SHR Expands Google Connectivity to Drive Direct Traffic Through Free Booking Links

SHR, Sceptre Hospitality Resources, a leading provider of technology that helps hotels execute their revenue generation strategies, has teamed up with Google to provide its clients with the search giant’s newest product: Free Booking Links. Free Booking Links appear organically in Google search results when users search for hotels and can be used to drive traffic directly to the hotel, avoiding costly OTA commissions.

Free booking links appear on the hotel booking module alongside hotel ads when travelers look for rooms at a given hotel. This means travelers will have more options for booking a hotel at the best rate available, while Windsurfer Booking Engine customers have a new, free way to drive more bookings. Hotels pay no fee for free booking links, and Google doesn’t collect any payment for placement or user engagement with these links.

Free booking links through Windsurfer Booking Engine include the following:

• Description of the hotel
• Room rate for the itinerary selected
• Hotel class
• Hotel reviews
• Address and phone number
• Links to the hotel website
• Location information and directions

“Google is the leading search engine with millions of users, and we applaud their efforts to aid the industry’s recovery by increasing exposure and bookings,” said SHR CEO Rod Jimenez. “We know hoteliers today are laser-focused on reducing expenditures and measuring the cost of acquiring customers. By partnering with Google to provide rates and inventory for hotels on the SHR platform, we hope our clients are able to shift more of their bookings to their lowest-cost channels.”

For additional resources related to Google’s Free Booking Links, visit Google’s Hotel Help Center.