Frustrated with New Google Hotel Finder Local Pack

[Nikos]

Hello everybody,

So to jump straight on this Google is pretty aggressive on hotels when it comes to local search and GMB. The following article highlights some of the features that hotels are missing How Google Exploits the Hospitality Industry for Profit - Online Ownership

What I noticed recently is how the local pack finder in hotels was refined. In the new hotel local map pack clicking on any of the listings leads to the hotel finder and not to the clicked listing. Hence, in the following example for [amsterdam hotel apartments], try clicking into any of the top 3/4 listings (it depends on what type of local pack Google will serve) and you will land in the same page where all hotels are shown in the map. In my opinion, this move removes local SEO efforts and spreads the game even. Even if you remembered one of the top 3 hotels how would you find them among 1,000+ hotels?

Also, notice this "View 38 hotels" message leading to the global hotel finder. The number is obviously wrong as there are 1000+ listings in Amsterdam. I tested with other locations too. For instance, "holiday apartments paphos" has 509 listings but the same View 38 hotels" message is present.

Let's discuss your thoughts on this.

 

[elwalker]

I've noticed this week that 'local pack' listings for self catering accommodation for UK locations has been replaced by these 'hotel listings' and our GMB listings no longer appear as a result. Does anyone know how to get into these hotel listings?

 

[Nikos]

I believe Google fixed the functionality of hotel finder.

On mobile, clicking on any of the listings leads you to the redesigned knowledge panel.

On desktop, the top 3 listings on the local pack are now included in the first row of hotel finder.

The "view 38 hotels" button has been fixed too with accurate numbers.

 

[elwalker]

It's still the same in my area. The listings are just a handful of accommodations that are a different set to the previous GMB listings that were there before. It seems like these listings are something completely different. Yes, they are derived from GMB but having a strong GMB does not get you on the list any more. A search for cottages in my local town pulls up a list of 4 'hotels'. There must be 100s or 1000s of accommodations in this area.

My thought is that Google is only displaying listings that have connected some kind of schema or meta data. But I don't know how or what. I don't think they are paid Hotel Ads.

Does anyone know what's going on or how we can get back in the 'hotel' listings?

 

[RiverG]

I have not had that problem with any of the hotel listings I manage. I use DBA Platform to bulk manage my listings on top of adding citations to the top search directories.

 

[MattTutt]

It's still the same in my area. The listings are just a handful of accommodations that are a different set to the previous GMB listings that were there before. It seems like these listings are something completely different. Yes, they are derived from GMB but having a strong GMB does not get you on the list any more. A search for cottages in my local town pulls up a list of 4 'hotels'. There must be 100s or 1000s of accommodations in this area.

My thought is that Google is only displaying listings that have connected some kind of schema or meta data. But I don't know how or what. I don't think they are paid Hotel Ads.

Does anyone know what's going on or how we can get back in the 'hotel' listings?

Are you still having this issue? If so, are you able to share any examples so we can take a look further?

 

[elwalker]

Hi Matt.

Things have improved for this particular client over the last few months. The strong local GMB listings for cottage agencies have crept back into the 'Places/Hotels' four pack on the first page results.

So my client now appears in that top box for plural searches 'Padstow cottages', however it does not appear in that top box for singular searches 'padstow cottage'. Fair enough, I suppose, as the searcher's intent is for individual cottages rather than an agency with collection of cottages.

When you click through to the next page it lists local 'hotels' and my client is listed there.

However when you use the filter and select vacation rentals, my client disappears and it just lists singular cottages. And it's not a full list of potential cottages in the area, as the best cottages are managed by local agencies.

So the current situation is better, but far from ideal.

So the next question is what are the options for getting my client's portfolio of individual cottages listed in this section?

I know listing all this agency's cottages would be against GMB guidelines. But what other options are there?

Also, very few of the cottages in this area have a price pin on the map. Only those that promote through the likes of Booking.com and Priceline display this. So people searching the map for places they can book, just get a small handful of cottages and the local hotels. Is there a way to connect pricing and booking information without paying the high fees of the online travel agents?

If anyone has any information on this or thoughts on how to progress, any advice would be much appreciated.