Google Hotel Ads: Your ultimate guide

What is Google Hotel Ads?

Google Hotel Ads, explained simply, is paid advertising within Google’s hotel product offering. In generic online searches for everyday items, most people now understand the difference between organic results and paid results, which usually appear at the top and are marked as Ads.

The same applies to Google’s hotel product, which provides users with a simple way to browse and explore hotel options wherever they may want to travel.

Hotels can choose to use ads to build their strategy beyond the free option, whereby hotels are listed below the Top 4 paid results in ‘All Options’. Using Google Hotel Ads, a hotel should expect to increase its traffic and, in turn, total revenue.

Beyond the traditional search results, keep in mind that travellers also search on mobile devices and within other Google apps, such as Maps: these are tied into the same source and also feature ads while returning a hotel’s most up-to-date profile and rates.

This blog will give you a full guide to Google Hotel Ads, explaining how hotels can manage their Google presence with ease using integrations, while responsibly managing a budget and maximising revenue.

Why is Google Hotel Ads important for accommodation providers?

As with the top results on the Google results page, the top listings on Google Hotel Ads shape a user’s perception of what is available and within their budget. Hoteliers worldwide must embrace the opportunity to attract guests who rely on technology to guide their decision-making.

The reality is that most hotels will rarely secure the number one spot on Google through organic means alone. Google Hotel Ads offers a guaranteed way to secure a high position, and enjoy the extra exposure and business that comes with it.

Paid Google Hotel Ads listings now also appear prominently within AI Mode recommendations, including displayed rates, direct booking links and the ‘Official site’ badge. Free booking links, meanwhile, don’t enjoy as much visibility in AI-generated answers. Google Hotel Ads therefore gives your hotel a greater chance of being suggested by AI, which is becoming an increasingly popular way for the modern guest to find their preferred hotel. For a deeper dive, check out our guide to getting featured in Google AI Mode results using Google Hotel Ads.

How does Google Hotel Ads work?

Google Hotel Ads works similarly to any other channel you connect your hotel to, with the added layer or opportunity of running ads to be seen. Visibility is key because your hotel will be one of many that compete to be seen by someone searching for “hotels in [your location]”.

That is unless someone already knows the property and searches for your specific property name, where they will be shown your business profile and, if set up, the free booking link.

Travellers looking for “hotels in [your location]” will see you presented as a result at the top of the page, or within AI mode answers, and will hopefully be enticed further down the sales funnel, which can be a click-through to your website, an OTA, or even a booking generated directly on Google. You can supply Google with pricing and availability, and ensure your inventory and rates on Google stay up-to-date, by using a channel manager, a booking engine, or a central reservation system (CRS). 

In order to run campaigns and ensure top listing spots in search results, hotels need a strategy that ensures high visibility at the lowest possible price point. This protects their bottom line and ensures that this channel of business becomes a sustainable revenue stream.

Creating a profile for your hotel, including a free booking link, is simple. It involves claiming your Google Business Profile.

Distributing inventory to Google now requires a certified connectivity partner e.g., a channel manager, booking engine, or CRS, since managing rates directly through Google Business Profile is no longer available. A channel manager is therefore the foundation for getting your rates in front of travellers, alongside informed, strategic campaign management.

 

How much does Google hotel ads cost?

Depending on a hotel’s location, its competitors and their involvement in Google Hotel Ads, cost very much depends on factors that are both within and outside the control of hotels. The cost of ads is based on individually defined campaign budgets and bid values.

Google Hotel Ads bidding amounts are within the control of hotels. A property can choose what type of bid values it would like to use for hotel campaigns in Google Ads from the following list:

• Commissions (per stay): A percentage of the room booking value is paid only for actualised stays (not for cancellations).
• Commissions (per conversion): A fixed percentage of room booking value is paid for every booking generated through the ad, even if it is later cancelled.
• Manual CPC (cost-per-click): Bid a fixed amount when someone clicks on your ad.
• CPC%: Bid a percentage of the room price per night when someone clicks on your ad.
• Enhanced CPC: The enhanced option for cost per click is a campaign-level setting and works by automatically adjusting bids for clicks, based on other information Google has, called ‘auction-time signals’. These signals include device type, time of day, and other factors.
• Target Return on Ad Spend (tROAS): An automated smart bidding strategy that optimises your Google Hotel Ads bids to maximise conversions based on a specific return on spend. The algorithm uses historical conversion data and real-time behavioural signals to bid higher on search queries that it predicts will generate high-value, long-stay bookings.
• Performance Max for travel goals: An AI-driven campaign type that automatically serves ads across Google Search, Maps, YouTube, Gmail and the Hotel Ads channel. The system automatically manages ad creation, bidding and audience targeting to capture more direct bookings while working within your budget.

