Google Maps room rate feature may price out small OTAs
May 23, 2011
An update to hotel pricing display in Google Maps has prompted concerns small aggregators are being priced out of the search market on the dominant engine.
The update, which saw a limited rollout last June but is now available on all UK map searches, displays results of individual hotels plus a list of aggregator prices in a drop-down sponsors’ links box.
However, not every hotel aggregator is being allowed to take part, with Google saying it is “currently looking to work with partners with extensive inventory and coverage across multiple markets”.
Google has indicated it will open the service up to a wider range of advertisers but says this is not imminent, sparking fears that only larger players will benefit, particularly as map searches become more dominant in the hotel sector.
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