OwnerRez has partnered with Google Hotels (Public Beta) to provide a channel integration connection between the two systems. This allows OwnerRez users to handle their Google Hotel listings and bookings efficiently.
All booking traffic from your Google Hotels listing is directed to your OwnerRez Hosted Website or the OwnerRez Global Landing Page (aka Public Booking Link) for commission-free bookings.
Read our Google Hotel & Vacation Rentals Overview and Price Accuracy support articles, and consult the Google Vacation Rentals Common Issues & Questions support article for additional questions not addressed here.
Simplified property listings will likely be published faster on Google Hotels. The more complicated your listings are (multiple properties, discounts, promotions, etc.), the longer the onboarding process can take.
- Users cannot connect individual properties to both Google Hotels and Google Vacation Rentals simultaneously.
- Users can expect a delay of 2+ weeks before their properties go live on Google Hotels due to Google Hotels' manual onboarding process.
Requirements
Google Hotels only accepts properties that operate as public lodging businesses. Each one must:
- Have rooms that paying guests can book
- Have fixed walls and plumbing
- Let guests book a stay of 7 nights or fewer. A property that requires a longer stay is not eligible
- Have a fixed location, open to the public, where guests check in. It does not have to be staffed around the clock, and self-service check-in counts
- Private residences and apartments are not eligible. Google removes them from the feed. If those are the kinds of properties you rent, Google Vacation Rentals may be what you're looking for.
- Users must choose either their OwnerRez Hosted Website or the OwnerRez global landing page (aka Public Booking Link) as their Google Hotels listing Landing Page.
- Each Hosted Website (single or multi-property) requires its own Google Hotels connection. Disabling a Google Hotels-connected Hosted Website is not allowed.
Restrictions
Price accuracy is critical to Google Hotels. Complicated discounts, surcharges, and tax structures can affect the accuracy of your property's price, resulting in lower search rankings for your property and all other Google-integrated OwnerRez properties.
Google Vacation Rentals
Users cannot connect individual properties to both Google Hotels and Google Vacation Rentals simultaneously.
Book Now/Inquiry Widget
The Book Now/Inquiry Widget must be configured to allow quotes and cannot be set to disable "quotes" once the Google Hotels connection is live.
Users can check their widget settings by navigating to Settings > My Website > Hosted Websites > your Hosted Website > Book Now webpage > Booking/Inquiry Widget Change Settings > Quoting > Quote Price > select Allow Quote and Show Errors.
Discounts
Users can apply discounts to Google Hotels by navigating to Settings > Discounts > + Create Discount > Criteria > Listing Sites > and selecting All, Everything but, or Only Google Hotels. However, Google Hotels discounts are limited by the following restrictions.
- No position-ordered discounts
- No discounts based on sub-totals
- Percentage discounts that apply to taxable items must be marked taxable.
- Disallowed discounts cannot be added back following Google Hotels connection.
- No discounts based on specific Departure/Arrival days of the month.
| Discount Criteria | Allowed with Google Hotels |
|---|---|
| Month of year | Yes |
| Specific dates | Yes |
| Days of the week | Yes |
| Second week of the month | No |
| Last week of the month | No |
| First two weeks of the month | No |
Surcharges
Users can apply surcharges to Google Hotels by navigating to Settings > Surcharges > + Create Surcharge > Criteria > Listing Sites > and selecting All, Everything but, or Only Google Hotels. However, surcharges are limited by the following restrictions.
- No position-ordered surcharges
- No surcharges based on Departure/Arrival days
- No flat-rate additional Guest Fee surcharges. Incremental per-night, per-guest fees will work.
- For example, an additional Guest fee for 4 additional guests at a flat fee of $100 won't work, but adding a $25 per-night, per-person additional guest surcharge to a maximum amount will work.
- For example, an additional Guest fee for 4 additional guests at a flat fee of $100 won't work, but adding a $25 per-night, per-person additional guest surcharge to a maximum amount will work.
- Google Hotels supports additional surcharges for Adults, Children, and Guests.
-
OwnerRez does not recommend that users include non-taxable credit card surcharges without consulting their local tax authorities.
- Disallowed surcharges cannot be added back after the Google Hotels connection is live.
- Google Hotels does not support pet fees. For more information, see How do I add Pet Fees to Google Hotels or Vacation Rentals?
- No Surcharge > Options > Position "Place this below tax line items" surcharges are supported.
Taxes
- Percentage or flat rate per night taxes only. No incremental taxes are allowed.
- Disallowed taxes cannot be added back after the Google Hotels connection is live.
- All configured taxes must have the same Maximum Nights settings.
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Google Hotels does not support Tax for the First Initial Night/s of a Booking Only.
What is synchronized?
Our integration pushes listing content, rates, reviews, and availability to Google Hotels.
Google Hotels does not support approximate property locations. You can change your OwnerRez property location settings from approximate to exact by navigating to your specific Property > Listing Content > Location > Change > Public Display, and selecting Exact.
