If you are not already familiar with it, the Google Hotel Ads solution is one of the most popular metasearches used by hoteliers to attract travelers’ reservations. The solution is aimed at all types of establishments: hotels, hotel apartments, hotel residences, etc. Google Hotel Ads has been a part of the metasearch landscape for years, and has become an essential part of hotel marketing strategy. What are Google Hotel Ads?  Google Hotel Ads is the metasearch solution that allows hotels to reference their official website rates on their Google Business Profile pages. It allows you to display the price of your rooms to travelers who search for your hotel on Google. In effect, your Google Business Profile listing appears in Google results when a user types the name of your hotel, navigates using Google Maps with the hotels filter, or browses in the travel section from Google.  On this listing, Google offers the user various booking links for your hotel in the Google Hotel Ads section.  Google Hotel Ads campaigns are therefore not linked to keywords, but only to your Google My Business page.  This is what makes it a very useful solution for hoteliers – you will reach Internet users who are in the process of purchasing and who show a strong interest in your hotel. This type of campaign lets you reach highly qualified traffic.   How can you use Google Hotel Ads to attract potential customers?  As we said above, Google Hotel Ads allows you to display your website’s rates on your Google Business Profile.  You must therefore set up Hotel Ads campaigns to attract qualified traffic to your hotel website. Once launched, the campaigns you run to display your official website rates will appear directly in the list of results displayed. When you run campaigns for your establishment, your ads appear in two strategic places:The Business Profile (formerly Google My Business):Nearly 90% of Google Hotel Ads traffic comes from the  Local Universal listing section from the Google My Business page. So, this is obviously a strategic location to display your hotel.  Placing among the first 4 results to display is critical to generating more traffic. We also recommend that you have the best rate displayed on your hotel’s website, compared against other retailers. Google Maps: The Map remains an important part of Google today, where users can type in your hotel name and see your establishment appear. Google Maps represents on average 10% of the traffic generated by Google Hotels Ads.      What types of bidding strategies are available on Google Hotel Ads?  Meta ads Google Hotel Ads offers several auction models for different advertisers: Cost per click (CPC): You have two options for activating bids: a fixed bid per night or a percentage of the price of your room. Google also offers the Bid Multiplier, which allows you to refine your bidding strategy according to different parameters: the platform, length of stay, check-in date, etc. On Google Hotel Ads you can also manage your auction settings by market (France, USA, Spain, Canada, etc.). Cost per acquisition (CPA):This model allows you to manage your campaigns based solely on performance. There are 2 types of CPA on Google Hotel Ads: CPA on commission  per conversion: allows you to manage your Google Hotel Ads campaigns based on performance. You set a commission amount with Google and the algorithm automatically adjusts your position based on your commission. As part of the CPA on the date of purchase, the commissions due are based on the date of the customer’s reservation. CPA on commission per stay: allows the hotelier to manage their performance-based Google Hotel Ads campaigns with Google billing based on the guest’s date of stay. This means that if a traveler books in November to stay at your hotel in January, you will be commissioned in January. This template allows you to report cancellations and no-shows to Google.You can pair campaign typologies (CPC, CPA) between the different markets.  It is thus possible to have markets in CPC and markets in CPA for the same hotel. Free Booking Links: In March 2021, Google launched Free Booking Links, which are completely free links.This new option now represents between 15-16% of Google Hotel Ads traffic. However, the conversion rate of these free booking links is 60% lower. Property Promotion Ads type:  Ⓒ Google   With Property Promotion Ads, you can show your hotel in the best positions on Google Maps. If your bid is high enough, you may appear on the first or second position on Google Maps, which could bring you significant traffic. The gain in visibility is significant and can take precedence over the ROAS. You can choose to run campaigns on a CPC or CPA model, just like traditional Google Hotel Ads.    When to use Property Promotion Ads?  If you are a hotel looking for increased traffic to your destination. Property Promotion Ads can also be used for a new hotel looking for visibility. You can ensure the first position in a city for example.  Property Promotion Ads is a new type of ad allowing you to promote your hotel in the best positions. More specifically, you will have the possibility of increasing user interest in your establishment by displaying your hotel in the hotel search results.  When travelers click on one of these ads, they are directly redirected to the “sponsored” tab which contains your offer and no others.  These ads are also displayed on Google Maps and search results (the SERP) when a user searches for a hotel in a geographic area.  How does PPA work?  Your ads are displayed in the “hotel search” section on Google (on mobile and desktop). When a user enters a query, for example. “hotel New York,” they will see your ad displayed.  