Google Ads
Google Ads for hotels: brand vs non-brand campaigns
Brand and non-brand campaigns play different roles in hotel marketing. Here is how to separate them, track them and interpret the results.
·4 min read
Google Ads managed around bookings as well as clicks
We link the campaigns to the booking engine, revenues and business priorities of the hotel so that the management knows which markets, queries and campaigns really bring bookings.
Ongoing monthly management
How we work with a hotel
Nikton Hospitality is a hotel marketing agency based in Zagreb. We work remotely with independent 4- and 5-star hotels, including hotels in Austria and Germany.
Onboarding means access to Google Ads, Meta, GA4 and the booking engine, an agreed goal, a monthly report and one monthly conversation.
For hotels in Austria and Germany, reports, emails and documents are in German. Calls and meetings are in English.
We work with the booking engine the hotel already uses. Before we start, we check how the engine sends data to GA4 and what needs to be fixed.
A visit to the hotel in Austria or Germany is possible by agreement.
Monthly management from €1,200 + VAT. The starting scope covers one hotel and one agreed advertising channel - Google Ads or Meta Ads. It includes campaign optimisation, performance monitoring through the existing measurement system, a monthly report and one monthly conversation.
What does Google Ads campaign management for a hotel include?
Google Ads management connects guest searches with the hotel's offer: market and keyword planning, separating brand and non-brand campaigns, optimising ads and verifying bookings and costs. Nikton Hospitality interprets performance alongside availability, seasonality and the quality of existing measurement.
Monthly management from €1,200 + VAT. The starting scope covers one hotel and one agreed advertising channel - Google Ads or Meta Ads. It includes campaign optimisation, performance monitoring through the existing measurement system, a monthly report and one monthly conversation. Advertising budget, initial setup, additional channels and production are not included in the starting monthly fee.
AI illustration
An advertising account can appear successful while management still lacks a clear answer about what the hotel gained
Many hotels invest in Google Ads, but reports still stop at clicks, CPC, and the number of conversions the platform reports itself. Brand and non-brand demand are often displayed as a single result, campaigns are not associated with occupancy and availability, the booking engine is not properly connected to the website and analytics, and it is not clear how much a hotel pays for a single booking and how much revenue it brings. Then a high ROAS may look good, but it doesn’t explain how much the campaign brings in new demand and how much it just takes over an existing brand’s intent.
Business impact
Without a clear campaign structure and quality measurement, the budget is difficult to focus on the real business priorities of the hotel:
- -Quieter dates do not receive support early enough.
- -The budget is spent on markets that bring clicks, but few quality bookings.
- -Brand campaigns mask the poor effect of non-brand activities.
- -Remarketing is not associated with specific steps of the booking process.
- -Campaigns are optimized according to the number of conversions instead of the value of the booking.
- -Management cannot compare the cost of acquisition with OTA commissions and other channels.
- -It is not clear whether to increase the budget, change the market, offer or landing page.
What is included
1. Strategy and business priorities
- Aligning campaigns with occupancy and availability
- Defining priority dates
- Planning of key source markets
- Support for seasonal offers and packages
- Allocation of the budget according to business priorities
- Agreeing goals for brand, non-brand and remarketing
2. Campaign structure
- Brand campaigns
- Non-brand campaigns
- Campaigns by source market
- Remarketing
- Seasonal and promotional campaigns
- Campaigns for quieter dates
- Negative keywords and control of irrelevant traffic
- Adapting ads to language, market and offer
3. Measuring bookings and revenue
- Checking Google Ads conversions
- Connecting GA4 and GTM
- Checking that traffic sources are passed to the booking engine
- Checking the purchase event, value and currency
- Measuring confirmed bookings where the booking engine supports it
- Control of duplicate or misrecorded conversions
- Distinguishing primary conversions from micro-conversions
4. Monthly optimisation
- Optimising for booking volume and value
- Cost per booking and performance by market
- Brand and non-brand relationship
- User behaviour after arriving on the website
- Adjustment of budget, bidding, keywords and locations
- Adjusting ads, landing pages and remarketing audiences
5. Management reporting
- A monthly view of investment, campaigns, bookings and revenue
- Performance by market and in the context of the booking funnel
- Business priorities and recommendations for the next period
- Clearly identifying measured, modelled and assisted results
What management receives each month
The monthly review answers business questions, not just marketing metrics:
- -How much was invested and what the hotel got for it.
