Google sent an email to European based hotel and vacation property managers that with the new European rules, they can now remove pricing information and other information from showing in the Google Search results. Google said this is available to hotels in the European Economic Area (EEA).
The email was posted by Lluc B. Penycate on X and reads:
We are writing to let you know about new ways for partners to control where your data shows up on Google.For most partners, your pricing and availability data is eligible to appear across Google surfaces. You can now choose not to display your prices and availability on Google's hotel and vacation rental search service (google.com/travel/hotels) to users in the European Economic Area (EEA). Your data will still be eligible to appear on Search and Maps. Note that we will assume that you would like to remain opted-in if no action is taken by April 19th.
To learn more, please click here.
To initiate or change your opt-out setting, contact the Support team via this contact form.
Sincerely, The Google Hotels team
Here is a screenshot:
Lluc asked, "Does this mean what I think it means? Hotels (for EU users) can opt-out from displaying meta search prices and reviews from their GBP Profiles... Not sure if it means only the hotels feed or it also includes OTA's..."
He also referenced this Google help document that reads:
Choose whether to show your prices or reviews on Google hotel and vacation rental search service For most partners, your feed data is eligible to appear across Google surfaces, such as Search, Maps, or Google hotel search. If you are an European Economic Area (EEA) business, you can choose whether or not you want your feed content to appear on Google’s hotel and vacation rental search service.If you choose to opt out, Google will not display your prices, booking links, or (where applicable) review content on Google’s hotels and vacation rental search to users in the EEA. Content that is currently displayed on these services will be removed within 30 days of opting out. Your data will still appear on Search and other Google surfaces.
To initiate or change your opt-out setting, contact the Support team via the Contact Us form.
Carlos Rodriguez responded with more details from Google in Spanish on X which translates to:
I understand that you have some doubts about how the display will look if you choose the option of not having prices appear:1. Will I still see free links or prices from third parties, such as OTAs, in the Price Comparison panel of the dashboard? about GBP?Or will all this information disappear?
I think you're talking about getting access to the rate editor. Please note that through the rate editor you can manually enter property rates. However, I see that your rates are currently managed through a feed partner.
As you indicated, you want to opt out of the display of prices. In this scenario, all third-party fees, such as OTAs will continue to appear in the price comparison section.
2. Will the "Check Availability" button disappear?
If the property in question is a hotel, the widget will be displayed whether you choose to show prices or not.
Here is that email (sorry for the automated translation, I do not speak Spanish):
So, Google Hotel Center support just confirmed that it only applies to the hotel’s price feed and not the OTA’s… absurd. Waiting for confirmation about opting out of Reviews, if it only applies to Google Reviews or also other Third Parties..
— Lluc B. Penycate Ⓐ (@Lluc_SEO) March 20, 2024
Forum discussion at X.