Each page of results in this section can display two Property Promotion ads. If your bid is high enough, you may appear on the first or second position on Google Maps, which could bring you significant traffic. The gain in visibility is significant and can take precedence over the ROAS. On PPA, you can choose to run campaigns on a CPC or CPA model, just like on traditional Google Hotel Ads. How can your hotel use PPA?  Ads are available to all advertisers worldwide, except in France .  To display PPA ads, you must meet several criteria: Have an active Hotel center account associated with at least one Google Ads account.  Have an active landing page in Hotel center, or failing that, participate in Reserve with Google.  Have an approved establishment image for advertisers. When to use Property Promotion Ads?  If you are a hotel looking for increased traffic to your destination. Property Promotion ads can also be used for a new hotel looking for visibility. You can ensure the first position in a city, for example.What are the advantages of Google Hotel Ads for a hotel?  You improve the visibility of your direct rates and increase your number of direct bookings.  With Google Hotel Ads you have control over your distribution strategy. You have multiple bidding models that offer flexibility and a return on investment. With Google Hotel Ads, you can promote your establishment on your own destination and reach Internet users who are actively looking for a hotel in your location. You will improve your establishment’s reputation among all Internet users looking for a hotel in your city.   With constant development based on traveler behavior, Google is continually updating its Google Hotel Ads solution with new features. Synergies between Google Ads and Google Hotel Ads are also in development. By offering an even more optimal experience for Internet users, Google is strengthening its position as a major player in hotel distribution. You have therefore understood that Google Hotel Ads is essential for effectively distributing your establishment online. Not only do you reach a qualified audience because it generates interest in your hotel, but you also control your distribution costs.If you would like to display your hotel on Google Hotel Ads, do not hesitate to contact our Google Partner Premier certified agency.

A survey conducted by WYSE Travel Confederation of 57,000 travelers under 30 revealed that 47% of this age group used an OTA to book their accommodations! It’s a statistic that is forcing a growing number of hoteliers to take an interest in this issue. Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) are often criticized for cannibalizing direct sales from independent hotels, brandjacking Google search results (AdWords and SEO), and charging increasingly high commissions for hotel bookings. The current trends shows that OTAs continue to gain strength and are steadily taking up a larger share of hotel profits. Offer your rooms at a special rate on your official hotel website It is important to state on the booking page that guests will get the best price when they book directly on your website. Offering a special rate directly on the website is good. Letting the customer know is even better. Make sure it’s clear to customers that they are getting the lowest price. In this way, they will not be tempted to go on another platform to compare prices. To attract potential customers, it is essential to offer rooms with a lower rate on the official website.Stand out from the rest with an effective and engaging hotel website One of the main advantages hoteliers have is the ability to stand out when potential guests visit their official website. Sharing beautiful photos and promoting your direct offers are all strategies that set you apart from the competition.Give exclusivity to certain products on your official website Your official website is the heart of your digital distribution channel. It is there to attract your audience, win them over, and convert them into customers. Therefore, it must be user-friendly and visually appealing to make a positive first impression within the first few seconds it is accessed. But that’s not all. To make an even greater impact, giving exclusivity to certain products on the official website can be an extremely effective way to drive more direct bookings.Have more flexible cancellation policies on your website Travel restrictions and general uncertainty can make it hard to plan. Consider updating your cancellation policy to help travelers feel more comfortable during the booking process. This will also give them peace of mind. The ability to modify or cancel a reservation may encourage them to book. Flexible cancellation policies may allow travelers to get a full refund, including all fees, if they cancel at least 24 hours before the hotel’s local check-in time.Communicate with your customer base For many of us, travel creates lasting memories. The hotel where we stay, its hospitality, its breakfast, and the services it offers are some important elements of a positive customer experience. All these factors will encourage your customers to return to your hotel or recommend it to a friend or an acquaintance in the future. Your hotel’s digital distribution is not a long quiet river. Many factors come into play when you want to make your website your primary distribution channel for direct online booking. Having a fast and visually appealing website, offering the lowest rates, showcasing your direct offers, and being more flexible in your cancellation policies are the pillars that will significantly increase your direct bookings. You now have the key information you need to boost direct bookings on your website. To go even further, find all our tips to reduce the share of OTAs on your turnover.

