Hotel Metasearch Advertising

Managing PPC Campaigns in Google Hotel Ads, Trivago, TripAdvisor & More MetaSearch with ROI 10 Method

Metasearch engines provide consumers with a research platform that allows them to gather information about price and availability to make an informed  booking decision. These platforms not only help travellers choose deals, but they are also part of the customer journey. By presenting content that is engaging, informative, and personalized, metasearch helps level the booking playing field with OTAs.

While about 65% of all hotel bookings generated through metasearch engines come from Google Hotel Ads according to market research by Roiback, there are several other metasearch engines to expand your reach.

Metasearch Ads Increase Revenue 

We recommend that every hotel allocate part of its overall budget to metasearch  marketing.  

Metasearch is a proven revenue generator that shifts commissions away from OTAs. We know that OTAs like Expedia and Priceline can take as much as a 30% commission on a booking. By advertising on metasearch engines like TripAdvisor, for example, hotels only pay between 12% and 15% in exchange for guaranteed search visibility.  

Looking at how Google Hotel Ads (GHA) has made it simultaneously easier for travelers to find the right hotel deals, and for properties to advertise effectively, hotels  not actioning metasearch risk much considering Google’s massive advantage in search.  

Metasearch Drives Direct Bookings 

Research back in 2016 revealed that more than half of U.S. travelers chose OTAs when searching for hotel deals. More significantly, the study showed that bookings through OTAs outpaced hotel websites by a 43-40 percent margin.

However, hoteliers using metasearch list their rooms cheaper than OTAs by using the metasearch cost-per-click (CPC) schema. As a bonus, the hotel’s native website gets direct traffic from the metasearch engine, and the subsequent bookings are direct too. Metasearch has all kinds of benefits for hoteliers.

• Convenience: Metasearch carries more mobile apps, aggregation is global, contains a wider variety of chains and independents, and is often accentuated by more powerful tools.
• Content: Metasearch has powerful verified hotel reviews and ratings, easy to use information, more expert content, personalization, and ongoing content marketing.
• Hotelier/Restaurateur tools: Metasearch engines have numerous advertising options, profile management, and video capability, among other tools.
• Price: Metasearch has transparent price comparison, best price guarantees, and price alerts.
• Real-Time Bid Management: Metasearch engines offer real-time bid management and tracking. This allows brands to adjust their advertising campaigns to meet consumer demands in real time.

Other benefits of metasearch include increased visibility, owning your guest’s data when they book direct, competing in metasearch with OTAs, and reducing  the cost per booking.

We at Carmelon Digital Marketing are keen on using metasearch for  boosting client ROI through well-strategized marketing campaigns and performance monitoring. We set in place key performance indicators (KPIs) to optimize channel performance in near real-time. To achieve the best results, we recommend integrating metasearch advertising with other strategies in the digital marketing arsenal too.

We work closely with the hotel marketing teams and assist them in leveraging metasearch marketing on TripAdvisor, with Google Hotel Ads, Trivago, and other channels. We have extensive experience in this field – over ten years – and we already work with several notorious hotels and hotel chains managing their metasearch listings, optimizing and monitoring performance. Our clients always report more direct bookings and higher revenue.