Tips for Hoteliers to Grow Bookings With Google Hotels

Google Hotels is a hotel metasearch engine, which forms part of the wider Google search engine. It allows customers to search and book hotels. Skiptocontent TipsforHotelierstoGrowBookingsWithGoogleHotels Home/Hotel&HospitalityTips/Marketing&DistributionTips/TipsforHotelierstoGrowBookingsWithGoogleHotels PreviousNext TipsforHotelierstoGrowBookingsWithGoogleHotels ViewLargerImage Businessgrowthandrevenuemanagementaretopprioritiesformosthotelowners,andtheseconceptstendtorelyheavilyonoptimisingdemandforhotelrooms.OneofthewayshotelscandothisisthroughtheGoogleHotelsplatform.Inthisarticle,youcanfinddetailsonhowthisworksandwhatthemainbenefitsare. Quickmenu: WhatisGoogleHotels? HowDoesGoogleHotelsWork? HowHoteliersCanGrowTheirBookingsWithGoogleHotels WhatistheDifferenceBetweenGoogleHotelsandOTAs? WhatAretheAdvantagesofGoogleHotelforHoteliers? 1.CaptureCustomersSeekingaHotelinYourArea 2.GenerateaHigherNumberofDirectBookings 3.AccesstoImportantCustomerInformation 4.OwnershipoftheEntireCustomerJourney HowisYourHotelShowcasedinGoogleHotels? WhatAretheCostsforHoteliersSellingRoomsviaGoogleHotels? Video:HowConsumersUseGoogleHotels? Video:HowtoUseGoogleHotelAdstoIncreaseDirectBookings HowtoBecomeaGoogleHotelsPartner ReviewsontheGoogleHotelsService UnderstandingGoogleTravelInsights WhatisGoogleHotels? GoogleHotelsisahotelmetasearchengine,whichformspartofthewiderGooglesearchengine.Itallowscustomerstosearchforandbookhotelsonline,andallowsthoseinvolvedinhotelmanagementtoincreasevisibilityandattractmorebookings.Theserviceoriginallylaunchedin2011andwasinitiallyknownasGoogleHotelFinder. Asidefromitscorefunctionalityinhelpinguserstofindandbookhotelrooms,GoogleHotelsisalsovaluableasaroomratecomparisontoolandareviewplatform.Itwillallowpotentialcustomerstocomparefeedback,alongwithpricesfordifferenthotels,andevenpricesondifferentplatformsthataresellingthesamehotelrooms. HowDoesGoogleHotelsWork? TheGoogleHotelsserviceisabletopresentuserswithinformationaboutallofthehotelsthatGoogleisawareof.Thisawarenesscouldhomeaboutasaresultofonlinetravelagents(OTAs),otherhotelmetasearchengines,professionalrelationshipsbetweenthehotelandGoogle,paidadvertisements,andmore. Examplesofthetypeofinformationpresentedincludehoteldescriptions,reviews,locationdataandpriceinformation.GoogleHotelsalsoallowsuserstobookroomsdirectlythroughtheplatform,whichmeanspotentialhotelcustomersdonoteverneedtoleaveGoogle.Thisresultsinagreatlystreamlinedbookingprocess. Withthatbeingsaid,GoogleHotelsalsoprovideslinkstootherplatforms,includinghotelwebsitesandOTAs. HowHoteliersCanGrowTheirBookingsWithGoogleHotels Formanytravellers,Googlerepresentsthefirstdestinationfortravelbookings,becauseitallowsforinstantpricecomparisonsandthebookingofhotels,airlineticketsandmuchmore.Withthisinmind,itmakessenseforthoseinvolvedwithhotelmarketingtocapitaliseontheplatform’spopularity,inordertoenhancehotelvisibility. Whilethosewithinthehotelindustrytendtofavourdirectbookings,becausemoreofthemoneyspentbythecustomerisretainedbythehotel,itisarealitythatthehotelindustryisincreasinglyreliantonthird-partyservices.Thesethirdpartiescanhelptogeneratebookings,becausecustomersdiscoverhotelsthroughthem. GoogleHotelsisuniqueinofferingbenefitsassociatedwiththird-parties,whilesimultaneouslyboostingdirectbookings. WhatistheDifferenceBetweenGoogleHotelsandOTAs? Onlinetravelagents,orOTAs,sellservicesonbehalfofcompaniesinthetravelindustry,includinghotels.Intheprocess,theywilltakeacommissionfee,whichwillusuallybeapercentageoftheamountthecustomerpays.Asaresult,whiletheyhaveaclearroleinyourhotelmarketingstrategy,theycanbeexpensivetorelyon. Bycontrast,GoogleHotelsisametasearchengine,whichsearchesotherplatforms,includingOTAs,andshowsavailabilityinformation,alongwiththevariousroomrates.Inadditiontothis,hotelsalsohavetheopportunitytouseGoogleHotelstoshowcasetheirproperty,advertisingratesandavailability,andattractdirectbookings. WhatAretheAdvantagesofGoogleHotelforHoteliers? Inthissection,youwillbeabletofindoutaboutsomeofthekeyadvantagesofusingGoogleHotelsforthoseinthe 1.CaptureCustomersSeekingaHotelinYourArea OneofthebigadvantagesofGoogleHotelsistheabilitytoattractandconvertcustomerswhoarespecificallyseekinghotelsinyourarea.Thisisimportant,becausemanyGoogleusersdonothaveaspecifichotelinmindwhentheybegintheirsearchandtheyareseekingonlythebestavailableoptioninthelocationoftheirchoice. Theresultsthataredisplayedwhenusersenterarelevantsearchtermwillprovideyourhotel’sname,alongwithroomrates,locationdetails,reviewsandvariousotherpiecesofinformationthatcanhelptoattractbookings. 