Google Hotel Ads Commission Program – What Do You think?

As of June 1, 2016, all hotels using WindsurferCRS will automatically be opted into the Google Hotel Ads Commission Program. The SHR/Google Hotel Ads Commission partnership will see hotel ads appear globally on google.com and Google Maps, wherever travellers are shopping for hotels on their desktop or mobile devices/tablets. There is a lot of discussion around this topic recently, as the new commission model gives smaller multi-property and independent hotels the option to use Google Hotel Ads, without having to manage cost per click bids and budgets. The key area of discussion we’ve heard seems to be the opt-out option, as hoteliers who don’t want to participate and pay the Google commission have to take steps to opt-out instead of being offered the option to opt-in. Other hoteliers want more clarity around what the commission fee payable to Google will be. There are also a lot of hoteliers who like the fact that cancellations and no-shows are not billed, and Google Hotel Ads drives traffic and bookings to their site by putting their hotel into the most robust search engine in the world when travelers are ready to book! Very interesting times, what do you think? Please contact us with your thoughts.