Manual / Integrations

Connecting Google Hotel + Vacation Rentals

Updated on 2026-05-07

Connecting Google Hotel Ads + Vacation Rentals

๐ŸŽฏ The most interesting channel you can have: 0% commission, direct bookings, and visibility on Google Search + Maps + Travel.

Google offers two complementary surfaces for accommodations:

  • Google Hotel Ads (hotels) โ€” appears in Google Search + Maps + Google Travel with a live "book now" price.
  • Google Vacation Rentals (holiday rentals, B&Bs, gรฎtes) โ€” a separate index for short-term rentals, visible on vacationrentals.google.com and in regular Google Search/Maps.

Both have supported Free Booking Links since 2021 โ€” Google shows your direct booking price without commission next to those of Booking.com / Expedia. The guest clicks your link โ†’ lands on your BedFlow booking widget โ†’ books direct โ†’ you keep 100%.

Why this may be your most important channel

| Feature | Booking.com | Airbnb | Expedia | Google | |---|---|---|---|---| | Commission | 18% | 15% | 20% | 0% | | Guest books direct with you | No (via Booking) | No (via Airbnb) | No (via Expedia) | Yes (Free Booking Links) | | Your own brand at checkout | No | No | No | Yes | | Your own email / data | Limited | Limited | Limited | Full |

Every booking via Google = ~โ‚ฌ40-โ‚ฌ80 in saved commission per night. For a B&B with 30 nights/month at โ‚ฌ120 average, that's โ‚ฌ500-โ‚ฌ700 extra net per month vs. the same bookings via Booking.

Prerequisites

| Item | Where to find it | |---|---| | Active Google Business Profile for your accommodation | Verified at business.google.com | | Place ID (Google's internal identifier for your location) | Via the Place ID Finder | | Activated BedFlow Booking Widget on your own website | Settings โ†’ Integrations โ†’ Booking Widget toggle on | | Verifiable phone number + address matching Google | Standard property fields |

โš ๏ธ Google only includes your accommodation in Hotel Ads / Vacation Rentals once your Booking Widget URL is publicly reachable, your address in BedFlow exactly matches your Google Business Profile, and your Booking Widget is HTTPS-only. We check all of that automatically in Step 4.

Step 1 โ€” Claim your Google Business Profile

Don't have a Google Business Profile yet?

  1. Go to business.google.com.
  2. Click "Manage now" โ†’ "Add your business to Google".
  3. Fill in your accommodation name, category ("Bed and Breakfast" / "Hotel" / "Vacation Home Rental Agency"), address and phone number.
  4. Verify by postcard or phone (can take 1-7 days).

โœ… Already have a Google Business Profile? Skip to Step 2.

Step 2 โ€” Look up your Place ID

  1. Go to Google's Place ID Finder.

  2. Search for your accommodation name in the map search bar.

  3. Click the marker โ†’ an info panel appears with your Place ID โ€” a long string starting with ChIJ....

    Example: ChIJN1t_tDeuEmsRUsoyG83frY4

  4. Copy this ID.

Step 3 โ€” Enter the Place ID in BedFlow

  1. Settings โ†’ Integrations โ†’ Google Hotel + Vacation Rentals โ†’ Settings.
  2. Paste the Place ID into "Google Business Profile ID".
  3. Save โ†’ click "Connect in Channex" (new tab).
  4. In the Channex form, pick the right type:
    • Hotel โ†’ if you're a classified hotel/B&B with a reception โ†’ results in a Google Hotel Ads listing.
    • Vacation Rental โ†’ if you rent out a gรฎte / holiday home / entire unit โ†’ results in a Google Vacation Rentals listing.
  5. Confirm and close the tab.

Back in BedFlow, click "Refresh status".

Step 4 โ€” Google review period

Google reviews every new Free Booking Links connection manually. This typically takes 5-15 business days. What they check:

| Check | What you need to do | |---|---| | Booking Widget reachability | Keep your BedFlow Booking Widget switched on, not password-protected | | Address match | Property address in BedFlow โ†” Google Business Profile must be identical | | Live availability | Availability for the next 60 days must be pushed (Channex does this automatically) | | Real-time pricing | Prices must be pushed live (same) | | HTTPS-only | Google Free Booking Links only accept HTTPS โ€” BedFlow is HTTPS by default |

Once Google approves, you'll get an email from noreply-hotel-ads-suspensions@google.com. The status in BedFlow flips to "Active" automatically.

โš ๏ธ Common rejections:

  • Address doesn't match your Google Business Profile โ†’ fix in BedFlow + wait for re-review (~2-3 days)
  • BedFlow Booking Widget requires login โ†’ toggle the Booking Widget to public
  • No prices for the next 30 days โ†’ run php artisan channex:sync-prices or contact support

Step 5 โ€” First results

Once active, your listing appears on:

  • google.com with a live "Book direct" button next to Booking.com/Expedia
  • maps.google.com in the "Book a stay" section
  • google.com/travel/hotels for hotels
  • vacationrentals.google.com for short-term rentals

A guest clicks your "Book direct" link โ†’ they land on your BedFlow Booking Widget URL โ†’ book direct โ†’ 100% of the price goes to you.

๐Ÿ’ก In the first week you can typically expect 1-3 direct Google bookings for a B&B with good content (photos, reviews). It scales with the average Google search volume for your location.

What happens after activation?

| Trigger in BedFlow | Effect on Google | |---|---| | Price changed in Rate Management | Live on Google within ~30 minutes | | Room blocked in Availability | No longer bookable via Google | | New booking via Booking.com / Airbnb | Availability on Google drops automatically | | Guest clicks "Book direct" via Google | Lands on your Booking Widget โ€” booking arrives directly in BedFlow as 'direct' channel with channel tag 'google' |

Frequently asked questions

Are Free Booking Links really free? Yes. Google earns via Hotel Ads (CPC) when hotels pay for placement, but Free Booking Links are genuinely 0% commission. They rolled this out in 2021 as an alternative to the Booking.com/Expedia dominance.

Difference between Hotel Ads and Vacation Rentals? Vacation Rentals is for accommodations renting out entire units (gรฎtes, holiday homes, B&B suites without a central reception). Hotel Ads is for classified hotels with a reception and multi-room formats. Channex lets you choose when connecting.

Does this work for a B&B? Yes โ€” choose "Vacation Rentals" if you rent per room/suite without a breakfast-room reception, or "Hotel Ads" if you position your B&B as a small hotel. Our experience: both work for B&Bs; Vacation Rentals is slightly more tolerant in its requirements.

Which regions are covered? Worldwide. Google Free Booking Links are extra valuable in the EU + UK + US, where Google's market share exceeds 90%.

My property was already on Google Maps for reviews โ€” do I need to redo anything? Yes. The Google Business Profile (reviews/Maps) and the Hotel/Vacation Rentals Free Booking Links are two separate products. This connection puts you on the actual booking surfaces.

Which commission / fees DO exist? None. No percentage, no activation fee, no click fee for Free Booking Links. Optional Hotel Ads (CPC campaigns to rank higher) are a separate product and NOT required for the free listings.

What if my Google Business Profile gets suspended? Free Booking Links get suspended automatically too. Re-listing is only possible after re-verification in Google Business Profile.

Need help?

Email support@bedflow.eu and include your BedFlow property name. On our side we can check the Channex status and see straight away where things are stuck โ€” typically it's an address mismatch with your Google Business Profile.

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