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Search engines like Google help us to do everything online, including book hotels. Over 90% of people use Google when searching for somewhere to stay. In fact, Google’s now the third biggest booking channel on freetobook (ftb).
In a crowded online marketplace, how do you ensure that your hotel gets noticed?
The good news is that Google can help independent hotels like yours to stand out on search. Google lets hotels gain more control over where their bookings come from – meaning more direct and fewer OTA bookings.
It’s rare for tech giants like Google to help independent businesses. You need to capitalise on this online opportunity, especially in a challenging hospitality landscape.
As a trusted Google partner, we explain the differences between Google Zero and Hotel Ads – and how to use them to get guests to book directly with you.
Google Zero (aka Free Booking Links) is a powerful tool that helps your hotel get more direct bookings.
It displays your hotel’s real-time rates and availability on Google Search, Maps, and Business Profile. So when a potential guest searches for a hotel in the area, yours pops up. Travellers use this to easily compare prices from various hotels and providers all on one page.
The bad news is that OTAs are also on Google, lurking like sharks around your listing.
If your direct rate is cheaper (which it should be with an OTA surcharge!) then guests are more likely to book directly with you and not the OTAs, saving you commission. The “Official Site” badge next to your name makes your direct rate stand out even more and creates trust in the mind of the guest – increasing the chance of clicks.
Google Zero is essential for any business. It displays your direct rate in the “All options” section right below the OTAs, increasing the chance of commission-free direct bookings. In fact, we’ve delivered over 190,000 Google Zero bookings for properties like yours!
The best part? As the name suggests, Google Zero is commission free. So apart from a small subscription fee (£59 per year, to be exact), you keep all the revenue.
The one caveat of Google Zero is that your direct rate isn’t displayed every time – Google’s mysterious algorithm decides when and in what order. However, it’s still a low-cost investment for more visibility.
Google Zero:
✅ Increases your hotel’s visibility, meaning more direct bookings
✅ Displays your rates in the “All options” section
✅ Costs zero commission
❌ Gets less visibility than paid ads – Google decides when and where your rates are shown
Hotel Ads is a more powerful version of Google Zero. It’s specifically for hotels, meaning your rate will appear in the “Sponsored” section at the top of the page, giving you more visibility than Google Zero.
Google’s ads auction happens in this section and that decides where you rank. This puts you in direct competition with the omnipresent OTAs, giving guests a chance to book with you instead.
Hotel Ads comes with a small 7% advertising cost; this is less than half the cost of any OTA commission charge. When you include Google Zero bookings, hotels often end up paying about a third of what they would for OTA bookings. We’ve found hotels get on average 50% more bookings with Google Hotel Ads compared to Google Zero alone!
Google Hotel Ads:
✅ Maximises your hotel’s visibility
✅ Displays your rates in the “Sponsored” section at the top of the page
✅ Costs on average 1/3 of the price of an OTA booking, saving you money!
Google Zero increases your online visibility for free. Your rates feature in the “All options” section, but Google decides when and where.
Hotel Ads is more powerful: for a small investment, your rates are ranked in the “Sponsored” section, going head-to-head with the OTAs.
Luckily, the Google Hotel Ads connection comes with Google Zero built-in. This means that guests have two chances to book your direct rate, doubling your chances of direct bookings.
Once you’re on Google, maximise your chances of direct bookings by:
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