Google is taking its ambition to dominate the accommodation sector to a whole new level through the introduction of a new feature called the Room Booking Module or RBM to its product Google Hotel Ads. This new feature will show hotel room prices, photos, and any other relevant information.
Why is Google Launching Room Booking Module?
Google’s intentions have always been to provide users with enough information and options so as to facilitate their decision-making process. Which is exactly what they are trying to achieve by launching the Room Booking Module. Google’s newest feature includes images which are necessary for choosing one room over another. The Room Booking Module offers features which were initially associated with OTAs.
Google’s ambition is not just to be another price-comparison platform, but to be the main searching, decision-making, and book pointing with Book on Google.
Room Booking Module, Linked and Exclusive to Book on Google
The current Google Hotel Ads campaign allows you to either redirect users to your website or lead them to Book on Google where they can complete their booking. It is the hotel’s decision to activate this or not.
In the campaigns available on Room Booking Module, users will be redirected to Book on Google, with the option to redirect them to the hotel’s website. The rationale behind this move by Google is to boost the popularity of Book on Google, and it appears to be a smart move.
How and when Are Room Booking Module Results Shown?
Currently, the Room Booking Module results do not show on desktop computers when a standard Google search of a hotel name is made. However, they appear when searches are made from mobile devices. When searching on a mobile device, the RBM room photos appear in the Overview and Prices tabs.
You can see them in Google Maps on your desktop computer when you search for ‘hotel + destination name’, this will include every other option to choose such as dates, occupancy etc.
RBM results are only shown to US users on Google.com. Google plans on expanding this feature to other markets in the future.
Why Are the Standard Hotel Ads Campaign different from Room Booking Module
There are two main reasons why some OTAs that advertise on Hotel Ads are absent on RBM;
1. Not all OTAs have the additional development that is needed to gain access to Book on Google.
2. Some OTAs prefer to maintain a more direct relationship with their clients, hence they tend to be discouraged by the insistence to Book on Google.
There are two reasons the result order in the Standard campaign is not same as that in Room Booking Module.
1. It is not the same channels competing, so it is expected that the order is different. The result goes from top to bottom in Standard results, but from left to right in RBM.
2. In RBM you can bid more aggressively because it accepts a special bid multiplier for results.
Pros and Cons of RBM
Pros
1. The use of images for a better experience
2. Higher conversion rates
3. Greater visibility
4. No additional management cost
5. Higher up-selling possibilities
Cons
1. There are doubts about facilitated bookings
2. Still not visible on some sites
How to measure the Room Booking Module results?
Room Booking Module results can be measured in the parameters below;
1. Impressions
2. Clicks
3. CTR and Conversions
What does a Hotel need to activate Room Booking Module
To activate Room Booking Module, you need a Google Hotel Ads integration partner that can also offer Book on Google. Although RBM is linked to Book on Google, you can still continue to use your Hotel Ads campaign, redirecting traffic to your website than to Book on Google.
