option to participate in the highly effective Google Hotel Ads, without having to manage CPC bids and budgets.”
Scott Koehler, Senior Vice President, Product & Operations of TravelClick attests that they have seen success in driving bookings: “Since March, hotels enrolled in TravelClick’s Demand Services program have seen, on average, a 56 percent year-over-year increase in revenue driven by Google Hotel Ads. The evolution from a pay-per-click to commission model has increased hotel revenue.”
Currently, Google partner hospitality technology providers include:
- DerbySoft
- Fastbooking
- Sabre Hospitality Solutions
- Seekda
- TravelClick
- Trust International
Ease Of Booking
“Book on Google” was launched in 2013 on mobile devices to make it more efficient for users to book hotel rooms directly from their phone. Now, they’re bringing it to desktop and tablet devices to expand the availability of “Book on Google.”
With “Book on Google,” Google facilitates the booking payment transaction. The hotel partner retains the guest relationship, including sending the confirmation email, answering post-booking questions, and handling changes to the reservation or cancellations.
Scott Koehler, Senior Vice President, Product & Operations of TravelClick said, “Given the successes that our hotel clients have experienced with Google Hotel Ads, we look forward to offering additional Hotel Ads features to our hotel clients globally, including Book on Google,”
“Book on Google” is now available to all Hotel Ads partners and only works for users in the U.S. Below is an example of what you may see when booking.
More Hotel Information To Search
Improvements were made to hotel search across Google so users can find information like availability, prices, and reviews in the search results and in Google Maps. Allowing for more transparency and ease of booking.
Google is now furthering that by adding information about hotel amenities for locations in the U.S. and is working to add this information for 24 more countries through next year. Users will now see whether a hotel has things like free WiFi, free breakfast, parking availability, a pool, or a business center, right in search.
Here is an example of what you can currently see in Google.