We are happy to help RoomRaccoon’s clients increase their direct bookings with our websites solutions. They partnered up with us to create synergy for an effective direct booking ecosystem. It is our pleasure to share with them our best practices for hotel websites and online distribution. Hotel businesses know that to compete in today’s travel market they need to be visible online. But what does an effective online distribution strategy look like in 2022? Many small and independent hotels today still rely solely on booking channel distribution. According to WIHP, the hotel marketing specialist, OTAs can limit the control you have over distribution and cost. “If an OTA brings you 80% of your business it means your business value and margin is your growth minus the OTA commission.”  Hotels need to strike a balance between driving direct bookings and distributing with OTAs. With a hotel booking system like RoomRaccoon integrated on your website, customers can securely book at any time from anywhere in the world. Hotels should not overlook the lucrative opportunity presented by digital marketing efforts. That’s because they can reach a large audience through Google Hotel Ads, for example, and it’s cheaper than OTA distribution. RoomRaccoon spoke to WIHP for expert insight into the importance of digital marketing in the hotel industry. WIHP highlighted ways for hotels to increase direct bookings through their websites and major metasearch channels.  Why it’s important for independent hotels to invest in digital marketing Staying relevant in a competitive market The accommodation industry is highly competitive and travellers today have many choices. When someone searches for accommodation in your location on an OTA, they are overwhelmed by the number of options. OTAs are a pivotal player in online distribution but you would be missing out on potential guests if you ignored metasearch engines entirely.  Improving the guest experience WIHP: “Digital marketing is not only for you, but it is also for your customers.” When travellers book on an OTA, they have a completely different experience compared to booking directly on your website. Through your website, you are able to provide a personalised guest experience with a tailored booking confirmation email and in-room extras that can be upsold. You also have more control over the information you collect from guests for re-marketing campaigns and post-stay promotions.  Increasing direct bookings When hotels integrate marketing agents into their digital marketing strategy, they can see a huge increase in direct bookings. For example, Hotel Castelbrac experienced a 61.25% increase in direct bookings when it partnered with marketing agent WIHP. 5 Important Elements of a Successful Hotel Website According to WIHP By implementing these five essential elements, you can start to see an increase in direct booking revenue right away.  1. Speed of your website We live in an increasingly fast-paced world. Everyone, including millennials, wants things now. Online consumers are impatient with slow website loading times. In fact, one study showed that approximately one in four website visitors would abandon a website if a page took longer than four seconds to load! Basically, slow websites annoy people and create distrust. In turn, this means fewer direct bookings.    2. Mobile-friendliness of the website  Your website should be mobile optimized. This simply means that your website content is adjusted to ensure that visitors who access the site from mobile devices have an experience customized to their device. This is important because the largest travel generations today use their smartphones to make purchases and to compare prices online. This goes hand in hand with your hotel’s social media presence. After your website, guests are most likely to search for your Instagram page. That’s where they’ll find more information — including photos — about your hotel.    3. A Booking Engine linked to your website If you want to increase your direct bookings then you’ll have to do away with your phone-based booking system. Think about it. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to invest time and effort into driving online leads to your website only to inform prospective customers to call you between certain hours for more information on your room availability.  In fact, it defeats the point of quick online booking gratification that travelers expect. They also want to be able to compare and make sure they aren’t missing any important details. It’s not just about booking a room, it’s about booking the right room at the right hotel. With a booking engine like RoomRaccoon integrated on your website, customers can securely book at any time from anywhere in the world.  4. Relevant and updated information on your roomsAs mentioned previously, your website is the place online bookers go to search for more information on your hotel, rooms and extra amenities. In fact, some online bookers shop around on OTAs like Booking.com or Expedia and then search for the hotel’s website for more information. This is known as the billboard effect.   