2.GenerateaHigherNumberofDirectBookings AnothercrucialbenefitofusingGoogleHotelsistheabilitytocompetewithOTAsforvisibilityinGooglesearchresults,whilealsolinkingcustomersdirectlytoyourhotel’swebsiteand/orbookingengine.Withoutthis,customerswouldbemorelikelytobookthroughthoseOTAsinsteadofgoingthedirectroute. Thisissignificantbecausedirectbookingsallowhotelstoretainmoreofthemoneycustomersspendonthebooking.Afterall,OTAstakeafairlylargecommission–sometimesexceeding20percent.IfyourhotelisnotconnectedtoanyOTAsatall,GoogleHotelshelpstoensureyouhaveapresenceonsearchengineresultspages. 3.AccesstoImportantCustomerInformation WhileGoogle’sservicedoesessentiallyactasalinkbetweenthecustomerandthehotel,manybookingsgeneratedthroughGoogleHotelsareeventuallymadedirectly.Asaresult,whenyougeneratebookings,youareabletogainaccesstovaluablecustomerinformation,includingcontactdetailsanddemographicdata. Whenbookingsaremadethroughotherthirdparties,theyoftengainownershipofthecustomerinformationinstead.Suchinformationisvaluableforpre-arrivalcustomerservice,andthecustomerinformationcanequallybeusedaspartofawiderdatacollectionstrategy,sothatthedatacaninformfuturebusinessdecisions. 4.OwnershipoftheEntireCustomerJourney Inadditiontogainingvaluablecustomerinformation,anotherpluspointassociatedwithusingGoogleHotelsistheopportunitytoowntheentirecustomerjourneyfromstarttofinish. Thiscanbeimportantforanumberofreasons,butoneofthemostsignificantrelatestopre-arrivalcommunication.Ifahotelhasownershipoftheentirejourney,theycanmoreeasilycommunicatehotelpolicieswiththosewhobook,butalsoidentifyopportunitiesforup-sellingandcross-sellingtoo,whichisvitalforoptimisingrevenue. HowisYourHotelShowcasedinGoogleHotels? WhenyouactuallyconnectyourhoteltotheGoogleHotelsservice,yourhotelwillbeshowcasedinanumberofdifferentways.Youcanfindoutmoreaboutthesebelow: InSearchResults ThefirstandperhapsmostobviousplaceyourGooglehoteladswillbedisplayediswithinsearchengineresultspages.Yourhotelinformationandbookingoptionswillbeshowntouserswhoenterrelevantsearchterms,suchasthosewhoaresearchingforhotelswithyourname,orforhotelsclosetoyourgeographicallocation. InGoogleMaps GoogleHotelswillalsodisplayyourhotelinformationwithintheGoogleMapsplatform.Thiscanbevital,becausemanytravellersuseGoogleMapsaheadoftheirtripinordertogetaclearsenseoflocalattractions,localfacilitiesandnearbyhotels.FromtheMapsinterface,usersarealsoabletobookroomsdirectly. InGoogleAssistant GoogleAssistantisthenameofGoogle’sAI-poweredvirtualassistant.Itisfoundonsmartphones,smarthubsandothersimilardevices,andallowshotelstoreachuserswhoareusingvoicesearchtofindhotels.Furthermore,GoogleAssistantactuallyallowsforbookingstobecompletedentirelythroughvoicecommands. InGoogleHotelSearch Finally,hoteladswillalsobedisplayedwhenusersvisitthededicatedGoogleHotelswebsite(Google.com/travel/hotels)andconductarelevantsearch.Thisisuseful,becausetheseusershaveveryclearintentwiththeirsearchesandtheyarealsoamongthemostlikelytoactuallycompleteabooking. WhatAretheCostsforHoteliersSellingRoomsviaGoogleHotels? GoogleHotelsworksaccordingtoabiddingmodel,withhotelsselectingtheirstrategyanddecidinghowmuchtheyarewillingtopayforhotelinformationtobedisplayedtouserswhohavecarriedoutarelevantsearch.Oneofthemostpopularoptionshereiscost-per-click(CPC),wherethehotelpaysforeachclickgeneratedbytheiradvertisement. TheCPCmodelincludesoptionsforafixedamounttobepaidperclick,orforamoreflexibleapproach,wherebidsareautomaticallyadjustedbasedonthelikelihoodofattractingabooking.AnalternativetoCPCistopayGoogleonacommissionbasisandthiscanbesetupsothatyoupaypercommissionperbooking,orpergueststay. Essentially,thismeansyouwillhaveachoicebetweenpayingoutapercentageofthebookingfeethecustomerpays,orpayingasetamountofyourownmoneyeachtimeoneofyouradsisclicked. Video:HowConsumersUseGoogleHotels? Inthisvideo,youwilllearnhowconsumersuseGoogleHotelstosearchandfindhotels.   