Google updates complimentary tools for hotel partners: Travel Weekly

Google has released a number of complimentary tools it says are designed to better help hotels and other travel partners drive bookings.

The new tools have been rolled out as Google reports a rebound in travel interest. According to Julie Farago, Google’s engineering director for travel, search interest for terms like “spring vacation” and “flights to Hawaii,” for example, are close to reaching 2019 levels.

The features include an expansion of Google’s hotel booking links platform, which launched last year as a complimentary offering. Google’s free hotel booking links allow hotel and travel partners to display real-time hotel pricing and availability for specific dates of travel.

As part of the tool’s latest update, free hotel booking links will now surface across both search results pages and Google Maps.

The booking links lead directly to a hotel or travel partner’s site.

Additionally, Google has launched free “click reporting” for hotels, which allows hotel partners to access and analyze customer traffic that they receive through the search engine giant.

Partners are now able to see how many people clicked on their free booking links and will soon also be able to access data around free booking link impressions and booking value.

Other new offerings include updates to Google’s Business Profiles platform, with hotels now able to more easily provide certain profile information — including rates and availability — directly to Google as well as share updates with travelers via Google Business Profiles’ Local Post feature.