Google direct booking

I would have sworn there was a recent post on Google's new direct booking for hotels, but cannot find. And they are also working on a VR equivalent.

Anyway, this was on a bed and breakfast owners forum about it and PMS integration:

"XXX is working with Google’s advertisement to allow for direct booking, “Google Hotel Ads”. We’re currently waiting on Google at this point. We don’t have an ETA from them but we’re hopeful we will hear back from them soon so that we can continue down the development path to support Google Hotel Ads. It’s been a long drawn-out process for us as we started reaching out to Google about partnering with them back in 2015 when Google Hotel Ads was released. We’ve made some progress with them recently, however!"

Yep, they've got a big process there for signup and certain requirements on the properties they'll allow.

Last I checked, booking.com distributed to those ads, so that may be the easiest way to go for now.

Once they open up the API a bit, we'll investigate -- here's hoping they will go to a full channel process with their tooling.

This is excerpts from someone (2017) that seem to apply to the Google Vac Rental effort. Little dated, but:

"a Google card will be required for each vacation rental. Vacation rental managers can get ahead of the curve by providing business information with unique URLs for each home or unit under management. Becoming an early “owner” of the business information for each property will provide an initial competitive advantage as Google rolls out its vacation rental product.
In addition, working with channel managers who are partnering with Google will make connectivity easier in the coming months."

"potential consequence for OTAs and online marketplaces affects the rates they are able to charge to travelers. Airbnb charges travelers a 6-12 percent “guest service fee” on top of the rental amount, while HomeAway’s “service fees” can add over 15 percent to the rental cost for travelers. Google’s results will display comparative pricing, possibly making it more advantageous for travelers to book directly with the property manager.

"disclosed that the vacation rental beta program has encountered challenges along the way. “The Google platform was not set up for vacation rentals, so they’ve had to make modifications,” For example, only one URL is currently offered for each Google card making it difficult to display key-level inventory. Other challenges include the ability to index each property geographically for search and mapping, connectivity with booking engines, channel limitations, and traffic limitations during the beta period."

I hate to be a wet blanket, but my take on this is that it's yet-another stapled-on Google product in their mission to index everything, and it will grow stale after years of little use and development. Google wants to have flight and hotel data so that their SERPs provide yet another option (without redirecting the guest away). I don't see how it makes them any money to add this, particularly when there are no ads embedded in the process. If they actually spent time to develop hotel results as an ad model - adding to their giant Adwords/Ad Search product - then it might make sense for them and users. The road to hell is paved with all the products/features that Google has staped onto their SERPs over the past decade. This has been sitting since 2015 and I'm skeptical that it's going go anywhere because of the considerable dev money they'd have to invest to really turn it into something.

is there more info about Google cards? to they mean schema.org markup? only markup i found (and embedded) was for 'lodging business" and 'product".

I don't know precisely what it is, but this site might illuminate it from a different angle.

Many people in things related to this are claiming their Google MyBusiness profile, seeking to get Google reviews, a post card will be sent to verify your address (I did this for my upcoming tour business already), and I assume "card" related to the image part way down in the following URL:

https://www.blizzardinternet.com/news/industry-news/ready-bookable-vacation-rentals-google/

I am one of them, I already have that . each cabin has GMB listing and I have been collecting Google reviews. ex: https://goo.gl/maps/HGL6bf9UtdCKeZ478

Technically, vacation rentals are not supposed to be on Google My Business - it's one of their listed "does not qualify" biz types. However, like all things Google, it's all automated on their side and nobody knows the difference. The only real validation they do is sending a physical post card in the mail to your address with a PIN # on it for you to enter as validation that you own the property (or that you're a creep hanging out in the bushes nearby, checking their mailbox? 😉)

And FYI - it's a great thing to do if you can get validated and set it up. Google My Business listings show photos, reviews, etc right in the middle of SERPs bypassing the major listing sites. It can be a great source of business and a way to show off your reputation. You can also link to the "write a review" page on your GMB "place" page.

what is SERP?

Didn't know that VRs not supposed to be in Google like that. Where did you read that?

Anyway as I said before, vacation rentals cannot be on TripAdvisor cost-per-click, so I position my unit as a hotel apartments or suites. Perhaps Google my business will allow that. So maybe I can do both with one strategy like this.

Search Engine Result Page. It's what a search engine shows when you type in a word or phrase. Google "Place" results (which are a mix of GMB and other things) are returned in that content with high relevance and special presentation.

It's buried in one of the back support areas. If you go here:

https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038177?hl=en

And click on Ineligble Businesses, it says:

Well,, my VRs are going to be managed by under an LLC with an address, so " Sales or leasing offices, however, are eligible for verification." seems to fit the bill

Also, with them now showing vacation rentals prominently, this seems a strange limitation...