- -How many bookings and how much revenue were recorded.
- -The cost per booking.
- -Which markets bring the most valuable bookings.
- -How much of the results come from brand, and how much from non-brand campaigns.
- -Which campaigns support dates that need more occupancy.
- -Where the budget is spent without sufficient result.
- -Whether there is a problem on the landing page or in the booking engine.
- -Which campaigns to scale, reduce or change.
- -The priority for the following month.
The result is one conclusion connecting campaigns with the hotel's business context.
Relevant KPIs
There is no single KPI that explains the whole result. We use ROAS, but we do not read it in isolation:
- -Number of directly recorded bookings from the Google Ads channel
- -Recorded revenue
- -Average booking value
- -Cost per recorded booking
- -Cost per market
- -Cost of brand and non-brand booking
- -Ratio of investment to recorded revenue
- -Revenue by market and type of campaign
- -Conversion of traffic into the booking journey
- -Booking engine conversion
- -Brand versus non-brand results
- -Remarketing contribution
- -Directly measured versus assisted contribution
How we work together
Step 1
Audit of existing campaigns
Overview of account structure, keywords, markets, bidding strategies, conversions, landing pages and quality of GA4/bookings tracking.
Step 2
Restructuring and priorities
Separating brand, non-brand, remarketing and market-specific campaigns, then aligning them with occupancy, seasonality and the hotel's offer.
Step 3
Connecting campaigns to bookings
Checking whether the journey from an ad through the booking engine to a booking and its revenue can be tracked reliably.
Step 4
Ongoing monthly management
Optimization of campaigns, analysis of results, management reporting and defining priorities for the next period.
How Google Ads contributes to direct bookings
Google Ads captures users at different stages of the decision: part searches for a specific hotel name (brand), part just searches for a destination, type of accommodation or experience (non-brand), and part returns through remarketing. We link the campaigns to the website, booking engine and booking data to make it clear from which campaign the demand comes, from which market, what is the value of the booking and what is the cost per booking. Attribution is not perfect due to consent, multiple devices and longer booking windows, so we clearly separate the directly measured results from the assisted contribution.
What is not included
- -Media budget for advertising
- -Professional photography and video production
- -Complete development or redesign of the hotel website
- -Programming the booking engine
- -Booking engine, CRM and other tool licences
- -Channel management and management of OTA inventory
- -Revenue management and pricing
- -Day-to-day social media management
- -Unlimited landing page and marketing copy production
- -Google Hotel Ads integration or provider costs
Frequently asked questions
Why separate brand and non-brand campaigns?
Brand campaigns reach guests who are already looking for a hotel name. Non-brand campaigns reach users who are looking for a destination or type of accommodation, but do not yet know the hotel. Mixing these two types conceals the actual contribution of the new demand.
Can you track bookings from Google Ads?
Yes, if the hotel website, GA4, GTM and booking engine are properly connected. However, consent, multiple devices and a longer booking window can limit attribution, so we separate directly recorded bookings from the modeled and assisted value.
How much budget does a hotel need for Google Ads?
There is no universal amount. The budget depends on the markets, competition, season, capacity, value of the booking and the objectives of the campaigns. The recommendation is given after reviewing the actual demand and the existing results.
Do brand campaigns make sense if we rank first organically?
Often, yes: they protect visibility against OTA and competitor ads and allow control over the message and offer. They should also be reported separately, so existing brand demand is not presented as entirely new demand.
When can we expect results?
Brand campaigns often record the result faster because they capture the existing intention. Non-brand campaigns usually need more time to learn and optimize. The speed of the results depends on the season, budget, offer, web and booking experience.
Why does Google Ads revenue differ from GA4 or the booking engine?
The systems use different attribution models, time zones and conversion windows. That is why we do not read the results from one source but compare the platform, GA4 and the booking system to get a credible conclusion.
Can you guarantee a certain number of bookings or ROAS?
No. The result depends on prices, availability, seasonality, hotel reputation and market competition. We guarantee a professional process, transparent management and decisions focused on booking and revenue.
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Find out where your hotel is losing direct bookings.
We will review campaigns, the hotel website, tracking and the booking journey, identifying the most important issues and opportunities for growth.
No generic sales presentation. The first conversation is based on your hotel's actual website, booking journey and digital setup.