How to get your hotel featured in Google AI Mode results (using Google Hotel Ads)

What is Google AI Mode?

Google AI Mode is an advanced search experience that uses generative AI to provide direct, conversational answers to complex user queries, going beyond the link lists provided in traditional search results. This feature, powered by Google’s Gemini AI, breaks down questions into subtopics, pulls information from high-quality sources across the web, and presents a summarised answer with hyperlinks. 

For hotels, this means travellers using Google AI Mode receive booking recommendations with live prices and availability directly in their search results, with data pulled from Google Hotel Ads (GHA).

This shift from traditional search results to AI-generated recommendations changes how hotels compete for direct bookings. Properties that actively manage their Google Hotel Ads presence capture demand at the moment travellers are making booking decisions. 

The stakes are particularly high for independent hotels and smaller groups competing against OTA dominance. Hoteliers using managed metasearch services like SiteMinder’s Demand Plus benefit from automated Google Hotel Ads optimisation, ensuring their properties appear in both traditional metasearch results and emerging AI platforms without requiring in-house technical expertise.

Here’s how Google AI Mode selects which hotels to recommend, and what you need to do to ensure your property makes the cut.

How do hotels appear in Google AI Mode’s search results? 

Hotels with live inventory feeding into Google Hotel Ads appear in Google AI Mode with bookable rates and direct reservation links. AI Mode pulls this booking functionality directly from Google Hotel Ads listings, providing real-time rates, availability, and direct booking links as it generates recommendations.

Google introduced AI Mode to handle complex, multi-part queries that previously required multiple searches. When a traveller uses AI Mode to plan a trip, they don’t just ask for “hotels in Rome.” They ask things like:

• “Find me a boutique hotel near the Colosseum for my honeymoon in October, with breakfast included.”
• “Compare the prices for a 4-star hotel in downtown Sydney this weekend that allows pets.”

The crucial difference: Task-oriented search

For travel, the AI is task-oriented. Its goal is to provide a complete, actionable answer. To do this, the AI doesn’t rely on a simple website link; it integrates information from its most authoritative, real-time data sources. For hotel bookings, one source is the Google Hotel Ads (GHA) ecosystem.

When the AI generates an answer, it needs to present a price comparison and a path to purchase. If your property is not actively feeding live inventory into Google’s systems, you simply won’t be considered for the AI’s final recommendation.

Turn Google AI Mode into bookings for your hotel

With SiteMinder's metasearch tool, Demand Plus, you get a seamless and effective way to sell your rooms via Google Hotel Ads

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What’s the difference between paid and free hotel listings in Google Hotel Ads?

Paid Google Hotel Ads listings appear prominently within search results and AI Mode recommendations with direct booking links, competitive rate displays, and the “Official site” badge. Free booking links appear lower in the “All options” section without guaranteed visibility in AI-generated answers or prime placement in traditional search results.

When Google AI Mode generates hotel recommendations, it draws from Google Hotel Ads data. However, not all listings receive equal treatment.

Paid Google Hotel Ads listings receive priority placement across Google’s ecosystem:

• Featured in AI Mode recommendations: Your property appears within the AI’s primary answer when travellers ask for hotel suggestions, complete with rates and booking links
• “Official site” badge: The coveted checkmark signals to travellers they’re booking directly with your property, building trust and reducing OTA comparison shopping
• Prominent search visibility: Listed at the top of Google Search results, Google Maps, and Google Travel before scrolling
• Direct booking links: Travellers click straight through to your booking engine without navigating through aggregator sites

Free booking links offer limited visibility:

• Lower placement: Appear in the “All options” or “More hotels” sections that require additional clicks to view
• No guaranteed AI Mode inclusion: Google’s AI prioritizes paid listings when generating booking recommendations, meaning free listings may not appear in conversational search results at all
• Reduced click-through rates: Travellers often book from the first options presented, especially in AI Mode where the interface is designed to streamline decision-making

For hotels competing against OTA dominance in AI-powered search, the difference isn’t just about placement; it’s about whether your property is recommended at all. As AI Mode adoption grows among travellers, free listings risk becoming invisible in the booking journey entirely.

This is where strategic Google Hotel Ads management becomes essential. Hotels need their paid listings actively optimised to capture demand at the moment travellers are making booking decisions, particularly as AI search continues to prioritize direct, actionable answers over exploratory browsing.

Is it difficult for hotels to set up Google Hotel Ads?

Setting up Google Hotel Ads independently requires complex technical integration between your PMS, booking engine, and Google’s API, plus ongoing bidding optimisation, and rate parity management; expertise most hotels don’t have in-house. The setup process can take weeks to months, with continuous monitoring needed to remain competitive.

While Google Hotel Ads offers powerful direct booking potential, the technical barriers to entry prevent many independent hotels and smaller groups from participating effectively.

Technical integration challenges:

• Integration partner requirements: Your property management system must connect to Google’s Hotel Centre through an authorized integration partner. If your current PMS doesn’t support Google Hotel Ads connectivity, you’ll need to switch systems or add middleware solutions. 

• Real-time inventory synchronisation: Google requires live availability and pricing data with no delays. Any lag between your booking engine and Google’s system results in rate discrepancies, booking errors, or complete listing disapproval.
• Property verification and compliance: Google’s onboarding process includes identity verification, website compliance checks, and strict landing page requirements. Non-compliance results in listing suspensions that directly impact revenue.

