Announcements

1. Bringing price comparison to vacation rental search

   Finding the perfect vacation rental just got a whole lot easier Today, we’re introducing price comparison on our vacation rental search experience. Now, when travelers are browsing vacation rentals on Google and click through to a particular property, they’ll be able to see multiple travel sites on which the property is listed and choose which site they want to book with. From early user testing, we’ve heard positive feedback and learned that people appreciate seeing a range of pricing options and a diversity of booking sites. In addition to benefiting users, this price comparison feature can …

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2. Price Accuracy Policy clarifications

   Google’s price accuracy policy for hotels has been updated and will go into effect immediately. Continue reading for specifics on the policy updates. Booking confirmation Offers displayed on Google must result in confirmed bookings at the hotel within 24 hours. Personally identifying information clarification The final and total booking rate must be displayed before any user information is requested. Taxes and fees clarification Taxes and fees are intended to include mandatory hotel or government-levied taxes and fees. Our policy doesn’t allow partner-specific fees, commissions, and profits to…

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3. Price Accuracy Policy update

   Google’s price accuracy policy for hotels has been updated and will go into effect on October 10, 2022. Continue reading for specifics on the policy updates. Updated Criteria When a user clicks through from Google’s site to the partner’s booking page, the total price on the booking page must be prominently displayed, be the same as the total price displayed on Google’s site, and be for an overnight stay (no day use rates). The booking page must follow our Taxes and Fees Policy, which ensures all mandatory rates, taxes, and fees are fully disclosed without requiring additional user action. The …

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4. "Unavailable" tag added to price transaction XML messages

   Hotel Ads has added new tags for price transaction messages so partners can specify the details of why a price isn't available. You can now specify more detailed reasons why an itinerary is unavailable by using the "Unavailable" tag. Instead of sending “-1” for an unavailable price, you can now indicate whether an itinerary is booked for the selected dates, below the minimum night stay, or closed on the arrival date. Learn more about setting the "Unavailable" tag

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5. Book on Google deprecation

   On May 25, 2022, Book on Google for hotels will be discontinued. Properties on Book on Google (paid campaigns and free booking links) will fall back to landing pages. If you need help, Contact Support.

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6. Prohibited Practices Policy

   Google’s Hotel Ads policies are being updated to include a new Prohibited Practices Policy. This policy will start being enforced on December 14, 2020. 

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7. Live on Google Migration

   Your account will be migrated to Live on Google between September 20 and October 5, 2021. If your account is allowlisted for free booking links, there's no action needed. Your properties will be enabled for free booking links by default. If your account relies on bidding, you should review the Live on Google status for each of your properties. To review your Live on Google values, use the "Live on Google" column in the Hotel Center “Properties” page. Learn more about Live on Google, or how to use the Travel Partners API to update Live on Google values in bulk.

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8. Free booking links

   Starting on March 9, 2021, Google will begin showing free booking links for hotels all over the world. Free booking links will appear on the hotel booking module alongside paid hotel ads (indicated by the Ads badge) when Google users look at a given hotel. Booking partners won’t pay a fee for free booking links, and Google won’t collect any payment for placement or engagement with these links. Learn more about free booking links

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9. Hotel Ads Center subaccount deprecation

   With Hotel campaign management now in Google Ads, Hotel Ads Center subaccounts are no longer needed for providing access to feeds and ads management separately. Subaccounts will be removed starting May 18, 2020, and users will no longer have access to subaccount views and data as of June 7, 2020. Ads serving from subaccounts will stop serving on June 30. Subaccount Google Ads linking Starting May 18, 2020, Google Ads linking at the subaccount level will be transferred to the parent Hotel Center account ID in Google Ads. Campaigns that are using the subaccount ID will be moved to the parent Hot…

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10. New support path for Hotel Ads

    December 5th, 2019

    Starting December 9th, 2019, the support alias travelads-partners@google.com will no longer function as a support contact for your Hotel ads. For future Hotel Ads technical support, you can contact us through our form or request to chat with a support specialist. This change was made in an effort to better streamline support requests and get you connected with the right specialist more quickly. 

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11. Announcements tab now available

    November 26, 2019

    You can now find information on the newest features and changes to your Hotel Center account in the Announcements section of the help center. Check back for the latest updates! 

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