How to Use Google Ads Hotel Guest Stay Campaign Management for More Bookings
Google Ads hotel guest stay campaign management only charges hotels for ads when a guest completes a stay. WebFX can help manage such campaigns, optimizing hotel ads for greater bookings.
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insights from 38,900+ hours of hospitality marketing experience
As a hotel owner, you already know the importance of advertising your hotel in search engines like Google. After all, 83% of US adults prefer to book their travel online and online travel bookings are expected to hit $817 billion this year.
But how can you make the most of your hotel ads in Google? Google Ads hotel guest stay campaign management.
When you opt for Google ads hotel guest stay campaign management, you’ll only pay for ads when a traveler completes a stay that they booked through Hotel ads on Google.
On this page, we’ll talk about commissions (per stay) for hotel ads, and why pay-per-stay commissions could be a great option for your hotel.
If you want to learn more about how Google Ads hotel guest stay campaign management can help your specific resort, feel free to give WebFX a ring at 888-601-5359! Otherwise, keep reading to learn more!
Basics of hotel campaigns in Google Ads
Before we dive into talking more about commissions per stay for hotel ads, let’s first cover the basics of Hotel ads on Google.
What are Hotel campaigns on Google?
Hotel campaigns allow you to bid for ads that appear when a user searches for a hotel within Search, Google Maps, or Assistant. Hotel ads show up in a module known as the booking module that shows side-by-side information including amenities, prices, pictures, and even a link to book.
What are the bidding options for Hotel campaigns?
There are a few different bidding options when you want to opt for Hotel ads in Google. Your choices include:
- Comissions (pay-per-booking): You only pay when a traveler books your hotel.
- Comissions (pay-per-stay): You only pay when a traveler completes a stay they booked through Hotel ads.
- Max cost-per-click (CPC) bid (fixed or percent): You only pay when a traveler clicks on your ad.
- Enhanced CPC: Automated bid adjustment for a Max CPC strategy.
On this page, we’ll be talking about the commissions (pay-per-stay) for hotel ads.
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What is commission (per stay) for Hotel campaigns?
When you opt for a commission (per stay) bid strategy, you’ll only be charged when a completed stay has occurred. This bidding model is best for hotel advertisers who want to minimize the risk of cancellations.
So, if someone books a stay through one of your Hotel ads on Google, but later cancels the booking, you will not pay for that click.
How does pay-per-stay commissions work?
First, you’ll start by setting your commission percentage, which is a percentage of your booking value. From there, Google’s built in machine-learning will take over to optimize your bids to align perfectly with your commission rate.
To ensure that your ads perform well in bidding auctions, your bids will adjust depending on real-time details including a user’s device, geographic location, itinerary, and hotel price.
To ensure that you’re charged properly when someone has completed a stay, you’ll have to provide conversion data and reconciliation reports on a recurring basis to Google. You’ll upload the report which should contain legitimate guest stays, and from there, you’ll be billed based on the set commission rate for stays.
If Google doesn’t feel that your reporting is accurate, they could request that you provide further documentation and records to prove accuracy. If they feel that your records do not prove accuracy, you could be denied access to Hotel Ads on Google.
What kinds of hotels can benefit from Google Ads hotel guest stay campaign management?
Are you wondering if your hotel can benefit from the pay-per-stay commissions model?
It’s important to know that your ad account must be approved by Google in order to create a pay-per-stay commissions campaign. To do so, you’ll need to contact your Google sales account manager.
In addition, the hotels that will benefit the most from the pay-per-stay model are those who receive at least 20 conversions per week.
Getting started with pay-per-stay commissions
If you’d like to opt for commissions per stay for hotel ads, follow the steps below to get started.
*Be sure that you’ve contacted your Google sales account manager to determine if you’re eligible for a pay-per-stay commissions campaign. If you’re approved, continue with the steps below.
1. Set your Global Site Tag for commission (per stay)
It’s crucial that you ensure that each booking is attributed to commission (per stay). To do so, you’ll want to update your Global Site Tag (gtag.js) parameters.
