Google is adding features to its Performance Max
artificial intelligence-powered advertising campaign type that are specifically
intended to help hotel advertisers.
Called Performance Max for travel goals, the system
will generate the creative elements for the ads, including copy, images and
URLs, in multiple formats that can be used across Google channels including
Google Maps, YouTube, Search, Gmail and, later this year, Hotel Ads.
Hoteliers select their properties from a map
using Google’s “hotel picker tool” and then the system pre-populates the ads in
every format. Advertisers can edit the AI-generated assets or replace them with
their own.
Subscribe to our newsletter below
A single campaign can support up to 100 hotel properties,
with images, messages and other creative assets recommended separately for each
location.
In a blog
post announcing the new product, Google’s director of product management for
travel ads, Michael Trauttmansdorff, says advertisers who use Performance Max achieve,
on average, more than 18% more conversions at a similar cost per action.
“Hotel owners need easy ways to stand out and
connect with people looking up their options across Google. So, we’re rolling
out Performance Max for travel goals to all hotel advertisers over the next few
weeks,” he writes.
“Powered by Google’s AI, Performance Max for
travel goals helps you easily expand your hotel’s reach and drive more direct
bookings across Google. With one easy-to-set-up campaign, you can reach people
in the important moments they’re planning their trips.”
Performance Max tracks and shares campaign
performance for each location separately, so hoteliers can figure out which
channels are most effective. It also manages bidding, optimizing ads between
the various channels and selecting the assets that are performing best, and advertisers
can view traffic by property to understand demand across different locations.
Trauttmansdorff says that Minor Hotels, an
international chain based in Bangkok that has more than 500 hotels, resorts and
branded residences across six continents, used Performance Max to speed up its
campaign creation process. He says the system also provided budget optimization
recommendations per property, which enabled the company to lower its cost per acquisition
by 51%, increase its return on ad spend by 76% and increase bookings by 86%.
Corissia Hotels & Resort is also using the tool, and Google
says that within one month, it yielded a 32% increase in revenue and a 26%
increase in total direct bookings.
“Performance Max for travel goals is a great opportunity for
hotels trying to optimize their direct booking channel. We would have never
imagined such strong performance and efficiency,” says Giorgos Tsiledakis, sales
and marketing manager at Corissia Hotels & Resort.
It has been two years since Google
eliminated fees for hotel booking links, and one year ago it expanded
the visibility of those listings and added data visualization tools.