Guests search for your hotel on Google before they book. Get them to book on your website.
Booking brings you guests and keeps 15 to 25% of every night. We position your hotel on Google, Google Hotels, Google Maps and AI so the guest who has already chosen you books direct, with no commission and as your customer.
The starting point
You fill rooms. But the commission takes the margin and the customer.
Eight out of ten guests search for the hotel’s name on Google before confirming on a platform: they want to see the official website, the photos, the reviews and whether there is a better rate booking direct. At that moment Google shows your listing, the Google Hotels module with every platform’s rates, and Booking’s ads bidding on your own name. If your website isn’t there, or is there but can’t take a booking properly, the guest goes back to the platform.
And when they book there, the customer belongs to the platform: you don’t have their email, you can’t invite them back and you pay commission the second time too. If they find you at that moment, with your official website well ranked, the direct rate visible and a booking engine that works, that booking is 100% yours, and so is the guest.
What we do for your hotel
Everything that turns a hotel search into a direct booking.
Six fronts working together every month so the guest looking for a hotel in your destination ends up booking on your website.
Google Maps and your hotel listing
Hotel category, stars, amenities, photos of rooms and common areas, check-in hours and the direct link to your booking engine. It’s what the guest sees on the map.
Google Hotels and your direct rate
We connect your booking engine to Google Hotels so your official rate appears next to the platforms’, and work to make yours the one they choose.
Your website ahead of the platforms
When they search your name or “hotel in” your area, your official website has to come before Booking and Expedia, which bid on you. It’s the SEO that brings the most direct bookings.
Reviews on Google, not only on Booking
A system to ask for a review at check-out and reply to all of them. On Google, reviews rank your listing and convince the guest who is comparing.
A website that books
Fast on mobile, with photos that sell, clear rooms and rates, perks for booking direct and the booking engine always one tap away.
Get AI to recommend your hotel
When a traveller asks ChatGPT or Gemini where to stay in your destination, we work so your hotel is among the answers, not just the platforms.
Real reviews
What our clients say on Google.
“Impeccable professionalism! I sincerely thank the entire Yellow Rock staff for what they’ve done for our stores in Spain and the Netherlands.”
“I want to especially highlight the work of Teresa and her entire team. From the very first moment, the service has been excellent, not only professionally but also personally. They’ve helped us with all aspects of advertising, Google Ads, visibility and performance, but what I value most is the constant follow-up. Teresa is always attentive, keeps us informed, listens to our opinions and makes us feel involved in every decision. The management has been very quick and personal, and a trusting environment has been created that makes it a pleasure to work. It’s clear that there’s a committed team behind the scenes that truly cares about the project and achieving great results. Without a doubt, we are very happy with the support and the service we’ve received. Highly recommended! ♥️”
“Teresa is the perfect marketing professional: helpful, skilled and always ready to help you grow your business.”
“Excellent service. Very good care, support and follow-up. Grateful to our manager, Teresa.”
“The Yellow Rock team is undoubtedly incredible. They’re very attentive to their work, delivering results. The service is very personal and reliable. I’ve been working with them for a long time now, and we’re truly happy with the results they’ve brought to my restaurants. They’re serious people who are really dedicated to doing a great job. Many congratulations, guys! Keep it up! A big hug from the entire Urban Burger & B Team. Jay is a star!”
“Great professionals: they help you move your business forward, teach you metrics and give you excellent advice. Thank you for your energy!”
“I own a restaurant and I want to thank the YellowRock team for the great work they’ve done with the restaurant’s organic Google ranking. They’ve done an impeccable and professional job, and their customer service has been perfect, always answering and clarifying questions, along with follow-up and quarterly reports. Thank you, Jay, and thank you, YellowRock team! 🤝”
“Super professional, totally recommended.”
“A very pleasant and professional experience, and easy for someone like me who doesn’t understand the digital world. I’m very grateful for their patience.”
How we work
From the first call to more direct bookings.
A clear process, no jargon, with your hotel and your destination at the centre.
- Step 1
Free audit
We review your listing, your website, Google Hotels, your reviews and which hotels and platforms are winning the guests in your destination.
- Step 2
A plan for your hotel
We tell you what we would do first and which plan fits your size and your season. No commitment.
- Every month
Steady work
Listing, website, Google Hotels, content, reviews and AI moving forward together, with an account lead who knows your hotel.
- Every month
Real data
A clear report on searches for your name, visits, clicks to your engine and direct bookings, and how you compare with the hotels around you.
Choose how to start
Two plans. One goal.
Both take your hotel to Google. The difference is how far you want to go.
Smart Growth Plan
The essentials for a hotel or hostel to start winning direct bookings from Google.
- Website included, Essential or Advanced
- Optimised Google listing with regular posts
- 2 SEO articles a month with backlinks
- Review system
Definitive Growth Plan
For the hotel that welcomes guests from several countries and wants to depend less and less on the platforms.
- Premium website in 3 languages
- 20 articles a month and backlinks from other businesses
- Google Maps, reviews and AI at full strength
- Social media included
- Monthly report and a dedicated account lead
Not sure which one fits? Get your free audit and we’ll recommend one for your hotel.
Guide
SEO for hotels: how to win the direct booking when the guest has already chosen you
If you run a hotel, a hostel or a boutique hotel, you know the relationship with the platforms: Booking and Expedia fill rooms, but in exchange for a commission on every night and for keeping the guest. SEO for hotels is not about beating Booking across the whole city, but about something much more specific: making sure that when a guest searches for your hotel by name, or “hotel in” your area with what you offer, they find your official website before the platform and booking direct is the easiest option.
