Not all warm audiences are warm in the same way. Most Meta retargeting strategies lump website visitors, past guests, and social engagers into one bucket. But booking intent is not evenly distributed across those groups, and treating them the same means the messaging is wrong for at least one of them.
Across a set of boutique hotel clients, we split high intent audiences from social engagement audiences and gave each group creative that matched how they actually interact with the brand.
The interesting part was not just the revenue attributed to each audience. It was what happened to overall performance once the messaging finally fit the behavior.
Google recently confirmed it has begun testing agentic hotel booking within AI Mode for a limited number of U.S. users. The announcement has generated a lot of discussion throughout the travel industry, but the implications extend well beyond another booking feature.
Here are the five things hoteliers should know right now:
1. This is Google's response to the rise of AI search
Over the past year, many in the industry have questioned whether travelers will begin planning trips in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and other AI assistants instead of Google Search.
This announcement suggests Google has no intention of giving up that position.
Rather than asking users to switch to a separate AI application, Google is embedding AI directly into Search through AI Mode and extending it all the way through the booking journey.
The goal isn't simply to answer travel questions. It's to keep travelers inside Google's ecosystem from inspiration to transaction.
Unlike Google, which is actively testing an agentic hotel-booking experience and developing lodging-specific commerce infrastructure through UCP, OpenAI has recently shifted away from making ChatGPT the native transaction layer for travel. ChatGPT remains a powerful discovery and planning interface, but its current model relies more heavily on travel partners, such as Booking.com and Expedia, to provide inventory and complete bookings. Google’s recent announcement shows a prioritization of agentic commerce, while OpenAI has deprioritized native checkout as its primary travel-commerce model in favor of app-based, partner-managed fulfillment.
What should hotels understand about Google’s agentic test?
Google is bringing AI-powered planning and booking into the search experience travelers already use.
Rather than requiring travelers to adopt a separate AI tool, Google can retain the search, comparison, and booking journey within its own ecosystem.
This reinforces that AI search is likely to complement and reshape traditional search behavior rather than immediately replace it.
Hotels should expect travel research to become more conversational, personalized, and action-oriented.
2. Google is trying to own discovery - not become an OTA
Google has repeatedly stated it does not intend to become an online travel agency. Instead, its vision is to help travelers discover and compare options while allowing booking partners to complete the transaction and handle servicing.
Whether that strategy evolves over time remains to be seen, but it's an important distinction.
For hotels, this means existing distribution partners and booking engines remain central to the booking process.
What are the key takeaways for hotels regarding how Google wants to handle agentic bookings?
Google’s stated role is to help travelers find, compare, and select options, while booking partners complete the reservation and handle servicing.
Hotels’ existing booking engines, CRS providers, metasearch partners, and OTAs remain important parts of the transaction path.
The major question is not whether Google becomes an OTA; it is which partner’s offer, rate, and content Google chooses to surface. Make sure you are focused on optimization.
Hotels should continue prioritizing direct-booking readiness while maintaining accurate, competitive distribution across key partners.
3. Connectivity is becoming a competitive advantage
Perhaps the most important technical announcement is Google's Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), which enables AI agents to complete transactions without sending users to another website.
That means booking engines, CRS providers, and distribution platforms will increasingly need to expose inventory, pricing, policies, and payment workflows in ways AI systems can consume.
Hotels with strong connectivity will be better positioned as AI-powered commerce continues to evolve.
What are key takeaways for hotels when it comes to agentic connectivity?
Agentic commerce for hotels depends on systems being able to share current availability, rates, room details, policies, payment information, and booking confirmation data.
Booking engines, CRS providers, channel managers, and other connectivity partners will play an increasingly strategic role in making sure hotels are eligible.
Hotels with outdated, fragmented, or inaccurate feeds may be less likely to appear correctly, or at all, in AI-powered booking experiences.
Inquire with your technology partners about their roadmap for Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol, AI booking integrations, and agent-referred booking reporting. Are they focused on AI agent readiness?