To maximise the number of direct bookings on your website, it pays to invest in good content. High quality pictures, exhaustive room descriptions and writing engaging copy that describes your hotel and rooms. Each of these assets should reflect your brand’s personality and tone of voice.  Take a look at this great example of a room description that perfectly describes what the room looks like, the views from the balcony, and in-room extras that guests can expect.  Source: O’Two Hotel using the RoomRaccoon’s booking engine 5. Track the purchase journey of each user  Your customer’s purchase journey is important to understand because it helps you to define your target audience and gain valuable insight and understanding regarding common customer pain points. It illustrates all the phases your customers come into contact with your brand. Without this key information, you won’t be able to establish an effective digital marketing strategy. The good news is that with advanced online tracking like Google Analytics you can track where your customer come from and where they went after they arrived on your website and didn’t make a booking. All this information can be used to optimise your website to increase your direct bookings.  Is digital marketing cheaper than OTA distribution? The commission you are required to pay a metasearch site is significantly lower than that of an OTA, and metasearch sites are equally as popular.  What are the 3 most popular meta-search channels for hotels?Google Hotel Ads  TripAdvisor  Trivago How does metasearch engines work?  Some metasearch engines, like TripAdvisor and Google, displays instant booking buttons that allow travelers to book directly from the metasearch results. This allows them to function in a similar way to OTAs.  This new strategy means you could potentially get more direct bookings because the button leads to your booking engine making it easier for travelers to book.  Conclusion  A hotel website is an incredibly powerful tool that can generate direct bookings, increase revenue, and reduce commission fees. Yet, it’s underutilized by small and independent hotels that usually lack the skills and time to focus on digital marketing efforts.   WIHP specializes in digital marketing for hotels and provides various solutions all dedicated to increasing direct bookings. WIHP is also a leader in metasearch distribution for hotels. Through their Metasearch Manager solution, they allow hotels from all over the world to distribute their official rates directly on the metasearch websites (Tripadvisor, Google Hotel Ads, Trivago, etc). Fully transparent, the solution allows you to track each booking provided by those channels and offer you the possibility to distribute your rates via commission or cost per click. 

THE PRICE IS RIGHT Since the ’08 Great Recession, the number of value-conscious consumers has increased steadily. The trend is unquestionable, especially among lower and middle-income consumers, and the COVID-19 pandemic made it even more apparent. Obviously, not every demographic group responds the same way to price, yet, most studies come to an identical conclusion: consumers are becoming more price-sensitive year after year.For example, even before the pandemic started, RetailMeNot published an intriguing survey on the psychology of the shopping experience, highlighting the fact that 62% of consumers “cannot complete a purchase before searching for an offer.” The paradigm can be applied to our industry as well, and the tendency is confirmed by a recent Eye for Travel publication, which found that a staggering 94% of travelers use metasearch sites to compare hotel rates and find the best deal. Never like now, therefore, metasearch advertising should be implemented in your hotel marketing strategy. I would go as far as stating that metasearch should be your primary advertising channel. A DECADE OF POST-SEARCH There are numerous advantages in implementing a solid metasearch advertising plan, and -virtually- any property can benefit from it, both in terms of return-on-investment and increased brand awareness. Metasearch engines are becoming such a crucial strategic factor, that many in our industry even started questioning whether these platforms should no longer be considered advertising channels, but rather distribution ones. Having been operating in the hotel metasearch advertising landscape since its early days, over a decade ago, I’ve had the privilege to monitor the evolution of each engine closely. Our metasearch management platform –Meta I/O– currently connects over 10,000 properties worldwide, providing us with enough information to isolate recurring patterns among our customers. Based on our data, here are the main advantages of investing in metasearch advertising today:  10 REASONS TO INVEST IN METASEARCH ADVERTISING:  #1 Metasearch advertising is the best option to channel-shift revenue from OTAs to direct. When travelers are looking for your brand online, in fact, they are at the bottom of the funnel, meaning that they’re very close to the actual