A Quick Guide to Metasearch Advertising
What is metasearch?
Metasearch is a consolidation of hotel inventory and information into a searchable platform. Metasearch engines use
factors such as price, location, dates of stay, reviews, and amenities to display the most relevant hotels matching the
guest’s preferences. The main metasearch engines are TripAdvisor, Google Hotel Finder, Trivago and Kayak.
How does metasearch advertising work?
Metasearch engines use traditional pay-per-click (PPC) programs that allow hotels to compete with OTAs
for top placement as a booking option directly from the hotel’s listing.
TripConnect is TripAdvisor’s own PPC program
Inn on the Lake
On your TripAdvisor page
Travelers see your direct rate and availability
and click to access your website.
On your hotel’s booking engine
Travelers go straight to your website’s booking
engine to book directly with you.
Hotel Price Ads is Google Hotel Finder’s own PPC program.
Left: The hotel is still listed but pricing is not included. This hotel
has not out-bid the OTAs for the top 4 positions thus their direct
book link has been minimized.
Below: This hotel has successfully out-bid the OTAs and the
prominent, red book button takes the guest directly to the
hotel’s website to book.
What are the benefits of metasearch advertising?
First, metasearch is still relatively new, so it is less saturated than other hotel advertising channels. This is especially
true for secondary and tertiary markets, where it is not as beneficial for OTAs to focus their ad spend.
Second, metasearch engines highlight hotels using their PPC programs, further driving direct bookings.
Third, an increase in direct bookings is an increase in revenue for your property!
How much time is required to manage these programs?
As with all PPC programs, metasearch advertising requires expertise as well as daily bid management to properly
react to what other advertisers and competitors are doing. With only 3 top positions for TripAdvisor and 4 top
positions for Google Hotel Finder, it is easy to be out-bid by OTAs. For this reason, InnLink has elected to partner with
industry experts who can manage your online visibility while you manage your property.
How much does it cost?
Cost varies based on your property, location, and the activity of competitors and OTAs in your area. Our specialists will
work with you to recommend a strategy for achieving proper visibility and bookability for your hotel. A minimum of
$300 per month is usually required though spend can increase in highly-competitive environments.
What results can I expect?
Metasearch advertising is quite complex and every property will achieve different results. For hotels in saturated
markets, like metropolitan areas or surrounded by larger chains, it may be difficult to achieve positive results with
a minimum budget. OTAs concentrate their efforts where it is most lucrative for them, making it more difficult to
compete without dedicating a significant monthly budget.
Case Study This full-service hotel in Boston embarked on an aggressive campaign to shift share from the OTAs
to the direct online channel. In addition to revamping the property website, SEO, SEM and online media and
retargeting efforts, the property launched a campaign on TripConnect. In the first half of 2013, the property not
only generated over $145,000 in incremental revenue, but saved over $36,250 in OTA commissions.
• Budget:
• Clicks:
• Bookings:
• Roomnights:
$1,500/ month
6473
232
601
• Revenue:
• ROAS:
• True ROAS:
$145,166
1519%
2,025%, including savings from OTA commissions
Why should I go through a partner versus managing it myself?
Our specialists perform daily bid and campaign management tasks across key metasearch engines. They also monitor
your competitors, track conversion rates, and make responsive changes to your bid strategy in real-time. Without
the technology they have specifically developed, you could easily spend hours per day managing your campaigns.
How can I learn more?
If you would like to learn more about metasearch advertising and the options available to you, talk to your Account
Manager who will introduce you to the specialist best suited to meet your needs. To learn more about getting started
with these metasearch channels, download our free guides on TripAdvisor and Google Hotel Finder.
Frequently Used Terms
Ad Spend Otherwise known as ‘advertising spend’, this term refers to an allocated budget for a PPC campaign.
Free TripAdvisor business listing With a free business listing you can add hotel description, photos, respond to
guest reviews, access free TripAdvisor website badges and track your basic performance.
Paid TripAdvisor business listing With a paid business listing you are able to add direct contact information for your
property, create special offers to increase visibility, access an expanded property dashboard of analytics, premium
property photo slideshow and a free mobile upgrade for special offers.
Pay-per-click (PPC) Every ‘click’ on your hotel’s direct booking link in the metasearches will be deducted from your
ad spend account. The value of each click will be determined by a variety of factors including your property, your
location, how many competitors are participating, and how aggressively the OTAs are advertising in your market.
ROAS Otherwise known as ‘return-on-ad-spend’, this is the calculated return of bookings, room nights, and revenue
generated from paid clicks.
SEM Otherwise known as Search Engine Marketing, this refers to marketing your property using tools like Google
AdWords, Bing Ads, etc. to increase and improve visibility in search engine results.
SEO Otherwise known as Search Engine Optimization, this is the process of optimizing your website content to
improve placement in search engine results for relevant keywords and terms.