Google recently launched a filtering update to their desktop hotel search landing page that provides a more detailed experience for the user. These changes appear when the user selects “More hotels” under the local three pack that appears in the localuniversal landing.
When users click a hotel in the local three pack, they are then taken directly to the pop out (shown below) with the hotel ads present. If they would like to see more options and select “More hotels,” they are immediately directed to a two-month calendar to select a date range. From there, they can input their specific travel dates or simply click “Done” to continue with the default date selected. Hotels remain on the left sidebar with a brief description of the hotel, their Google rating, and the lowest ad price. When users click on a hotel ad slot on the left sidebar or on a specific location within the map, a pop out will appear over the map, showing the top four position hotel ads. This user flow is consistent with the previous version of Google Hotel Ads.
So what’s new?
Below the search bar is an updated filter that allows users to seamlessly update their travel preferences. These filters provide users with the ability to search for properties based on price, user rating, class and additional perks. More filters are available by selecting “More” on the right-hand side of the filter toolbar.
How does this affect advertisers?
By searching for “New York hotel” and applying the newly added filters within the localuniversal page, two different people searching for the same keywords can have unique experiences. For example, a business traveler who would like a hotel with free Wi-Fi and a restaurant will have a distinct listing of hotels. Alternatively, a vacationer who is traveling with a family and is searching for a hotel that has a pool and is kid and pet-friendly will have a different subset of properties. As you can see in the screenshots below, there is no overlap in the results for the same organic search.
Although the new filters have not been incorporated into Hotel Ads bidding at this time, if Google’s date type multiplier release is any indication of what’s to come, the publisher is poised to make bidding more granular than ever before with the user experience at the forefront of their latest updates.