4. AI changes what "being discoverable" means
For years, hotels have focused on ranking well in search results and driving clicks to their websites. As AI becomes part of the booking journey, discoverability expands beyond rankings. Hotels will increasingly benefit from accurate rates, rich property information, structured amenities, policies, reviews, and high-quality content that AI can confidently interpret.
What are key takeaways for hotels to remain discoverable in the new agentic environment?
Traditional rankings and clicks still matter, but AI systems must also be able to understand and trust the hotel’s information.
Complete room descriptions, amenity details, accessibility information, guest policies, fees, packages, photos, and reviews will carry more weight in the decision path.
Hotels should make it easy for an AI to answer high-intent questions, such as whether parking is available, which rooms sleep a family of four, or whether the property is walkable to a local attraction.
Consistency matters: the same property facts should align across the website, booking engine, Google Business Profile, hotel metasearch feeds, OTAs, and CRS.
5. This is an early test - not a complete transformation
Google describes this as a limited U.S. test, and many details—including how broadly it will roll out and exactly how bookings will be processed, remain unknown. That means hotels don't need to overhaul their digital strategy tomorrow. However, the direction is becoming clear: AI is moving beyond helping travelers research hotels and toward helping them complete bookings.
What this means for hotel marketers:
The fundamentals haven't changed - optimizing for visibility (similar to today’s Map Pack and Local SEO) will still matter to win in this new agentic marketing environment
Hotels still need compelling creative, strong paid media, quality websites, competitive pricing, and excellent guest experiences.
Google continues to push towards feed-based campaigns - the future of hotel marketing visibility and conversion will rely on adoption of connected feeds such as hotel metasearch. The best example of this in Skift’s article was the new “Ask Maps” feature (in addition to longstanding hotel metasearch ads). Our take: this will expand to additional ad placements and channels sooner rather than later; make sure you’re building a clean foundation now.
Reviews and photos move further into the transaction path. Because the agentic flow is designed to surface reviews and room photos directly inside the booking decision (not just on a listing page), review management and visual content quality are now closer to a direct revenue lever than a reputation exercise.
Hotel content must become decision-ready. Consider calling out content that resolves the questions a traveler asks conversationally: “Is the pool heated year-round?”, “Which room accommodates two adults and two children?”, “Can I walk to the convention center?”, “Are resort fees included?”, and “Which rooms have a balcony?”
Measurement is becoming a bigger blind spot as reservations move away from click-based attribution paths. Current reporting from Google and other agentic providers is lacking - without continued expansion from Google, Bing, and other agentic platforms with enhanced reporting, it will be even harder to attribute bookings to channels and campaigns.
What's changing is the way travelers interact with those assets. As AI becomes another interface for discovering and booking travel, structured data, modern connectivity, and high-quality content will become increasingly important components of a successful digital strategy.
The travel industry has spent the last two years asking whether AI would replace search. Google's answer appears to be something different: make AI the future of search itself.
Frequently asked questions about Google Agentic Booking
Is Google’s agentic hotel booking available to all travelers and hotels?
SEO helps hotels and resorts capture high-intent travelers earlier in their booking journey by improving visibility in organic search results. By aligning content with traveler intent, optimizing site performance, and targeting the right keywords, properties can reduce reliance on OTAs and increase direct bookings while improving profitability.
Will Google complete the reservation or send travelers to a booking partner?
The answer depends on the product experience. Google’s agentic hotel-booking test has limited public detail, so Google has not clearly explained every booking handoff or completion flow.skift
However, Google’s UCP for Lodging framework is designed to support direct, in-flow hotel reservations on Google AI surfaces such as AI Mode in Search. That does not necessarily mean Google becomes the seller of the reservation: the hotel, OTA, or other participating booking partner can remain the party completing and servicing the transaction.developers.google
Will hotels still be able to drive direct bookings?
Yes, at least under Google’s stated UCP model. Google says the business implementing UCP remains the merchant of record and retains its customer relationship, data, and post-booking experience, which creates a path for an on-brand booking engine to power an AI-assisted direct reservation.developers.google
That said, direct booking will increasingly depend on technical eligibility coupled with foundational optimization aimed at visibility, reviews, and reputation. A hotel’s rates, availability, room content, policies, images, and payment/booking workflow must be accurate and accessible enough for the AI experience to recommend and transact on its offer.
