Google Travel has successfully integrated vacation rental properties into the Hotel Search functionality, with rental inventories showing up in Google Maps and search results along with hotels. 

Resort managers and marketers can benefit from connecting their properties to Google Travel to:

• Grow their rental business

• Diversify revenue streams 

• Expand brand visibility

1 Increased online visibility

Google makes up for almost 90 per cent of searches in the United States alone. So, any mention of your resort in the search results is one more opportunity for guests to click through to your website. More traffic, clicks, and mentions mean more bookings, so spend some time updating your website, so they stay on your site.

2 Build client trust with Google Travel

We all know the importance of managing your online reputation and the significance of reviews. Your clients want to feel confident in their choices and booking through Google Travel means they associate your property with the same standards that Google offers.

“Let the predictability and reliability translate to your business by linking your short-term rental website to Google Travel,” says Jess Ashworth for Lodgify.

3 Attract highly qualified guests

All resorts want to reach as many people as possible – while ensuring they are the right kind of visitor, potential guests. 

The good news is that the Google Travel website is highly customised. In addition to the usual filters such as travel dates and location, visitors can narrow their search from travel and type of accommodation to vacation rentals. So naturally, they are looking for what you offer in your destination.

4 Direct bookings

As readers of our newsletter know from previous articles, resorts must balance OTA bookings and direct bookings. While OTA bookings are convenient, they do incur fees, commissions and taxes. 

Unlike its competitors, Google Travel doesn’t charge for listing your vacation rental website or charge any commission from bookings directed to your website. So, you can bypass other third parties and direct clients to your website and enjoy all the profits with no fees!

With Google Travel, visitors can click on the Map or “More places” to see the complete list, then view Google Maps and adjust the rating of the rentals they want to see. There is also a direct website link, so if they click on one of the listings, the contact information will show up and the opening hours, images, Google street view, and reviews.

5 Become International

With Google Travel, you can take your resort rental business to an international level. This is especially important if your core geographic markets cannot access your accommodation due to COVID-19 restrictions and you need to find new clients quickly.

Google processes over 40,000 search enquiries every second. With Google Travel, you can now promote your rental business to international travellers without you doing anything more than linking your listing.

6 Compete with hotels

For the first time, Google Travel has levelled the playing field, and vacation rentals can now compete fairly with the hotel sector. Google’s combined hotel/rental search product means that both types of accommodation are displayed in the same way. As a result, traffic that would have been filtered towards hotels will now view vacation rentals.