Setup
Navigate to Settings > Channels > Channel Management > Channel Integrations > + Connect a Channel > Connect Google Hotels, and confirm that you meet all requirements by clicking the I meet these requirements button.
Landing Page
Users must select one option for their Google Hotels listing Landing Page.
You must choose either your OwnerRez hosted website or the OwnerRez global landing page (aka Public Booking Link) for your Google Hotels listing Landing Page.
- Their OwnerRez hosted website, which sends Google Hotels guests to their property's standard hosted website URL as defined inside OwnerRez.
- The OwnerRez global landing page (aka Public Booking Link) sends potential Google Hotels guests to an OwnerRez-hosted guest booking page.
Wondering which to select? See Before I decide which Landing Page to select, what does the OwnerRez global landing page look like for potential Google Hotels or GVR guests?
Select either Instant Book or Request to Book.
Booking Window & Duration
Property Booking Windows are limited to 999 days or less. Select your Booking Window & Duration and Cancellation Policy.
Channel Rules
Select your Cancellation Policy from the dropdown menu.
Click Save. It may take some time for your properties to sync.
Set up your hotels on the Configure Hotels page (or move onto the Add Hotels section). Google lists each hotel you set up here, and the properties you add to it as that hotel's rooms, so properties that are not in a hotel are never sent.
Run the Tools > Listing Quality Analyzer tool and fix any errors found. There are also info and warning items for improvement, but there should be no remaining errors to proceed with the integration.
Since Google Hotels sends guests to either your Hosted Website or the OwnerRez Global Landing Page (aka Public Booking Link) to book.
Add Hotels
Google links each hotel to a place on Google Maps, using its hotel name and location. Set both accurately before you publish. Changing either one later breaks that link, and Google can take up to two weeks to rebuild it. Your hotel will not appear on Google until it does.
Add Hotels individually that you wish to connect to Google Hotels by entering the Hotel name, phone number, and property/hotel address.
Add your hotel location and website URL, then Save.
Property Mapping
Including your Google Hotels in your Google Hotels integration is required before your listing goes live. If you didn't configure your Google Hotels, click the Change Property Mappings button on the Properties tab to begin adding hotels.
On the Change Google Hotels Property Mapping page, your eligible properties will show "No problems detected" in the Problems column. Other properties with settings that prevent connection to Google Hotels will have the red "Cannot connect" label in the Problems column, with a link to the Listing Quality Analyzer, allowing hosts to correct those settings.
Hosts can set all properties to be excluded or added to the Hotel listed in the dropdown, then click the Apply to all button, or exclude or add to the Hotel for individual properties.
When saved, the Google Hotels channel integration will list your hotel and any mapped property (ies).
After all your Hotels have been added and properties mapped, the wait for Google Hotels begins.
Waiting for Google Hotels to go Live
Google Hotels Listings will not be "live" for 2+ weeks, as it's a manual process on Google Hotels' end. When you first connect your Google Hotels listing, it becomes a waiting game.
Now's a good time to review the instructions on the Instructions tab, especially running the Tools > Listing Quality Analyzer tool to fix any errors or warnings found. There are also informational and warning items for improvement, but there should be no remaining errors to proceed with the integration.
You should receive an OwnerRez email notification confirming that your Google Hotels listing is live.
When your Google Hotels listing becomes "live," you can see your Google Hotels Listing ID numbers (Hotels and Properties) on the Properties tab > Listing column. Click on the copy button to the right of your hotel or property listing number to copy your Google Hotels Listing ID numbers.
Troubleshooting
During the Google Hotels integration, users may encounter issues that prevent them from completing the process successfully. Clicking on the Change Property Mappings button will reveal the issues that need to be addressed for each property before a successful Google Hotels integration can be completed.
Users are encouraged to run the Listing Quality Analyzer to help identify issues to be corrected for a successful connection. Still, each warning includes clear, hyperlinked text that links users to the associated in-app areas to address the issue it warns about (rates, discounts, photos, surcharges, etc.).
Delist
Individual Property
You can delist or disable individual Google Hotels property listings by unmapping that specific property from your Google Hotels integration. Navigate to Settings > Channels > Channel Management > Channel Integrations > your Google Hotels Channel Integration, then click the Change Property Mappings button and select Excluded for that specific property and hit Save.
Keep in mind that delisting or disabling your individual property listing in your OwnerRez Google Hotels channel integration will not necessarily remove it from Google Hotels.
Entire Google Hotels Channel
You can delist or disable your entire Google Hotels listing; however, when you remove a property from a hotel, any other properties/rooms remain listed. Navigate to Settings > Channels > Channel Management > Channel Integrations > your Google Hotels Channel Integration, then click Disable.
On the Disable Google Hotels Channel screen, click OK.
Hosts should note that delisting or disabling your Google Hotels channel integration only disconnects the OwnerRez connection from Google Hotels. However, disabling in OwnerRez doesn't automatically remove all your property listings from Google Hotels.