How will agentic bookings be tracked in analytics and attributed across channels?
This is one of the major concerns and blind spots hotel marketers should be aware of with agentic booking. There is not yet a standard public reporting model for Google’s limited hotel-booking test. Hotels should not assume that traditional organic, paid-search, metasearch, referral, or direct-channel reporting will fully identify AI-assisted bookings.skift
Will hotels have to pay for placement or commission?
Google has not publicly disclosed the commercial terms for its limited agentic hotel-booking test, including whether participation, placement, clicks, or completed bookings will carry a fee.skift
How does Google compare with ChatGPT travel booking?
Google is building agentic booking into surfaces where travelers already search and compare hotels, including AI Mode and Maps. Its UCP for Lodging initiative is designed for direct, in-flow reservations while allowing the participating business to remain merchant of record.developers.google
ChatGPT’s current travel approach is more partner-app based. For example, Expedia can show live lodging results, pricing, availability, and visuals within ChatGPT, then send the traveler to Expedia to complete the reservation. OpenAI also has an Agentic Commerce Protocol for embedded checkout, but it states that participating merchants, not OpenAI, validate and accept orders, process payments, and remain merchants of record.
What data should a hotel audit first?
Begin with the data most likely to determine whether an AI can confidently recommend and book the property:
Property facts, amenities, accessibility details, pet policies, parking, dining, pool/spa information, and location attributes.
Room-level names, occupancy, bed types, images, inclusions, and differentiators.
High-quality photos, current reviews, accurate business-profile information, and consistent facts across the hotel website, booking engine, Google surfaces, metasearch, OTAs, and CRS.
Offer and loyalty logic, including member rates, packages, promo rules, and ancillary products.
This is consistent with both Google’s emphasis on instant booking through UCP and OpenAI’s commerce requirements for refreshed structured data such as descriptions, pricing, inventory, media, and fulfillment details.
Flywheel news | July 2026 hotel digital marketing news
Google Ads terms of service update took effect July 1
Every Google Ads account is now governed by revised terms, with no acceptance required. The new language explicitly authorizes Google to use automated systems to format, select, or generate targets, ads, and destinations on the advertiser's behalf, while responsibility for reviewing and approving those assets stays with the advertiser. At GCommerce, we recommend building a recurring review cadence into account management so auto-generated assets never reach a traveler without a human seeing them first. Learn more.
Google adds "How this ad was made" AI disclosures
Google is adding AI disclosures to ads across Search, YouTube, and Discover, with a new section in My Ad Center indicating whether an ad was created or modified with AI. The rollout is global and responds to emerging regulations in markets including the EU and New York State. Hotel marketing teams should add an AI-usage field to creative briefs and approvals now, especially for property-supplied assets. Read more.
Search Console can now track your social and video performance
Google introduced platform properties, a new Search Console property type covering Instagram, TikTok, X, and YouTube. Once verified, you can see clicks, impressions, and the actual search queries leading people to your posts, and it works even without a verified website. For hotels investing in Reels and short-form video, this closes a long-standing gap between social content and organic discovery. Learn more.
Ads now appear on nearly 30% of commercial AI Mode queries
A study of more than 50,000 commercial keywords found text ads in 29.45% of U.S. Google AI Mode responses, with density varying widely by category. A separate report found google.com is now AI Mode's second most-cited domain, driven largely by Business Profile and product cards. The takeaway for hospitality is that Google Business Profile accuracy is now AI visibility work, not just local SEO housekeeping. Read the study.
ChatGPT ads added geographic targeting within the U.S.
OpenAI added U.S. geographic targeting to its ads program, replacing the previous requirement to target the country as a whole. Matching remains contextual rather than keyword-based, and reporting is still thinner than established platforms. Geo targeting is what makes this channel worth testing for hotels, though we would treat it as a small, measurable experiment rather than budget shifted out of a proven channel. Read more.
