Will Google’s Antitrust Ruling Change Hotel Marketing As We Know It?

In August 2024, the U.S. District Court for D.C. delivered a landmark ruling, finding that Google illegally monopolized the search market and violated the Sherman Antitrust Act. This decision has generated widespread discussion, particularly regarding its potential impact on the hospitality industry, where the majority of search-based traffic comes from Google.

From a hotel marketing perspective, the Google antitrust ruling could have far-reaching implications. These are the key considerations for hotels:

Greater Opportunities for SEO and Organic Search Visibility 

One of the core issues in the ruling was Google’s dominance in search through exclusionary agreements with device manufacturers. As these agreements come under scrutiny, the search market may open to more competition, allowing alternative search engines (like Bing, DuckDuckGo, or emerging AI-driven platforms) to grow. Hotels should capitalize on this by diversifying their SEO strategies across multiple search engines to boost visibility beyond Google.

Potential Reduction in Paid Advertising Costs 

The ruling noted that Google inflated the costs of paid advertising, which impacted industries like hospitality. While the exact changes to advertising prices are yet to be determined, modifications to Google’s advertising practices could lead to reduced costs for hotel marketers. This would benefit smaller hotels and independent brands that previously struggled to compete with larger chains in the Google Ads ecosystem.

Reduced Dependence on Google Ads 

Hotels have long depended on Google Ads for visibility in search results, particularly for location-based queries (e.g., “hotels near Disney World”). With the potential shift in Google’s advertising landscape, hotel marketers may need to explore alternative advertising platforms. This might involve increased investment in metasearch engines like Trivago or Kayak, social media advertising, or direct partnerships with online travel platforms.

Focus on Data Privacy and AI

The ruling also raised concerns about Google using its vast data collection to dominate AI markets. Central to this issue is how Google’s access to enormous datasets gives it an advantage in developing AI tools that power machine learning and personalized recommendations. The AI space remains in its early stages, but the court acknowledged that controlling large datasets could shape the direction of AI development.

The courts are rightfully looking ahead and realizing that the platform that controls the dataset controls the direction of AI. This extends well beyond the hospitality industry, but the question remains of how much Google’s dataset has influenced how paid and metasearch prices are set. Does the massive dataset the AI is learning from hurt hotels, or possibly help?

Diversification of Booking Channels

Google’s monopoly in search also extends to its growing influence in direct booking through products like Google Hotel Ads. With more scrutiny on these practices, hotels should look into diversifying their booking channels, promoting direct bookings through their websites, and leveraging other OTAs (Online Travel Agencies) beyond Google-affiliated products. This could be a great opportunity, assuming travelers decide to actually use other metasearch engines. In the US travelers are using GHA or TripAdvisor. Across all of our clients, we barely see any searches from Bing, Kayak, Trivago, and other platforms. Like all the changes mentioned above, we will have to wait and see how this impacts Google, but it will ultimately come down to user behavior. 

The antitrust ruling provides hotel marketers with an opportunity to diversify their digital strategies and reduce their dependence on Google’s search and advertising products. By staying updated on the evolving regulatory environment, hotels can position themselves to thrive in a more competitive and varied digital landscape.

As of September 2024, there is still uncertainty about how the ruling will affect Google, its parent company Alphabet, or the hotel industry. Even if a potential breakup of Google into smaller entities occurs, it may have little impact on consumer behavior or the hotel industry’s marketing approach. If Google is restructured, would it change where guests search for hotels? More importantly, would marketing become more or less complex for hoteliers? Only time will tell, but one thing is certain: smart hoteliers will need to continue adapting and working diligently to attract tomorrow’s guests.

The future of hotel marketing is uncertain, but TravelBoom is here to guide you through it. Our team of experts stay up-to-date on the latest trends and regulations, ensuring your hotel remains competitive. Contact us today!