As the travel landscape continues to evolve, so do the tools available to help connect travelers with their ideal accommodations. Google has recently expanded its Travel Feeds feature in Search Ads, enabling advertisers to display more detailed, dynamic, and up-to-date information directly within search results.
This feature offers hotel advertisers the opportunity to reach potential guests at the precise moment they’re making travel decisions, creating richer user experiences and potentially boosting ad engagement rates. Let us delve deeper into the update and understand its significance for the hoteliers.
About Travel Feeds Feature in Search Ads
Travel Feeds in Search Ads empower travel advertisers to utilize Hotel Center feeds directly in search ad formats. By linking your Hotel Center account to Google Ads, your search ads are automatically enhanced with rich details like prices, images, and availability—boosting performance and creating a more engaging experience for travelers.
Benefits of Travel Feeds in Search Ads
- Highlight your listing’s price and availability directly in search ad formats, offering travelers real-time information.
- Leverage the same feed data from Hotel Center used in hotel campaigns to enhance additional ad types seamlessly.
- Achieve better performance—advertisers utilizing the full range of formats have seen up to a 20% boost in click-through rates.
How It Works
Travel Feeds in Search Ads leverage your Hotel Ads feed data to showcase hotels and booking links within your search ads. The displayed hotel prices and landing pages are automatically sourced from your Hotel Center feed integration, ensuring accurate and relevant information. Hotels are selected based on their relevance to the ad, creative, and user query. With multiple design options available, Google dynamically determines the best format to display.
What’s New
With the latest expansion of Travel Feeds in Search Ads, Google now allows hotel advertisers to showcase a wide array of feed data directly within ads. Previously available to a limited set of advertisers, this update now opens access to all hotel advertisers, enabling them to incorporate details like room rates, availability, customer ratings, and property images into search ads. This enhanced format not only allows for a more informative ad experience but also gives users the power to see relevant pricing and availability data upfront.
In addition, Google is also testing this feed-based ad format across other travel verticals, such as attractions, car rentals, and events, allowing advertisers in those sectors to potentially take advantage of dynamic feed data in the coming months. Through this update, Google aims to provide richer and more engaging ads that capture the attention of travel planners.
Impact for Hoteliers
The expansion of Travel Feeds in Search Ads is already showing promising results. According to Google’s internal data, hotel advertisers using the full range of available feed formats have reported up to a 20% increase in click-through rates (CTR). The ability to feature accurate, real-time data such as prices, dates, ratings, and images allows for a much more streamlined experience for potential guests. Rather than clicking through to a landing page, travelers can assess hotel options, see current rates, and even visualize the property—all within the ad itself. This not only enhances the user experience but also increases the likelihood of engagement and booking.
For advertisers, this feature provides an opportunity to showcase their full inventory more effectively, increasing their visibility in a competitive marketplace.
Why Should Hoteliers Care?
With over a billion people globally searching for travel information on Google each year, Travel Feeds in Search Ads represent a vital resource for hoteliers aiming to capture attention in crowded search results. The expanded capabilities of Travel Feeds are especially valuable because they enable hotels to feature their most up-to-date rates, room availability, and reviews within ads, all of which align with key factors travelers consider when booking accommodations.
Moreover, Google’s expansion plans to add attractions, car rentals, and events into the Travel Feeds format mean that this tool is only going to grow more valuable. By showcasing feed data directly in search results, hoteliers not only reduce friction for potential guests but also increase their chances of reaching users earlier in the planning process. This is an essential competitive advantage, particularly for independent hotels or smaller chains that might otherwise struggle to stand out.
How Can Hoteliers Take Advantage?
Getting started with Travel Feeds in Search Ads is simple, especially for advertisers already using a Hotel Center account. Once the account is linked to Google Ads, travel feed data like pricing, images, and availability will automatically enhance eligible ad campaigns. For hoteliers without a Hotel Center account, setup is straightforward, and Google’s Hotel Starter Guide provides clear steps.
Additionally, hoteliers can take further advantage of this feature by creating subset feeds for specific properties or unique offerings, enabling more targeted campaigns. Custom URL parameters are also available to track ad performance, helping hoteliers optimize their campaigns.
Setup Process
Link your Hotel Center feed to a Google Ads account running Search, Performance Max, or Performance Max for Travel Goals campaigns. Once linked, these campaigns automatically become eligible to display Travel Feeds in Search Ads. You can customize feed data sharing using account-level defaults or campaign-specific settings for added flexibility.
Eligibility
To use Travel Feeds in Search Ads, your Hotel Center account must have a price accuracy rating of “Poor” or higher. If your rating falls below this threshold, address the flagged issues in your Hotel Center account before linking it to Google Ads.
Availability
- Countries: United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Brazil, Mexico, Türkiye, India, Taiwan, and Ireland.
- Supported Languages: English, German, French, Japanese, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, and Turkish.
Conclusion
Google’s Travel Feeds in Search Ads is a valuable addition to any hotelier’s toolkit, providing a dynamic, visually rich format that enhances ad performance while improving the traveler experience. By adopting this feature, hotels can boost visibility, increase engagement, and better meet the needs of potential guests, positioning themselves as preferred choices in a highly competitive landscape.