Summer performance is running well ahead of forecast
U.S. hotels posted weekly RevPAR gains averaging roughly 8.0% through June and early July, with World Cup host cities spiking 15% to 20% or more. HVS has raised its full-year 2026 RevPAR growth forecast to 4.5%, up from a 0.3% decline in 2025, while cautioning that second-half growth will moderate. Strong summer comps will make fall and Q4 year-over-year reporting look softer by contrast, so set expectations with ownership now. Read the full report.
Creating accessible experiences: GCommerce’s approach to ADA and WCAG Guidelines
At GCommerce, we believe in creating digital experiences that are accessible and inclusive for all users. Accessibility is an important part of delivering exceptional online experiences and ensuring that websites can be used by as many people as possible, including individuals with disabilities.
To support these goals, we follow recognized accessibility standards and best practices, including the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), and incorporate accessibility considerations throughout our design, development, and maintenance processes.
While accessibility standards and recommendations continue to evolve, our approach is centered on creating user-friendly experiences that align with current industry best practices and support broad accessibility objectives.
Important note: GCommerce does not provide legal advice. Organizations with questions regarding legal or regulatory accessibility requirements should consult qualified legal counsel.
Our accessibility best practices
We incorporate accessibility considerations throughout every phase of a project, from design and development to ongoing maintenance. While we strive to follow recognized accessibility best practices, accessibility is an ongoing process that requires regular evaluation and continuous improvement.
In some cases, visual or interactive design considerations require balancing accessibility, usability, and creative objectives. When these situations arise, we work closely with our clients to evaluate options and make informed decisions that aim to create the best possible experience for the widest audience.
Accessibility during website development
Design phase
Contrast and visibility: We evaluate color contrast ratios for calls-to-action, navigation elements, and body copy using accessibility testing tools. When appropriate, we utilize image overlays and other design techniques to improve text readability.
Clear layouts and navigation: We design website structures to support intuitive navigation patterns and improve compatibility with assistive technologies.
Thoughtful animation: We avoid flashing or disruptive visual elements and favor subtle animations designed to minimize distraction and support usability.
Development phase
Semantic HTML: We implement semantic, well-structured HTML to improve compatibility with screen readers and assistive technologies.
Proper content hierarchies: Headings, forms, and content sections are organized using clear structural hierarchies to support accessibility and improve the user experience.
Logical navigation order: Page elements are developed in a logical sequence to support keyboard navigation and predictable interactions.
Content integration
Clear link styling: Links are differentiated through visual treatments such as color, underlining, and descriptive language to provide additional context.
Readable typography: Font sizing, spacing, and layout decisions prioritize readability across devices and user needs.
Alternative text best practices: We provide alternative text for images during website launch and recommend that clients follow accessibility best practices when adding new content after launch.
Accessible room content: For hospitality websites, we recommend that accessible accommodations be presented alongside other room types using consistent navigation structures, such as tabs, menus, or dropdowns, to support discoverability and usability.
Quality assurance
Accessibility testing
As part of our quality assurance process, we perform accessibility reviews using tools such as WAVE to identify potential issues and opportunities for improvement before launch.
Automated testing tools provide valuable insights, but accessibility also requires ongoing evaluation and consideration of real-world user experiences.
Ongoing accessibility support
As part of our Preventive Website Maintenance services, we provide ongoing accessibility support by:
Periodically reviewing websites using accessibility evaluation tools
Notifying clients of missing or incomplete alternative text for newly added images
Recommending updates based on evolving accessibility best practices
Accessibility is not a one-time project but an ongoing commitment to improving digital experiences.
Platform-specific accessibility considerations
WordPress
We follow accessibility recommendations and best practices established by the WordPress Accessibility Team, including:
Semantic markup
Accessible navigation structures
Keyboard accessibility support
Clear content hierarchy and organization
Webflow
We leverage Webflow's built-in accessibility tools and checklists while incorporating additional accessibility considerations based on the unique requirements of each website.
PDF accessibility support
Accessibility considerations extend beyond websites to include downloadable resources such as menus, brochures, and informational documents.
