While searching for properties on Google Hotel Ads, one of our analysts noticed a familiar logo in an unfamiliar place — Airbnb with a metasearch listing in line with OTAs and the hotel’s corporate campaign for a single property in Las Vegas.
NB: This is an article from Koddi
Please note: this listing appeared in the hotel version of Google Hotel Ads, and not in the vacation rentals. We were unable to find any listings for Airbnb on Google’s vacation rentals search.
While completing additional due diligence searches, we were able to find a handful of other examples of Airbnb ads within Google Hotel Ads’ metasearch listings.
What is Going on Here?
Advertising on a metasearch platform is not a simple and straightforward process. It requires a rates/availability feed, a URL structure, some form of analytics tracking, a content feed, and some means of monitoring and adjusting bids. These Airbnb placements on Google Hotel Ads show that someone has made a consequential investment to get all of these pieces into place.
This ad unit is likely controlled by either Airbnb’s corporate structure, or an individual Airbnb user looking to increase their unit’s exposure. Every Airbnb listing that we were able to find on Google Hotel Ads had a single unifying factor: all the units were controlled by the same user. This leads us to speculate that this is not a shift in Airbnb’s corporate lead generation sourcing, but rather the actions of an individual lister on Airbnb.
Looking through the reviews for these units on Airbnb, a common theme is that users paid a mandatory resort fee, checked in through a conventional hotel front desk, and did not always end up staying at the hotel they originally booked. The likely explanation is that a savvy Airbnb host is listing hotel rooms he has yet to book on Airbnb and Google Hotel Ads. Then, when he receives a booking through Airbnb, he then makes a booking at the hotel on behalf of the guest and keeps a healthy markup for himself.
What Does This Mean for Metasearch Advertisers?
If any of the hotels listed on Airbnb are in your portfolio, you may start to see a decline in your click share. Google users who are familiar with the Airbnb brand may be prone to click on these ads. This can be monitored by closely watching your hotel level click share.
If your portfolio contains any residences/vacation rentals that have been posted on Airbnb in the past, keep a close eye on your ads and KPIs to understand if a similar Airbnb listing has been created for your hotel listing.
