Let's' dive into Google Vacation Rentals (GVR), a top-funnel traffic tool to increase both clicks and bookings for your short term rental listings. Not familiar with GVR? Read our our blog article dedicated to the topic.
Google Vacation Rentals (GVR) has specific rules to keep properties relevant and trustworthy for travelers. Hosts must comply with local regulations, ensure instant booking capabilities, and meet the full-property requirement—shared rooms aren’t allowed.
High-quality photos are essential for visibility, with a recommended minimum resolution of 720x720 for each image. These guidelines help maintain consistency and credibility across the platform, giving guests reliable search results. Shared or partial-home listings do not qualify for GVR, ensuring travelers can discover entire spaces for their stay, according to Google’s integration guidelines .
By covering these requirements, property managers can tap into Google’s massive user base without losing bookings to commission-based platforms. Thorough listing details and high-resolution images help keep your properties front and center on GVR.
Vacation rentals (or holiday rentals depending on your location) appear on 3 main Google products. Those are Google Search, Google Maps, and Google Travel.
If you're not already familiar with Google Vacation Rentals , the first place you may notice interactive accommodation appearing on Google is on a Google search page. In the image below you can see accommodation options appearing on the search page for the search term "accommodation in London". Selecting anything on this widget sends you to the dedicated Google Travel product (shown further down this page).
According to Bing, search engines are used by 70% of people when planning a trip.
Google Accommodation Widget appearing on the Search Engine Results Page
When searching on Google Maps for the same search term "accommodation in London" you will see many more results with pins on the map showing the rough location and nightly price of each option. The listing page is squeezed into the left-hand-side panel.
Google Vacation Rentals appearing on a search on Google Maps
You can access Google Travel either by selecting anything on the accommodation widget which appears on the Google Search page, or by visiting Google Travel directly on this URL: google.com/travel .
Once you search for vacation rentals (or holiday rentals) in a certain location (eg. London in our example below), you are presented with a much more Airbnb-like experience. You can filter by amenities, price, property type, reviews etc. The property results on the left-hand side provide richer information than you see on Google Maps or the Google Search widget.
Vacation rentals (or Holiday rentals depending on your location) appearing on Google Travel
Selecting a listing on Google Travel is also more Airbnb-like than on Google Maps (above). A potential guest can view reviews, images, and more detail under the 'About'' tab. Listing pages are much lighter on content than traditional booking sites, however.
A Google Vacation Rental listing on Google Travel
Google Travel works well across any device. Travelers looking for a vacation on the go would see this:
Google Travel on mobile
It’s easy to use the Google Travel booking engine. Simply type in your destination and dates of travel. You can even use the tool’s filters:
Refine your search using filters such as amenities, number of bedrooms and price.
We already know the benefits of using this service : increased visibility on Google, wider distribution, commission-free bookings, reputation building, and competing on an even footing alongside hotels, but how easy is it to get started?
Also read: 8 Best Vacation Rental Sites for Owners
GVR relies on real-time synchronization of availability, rates, and inventory (ARI) to maintain accurate pricing and booking data. This means each listing must update room nights and pricing in sync with Google’s metasearch capabilities, ensuring travelers see correct rates every time.
Larger hosts with over 5,000 properties can work with Google directly using an XML price feed, while smaller hosts typically integrate through approved property management software like Uplisting. Maintaining a solid price accuracy score can improve your listing’s ranking on Google, so consistency and prompt updates are vital.
GVR also offers a 330-day booking window, which helps property managers plan well in advance. By partnering with a channel manager experienced in ARI configuration, you’ll streamline your workflow and minimize manual rate adjustments.
Google Vacation Rentals doesn't finalize bookings on the search engine. Instead, the tool directs guests to your website. This means you won't be charged fees. With traditional OTA (Online Travel Agency) fees charging guests between 6-18% of the booking total, and hosts fees of up to 25%, this is a huge benefit for both large enterprise property managers and smaller property managers.
Your direct booking website prices will be significantly cheaper for guests to book, without you losing out on any revenue. Having your own website also removes some restrictions traditional OTAs may have. For example, you could offer guests more flexibility and discounts. You can run your rentals by your own rules, including booking and refund policies.
For growing property managers, Google Vacation Rentals can increase visibility through Google's global distribution, reaching 3.5 billion people searching per day, and a presence on the first search page. This allows you to build your vacation rental brand and scale at pace. You may rank alongside larger managers and hotels, putting you on a level playing field.
All of the above applies for larger enterprise property managers too, but you’re likely already well known in the travel industry. Still, you can benefit from ranking alongside major hotels and rentals on OTAs without having to pay the fees. For a big company, this could save millions that can be reinvested elsewhere.
You can create a Google My Business profile at any time, and you should. However, Google My Business listings will not appear on Google Travel, or as bookable listings on Google Maps and the Google Search accommodation widget. Potential guests won't be able to search for a date range, view prices, or make direct bookings.