We are happy to facilitate PDF accessibility remediation services. For more complex remediation projects, we work with trusted third-party accessibility specialists who can:
Assess document structure, tagging, reading order, and metadata
Improve compatibility with assistive technologies and screen readers
Apply accessibility best practices related to formatting, organization, and visual presentation
We coordinate communication with our third-party partners, obtain quotes for client approval before work begins, and provide remediation services at cost.
Summary
GCommerce is committed to creating digital experiences that are accessible, inclusive, and user-friendly. By incorporating recognized accessibility best practices throughout design, development, and ongoing maintenance, we help organizations improve usability and support broader accessibility goals.
Accessibility is an evolving discipline, and we remain committed to staying informed about emerging standards, technologies, and best practices.
If you would like to review the accessibility of your current website or discuss opportunities to improve accessibility for your users, our team is here to help.
Frequently Asked Questions About ADA and WCAG Guidelines
What is the difference between ADA and WCAG?
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a U.S. civil rights law, while the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are technical standards published by the World Wide Web Consortium that describe how to make digital content more accessible. WCAG is frequently referenced as a benchmark for digital accessibility, but it is a set of guidelines rather than a law. GCommerce follows WCAG best practices in our design and development work. For questions about legal or regulatory requirements that apply to your organization, we recommend consulting qualified legal counsel.
Can a website be certified as fully accessible?
No. There is no universal certification that declares a website permanently accessible. Accessibility is an ongoing process rather than a one-time milestone, because content changes, platforms update, and best practices continue to evolve. Automated tools such as WAVE surface many potential issues, but they cannot account for every real-world user experience. This is why we build accessibility considerations into every phase of a project and provide periodic reviews through our Preventive Website Maintenance services.
How should hotels present accessible room types on their website?
We recommend presenting accessible accommodations alongside all other room types using the same navigation structure, such as tabs, menus, or dropdowns, rather than separating them into a different section of the site. Consistent placement makes accessible rooms easier to discover, easier to compare, and easier to book. Clear descriptions and accurate alternative text on room imagery further support guests who use assistive technologies.
Quick-start guide to driving direct bookings through Organic Search
If you’re relying on Online Travel Agents (OTAs) to fill rooms, you’re not alone, but you are leaving revenue on the table. The real opportunity lies in owning your visibility, your data, and ultimately your guest relationships. That starts with a strong, intentional SEO strategy.
Search engine optimization for hotels and resorts isn’t just about ranking higher. It’s about attracting the right travelers, guiding them through a seamless digital experience, and converting that demand into direct bookings.
Let’s break down the SEO best practices that actually move the needle.
Why SEO matters more than ever for hotels and resorts
Today’s traveler journey starts long before they land on your website. They’re researching destinations, comparing properties, reading reviews, and evaluating value.
If your property isn’t visible during those early moments, OTAs will gladly take your place.
A strong SEO strategy helps you:
Capture high-intent travelers earlier in the funnel
Reduce dependency on third-party channels
Improve profitability by lowering commission costs
Build long-term brand equity and guest loyalty
And in a landscape where hotels are under pressure to prove ROI and optimize spend, SEO becomes one of the most efficient long-term investments you can make.
1. Start with keyword strategy that reflects real traveler intent
Not all traffic is created equal. Ranking for broad, high-volume keywords is less valuable than capturing intent-driven organic searches that lead to direct bookings.
Focus on:
Location-based keywords: “boutique hotel in Napa Valley”
Experience-driven organic searches: “beachfront resort with spa in Maui”
Brand + non-brand combinations
Long-tail queries that reflect specific needs
The goal is alignment. Your content should match exactly what travelers are searching for at each stage of their journey.
2. Optimize your on-page SEO (the right way)
On-page SEO is where strategy meets execution. Small details here make a measurable difference in rankings and click-through rates.
Follow these fundamentals:
Title tags (55–60 characters) with primary keywords front-loaded
Meta descriptions (155–160 characters) with a clear call to action
Header structure (H1, H2, H3) that’s clean and user-friendly
Natural keyword placement—never forced or repetitive
The key is balance. You’re optimizing for search engines and humans. Over-optimization or keyword stuffing will hurt both.