Hotels in big cities with a lot of competition will approach their Google Hotel Ads strategy differently from hotels in smaller destinations, where perhaps there are fewer than 10 hotels.

The fewer hotels there are in a clearly defined market, such as a town, the higher the likelihood of being listed high and visible to potential guests searching for that specific market.

Realistically, this also means that suburban markets, which see spillover during high occupancy dates from large cities, may be able to maximise on those specific dates through clever campaigning.

Most properties don’t manage these bid strategies in-house. SiteMinder’s Demand Plus runs a specialist bidding team across these models, keeping your listing competitive without you having to master the auction yourself.

What is the conversion rate?

According to WordStream, the average conversion rate across all industries on Google Ads is 8.18%. The travel and hospitality sector sits slightly below that benchmark, with PPC Chief placing it at around 5.8%.

This number shouldn’t be taken as gospel, however, as significant differences are to be expected due to seasonality, but also between markets.

High-traffic destinations with a lot of competition may have more lookers and lower conversion rates, while smaller markets, where the decision-making process may involve fewer searches or comparisons, might convert a looker with a definite need to stay more quickly.

Qualifying whether a specific conversion rate is healthy for your hotel will depend on comparisons with your hotel’s performance on other channels and the overall cost of acquisition.

What are the benefits of having Google Hotel Ads?

The importance of Google Ads for hotel businesses cannot be understated. With the majority of people now booking their own stays online, and with Google holding a global search engine market share of around 90%, there’s simply no ignoring how important the platform is for attracting guests.

In terms of hotel ads Google acts as a metasearch engine – a middleman that steers users to OTAs, hotel websites and other channels.

The continued importance of Google:

• Search engines are the second most popular place for travellers to start their search for a hotel, behind only OTAs like Booking.com and Expedia.
• Hotels use Google AdWords to re-engage potential customers based on their previous online behaviour, while Google DoubleClick is used to measure the efficacy of advertisements and serve more targeted ads.
• Google AdSense can be used to experiment with ad efficiency across different websites.

By wisely investing in Google Ads, a hotel will enjoy a number of benefits:

1. Increased visibility

For most people Google forms the gateway to the internet. If you invest in Google Hotel Ads, you’ll come up as a result when a user types in “hotel [YOUR LOCATION]” (or some other relevant keyword), which significantly increases your online visibility.

2. Compete with OTAs

When a user clicks on your Google Hotel ad, they’re sent to your website where they can book directly with you. This allows you to sidestep OTAs and their 15%-25% booking fees, significantly increasing the profitability of every booking. In this way Google Hotel Ads levels the playing field, allowing you to compete with the likes of Booking.com and Expedia and their huge marketing budgets.

3. Targeted advertising

Google Hotel Ads allow you to target specific keywords and terms, which helps to ensure your ad spend is effective. While you might begin with the keyword example above – “hotel [LOCATION]” – conducting keyword research can reveal how specific demographics search for your type of accommodation. Including keywords like ‘luxury’, ‘waterfront’, ‘day spa’, ‘free breakfast’ or ‘dog-friendly’ may help drive a greater return on your ad investment.

4. Cost control

Speaking of investment, how much you invest can be tightly controlled within Google Hotel Ads. The platform runs a pay per click (PPC) system in which you are only charged when a user actually clicks on an ad. What’s more, the bidding system means you can say precisely what you’re willing to pay to get an ad in front of people (although you will need to pay market rate to earn your spot). At SiteMinder our expert Demand Plus bidding team can make sure that your listing is seen on Google Hotel Ads.

5. Remarketing

Google is also the go-to platform for remarketing, a practice where display ads are shown to people who have previously visited your website. These gentle reminders can help a potential guest to build familiarity and trust with your hotel, which can ultimately result in a booking.

Key takeaways

• Google Hotel Ads boost online visibility by inserting your property directly into the search results and AI answers for local travel queries.
• Direct bookings through Google eliminate costly commissions and allow independent hotels to reduce their reliance on OTAs.
• Precise keyword targeting and strict pay-per-click controls ensure a highly efficient, measurable marketing spend.

How do you set up hotel ads on Google for your property?

Before setting up Hotel Ads, your hotel will first need to claim its profile on Google, which is a straightforward process explained on their support pages.

Your first steps after that must involve accuracy checks of all listed details on the profile, especially links. If the links to your website don’t work, you won’t generate any direct bookings through your Google Business Profile, no matter how perfectly optimised it otherwise is. You should add content too, like professional photos of your property that put it in the best possible light.

