Lately, Google has been busy with the release of many updates to their user interface including the release of the Occupancy Filters, the tool where travelers can search for single and multiple occupants while searching for various hotel rates.
Google has recently released another feature to their Google Hotel Ads interface– Similar Hotels.
What is Similar Hotels?
Similar Hotels is a feature that recommends alternative hotels to a traveler who is searching for a specific city, not a specific brand.
Prior to the launch of Similar Hotels, Google noticed users looking at several hotels before making their final booking decisions. The Similar Hotels feature will make it easier for travelers to view and navigate between similar hotels before making their final booking decision.
Similar Hotels will include hotel options that are comparable to the current hotel a traveler is viewing, ensuring relevance and increasing trust. Google will also include a description of each alternative hotel calling out the different aspects of the hotels which justifies why that hotel is being displayed.
Does this impact performance?
Ultimately, it is a natural behavior for a traveler to search several hotels before going on to make a final booking decision. Google is simply aligning the user experience to match that of other metasearch engines like TripAdvisor and Trivago. For hotel marketers, the key to convincing a user to choose your hotel is to offer the best rate. Alongside offering the best rate, it is advantageous to list all of the amenities your hotel offers on the specific metasearch channel. Being able to visibly differentiate yourself will go a long way to getting the click through.