transaction. It is not surprising, therefore, that the metasearch advertising’s average ROI for our clients is usually higher than all the other campaigns’ (classic search engine ads, display, affiliate marketing, OTAs native ads, etc.); #2 Metasearch advertising generates incremental revenue. Additionally, metasearch advertising generates incremental revenue. Google, for example, allows advertisers to run, on top of the classic booking link campaigns, property promotion ads (PPA), to “increase consideration of their property by promoting it into a prominent position in hotel search results,” and so do Tripadvisor and trivago. This means that hoteliers can target their potential guests even during the first stages of the search, and increase their brand awareness; #3 Metasearch advertising is virtually risk-free: Most campaigns, in fact, can be run on a commission-based / pay-per-stay model. While the average OTA commission is between 15% and 30% of the value of the booked stay (not to mention additional discounts, such as Booking.com Genius promos, Expedia member rates, mobile discounts, etc.), metasearch engines require a more modest investment. Tripadvisor charges between 12% and 16%, trivago provides a “high/low” switch, and Google offers advertisers complete freedom over the commission rate they wish to apply; #4 Metasearch advertising is highly sophisticated, making it a great tool in the hands of revenue managers. Especially on Google, advertisers can pick from several bidding multipliers, and bid higher or lower for factors such as location, LoS, check-in day of the week, booking window, device, and check-in date. Our Sales & Marketing Director, Christophe Pereira, wrote an extensive piece on this topic; #5 Metasearch engines play a role in every touch point of the traveler’s journey. It is not uncommon for a user to visit multiple metasearch engines before making a booking. Being visible with your IBE on as many metasearch engines as possible, therefore, dramatically increases your chances of getting booked; #6 Metasearch advertising is easy to implement. While most traditional campaigns require long setups, tweaking, and testing, metasearch ads can be up and running in just a matter of days. It’s almost a Plug&Play approach: as long as you pick the right technology partner, feeding metasearch engines with your ARI is a pretty straightforward process;#7 Metasearch advertising is flexible. There are multiple approaches to optimizing your ads. Hoteliers can choose whether to invest in PPC to minimize cost of sales and maximize ROI, or play it safe and pick the commission model. Even better: advertisers can apply a CPC approach for a specific market and a  Pay per Stay one for another, or switch between the two based on variables such as seasonality, ADR, pick-up, etc.; #8 Metasearch advertising is free. Well, at least some of it. As you may already know, back in March 2021, Google launched “free booking links.” Thanks to this implementation, even properties that are not running GHA campaigns can now benefit from Google’s metasearch engine additional brand exposure, by organically showing their best rate to travelers. While I am writing this article, moreover, Google is running a few beta-tests to increase the visibility of these organic links; #9 Automation can boost your ROI.  Because of the high bidding sophistication of the metasearch campaigns, advertising managers have to make many crucial decisions to get the best out of their strategies. The application of automation can dramatically improve your ROI, by optimizing your campaigns and reducing the manual workload needed, and adapt the smart automated bidding strategy based on your business objectives; #10 No click is wasted. Metasearch advertising is inventory-triggered: the ad will not show up if you don’t have available rooms for a specific date. When you run classic search ads, on the other hand, you simply pay for the click or the impression, whether the traveler finds availability or not, which is why metasearch advertising is the safest arrow in your marketing’s quiver. TO META AND BEYOND The term “meta” comes from the Greek, μετά, which can be translated to “after” or “beyond.” Semantically speaking, therefore, when we talk about metasearch, we refer to something which lies beyond the traditional concept of search itself. The very notion of metasearch is, per se, transcendent: it redefines the way we act online. That is why I was not surprised when Zuckerberg announced his company’s rebranding. We are living in a post-search world, and hotel marketing is no exception. So, if you’re still skeptical about investing in metasearch advertising for your property, it’s probably the right time to review your strategic priorities. 10,000 + of our clients already did that. Can they all be wrong?At WIHP, we ensure you have access to a transparent and universal metasearch platform, easy to integrate with most booking engines, enabling you to extend your metasearch campaign capabilities. Get in touch today and explore how we can help you boost your Direct Booking.  