Once the hotel profile and content are ready, the following actions will be necessary to create your first ad:

• Ensure your inventory and rates are connected to Google through a third party tool such as a channel manager, as this is how you pass information to Google regarding your rates and availability.
• Ensure your hotel meets the listing requirements and data quality specifications set by Google.
• Work with your integration partner – e.g. the vendor behind your channel manager – to ensure live data on availability and rates is being communicated to Google.
• Connection established, you can work with your integration partner to create your first campaign, including specific ads with text and imagery, or you can do it yourself through Google Ads.

Using a hotel commerce platform such as SiteMinder lets you enjoy the benefits of Google Hotel Ads without doing all the hard work, by integrating all the above steps into a single platform. This way you can rest assured that all decisions on marketing, pricing or general updates to your content are consistent across channels and updated in real time.

 

What are Google Hotel Ads integration partners?

While there are more than 200 integration partners listed on Google’s website, less than half of them are also shown to be “Ads partners”.

The best Google Hotel Ads integration partners manage both the connection and distribution of your room inventory, including communicating pricing to Google and controlling your Google Hotel Ad campaigns, all within the one platform.

The introduction of an additional, separate tool, like needing to control your own ad campaign and creative through Google Ads, can add a layer of work. Among Google’s Hotel Ads best integration partners is SiteMinder, which provides a complete hotel commerce platform to manage your hotel, including Google Hotel Ads, from one place.

How do you get started with Google Hotel Ads?

To start, your focus should continue to be on accuracy and ensuring that the basics are perfect.

1. Setup recurring reminders to check your profile and links for accuracy.
2. Double-check your work, including budget settings, every time. This is an expected chore for newbies and veterans alike.
3. Know how to track that a booking has taken place. If all links are functioning, details are correct and campaign settings smooth, it is time to ask yourself if you are clear on how you will identify a booking via Google Hotel Ads. Tracking must be in place and should ideally be easy to identify and reconcile for you, depending on your integration partner.
4. Compare booking performance across different channels, including cost of acquisition. This will help you understand what good performance of Google Hotel Ads looks like for your hotel.
5. Curate your profile: Beyond facts about your hotel that you control via direct entry, your Google Hotel Profile also consists of pictures and reviews added by Google users. You can exercise influence over this content not only by responding to reviews, but also by encouraging guests to post reviews. This is additional, free content, ideally marketing your hotel to undecided lookers.

The benefits of Google Hotel Ads are plenty, especially considering the magnitude of Google as a partner.

• Google searches often occur before heading to an OTA’s website: through its listing of various channels and price comparisons, Google saves the traveller time and gives your hotel the opportunity to win the business directly. This can save you an OTA commission and, with direct bookings, lets you own the guest relationship.
• As a long-established giant in the online space, Google has the trust and loyalty of the masses, which generates trust in its hotel ads and the likelihood for a booking to occur.
• With its continuous leadership and evolution in technology, Google as a partner has the means to stay on top of travellers’ latest needs, search trends and behaviours, to help hotels convert bookings.

Examples of Google hotel price ads in action

For Google Hotel Ads examples, you should, in theory, have to go no further than a search for “hotels in any town” and then click on one of the top results. For examples that go beyond the bookers’ experience, you have to look more specifically.

Google shares its own success stories associated with a number of brands. These are geared towards understanding the impact of the strategic application of ads on a large scale, whereby large chains have seen a lift in bookings as high as 75%.

Using geo-targeted strategies, your hotel is also competing differently with other hotels, based on the origin of the search. For example, a search for “hotels in Sydney” originating in Germany returns the following results:

Meanwhile, “hotels in Sydney” for the same dates returns different hotels when searched for from the United States, because the bids and reach of campaigns are likely defined differently by hotel:

How does Google Hotel Ads layout work?

The Google Hotel Ads product now includes two channel listing sections; Paid Ads and a section Google is calling All Options.

The Paid Ads section is what you’ve been familiar with until today, where advertisers such as SiteMinder’s Demand Plus, Booking.com, or Expedia will pay to be featured in the top four listings for hotel search results.

All Options is a separate section where advertisers can enjoy visibility on their listing again, paying nothing to be featured, as long as they have a direct integration with Google.

Typically, there will still be four results in the featured listings, while All Options will show up to 10, with the ability to expand for more.

Google has been on a mission to make it easier for travel brands to connect with travellers on the platform. This revamp means there’s a new way to reach potential guests, drive more traffic, and win more bookings.

It also allows travellers to access more comprehensive options, since more channels are likely to share their offering with a free distribution option.

Lastly, it’s an incentive for more advertisers to join the party now that there’s a cheaper way to send rates to Google

What are the latest updates in Google Hotel Ads?

