Google launches Free Booking Links for hotels
We all know Google Hotel Ads as a metasearch platform that compares rates & availability on different booking sites. Want to get your booking link on it? A fee (CPC or CPA) is asked in return. But from now on, hotels and OTAs can add Free Booking Links as well. How does it work and how can you benefit from this game changing offer?
Free Booking Links explained
What is a Free Booking Link?
When travelers look for accommodations online (mostly on Google), and your hotel matches the search query (e.g. “Hotel Bruges” [location] or “Hotel Westduin” [name]), your Google My Business Page appears in the search results. If you have Google Hotel Ads set up, then rates and availability of different booking platforms are displayed as well.
Thanks to Google’s new update, not only sponsored booking links are shown, but free booking links as well. As accommodation owner, you can now add your official website for free. This way, your – in most cases lower – direct booking price stands out and lures travelers to your own professional website.
Note: A Google My Business Page is necessary if you want to create this Free Booking Link. Claiming your Google My Business page is easy & free. Discover more about it in our article.
What are the benefits for you as hotelier?
- Better online visibility = More booking opportunities
- More direct bookings = Less commission costs
- More website visitors = control over booking process & guest details
How to get started?
Stardekk as Google integration partner
Hotels can benefit from the Free Booking Link program only through Google’s authorized integration partners. Lucky for you, Stardekk is a Google Integration Partner! We can set up Google Hotel Ads for you, via Cubilis Booking Engine.
Once you have Google Hotel Ads set in place, Cubilis Booking Engine will automatically communicate your data to Google and your Free Booking Link will be displayed on your Google My Business page.
Note: We can only do the set up if you use our Booking Engine. Don’t have Cubilis Booking Engine yet? Discover all about our booking module in our latest article.
Why did Google make this free for hotels and OTAs?
Google’s ultimate goal is to help travelers find the right accommodation for their trip. By providing useful accommodation details (reviews, photos, amenities,…) on Google My Business, travelers are quickly informed. Adding rates & availability of different booking platforms makes it even easier for travelers to make up their mind and book the perfect accommodation.
"Although the world will certainly look different when travel comes back, our mission to be a trusted source of travel information will remain unchanged."
By making it free for hotels and travel companies to appear in this list of booking links, more travelers will have a complete overview as they search the world wide web to find an appropriate place to stay.
Get started!
Want to add your Free Booking Link to your Google My Business Page but don’t use Google Hotel Ads yet? Request your set up!
I don't use Cubilis Booking Engine yet
You need Cubilis Booking Engine in order to set up Google Hotel Ads (with Free Booking Link option).
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Google Hotel Ads
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