These best practices ensure your pages are discoverable without sacrificing readability or brand voice.
3. Create content that captures demand across the organic search funnel
Most hotel websites focus only on bottom-of-funnel pages (rooms, amenities, offers). That’s not enough.
To win in organic search marketing, you need content that supports the full traveler journey:
Top of funnel
Destination guides
Things to do in your area
Seasonal travel inspiration
Middle of funnel
Comparison content (why your property vs others)
Experience-focused pages (spa, dining, weddings)
Bottom of funnel
Room and offer pages
Booking-focused landing pages
This layered approach increases visibility, builds trust, and guides users toward booking directly.
4. Prioritize technical SEO and site performance
Even the best content won’t rank if your site isn’t technically sound.
Focus on:
Fast page load speeds (especially on mobile)
Mobile-first design
Clean site architecture
Indexability and crawlability
Secure browsing (HTTPS)
A slow or clunky website creates friction, and friction kills conversions. For more direction on how to prioritize technical SEO, check out this guide.
5. Optimize for local search and Google visibility
Local SEO is critical for hotels and resorts.
Make sure you:
Fully optimize your Google Business Profile
Keep NAP (name, address, phone) consistent across platforms
Encourage and respond to guest reviews
Use localized content and schema markup
When done right, this helps you dominate map results and capture high-intent travelers searching nearby or planning specific destinations.
6. Use data to guide organic search marketing decisions (not guesswork)
The most effective organic search strategies aren’t built on assumptions, they’re built on data.
That’s where a data-first approach becomes a true differentiator. Platforms that ingest and standardize marketing data across thousands of properties enable smarter decisions, faster optimization, and measurable growth.
7. Align SEO with your broader marketing ecosystem
SEO doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It should work in sync with:
Paid search and hotel metasearch
Content marketing
Social media
Email campaigns
When these channels are aligned, you create a unified experience that reinforces your brand and increases conversion rates.
This integrated approach is especially powerful in hospitality, where fragmented data and disconnected strategies often limit performance. Bringing everything together unlocks better visibility, stronger insights, and more efficient growth.
8. Design for conversion, not just organic search traffic
Getting users to your site is only half the battle. Converting them is what matters.
Make sure your website:
Has a clear, intuitive booking path
Highlights value over OTAs (best rate guarantees, perks)
Uses strong calls to action
Builds trust through visuals, reviews, and content
SEO should drive qualified traffic. Your website should turn that traffic into revenue.
Bringing it all together
Organic search marketing for hotels and resorts isn’t about chasing algorithms. It’s about understanding travelers, delivering relevant content, and creating a frictionless path to booking.
The properties that win are the ones that:
Think beyond rankings
Invest in data and insights
Build integrated, performance-driven strategies
Because at the end of the day, the goal isn’t just visibility.
It’s ownership of your traffic, your guests, and your growth.
Ready to increase direct bookings for your hotel or resort?
If you’re looking to turn your SEO strategy into measurable revenue, start with a data-driven approach that connects insights to action.
Explore how your property can capture more demand, and convert it into direct bookings now.
Frequently asked questions about organic search marketing
1. How can SEO help increase direct bookings for hotels and resorts?
SEO helps hotels and resorts capture high-intent travelers earlier in their booking journey by improving visibility in organic search results. By aligning content with traveler intent, optimizing site performance, and targeting the right keywords, properties can reduce reliance on OTAs and increase direct bookings while improving profitability.
2. What role does Google Hotel Ads and hotel metasearch play alongside SEO?
While SEO builds long-term organic visibility, hotel metasearch and Google Hotel Ads complement it by capturing demand at the decision stage. Together, they create a full-funnel hospitality marketing strategy that drives traffic, reinforces brand presence, and maximizes direct bookings across channels.
3. Should hotels manage SEO in-house or work with a hospitality marketing agency?
Many hotels and resorts benefit from partnering with a hospitality marketing agency or digital marketing agency that understands the complexities of hotel distribution, data, and traveler behavior. An experienced marketing agency for hotels and resorts can align SEO with broader strategies, such as paid media, hotel metasearch, and analytics, to drive measurable growth and increase direct bookings.
