Google enhances AI-powered ad tool for hoteliers

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.

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 .