How can you increase your direct bookings?  This is the question that all hotel directors, sales managers and marketing managers ask themselves when it comes to optimizing distribution costs for their hotel.  Indeed, “opening the floodgates” for OTAs to distribute your hotel isn’t the most sustainable solution if you want to control both distribution and costs.  Therefore it’s important to set up effective marketing actions for your hotel that allow you to increase your direct bookings and reduce sales costs.  1. Search Marketing Search Engine Advertising, more commonly referred to as SEA or Google Ads involves advertising on search engines. You bid on selected keywords to make your website appear towards the top of the results on Google or another search engine (e.g. Bing, Yahoo, etc.).   The main strategies are: Visibility strategy: You buy generic keywords like Hotel + “destination”; Hotel + “city”, etc.  This allows you to increase your volume of traffic for an audience interested in the city or destination you are located in. Brand protection strategy: You buy keywords related to your property name and/or brand to reach a qualified audience that is of interest to your hotel or brand. You’ll maximise your direct bookings and get a high return on your investment in addition to preventing third parties from grabbing qualified traffic. 2. SEO SEO or natural referencing is part of the hotel marketing mix. SEO is a technique that helps to position a website towards the top of search results. It can be categorized into two types: – SEO on your brand name or product name (the name of your hotel), – Long tail, which allows you to work on a selection of keywords. SEO on your brand name is essential. To capture qualified traffic looking for your hotel, you must naturally be the top result when internet users search for your hotel.  Long tail SEO allows you to fetch traffic from broader searches: you’ll capture traffic interested in your destination and/or service. 3. Metasearch Marketing Advertising on price comparison sites (Google Hotel Ads, Trivago, Tripadvisor, etc.) allows you to capture highly qualified traffic in the sense that your advertising campaigns are displayed on your hotel’s page.  Internet users visit these websites for several reasons: hotel reviews, services, photos and also to make sure they get the best deal when booking your hotel.   Your official website must become a trusted reference for internet users. By displaying your prices live, you will increase your turnover by reducing the margin taken by OTAs. It’s worth noting that direct bookings are faster and easier to measure. Who are the main players in the sector? The main price comparison sites like Google Hotel Ads, Tripadvisor, Trivago, Kayak, Skyscanner, Wego, Hotel Combined, Bing Ads etc. 4. Display Ads This is about carrying out poster campaigns on online advertising spaces.  These spaces are available on many websites often grouped into networks. Display Ads allow you to display banners advertising your hotel or your rooms on those different websites.  You can select when and how and for who your banners will be displayed to internet users. There is a vast array of options and depending on your objectives, several strategies can be put in place.  Who are the main players? For display ads, it’s search engines like Google, Bing or Yahoo.5. Social Media Marketing Social Media Marketing is the act of advertising through social networks. They play an important role in internet use. SMM allows you to target internet users very precisely based on demographic and sociological data (age, sex, consumption habits, passion, etc.). You can also use social media as a remarketing tool, targeting only people who have already had an interaction with your brand or hotel. Today, the main players for the hospitality industry are Facebook and Instagram.How does digital marketing fit into an internet user’s booking journey?   An internet user goes through different stages:  Reflection: At this stage, the traveller is still in the research phase. This is when you can activate search marketing or display ads. You’ll reach travelers who are looking for their next trip.  Research: During the research phase, the traveller already has an idea of where they want to go for their next trip. Clever bidding can help your business appear at the top of search results. Comparison: Here, the traveller will compare the prices of the different hotels. They’ll probably use a metasearch engine, which is why your presence on this channel with the right price is important.  Reservation: If the traveller did not book their trip directly during the comparison phase, now is the time to encourage them to finalize their booking. Using advertising banners, you will be able to reappear at the appropriate time and in doing so redirect them to your website.  With hotel marketing, you can reach travelers at different stages of their booking journey. The key to a successful strategy is that all the actions you take work together.Want to set up a marketing strategy for your hotel? Our team is available to guide you.

