Tips & Best Practices for Hospitality & Travel Professionals | RateGain Blog

As the digital landscape evolves, so does the way hotels connect with travelers. Google Ads has introduced powerful new creative capabilities that leverage AI-driven image generation, audience insights, and asset testing. These innovations are set to change how hotels build and optimize their ad campaigns to drive direct bookings and enhance guest engagement. What's Changing Google Ads has rolled out several enhancements that will impact the way advertisers create and m...

Maximize Direct Bookings with Smart Bidding Imagine running hotel campaigns where bids adjust automatically to attract the right traveler at the right time. That’s the power of Smart Bidding in Google Ads. For hotel marketers—especially those navigating an evolving digital landscape—Smart Bidding can be both exciting and complex. With continuous updates, automation improvements, and shifting booking behaviors, knowing how to leverage it effectively is key. This guide...

The Online Travel Agency (OTA) industry is fiercely competitive, with businesses constantly battling for price advantage, customer acquisition, and revenue maximization. As travelers become more price-sensitive and increasingly seek the best deals, OTAs must stay ahead by offering the most attractive and competitive prices. This has made pricing intelligence not just important, but essential for success. Pricing strategies can make or break customer loyalty, and OTAs need ...

Google has introduced Meridian, an open-source marketing mix model (MMM) designed to revolutionize how hotels measure and optimize their advertising spend. Built on Bayesian causal inference, Meridian helps hoteliers gain data-driven clarity on how different marketing efforts—across both online and offline channels—drive bookings and revenue. Better Insights for Smarter Hotel Marketing Traditional MMMs often struggled with digital channels, focusing primarily on offline...

In the highly competitive hospitality industry, digital marketing strategies need to be agile and data-driven. Google Ads is introducing new Performance Max updates that provide hotel commercial teams and marketers with more control over AI-driven campaigns, helping them attract high-value guests and optimize direct bookings. With improved targeting, refined exclusions, and enhanced reporting, hotels can fine-tune their marketing efforts for better ROI. These updates empow...

The Hidden Cost of Delayed Pricing Decisions: Why Speed is the New Currency for OTA Success In the fast-paced, fiercely competitive world of online travel agencies (OTAs), success relies on agility. While competitive rates and broad inventory are foundational, they are no longer sufficient to secure an edge. In a market where prices can fluctuate multiple times an hour, speed has become the ultimate differentiator. For market managers, pricing specialists, and revenue lea...

The hospitality industry is at a pivotal moment. Rapid technological advancements, fluctuating demand patterns, and increasing competition have transformed the role of the Revenue Manager (RM) into one of the most dynamic positions within any hotel organization. What was once a role rooted in operational tasks and tactical decisions has evolved into a strategic function that drives overall business performance. At the heart of this transformation is Artificial Intelligence...

Hotel marketers, take a deep breath – 2024 was a whirlwind, wasn’t it? AI officially moved from buzzword to business-as-usual, with tools like Google’s Gemini and Microsoft’s Copilot changing how we create ads, manage campaigns, and even analyze performance. Privacy updates threw yet another curveball, with third-party cookies trying to fade into the sunset, but then Google reversed its decision, and platforms stepped up with new privacy-friendly targeting solutions. ...

In the ever-competitive travel and hospitality industry, efficient ad management can be the key to boosting bookings and enhancing brand presence. Microsoft Ads' latest launch of multi-format campaigns for Audience Ads promises to simplify campaign strategies, combining native, display, and video ad formats into a single campaign—saving hotel marketers valuable time, improving efficiency, and maximizing ROI by reducing redundant efforts and enabling cohesive budget management...