Direct bookings
Google Vacation Rentals and How Glamping Sites Get Listed
Your hut might already be on Google with someone else's booking button. Here's how to get your own link there instead.
You’ve probably seen holiday rentals pop up when you search Google for a place to stay, with photos, prices and a row of booking buttons. That’s Google vacation rentals, and your hut or pod can appear there with a link to your own booking page. You can’t sign up with Google yourself. You get on through a Google-approved connectivity partner, usually the booking system or channel manager that already holds your calendar and prices. Google doesn’t charge commission on these free booking links, so a guest who books through yours books with you.
What Google vacation rentals are
Google vacation rentals are listings for self-catering stays that appear in Google Search, Google Maps and the holiday rentals tab in Google Travel. In the UK, Google’s help pages call them holiday rentals. Each listing shows photos, prices and available dates, with links to the sites where a guest can book.
Here’s the part many owners miss. If you’re on Airbnb or Booking.com, your shepherd’s hut may already show on Google with their buttons on it. A guest who clicks one books through the listing site, and you pay its commission. Getting your own link onto that listing gives the guest the option to book with you instead.
Who is eligible for Google vacation rentals
Any holiday let can appear, but small owners can only get on through a Google-approved connectivity partner. Google doesn’t take listings from individual owners. Connecting straight to Google is meant for very large operators.
Partners then set their own rules. One, for example, asks for a Google Business Profile, rates and seasons loaded at least 12 months ahead, and stays of no more than 30 nights. Your partner will tell you what it needs, and how Google is likely to class your type of unit.
Which booking systems are Google partners
Google keeps the list of connectivity partners on its Hotel Center help pages, and it changes from time to time. Many channel managers and booking systems are on it, but not all. The quickest check is to ask the system you already use.
How Google vacation rentals bring direct bookings
Your free booking link takes the guest straight to your own booking page, so the booking, the guest’s details and the full price stay with you. It sits alongside any listing site links, and the guest picks.
| Your free booking link | Listing site link (Airbnb, Booking.com) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who takes the booking | You | The listing site |
| Commission | None to Google. Partner fees vary | The listing site’s commission |
| Guest’s contact details | Yours from the start | Shared on the listing site’s terms |
| Where the guest lands | Your booking page | The listing site’s page |
| What you need | A partner and a booking page | A listing |
The page the guest lands on does the real work. Guests often browse on mobile, so they need the calendar, the price and a clear way to book without hunting. A slow page sends them back to Google, where the listing site button is waiting. A glamping website built for bookings makes the click worth having.
Millie the Hut’s booking page puts an availability calendar, a short enquiry form and its seasonal rate card on one page.
How to get listed, step by step
Getting listed is mostly setup on your booking system’s side, plus making sure your site is ready. Here’s the usual order.
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Check your booking system is a Google connectivity partner |
| 2 | Set up or tidy your Google Business Profile if the partner asks for one |
| 3 | Load your rates, seasons and availability well ahead |
| 4 | Make sure your booking page shows the full price, fees included |
| 5 | Turn on Google vacation rentals in your partner’s settings |
| 6 | Wait a few weeks, then search for your place to check the listing |
When it isn’t worth the bother
Google vacation rentals is worth turning on if your booking system already supports it. If it doesn’t, switching systems just for this rarely makes sense for one or two units. A Google Business Profile, good reviews and a website that shows up when people search your area can bring in direct bookings on their own. Add Google vacation rentals when you next change systems anyway.
FAQs
Is Google vacation rentals free for owners?
Google doesn’t charge for free booking links, so a guest who books through yours pays you without any Google commission. But you need a connectivity partner to get on, and partners set their own prices. Some include it in a booking system subscription, others charge extra. Ask your booking system what it costs before you switch anything on.
Can I list my glamping site on Google without Airbnb?
Yes. You don’t need Airbnb or any listing site to appear in Google vacation rentals. You need a Google-approved connectivity partner, usually a booking system or channel manager, and a booking page on your own site. Your listing then links straight to that page, so guests book with you rather than through a listing site.
How long does it take to appear on Google vacation rentals?
It isn’t instant. Once your partner sends your details to Google, expect to wait a few weeks before your listing shows, and longer if Google flags a problem such as prices that don’t match your booking page. Your partner can usually tell you where your listing is in the process and what needs fixing.
Do I need my own website for Google vacation rentals?
For your own booking link, yes. The link has to send the guest somewhere they can book that unit, usually a booking page on your site or one hosted by your booking system. Without one, your place can only appear through listing sites like Airbnb or Booking.com, with their buttons and their commission.
Get your site ready for Google
A free booking link only helps if the page behind it turns visitors into guests. Send us your website and we’ll tell you, for free, what’s stopping it getting bookings.