Google
is making moves that further blur the line between hotels and private
accommodations.
The
search giant says searches for “beach rentals” and “staycations” grew by more
than 100% globally in the last year and now it wants to better serve that
interest by combining vacation rentals and hotels in one comprehensive search
result for a destination.
Beginning
today, consumers that search for accommodations in a specific destination may
see both hotels and vacation rentals in the search results on google.com/travel.
The “vacation
rentals” filter – launched in 2019 – remains for users that want to limit results
to only non-hotel properties, but without that filter the default display will
show both types of accommodations.
Google
says results are ranked organically based on relevance to the user’s query. The
company would not provide a list of current supply partners, but searches on
the site show listings from Tripadvisor, Vacasa, Red Awning, Sonder, Rentals United
and others.
Vrbo listings had been on the site for nearly two years but in its earnings
call in February, Expedia Group CEO Peter Kern announced the company had pulled
them, saying, “We didn’t find investment in the
Google vacation rental product particularly incremental, we didn’t think the
customer experience was particularly valuable and we are of course also having
a period where we are seeing great direct traffic for Vrbo. So we found other
ways, and I’d argue more profitable ways, to drive traffic.”
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It's unclear at this stage whether properties from Booking.com and Airbnb are participating in the vacation rental search.
Google
announced the new combined hotels and vacation rental search product Thursday
morning during its Google Marketing Live online event.
“We’ve seen growing and sustained interest in vacation rentals since the start
of the pandemic and have evolved our product accordingly to meet those user
preferences. This launch is the first time that we’re showing results that
combine both hotels and vacation rentals when a user is looking for a place to
stay,” says a company spokesperson via email.
Industry reaction
But
while this is a first for Google, the idea of surfacing both hotels and rentals
in one search result has been offered for some time from online travel agencies
such as Booking.com, which says it has more than six million alternative accommodation listings, and
Expedia Group, which is ramping up visibility of Vrbo listings on
its OTA brands.
“From
an innovator Google has become a mere imitator,” says Max Starkov, a
hospitality and travel technology consultant.
“Last
year Airbnb, Vrbo and other vacation rental players took 29% of the
accommodation demand - versus 19% in 2019 - and Google is finally paying
attention to this sector.”
Mirai
CEO Pablo Delgado echoes that sentiment, saying it is “nothing new or
disruptive,” but he says, “This change is a huge opportunity for vacation
rentals to get incremental demand as most of today's Google consumers are
looking for hotels. Incrementality is the word that matters, and that demand
will be lost for hotels. So in the short term, hotels lose.”
Tim
Choate, CEO of Red Awning, a Google rental supply partner, sees this
combination of hotels and rentals as a recognition of a shift taking place in consumers' mindsets.
“I
think this change at Google reflects the fact that vacation rentals have become
core accommodations, not alternative accommodations,” Choate says.
“For
leisure travel, in fact, vacation rentals are often now the preferred choice
with hotels being the ‘alternative’ when the right vacation property isn't
available. If anyone in the industry knows what those travelers are seeking,
it’s Google, so this is a great recognition of the fact that vacation rentals
are what travelers are searching for.”
Starkov
says hoteliers can position themselves to capture some of this evolving demand
by “offering weekly and monthly rates, promoting their suites and family
accommodations, advertising their cleanliness protocols and the fact that they
are not charging cleaning fees versus $75 to $350 per stay [at some rentals],
positioning their property as the ‘hero of the destination.’”
Rentals' profile keeps growing
This new update is just the latest in Google’s evolving search
services related to vacation rentals.
Google first began surfacing
vacation rentals in March 2019 when it added the “vacation rentals” filter
to hotel search on google.com/travel, as well as a “vacation rentals” unit on
results for queries such as “vacation rentals in Boston.”
Last summer Google updated the system so anyone using the
filter would be directed to a new “vacation rentals” tab on google.com/travel,
which can also be used to search directly for those listings. Today's update brings vacation rental properties into the general accommodations' search results on google.com/travel.
Google’s search result data
regarding vacation rental-related searches mimics trends seen elsewhere. Brands such as Airbnb and Vrbo have seen demand
surge in the past year as some travelers have sought private,
socially distanced accommodations.
Research out this week from
Deloitte finds more than a quarter (28%) of travelers have stayed at a private rental for the first
time during the pandemic or plan to this summer. And eight in 10 who are
choosing a rental for their 2021 summer vacation say they expect to stay in
rentals for at least half of future trips.
But many consumers
do consider both hotels and rentals – meaning Google’s update should be good news to them.
Deloitte finds rental
travelers are more likely to cross-shop, with 53% saying they are also
considering hotels compared to just 15% of hotel travelers considering
rentals.
Along with updates to vacation
rental displays in search, Google will now automatically surface Hotel Ads feed
data within search text ads extensions.
For hotel advertisers, this means things like landing
page, hotel, price and availability are pulled from their existing feed and
used in search campaigns. Google says the extension is currently available to a
limited group of advertisers and will be rolled out more broadly in the coming
weeks.
Google is also updating its pay-per-stay,
also known as commissions (per stay) program introduced last June as a way
to help ad partners manage cancellation risk.
To make reconciliation easier, Google is providing a
per-booking report in Google Ads that hoteliers can use to confirm which
bookings were canceled and which were stayed. Advertisers can also see
post-cancellation performance metrics.
*PhocusWire contacted Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com for comment for this story but none of those companies responded.
Later this year, Google will introduce
bid adjustment support for pay-per-stay campaigns so advertisers can adjust
rates by dimensions such as check-in day of the week or stay date.