Google Hotel Ads - Frequently Asked Questions

What is GHA?

Google Hotel Ads is a paid service that redirects traffic and bookings to the hotels website.

It allows hotels to show real-time rates and availability on the Google Search results page and on Maps. Travellers love these listings because they can compare prices from a number of booking channels on one page.

For more information, please see this article.

What does it mean and how does it work?

• Google displays its booking engine in the list of accommodation available to travellers, along with other channels like Booking, Expedia, etc.

• It redirects travellers directly to its own booking engine and the reservation is made there, without any other intermediary holding the information for you or communicating with them on your behalf.

• Valid for hotels with a minimum stay of less than 7 days.

How Is the Commission Calculated?

• Commission is based on the original booking amount at the time of reservation.

• Extras or add-ons (e.g. breakfast, parking) added later are not included in the commission calculation.

• If the reservation dates are changed before the stay, Google will recalculate the commission based on the new total value — whether the number of nights is increased or decreased.

How Does the Commission Payment Work?

• Google calculates the commission one month after the guest’s check-out date.

• The commission amount is sent to RoomRaccoon, who pays Google on your behalf.
  The commission charge is then included in your next RoomRaccoon invoice.

What If the Booking Is Cancelled?

• No commission is charged if a booking is cancelled at least one day before the check-in date.

• If the cancellation happens on the day of arrival or later, Google considers the booking as completed and will charge the commission.

• To avoid paying commission on cancelled bookings, you must update the reservation status to "cancelled" by the day before check-in.

Exception: If a non-refundable reservation is cancelled but you retain the payment, Google will still charge the 12% commission, even if the guest does not stay.

What is the best strategy for implementing Google Hotel Ads and still getting the best rate?

Google tracks the entire user journey through clicks. For example, if a guest clicks on your Google Hotel Ads listing, then visits your website (via the logo), sees a pop-up with a discount code, and returns to your Booking Engine with the discount code applied, the commission will be based on the discounted rate.

To avoid this and secure the best possible rate, we recommend separating your website from your Booking Engine when using Google Hotel Ads and offering discount codes directly on your website. This ensures that only guests who are familiar with your website and specifically visit it (rather than going through Google Hotel Ads) will receive the discount code.

Additionally, consider adjusting your Booking Engine rates to reflect the main rates for Google Hotel Ads. This strategy ensures that only loyal and returning guests, who already know your website and its discounts, will access the discount code.

If you have any questions about this, please book a Quarterly Success Plan meeting with your Customer Success Manager to discuss this pricing strategy.

How do I find bookings created via Google Hotel Ads for a certain stay period?

1. Go to the Calendar section.

2. Click on the Reservation List tab.

3. Select the desired stay period using the date filters.

4. In the “Origin of Booking” column dropdown, select Google Hotel Ads / GHA.

5. This will filter and display all bookings made through Google Hotel Ads for the selected period.

6. To download the list as an Excel file, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the first Excel download button.