Flywheel news | June 2026 hotel digital marketing news
Spotify is making display advertising more accessible with visual ad formats that help brands connect with listeners beyond traditional audio placements. Display ads can appear while users browse, search, or interact with the platform, giving marketers additional opportunities to reinforce messaging throughout the customer journey. For hotels, this presents another channel to build destination awareness, promote seasonal offers, and stay top-of-mind with travelers already engaged in planning and entertainment. As media consumption continues to diversify, testing platforms like Spotify can help expand reach beyond traditional search and social campaigns. Learn more here.
Google Business Profile can now connect to GA4 and be managed with Gemini
Google has introduced two significant updates to Google Business Profile: direct integration with Google Analytics 4 and support for Gemini AI. The GA4 connection gives marketers a much clearer view of how local search interactions contribute to website engagement and conversions, while Gemini helps simplify profile management with AI-assisted recommendations and updates. These enhancements make it easier to measure local marketing performance and keep business listings accurate and competitive. At GCommerce, we see this as another step toward more data-driven local SEO strategies guided with the use of powerful AI tools. Read more.
How hotels are reclaiming direct bookings in the age of OTAs
While online travel agencies remain an important distribution partner, hotels are increasingly investing in technology, personalization, and loyalty strategies to encourage more guests to book directly. Improved booking engines, first-party data, and personalized website experiences are helping independent properties compete more effectively while strengthening guest relationships. Rather than eliminating OTAs, the most successful hotels are finding the right balance between third-party visibility and direct revenue growth. Building a seamless booking experience has never been more important as travelers expect convenience at every touchpoint. Read the full article from Techloy.
Google Ads: New rolling 37-month data retention policy begins June 1, 2026
Google Ads now limits access to granular campaign data to a rolling 37-month window, an extreme change from the previous window of viewing data from up to 11 years prior. Daily, weekly, and hourly performance data older than that will no longer be available through Google Ads, APIs, or connected reporting tools unless it has been exported and stored elsewhere. Monthly, quarterly, and yearly summary data will remain available for much longer, but marketers who rely on long-term trend analysis should begin archiving detailed historical data now. The good news? GCommerce already solves this issue by storing all campaign data within Big Query, which means that your YOY trends and more are ready to be utilized. Learn more.
3 hotel landing page mistakes that cost your property bookings (and how to fix them)
Driving traffic to your website is only half the battle, your landing pages ultimately determine whether visitors become guests. We’ve highlighted three common mistakes that hurt your conversions: unclear messaging, poor mobile experiences, and friction-filled booking paths. Even well-performing campaigns can underdeliver if landing pages don't align with traveler expectations or make it easy to take the next step. For hotel marketers, regularly auditing landing pages is one of the highest-impact ways to improve return on ad spend and increase direct bookings without increasing marketing budgets. Read the full article here.
Smarter campaign structure for stronger cyber sale results
Cyber season is no longer just a nice-to-have on the hospitality marketing calendar. It's one of the highest-stakes promotional windows of the year, and the gap between a well-structured campaign and a loosely assembled one is growing wider. For Cyber 2025, we ran a structured test across a consistent group of hotel and resort clients to answer one question: Does building cyber promotions inside existing campaigns outperform launching net-new ones? The results were clear, and they have real implications for how hospitality brands should think about campaign architecture heading into 2026. Explore the full case study here.
Hotels losing to AI agents, collapsing travel funnel, video platforms impacting booking
The traditional travel booking funnel is rapidly evolving as AI assistants, social platforms, and video-first discovery reshape how travelers research and choose hotels. Instead of moving through a predictable path from search to booking, consumers increasingly rely on AI-generated recommendations and inspiration from platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. This shift means hotels must optimize not only for search engines but also for AI visibility, rich content, and structured information that recommendation engines can easily understand. GCommerce believes brands that invest in discoverability today will be better positioned as AI becomes an even larger influence on booking decisions. Read more.