Guest behaviour works in your favour. Most search for the hotel’s name on Google before confirming on the platform, to check the website, the photos, the reviews and whether there is a better direct rate. It is the most valuable search a hotel has, and the one the platforms fight you for with ads on your own name.
Google Business Profile: your hotel on the map
When someone searches “hotel in” your destination, Google shows a map with three hotels and, below, the hotels module with rates. Your Google Business Profile decides whether you are one of them. This is what we work on:
- Hotel category and details: hotel, hostel or boutique hotel, stars, check-in and check-out times, amenities and attributes (breakfast, parking, pool, pet-friendly).
- Photos by room type and common areas: guests want to see where they will sleep, not just the façade. Real, up-to-date photos, in the order Google shows them.
- Booking link to your engine: not to the home page. The click from the listing has to land on the dates screen.
- Reviews with replies: recent reviews on Google, requested at check-out and answered with care, the bad ones too.
Google Hotels: your direct rate next to Booking’s
Google’s hotels module shows, for every hotel, the platforms’ rates and, if connected, the official website’s. If your rate isn’t there, the guest only sees Booking and Expedia and books on one of them. We connect your booking engine to Google Hotels (directly or through your channel manager) so your rate appears as “official site”, and work rate parity and direct-booking perks so yours is the one they choose.
Your name: the search that brings the most direct bookings
Booking and Expedia bid on Google for your hotel’s name: someone searches “Hotel Example” and the first result is a platform ad, which will charge you commission for a guest who had already chosen you. We work to make your official website the first organic result for your name, with your listing, your photos and your direct rate, and tell you whether it’s worth defending your name with an ad of your own too.
A website that books, not one that informs
Your website has one job: turn the guest who has already chosen you into a direct booking. Fast on mobile, with large photos by room type, clear rates and conditions, a visible reason to book direct (better rate, breakfast, flexible cancellation, late check-out) and the booking engine always one tap away. If your engine is slow or asks for registration, we replace it or connect you to a better one.
Reviews: on Google, not only on Booking
Many hotels have hundreds of reviews on Booking and TripAdvisor and barely a few dozen on Google. And Google is where the guest searches before booking and where reviews rank your listing on the map. We set up a routine to ask for a review at check-out, with the right code and message, and reply to all of them with care. The Google rating decides before the price does.
Content that ranks your destination
“Hotel in” your city with breakfast, near the centre, with parking, for families, for a conference: every search is a page. And guides to your destination (what to see in three days, how to get from the airport, where to have dinner nearby) rank your website for hundreds of planning searches and lead the reader to your booking engine. We write it every month, in the languages of the guests you welcome.
The new factor: getting AI to recommend your hotel
More and more travellers ask ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity where to stay in a city, which hotel offers the best value or which is best located. Those tools recommend specific hotels based on reviews, website content and mentions across the web. Working on that presence is called AEO (answer engine optimisation), and today AI mostly cites the platforms because hotels have no content of their own. It’s your opportunity.
Mistakes that send the booking to the platform
In our free audits we see the same issues again and again:
- Your rate isn’t on Google Hotels: the guest compares and only sees Booking and Expedia.
- Booking ranks above your website for your own name: you pay commission for a customer who had already chosen you.
- The booking engine is slow or hidden: the guest tries, gives up and goes back to the platform.
- Reviews only on the platforms: hundreds on Booking and twenty on Google.
- No perk for booking direct: if the price and conditions are the same, the platform wins, because it already has their card on file.
Do you manage holiday rentals or activities?
This page is built for hotels, hostels and boutique hotels. If you manage tourist apartments or holiday rentals, you have your own page: SEO for holiday rentals. And if you run tours, excursions or experiences, this one: SEO for tours and activities.
Why choose an SEO agency that knows the hotel sector
Hotel SEO has its own rules: Google Hotels, rate parity, the platforms bidding on your name, the check-out review and seasonality. At YellowRock Marketing we work with accommodation in several European destinations and design the strategy for your hotel, your destination and the guest you want to attract. Every month you get a clear report on what we’ve done and how you compare with the hotels around you, and we keep a limited client roster so every client gets the time they deserve.
FAQ
What hotels ask us most.
Do I have to leave Booking?
No. The platforms keep bringing bookings, especially from guests who don’t know you yet. The goal is for the direct share to grow every month: win back the guest who already searches your name, and make sure the returning guest books with you, with no commission.
What is Google Hotels and why does it matter?
It’s the module Google shows under the map when someone searches for a hotel, with each platform’s rates. If your booking engine is connected, your official rate appears there as “official site”; if not, the guest only sees the platforms. Connecting it is one of the first things we do.
We’re a small hostel. Does it make sense?
Yes. The smaller the property, the more every commission weighs in the margin. The work is the same: listing, Google Hotels, your name, reviews and a website that books. The Smart Growth Plan is designed to start that way.
Do you build the website and the booking engine?
We build the website and connect it to your booking engine and your channel manager; if you don’t have an engine or yours doesn’t work well, we propose one. Availability stays in sync with the platforms.
How long does it take to see results?
The first improvements usually show within a few weeks: the listing, the rate on Google Hotels and the search for your name. A solid position for “hotel in” your destination is built over a few months, and it pays to have it before high season.
What does the free audit include?
We review your Google listing, your website, Google Hotels, your reviews and which hotels and platforms are winning the guests in your destination, and tell you what we would do first. Free and with no commitment.
Do you only work in Spain?
No. We work with businesses in 14 destinations across 5 countries, from Spain and France and with a presence in the United States. Local SEO doesn’t depend on where we are, but on how your guest searches.
Your next guests are searching for you on Google right now.
Start with a free audit of your hotel: we show you where you stand today, what the platform is taking that could be yours and how to get the guest to book direct. No commitment.
Verifiable work every month · Limited client roster · Reply within 24-48h