Palm River HotelVictoria Falls
Marketing · Google Hotel Ads
Compete with the OTAs where guests actually book.
Google Hotel Ads put your live rates and availability next to Booking.com and Expedia on Google Search and Maps, linked straight to your own booking engine. We set them up, manage the connection and run the bids, so direct bookings grow without the OTA commission on top.
How we do it
What's included.
What Google Hotel Ads actually areA paid placement that shows your real-time rates and availability on Google Search and Google Maps, with a click that goes to your own booking engine rather than an OTA. Travellers see your rate alongside the OTAs and can compare and book in one step.
Booking engine integrationHotel Ads need a connection that sends your rates and availability to Google every few minutes. We set this up through NightsBridge, ResRequest, Profitroom or SiteMinder, or a certified connectivity partner where your engine does not do it directly.
Free booking linksGoogle also shows unpaid booking links next to the paid Hotel Ads. Once your feed is live, free links appear automatically. We make sure the feed is clean so the free traffic is there to pick up, not just the paid.
Bidding we actually manageCommission, CPC or cost per stay: we pick the model that fits your margin and occupancy, set the budget and adjust the bids by device, length of stay and market. Every month we review what Hotel Ads produced against your reservations data.
Visibility on Google MapsHotel Ads are the only way to drive bookings directly from Google Maps. For properties where guests search by destination rather than by name, Maps is a serious channel we do not want to leave to the OTAs.
Win back the brand searchesWhen a guest types your name, the OTAs are usually above you. Hotel Ads let your own rate sit next to theirs in the hotel results, so the booking stays direct and you stop paying commission on demand you already created.
Also included: Feed set-up and monitoring, Rate parity check, Monthly reporting against your booking engine.
How we work
01
Look
We start where bookings are leaking today: tracking, visibility, channel mix and conversion.
02
Fix and build
The few changes that matter most come first. New campaigns, content and set-up where it earns the most.
03
Measure
Monthly reporting in plain language, tied to bookings rather than clicks.
Properties we do this for.
All our work
Ilala Lodge HotelVictoria Falls
Kings CampTimbavati
Questions
About Google Hotel Ads.
How are Google Hotel Ads different from regular Google Ads?
Regular search ads are text ads triggered by keywords. Hotel Ads are a separate placement that shows your live rates and availability next to the OTAs in Google's hotel results and on Google Maps, with a direct link to your own booking engine. They need a data feed from your booking engine, not a keyword list.
Which booking engines do you connect to Hotel Ads?
NightsBridge, ResRequest, Profitroom and SiteMinder all have direct or certified Google connectivity. We also work with RoomRaccoon, HTI and most major channel managers. If your engine does not support Google directly, we set up a certified partner to handle the feed.
What are free booking links?
Free booking links are unpaid listings that appear next to the paid Hotel Ads on Google. Once your booking feed is live they appear automatically at no cost, so free traffic is part of what you get the moment Hotel Ads are set up.
How much do Google Hotel Ads cost?
Google offers three billing models: cost per click, commission per booking and commission per stay. We pick the model that matches your margin and the stage of your market, start with a sensible monthly cap and raise it as the return comes in.
How do you report on what Hotel Ads produce?
Monthly, against your booking engine. We show the bookings, revenue and commission saved versus what an OTA would have charged on the same stays, so the number you see is money kept.
Google Hotel Ads works well with Google Ads and SEO, or a website rebuild that takes the booking.
Tell us about your property.
We'll reply within a working day with a free check of how visible you are on Google and in AI search, and an honest view of where we'd start.