Hotels: win more direct bookings through Google

Type the name of a hotel in Montreux or Geneva into Google: on the right (or at the top on mobile), a panel appears with photos, reviews, prices and several booking buttons. The hotel’s official website sits alongside Booking.com, Expedia and other online travel agencies. Guests often choose the first link that shows a clear price.

For an independent hotel in French-speaking Switzerland, this screen is a major issue: every booking that goes through a platform costs a commission. Here’s how to take back control.

Understanding what Google displays

For a hotel, Google combines several sources:

• the business profile (Google Business Profile): photos, reviews, amenities, questions and answers;
• prices and booking links supplied by the platforms and, if you are connected, by your own booking engine;
• the standard results, where your official website should appear first for your hotel’s name.

Your goal: make your official website visible, credible and at least as attractive as the platforms in each of these places.

1. Connect your booking engine to Google

Most hotel booking engines and channel managers offer a connection to Google that displays your official website’s price next to the platforms’ prices. Ask your provider whether this connection is included and switched on. It’s often the quickest win.

2. An impeccable Google profile

• Exact category (‘Hotel’, ‘Boutique hotel’…) and contact details identical to your website’s.
• Complete amenities: parking, spa, restaurant, accessibility, pets, EV charging.
• Recent, professional photos of rooms, common areas and views.
• Answers to frequently asked questions and to every review.

Our guide to 10 Google Business Profile optimisations covers each point in detail.

3. An official website that makes guests want to book direct

Guests click through to your website to check. They must immediately find:

• a fast booking engine, in French and English;
• a clear direct-booking benefit: best rate guaranteed, free breakfast, upgrade subject to availability, more flexible cancellation;
• pages for each room type and experience (romantic break, conference, ski weekend, spa).

We go into these elements in our article on restaurant and hotel websites.

4. Rank for searches without a hotel name

‘Hotel with lake view Montreux’, ‘hotel near Geneva Airport’, ‘conference hotel Lausanne’: these searches bring in guests who don’t know you yet. Each page of your website should target one of these intents, with concrete content (distances, access, amenities, photos).

5. Speak to international guests

Geneva and the Riviera welcome international business and leisure travellers. A complete English version, and a German one if your clientele justifies it, with correct hreflang tags, is essential. See our article on multilingual websites in Switzerland.

6. Get recommended by AI tools

More and more travellers ask ChatGPT or Gemini for ‘a quiet hotel with a lake view in Montreux’. These tools rely on clear descriptions, reviews and structured data (Hotel type, amenities, address, price range). The more precisely and consistently your hotel is described, the more likely it is to be cited. That’s what GEOis about.

7. Measure your share of direct bookings

Every month, track your share of direct bookings versus platforms, as well as clicks on your website link from your Google profile. That’s the indicator that shows whether your efforts are really reducing your commissions.

Frequently asked questions

Does connecting my booking engine to Google cost anything?

It depends on your provider and the listing option you choose. Google offers free booking links as well as paid ad formats. Your booking engine provider can tell you what is switched on.

Should I show the same price as on the platforms?

First check your contracts with the platforms. If you can’t offer a lower price, a perk (breakfast, parking, upgrade) often makes booking direct more attractive.

Can a small hotel really compete with the platforms?

For searches on your name and very local searches, yes. Platforms remain useful for general visibility; the goal is to convert a growing share of guests who have already found you into direct bookings.

Take back control of your bookings

360 Web Agency supports hotels in French-speaking Switzerland with a website designed for direct bookings, an optimised Google profile and a strategy for visibility in AI search. Let’s talk about your hotel.