We’ve noticed a recent change in search results which is great news for holiday accommodation letting agencies. These types of businesses have previously struggled in the revamped Google hotel listings introduced in June 2017. However, they have now cleverly brought them into the hotel search results.

Now, when you search for a self-catering accommodation, you are presented with a list of results in a Google card format, alongside the established hotel price location map. This new section is ideal for helping to find the perfect holiday cottage as well as offering many benefits to the letting agencies which market them.

Above are the results from the search “Cottages Dorset”. There are five options available in order to filter the results:

  • Date
  • Top choices
  • Guest favourites
  • Budget options
  • For tonight

The filters makes it easy to see what accommodation is available for your desired dates, browsing popular choices, viewing guest favourites, viewing places to stay that fall within your budget and even what is available for the evening.

When each result is clicked, you are presented with a detailed page of the accommodation provider. This full view displays a comprehensive gallery, location summary, nearby thing to do, description, prices, and availability.

These features are usually seen on main travel and tourism sites such as TripAdvisor. The results detail page provides clear information for potential customers to get a good feel for a place to stay and also the reputation of the letting agent.

We think this new update is a great addition and a step in the right direction for including other businesses in the travel and tourism industry.

The Importance of Google Reviews for Accommodation Agencies

Staying on track with your Google reviews is now more important than ever. This new update uses Google My Business profiles as the basis of information for each agency card listing, displaying their images and overall customer review rating.

Reviews also play a role in listings being featured within the ‘guest favourites’ filter, as these will only show businesses with a rating of 4 stars or above. This will have a big bearing on customer bookings. So making sure your My Business profile features your best photos, accurate information and plenty of five star reviews. This will help to maximise the opportunity of this recent update.

We recommend that business encourage their customers to leave good reviews. This will help your business in the eyes of Google’s algorithm and increase your ranking in search results.