According to Google, you’ll want to update the following:
- Set conversion category to “purchase”
- Include “value,” “currency,” “start_date,” “end_date,” and “id” parameters
- Ensure that each landing page URL has conversion tracking enabled and uses commission-specific parameters
2. Make sure you complete your billing profile in the Hotel Center
Since you’ll need to submit your reconciliation feeds, you’ll need to be sure that your billing profile is completed. Your Account Manager can work with you to fill out this information properly.
You can also use the Hotel Center to see invoicing for your commission (per stay) campaign.
3. Ask your Google rep to be whitelisted
In order to make commission (per stay) available as a bid strategy option at the campaign level, you’ll need to whitelist your account. Your Account Manager can help you do this.
4. Create your Hotel campaign with a pay-per-stay commissions bid strategy
Using Google Ads, you’ll want to create a new Hotel campaign by selecting a commission (per-stay) bid strategy. From there, you’ll choose your properties and save your progress.
5. Upload reconciliation reports in the Hotel Center
In order to validate your commission (per stay) strategy every month, you’ll need to submit a reconciliation report by the 17th of every month. Without these reports, your campaign won’t be successful since Google has to legitimize your commission if you’d like to operate on this model.
Best practices for a successful commission (per stay) Hotel campaign
If you’ve decided that you’re ready to level up your Google Hotel campaign and opt for pay-per-stay commissions, we’ve got some best practices for you!
Have at least 20 conversions per week
If you want to have a successful Hotel campaign on the commission (per stay) model, you’ll want to ensure that each campaign receives at least 20 conversions per week.
If you have multiple campaigns that are expected to get fewer than 20 conversions per week, consider merging them.
Determine the correct commission percentage
If you want to have a successful Hotel guest stay campaign, you’ll need to determine the correct percentage of booking value for your campaign.
To do so, consider your historical property-level conversion rate and return on investment (ROI). Keep in mind that you can always update your campaign, so you’ll want to adjust it often to optimize your commission rate.
Group properties with similar performance expectations
If you’re opting for a commission (per stay) model, you should try to group properties together that you expect to perform similarly.
To do so, inspect your previous property data and take note of metrics like conversion rates and click-through rates. From there, you can group properties together that you expect to have similar outcomes.
Make sure you have reliable conversion tracking
For your pay-per-stay commissions campaign to work properly, you must ensure that reliable conversion tracking is implemented on all devices and points of sale.
Never remove your conversion tracking code from your website while your campaign is running.
If you need to update your conversion tracking code, you’ll need to wait at least two weeks for your commission (per stay) bid strategy to adjust.
Stay on top of your reconciliation reports
As we mentioned before, it’s crucial to your campaign that you submit reconciliation reports. You’re required to submit these reports every 30 days by the 17th of the month, but Google recommends submitting even more frequently, if possible.
Let campaigns run before making changes
You should never change variables in a campaign without letting them run for at least seven days, if not longer. The longer you let a campaign run with the same settings, the more valuable your data will be.
Changing things like commission percentage, targeting, or campaign properties can skew your data and give you a misleading performance report.
Hire an agency to help with Google Ads hotel guest stay campaign management
If you really want to take your Hotel ads to the next level, consider hiring an agency that offers PPC ad services who can help with hotel guest stay campaign management.
WebFX is a full-service digital marketing agency who works with industries like tourism and hospitality to help them make the most of hotel-specific PPC ads.
WebFX can help your hotel succeed with pay-per-stay commissions
If you think commissions per stay for hotel ads might be a great strategy for you, WebFX can’t wait to give you more information!
Whether you’ve run PPC ads for your hotel before or you’re just getting your feet wet, WebFX can help your hotel receive more bookings than ever before with a model like pay-per-stay commissions.
If you’re ready to get started, feel free to contact us online for a free quote, or give us a call at 888-601-5359!
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