The Only Game in Town: Google Hotel Ads

Commission bills hurt, and as we head into high season, that pain is only going to increase. With ongoing cost-of-living pressures and rising operating costs, it’s clear that many independent hoteliers and B&B owners need help.

We get calls from accommodation providers every day asking how they can boost their direct bookings.

Our usual response: Are you connected to Google Hotel Ads?

Why? Because if you want to challenge the OTAs, it’s the only game in town.

Getting on Google gives your property better online visibility and, in turn, more direct bookings. Simply put, if you’re not on Google, you’re invisible to most guests searching for somewhere to stay.

What is Google Hotel Ads?

Google owns the lion’s share of online search. You most likely found this article using Google. In fact, over 90% of guests use Google when searching for somewhere to stay.

Connecting to Google Hotel Ads feeds your property’s live rates and availability directly to Google. So, if a guest searches for a hotel or B&B in your area on Google Search, Maps, Business Listings, or Google Travel, your property will pop up! Guests can then simply click through to book directly with you.

Searches also increasingly take place through AI tools such as Gemini, ChatGPT, and Claude, some of which use Google to help surface accommodation options. Being highly visible on Google gives your business much more opportunity to feature in results no matter where your guests searching.

We charge a fee of 7% per Google booking, much lower than typical OTA commission charges! What’s more, you only pay when a booking is made.

We also include Google’s “free booking links” (which we call Google Zero, because there’s zero commission on these bookings). This means your hotel or B&B can appear in both the paid Google Hotel Ads section and the Free Booking Links section, increasing your visibility on the page.

As you can see below, guests have two places to choose from when booking. With freetobook, you only pay if they book via the Google Hotel Ads link. So when you’re on Google Hotel Ads, you benefit from free bookings too!

On average, properties pay about 5% overall for their Google Hotel Ads bookings once free bookings are factored in. That’s roughly three times less than a typical OTA booking.

If you opt for Google Zero alone, you’ll feature less frequently in searches and, when you do appear, you’ll sit below the paid ads section. This significantly reduces your chances of securing direct bookings because you’re not paying Google for additional visibility while the OTAs are.

On average, properties using Google Hotel Ads get 50% more bookings than those relying on Google Zero alone.

Competing with Online Travel Agents

A word of warning if you’re connected to Online Travel Agents (OTAs): they’re out there on Google too. This gives guests a choice: book directly with you or through an OTA. Often the deciding factor is price.

Offering guests a better direct rate encourages them to book with you. In freetobook, you can do this by adding an OTA surcharge (many properties add around 10%). This helps ensure your direct price is the best available.

The result = more direct bookings and fewer OTA commission charges.

Another tactic is to close out OTAs completely on high-demand dates, such as busy weekends or bank holidays. This means that during those periods, your direct rate becomes the only option shown on Google; almost guaranteeing more direct bookings.

Why get Google Hotel Ads?

Boost your direct bookings at a lower cost than OTAs.

Compete directly with the OTAs.

Increase your online visibility and reach thousands of potential guests.

Takes just five minutes to get set up.

Available for hotels and B&Bs in the UK.

Our Google connections have generated more than 225,000 additional direct bookings for freetobook customers.

Success stories include The Fieldhead Hotel in Cornwall and Willowbank Lodges in Wiltshire. Google Hotel Ads gives Willowbank Lodges a much higher profile, says owner Nigel:

“Customers can instantly see where our direct price sits against other channels. Clicking takes them straight to availability, it’s brilliant!”

Tellingly, 95% of the Lodges’ bookings are direct.

Get set up with Google Hotel Ads

Getting your property on Google is easy! If you’re already with freetobook, you’ll find Google Hotel Ads under the Plus tab, where you can also monitor how well your connection is performing.

Once you’re connected, there are a few things you can do to drive even more direct bookings:

Keep your Google Business Profile up to date with accurate information.

Make sure your website and booking pages are well-branded, with clear descriptions and high-quality pictures. Our beautiful Bloom booking pages make this easy.