Ongoing management complexity:

• Bidding strategy optimisation: Unlike set-and-forget advertising, Google Hotel Ads requires continuous bid adjustments based on demand patterns, competitor pricing, seasonality, and booking windows. Overbidding erodes profit margins; underbidding makes you invisible.
• Rate parity management: Google monitors your rates across all channels. If your direct rates are higher than OTA pricing, your listings lose prominence or face penalties. Maintaining parity while staying competitive requires constant vigilance.
• Performance analysis: Understanding which search terms, locations, and booking windows drive ROI requires interpreting Google’s analytics dashboards; a skillset most hotel staff don’t possess.

For independent hotels, dedicating in-house staff to master Google’s platform, monitor daily performance, and troubleshoot technical issues simply isn’t feasible. The learning curve is steep, the stakes are high (listing suspensions directly impact revenue), and the opportunity cost of trial-and-error is significant.

This complexity is precisely why managed metasearch services exist—to handle the technical heavy lifting while hotels focus on guest experience and operations.

How does SiteMinder Demand Plus get hotels into Google AI Mode results?

Demand Plus manages the complete technical setup and ongoing optimisation of your Google Hotel Ads, ensuring live inventory feeds, competitive bidding, and real-time rate accuracy; the three requirements for appearing in Google AI Mode’s booking recommendations. 

This is where your partnership with SiteMinder becomes your competitive advantage in the age of AI.

Demand Plus is SiteMinder’s managed service that connects your hotel’s live inventory, rates, and availability directly to major metasearch sites, importantly in this case – Google Hotel Ads.

Here is what Demand Plus does to ensure your data is AI-ready:

• Managed bidding on GHA: Demand Plus ensures your direct rates are actively competing against third-party suppliers on GHA. Our experts handle the complex setup, bidding strategies, and optimisation across Google’s platform, so your direct channel is consistently present and competitive.
• Real-time price accuracy: Price accuracy is paramount. Demand Plus provides the real-time, dynamic connection that ensures the price shown on Google Hotel Ads (and consequently, in the AI’s data pool) is the correct, bookable rate on your direct website.

“We’re a property with very high occupancy and a long lead time so for people to be able to jump on and grab accommodation, whether it’s a consumer or travel partner, is very useful and SiteMinder’s real-time automation ensures our inventory is always up-to-date. Provided you have enough information and detail in your booking engine, people are getting a lot more comfortable with the safety and security of online booking, and love the convenience of booking in their own time and carefully selecting what they want. SiteMinder supports us perfectly with that.”

Karen Marvell,

Director of Sales and Marketing

VOMO Island Fiji

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Featured by AI, bookings delivered to your hotel

The connection is simple: Google Hotel Ads is a primary data source that powers the booking functionality within AI Mode.

When a traveller asks the AI to find and recommend a hotel, the AI pulls data directly from the GHA listings to provide its final, comprehensive result. Since Demand Plus ensures your direct listing is on GHA and highly competitive:

• You appear in the AI’s final answer: Whether the AI generates a detailed itinerary or a comparison table, the price and direct booking link associated with your hotel will be sourced from your GHA listing, powered by Demand Plus.
• You own the guest relationship: When the traveller clicks on the featured link within the AI-generated answer, they are taken directly to your website to complete the booking. You maintain full control over the guest data and the opportunity to upsell.
• You pay smarter: With Demand Plus’s pay-per-stay model, you only pay your transaction fee when the guest successfully completes their stay -protecting your revenue from cancellations and no-shows, even when the booking originates from Google’s cutting-edge AI features.

The future of travel search is here, and it’s conversational, not clerical. By leveraging the power of Demand Plus, you’re not just optimising for a link -you’re ensuring your hotel is the definitive, bookable answer in the world of Google AI.

How much can hotels save with SiteMinder Demand Plus and Google Hotel Ads instead of OTAs?

Hotels typically pay 15-25% commission on OTA bookings, while Demand Plus charges a single transaction fee only when guests complete their stay—with no charges for cancellations or no-shows. By driving direct bookings through Google Hotel Ads, hotels reduce OTA dependency and retain more revenue per reservation while maintaining visibility in both traditional search and AI Mode results.

The cost difference between OTA bookings and direct bookings through Google Hotel Ads extends beyond commission rates; it’s about protecting revenue from bookings that never materialise.

OTA commission structure:

• 15-25% commission per booking: Major OTAs like Booking.com and Expedia charge commission on the total booking value, with rates varying by location, property size, and partnership terms
• Commission on non-refundable bookings: Even if a guest cancels a non-refundable rate, hotels still pay commission on the booking
• Commission on no-shows: For confirmed stays where guests don’t arrive, hotels typically pay commission unless they properly process the no-show through the OTA’s system
• Limited guest data: OTAs control the customer relationship, limiting your ability to encourage direct rebooking or upsell additional services
• High cancellation rates: Industry data shows OTA cancellation rates of 40-50%, compared to just 18% for direct bookings, making revenue forecasting more challenging

SiteMinder Demand Plus pay-per-stay model:

• Transaction fee on completed stays only: You only pay when the guest checks out, protecting your revenue from cancellations and no-shows entirely
• No setup costs or monthly fees: Unlike some metasearch platforms, there’s no upfront investment required
• Full guest data ownership: Direct bookings through Google Hotel Ads mean you capture guest information for future marketing and relationship building
• Lower cost per acquisition: Even accounting for the transaction fee and Google Hotel Ads costs, direct bookings through metasearch typically cost significantly less than OTA commissions

Beyond immediate cost savings, managing Google Hotel Ads through Demand Plus positions your property for visibility in Google AI Mode. As AI-powered search grows, hotels relying solely on OTAs risk losing visibility entirely in conversational search results, while properties with active Google Hotel Ads presence appear in AI-generated recommendations with direct booking links.

The financial advantage isn’t just about saving on individual bookings; it’s about building a sustainable direct channel that reduces long-term OTA dependency while capturing demand in both traditional and emerging search platforms.