Video:HowtoUseGoogleHotelAdstoIncreaseDirectBookings Inthisvideo,hotelierswilllearnhowtoUseGoogleHotelsAdsandincreasetheirdirectbookins.   HowtoBecomeaGoogleHotelsPartner HotelshavetwomainoptionsforbecomingaGoogleHotelspartner:connectavailabilityinformationandroomratestotheservicedirectly,orfindandworkwithanofficialconnectivitypartnerorchannelmanager. ThefirstoptionwillrequireyoutocreateandmaintainanaccountwiththeGoogleHotelCenter.Fromthere,youshouldbeabletoconnectavailabilityandpricinginformationandlinkyournewaccounttoyourGoogleAdsaccount. Workingwithaconnectivitypartnercircumventsmuchofthishassle,aseverythingwillbetakencareofforyou.However,thedownsideisthatthisoptionwillcostmoreanditcouldbeprohibitivelyexpensiveforsmallerhotels. ReviewsontheGoogleHotelsService TheGoogleplatformallowsuserstoleavereviewsformanybusinesstypes,andhotelsarenodifferent.GoogleHotelswilldisplaythesereviewstousers,enablingthemtogetasenseofwhatcustomersreallythinkaboutyourhotel.Crucially,theplatformhasbeenconfiguredtodetectandremovereviewsthatappeartobespam. Reviewscanbeextremelyinfluentialandmanypotentialguestsmaketheirbookingdecisionsbasedonthefeedbacktheysee.Tolearnhowtomanageyourreviews,readthe“9TipstoManageOnlineHotelReviews”article. UnderstandingGoogleTravelInsights AsidefromGoogleHotels,therearevariousotherGoogleservicesthatcanbenefitthoseinthetravelandtourismindustry,andagoodexampleofthiscanbeseenwithGoogleTravelInsights.Thisparticularserviceprovidesaccesstokeyperformanceandindustrydata,withexamplesincludingdemandfortravelandemergingbookingtrends. YoucanlearnmoreaboutGoogleTravelInsights,includingabreakdownofthethreemajorcomponentsoftheservice,byreadingthe“GoogleTravelInsights:Tools&DataTrendsforTheTravelIndustry”article. GoogleHotelsformsonepartofthemuchlargerglobalofferingfromGoogle,andithasbecomeextremelywellregardedwithinthetravelandtourismsector.Byfullycapitalisingonwhattheplatformhastooffer,hotelshavethepotentialtoimproveonlinevisibility,attractdirectbookingsandgrowtheirbusiness. MoreTipstoGrowYourBusiness Revfine.comisaknowledgeplatformforthehospitality&travelindustry.Professionalsuseourinsights,strategiesandactionabletipstogetinspired,tooptimiserevenue,innovateprocessesandimprovecustomerexperience.Youcanfindallhotel&hospitalitytipsinthecategoriesRevenueManagement,Marketing&Distribution,TechnologyandSoftware. Revfine.com2022-02-18T20:31:47+01:00 RelatedPosts 9EffectiveWaystoImproveTheGuestExperience February17th,2022 | 0Comments IncreaseHotelDirectSaleswithAI&OmnichannelCommunication February17th,2022 | 0Comments 5HotelWebsitePersonalizationTacticstoBoostDirectBookingsin2022 February16th,2022 | 1Comment HotelTrends:DiscoverTheLatestDevelopmentsinTheHotelIndustry! February15th,2022 | 0Comments 7HotelMarketingTrendsYouNeedtoKnowfor2022 February15th,2022 | 1Comment Guestsegmentation:WhatItIsandHowitHelpswithUpselling February15th,2022 | 0Comments OneComment Priya April2,2021at11:23am-Reply IcameherefromGoogleSERP,beforereadingthisblogIdidn’tknowanythingaboutGooglehotels.Thankyouforexplainingitindetails.Ilearnedalotfromyourarticle.Iamdefinitelygoingtosharethiswithmynetworksothattheycanalsobenefitfromit. LeaveACommentCancelreplyComment Δ PracticalTipsbyCategory: PopularArticles: Pageloadlink ShareThisKnowledgeLinkedInTwitterFacebookWhatsAppPrintEmailCopyLinkRedditInstapaperVKontakteFacebookMessengerTelegramSMS Revfine.comusesfunctionalandanalyticalcookies.Clickhereforourprivacypolicy. Ok  Followusonsocialmediaforthelatesttips! Follow@Revfine_com SendthistoafriendSendCancel GotoTop