To take advantage of the enormous search volume on Google, your vacation rentals must be integrated with, and listed through, the Google Vacation Rentals platform.
You're not able to list directly through Google Vacation Rentals, but getting started is simple. Below are the three ways to get your properties on Google Vacation Rentals:
If you have less than 5,000 properties and you prefer bookings to go directly through your direct booking website to save on fees, your best option is #2. Work with an approved third-party connectivity partner, such as Uplisting.
What do you need to do for your properties to appear on Google products and accept bookings through Google? The process is straightforward on Uplisting.
With Uplisting you can list your properties on Google and take advantage of their enormous search volume in minutes. It really is that simple.
Despite the saying 'don't judge a book by its cover', we're all guilty of it. If we come across a website that is poorly made, hard to navigate and generally not great, we're unlikely to trust it and therefore won't buy the product on offer. Research shows that 40% of people abandon a website if it takes longer than three seconds to load.
As Google Vacation Rentals directs travelers to your website, it’s essential to have a well made, quick, and easy to use site waiting for them, to increase conversion rates.
Uplisting ensures your direct booking website ticks all these boxes, and more, automatically.
Google ranks vacation rental properties based on their search criteria relevance. So, if you have a balcony or a designated workspace in your property, make sure to highlight this. The latter is specifically beneficial in relation to the digital nomad trend, with many remote workers taking advantage of their flexible work environment through extended trips. Use this market opportunity and draw in that audience by appealing to their needs.
The more positive reviews your Google vacation rental listing has, the higher it will rank against other local properties. Better rankings increases your bookability. AirDNA data has shown that listings with 4.9 star average ratings enjoy 10% higher occupancy, 8% higher nightly rates, and almost 20% more revenue than lower-rated properties.
Leave a card with your details on it to remind guests to review their stay, or send an automatic email/message after they've left. You could even go the extra mile by having a welcome basket waiting for them on arrival to increase your score.
Google doesn't just rank listings based on relevance and distance, but also prominence. The more Google knows about you from the web, the more your vacation rental listings could be seen! Blogs, articles, interviews, and backlinks to your website all help Google understand who you are by seeing who you are associated with.
There are many benefits of using technology in vacation rentals . By enlisting the help of property management tools, you can display your rentals to millions on the world’s top booking sites and efficiently add more properties to your portfolio with the help of time-saving automation.
Smart pricing systems update your Google vacation rental listings according to changing demand, ensuring you benefit from busy periods and attract travelers in quieter times with lower rates.
Short term rental property management software can also send automated messages to guests. This has a host of benefits. Most importantly for Google Vacation Rentals, it can send messages to guests after they check out reminding them to review their stay, which directly improves your listing's prominence in search results.
Tools like Uplisting can help you manage tasks such as bookings, payments, and guest messaging smoothly in one place. As more bookings come in from Google Vacation Rentals, you can continue to provide top quality services to your customers.
It’s really easy to power up your own booking site using Uplisting. Benefit from fee-free bookings through direct traffic. If you don’t already have your own website for your vacation rental business, we advise setting this up as the first step to get the most out of the Google Vacation Rentals search engine. Rank alongside major providers and hotels, no matter how big or small your short-term rental business is.
Uplisting is a property and channel management software built specifically for helping short term rental managers scale their businesses. You can now list on Google Vacation Rentals by partnering with us, giving your properties exposure to millions of travelers without paying any commission fees!
Not exactly. Google Vacation Rentals (GVR) is a free metasearch platform that displays listings from approved partners and then sends travelers directly to a host’s website or booking page. It does not handle payments or charge a commission, unlike traditional OTAs (Online Travel Agencies) like Airbnb. GVR aims to give hosts more control over their bookings. By contrast, Airbnb acts as both the listing marketplace and the booking processor. Unlike GVR, they take a fee for that combined service.
You can type location-based keywords into Google Search, check pins on Google Maps, or browse the lodging section in Google Travel. Once you enter the dates and destination, Google shows a list of vacation rentals that match your criteria. Relevant filters let you narrow down your search by price, amenities, and property type. Google Vacation Rentals integrates information from a variety of partners for real-time accuracy. After viewing the listing details, you’ll be directed to the host’s website for actual booking.
Google Vacation Rentals is a free metasearch feature that aggregates listings from various platforms, then redirects guests to book directly on a host’s website. It does not charge commission or finalize transactions like a traditional OTA. Instead, it showcases properties in Google Search, Maps, and Google Travel, letting hosts keep more of their profits. This structure also increases transparency for travelers, who can compare prices and options easily.
Airbnb is often considered the most popular vacation rental platform, offering over 8 million listings across 220 countries. It differs from Google Vacation Rentals in that it processes reservations, hosts reviews, and adds service fees for both guests and hosts. Google Vacation Rentals can serve as a commission-free alternative for property managers seeking direct bookings. This difference in business model gives Google Vacation Rentals a unique competitive position for cost-conscious hosts.
We’ve built an all-in-one property, channel management and automation tool to help property managers scale seamlessly.
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