Google has recently consolidated all of its independent travel ad formats into unified search campaigns powered by AI Max. This embeds live hotel pricing and availability directly into Google AI Overviews, which users can turn into interactive travel planning workspaces. Google is no longer a helpful list of links – it’s a fully-fledged travel agent.

Because traditional search results are increasingly replaced by narrative answers, these ad placements are now served directly inside Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode answers, rather than only alongside the classic list of links.

The rise of interactive AI workspaces, like Google’s Canvas, means that a traveller can map out entire multi-day itineraries using natural language. The AI acts as a travel agent, suggesting hotels that align with the user’s wants and needs, and presenting real-time room availability and pricing.

For hotels, winning bookings in this new landscape is built upon keeping rates competitive using dynamic pricing strategies, and maintaining a constant connection with Google to ensure the AI engine can extract and feature live rates and availability within its responses.

Because AI interfaces like Gemini want to win users’ trust, Google penalises properties that broadcast mismatched rates across the internet. You must maintain price parity between the rates you feed Google and your final booking engine checkout page to avoid penalties like de-ranking and listing removal.

What are best practices for Google Hotel Ads management?

Successful Google Hotel Ads management is built on testing, automation and optimisation. You should A/B test ads to ensure yours are as effective as possible, and set up automated rules that form budgetary and targeting guardrails. You should then analyse and optimise your campaigns once they’re up and running, to make them more and more effective over time.

In order to maximise conversion and revenue without spending too much, keep in mind the following Google Hotel Ads best practices:

1. Do testing

Test drive your own Google Ads and monitor the competition with the use of the Google Ad Preview Tool, where you can enter any search term and location (for example, you could pretend to search from another country) and see what your potential guests see.

2. Set up automated rules

Make changes to your ad status, budget, bids or more automatically, based on any conditions or settings. For example, you might want to increase your keyword bid up to a set maximum, anytime your ad falls off the first page of results.

3. Focus on rate parity

When travellers do not have to choose a channel because of a noticeable price difference, they go with their loyalty. Many also know that booking directly with a hotel can secure additional benefits. That said, rate parity has never been more important than now, because Google now offers price-drop alerts for individual hotels: travellers can track a specific property and get an email when the rate changes for specific dates. If your OTA rate dips below your direct rate, even momentarily, travellers might be alerted to book with the OTA, leaving you to pay the 15-25% commission fee on a booking you were making less money on in the first place.

4. Become an expert at your content

This includes the immediate profile, as well as what guests see on your website, including blogs, and current events. Few things are as disappointing to read on a website as promotional material for events that have already taken place.

By keeping your content fresh, you communicate with every aspect of your online presence that you are ready for their business.

5. Focus on critical dates

Depending on your appetite for spending, you may want to focus your budget only on critical dates, for example when your occupancy is below a certain percentage at a defined lead time.

6. Know your changing cost

The impact of inflation and labour shortages worldwide continues to impact hotels and the cost of running operations day to day. Consider keeping up to date on the changes in your cost and passing along changes in budget to how you manage your campaigns.

Frequently asked questions about Google Hotel Ads

What is the average cost per click (CPC) on Google hotel ads?

Because Google Hotel Ads operates as a real-time bidding auction, there is no single fixed price per click. But according to PPC Chief, the average cost for the travel and hospitality sector is $2.12 per click (remembering that the actual cost depends entirely on your hotel location, seasonal traveller demand and how aggressively OTAs are bidding for the same target audience).

Does Google Hotel Ads still offer a commission model?

Google Hotel Ads no longer offers a commission model. You used to be able to choose a set percentage of the total booking value as your bid (typically around 10% to 15%), which you paid Google after the stay was complete. But this system relied heavily on third-party cookies to track the booking through to completion, and the use of cookies is heavily restricted these days, so Google now only offers upfront payment models.

Should hotels bid on their own brand name in Google hotel ads?

Yes, it’s worth doing, primarily because OTAs and other hotels might be doing it too, in an effort to steal bookings from you. Protecting your brand name is an important defensive marketing strategy, particularly for hotels with strong reputations. If you don’t bid on your own hotel name, others will buy that ad space instead, placing their links above yours and forcing you to pay high commission fees for guests who were already looking specifically for your property, or stealing the reservation altogether.

How can hotel groups optimise bidding across multiple properties?

Multi-property hotels can streamline their marketing by clustering hotels into groups based on shared traits, like geographic region, average room rates or current occupancy gaps. Instead of managing hundreds of individual campaigns manually, you can apply automated bidding rules across these broad buckets, allowing Google’s AI engine to share conversion data across properties and automatically route ad spend to the locations that need bookings the most.