This summer, travel made its big comeback! # 1 Industry overview: A notable (and remarkable!) return to the field # 2 Purchasing journey: The right tactics to convert # 3 Summer review and lessons: Covid summer #2, what are the takeaways? # 4 Strategic audiences: What tools to focus on for the coming seasons?# 1 Industry overview: A notable (and remarkable!) return to the field 2021 has been a decisive year because it was the year internet users started looking at travelling again. Whether it’s a true desire or existential question, we don’t really know, but internet searches have risen!Internet users are wondering about travel inspiration and destinations. The majority of travel-related searches focus on: where to go on holiday during COVID? There is a desire among internet users to travel within this context. 2021 marks a decisive turning point in the travel sector, we can see a before and after in the way internet users travel:Administrative: requests concerning the European health passport which did not exist a few months ago. However, it is now a tool for the majority of people travelling this summer. Interest in travel: travel related searches have never been higher over the past 3 years.Between 2019 and the summer of 2021, searches on travelling and tourism increased by 13% in France. 86% interest in France as a destination for the French, the rest is shared between Europe (12%) and the rest of the world (2%). This domestic trend remains the majority worldwide with a few exceptions such as Greece: Domestic tourism or staycations took the majority share:This summer in France:   # 2 Purchasing journey: The right tactics to convert Capturing user demand as well as possible requires understanding how the internet is used. For now, industry trends remain volatile and consumer behavior as well. But what is certain is that consumer behavior is becoming increasingly digitized. Travelers use search engines at different stages of research:Discovery Research Purchasing journeyThe growth of travel-related queries means that they now exceed the pre-COVID query volume in Europe and America. In this highly evolving context, search campaign automation solutions are excellent allies to:Navigate the turbulent market dynamics, Capitalise on the instant insights and signals captured by Google Search, Profitably optimise the performance of your campaigns.Essential solutions to continue attracting travelers Be present on all relevant searches: using the Destination Insights tool, and analyzing search terms. You can use Dynamic Search Ads to capture emerging demand. User experience: Today, internet users’ behavioral trends are becoming almost unpredictable, and their relationships with brands are more volatile. Your presence on search gives you the opportunity to be present when users need you, and to offer them an initial convincing experience.Beyond a performance lever, you have to think of search ads as a virtual showcase for your business. Adding the images extension can increase your CTR (click through rate) by 10%, whether they’re dynamic or not. Make search a profitable lever, make sure that your search campaigns are well aligned with your business objectives. Use smart bidding strategies to maximise the value of your conversions.Purchasing journey: returning to the right tactics to convert 1 – Exposure: for example this summer, the decrees and laws impacting our local and international mobility.  2 – Exploration: the exploration phase is the moment when the internet user searches for a destination. Today 50% of internet users plan to book their holiday less than a month in advance.  Travelers therefore expect a certain flexibility, ease, and spontaneity, which should not be neglected. 3 – Evaluation: this is the time for the final decision. The most influential factors in Europe are: price, offers and deals.These factors even dethrone concerns about health and safety. We are now back to a form of normality. 4 – Purchase: Google has seen an explosion in requests for holiday vouchers. Some requests were specifically made to certain players in the travel sector such as Abritel, Ulys or even Airbnb.It is therefore important to indicate whether these alternatives exist during the purchase process, in the right place and at the right time. 5 – Experience: the experience of the transaction and the moment. This experience comes back through the cycle of exploration and evaluation. Google has noted a particular desire for local tourism:  Requests in France were very focused on this:These expectations of support for internet users are an integral part of the purchasing journey. Google has discovered that the entire purchasing journey around these 5 fundamental blocks is carried out on a mobile device.The mobile purchasing journey is therefore a crucial issue for 2021.  In 2021, the majority of traffic on websites dedicated to travel has been via smartphone. However, conversion rates on mobiles are 2.5x lower than on desktops. This is a sign that the travel industry is still lagging behind in delivering mobile experiences that are as good on smartphones as they are on desktops.  Providing travelers with an optimized, quick, intuitive mobile experience can set you apart from the competition, and, above all, increase your income.  # 3 Summer review and lessons: Covid summer 2, what are the takeaways? Proximity, was it a default choice? Freedom to travel this summer was still limited. This was felt in the desire and ability to travel within France and beyond its borders. This summer’s searches for people living in France were mainly based in France, and its main cities:When we look at more distant destinations, we see a significant decrease in the number of requests compared to the previous year:These limits have changed travelers’ behavior. In France, searches to find an idea for destinations have seen an ongoing increase:France has turned out to be an ideal destination. Travelers have gone from Globe Trotters to France Trotters.This summer also saw camping make a comeback. Google has noticed an increase in requests for this type of accommodation.Google has observed 4 major changes in travelers’ behavior following the health crisis:Proximity was a default travel choice. The seasons have been deconstructed. Travelling by road has been favored. The return of the campsite as a type of accommodation.# 4 Strategic audiences: What tools to focus on for the coming seasons? It is important to be connected with your audience, Google has shared 4 key audiences for the travel sector:Hedonists: travelers who have expectations of pleasure, where you have to experience something exhilarating and surprising. Family first: attach importance to the destination and organizing the trip. Curious adventurers: attach importance to solo travel. Virtuous travelers: attach importance to better travel and eco-tourism.For Google, hedonists and family firsts are the obvious audiences. These audiences are already known and so are the levers to reach them. The curious adventurers and the virtuous travelers are audiences under construction. So, you need to get to know them better to offer a personalized approach. If you would like to discuss future distribution, please contact our team. We would be delighted to help you!