Best Practices for Google Ads in the Hospitality Sector

Start With Keyword Strategy That Matches Real User Intent

Search campaigns are still the most direct route to people who actively want somewhere to eat, drink, stay or book. Industry analysis confirms that hospitality advertisers increasingly compete on generic and location-based terms because users rely on Google as their first step in deciding where to go (Trapeze Media: Google Ads for Hospitality).

Core keyword practices include:

• Using Google Keyword Planner to understand demand and competitiveness (Google Ads: Keyword Planner).

• Building intent-led clusters such as “book hotel Mayfair”, “private dining Soho” or “rooftop bar London reservation”.

• Using a balanced mix of Exact, Phrase and Broad Match. Google specifically notes that Broad Match paired with smart bidding is highly effective for capturing unpredicted high-intent queries (Google Ads Help: Broad Match).

• Reviewing the Search Terms Report weekly to refine performance.

Google also states that relevance between keywords, ads and your landing pages influences Quality Score, CPC and overall visibility (Google Ads Help: About Quality Score).

Use Broad Audiences, Display and Awareness To Build Demand

Only running search campaigns means you only reach people who already know what they want. Hospitality brands benefit significantly from upper-funnel discovery campaigns.

Think With Google reports that combining upper and lower funnel formats drives higher branded search volume and increased conversion rates for hospitality and travel brands (Think With Google: Travel Insights).

Effective awareness strategy includes:

• Using In-Market Audiences such as “Nightlife Enthusiasts”, “Hotels and Accommodation” and “Event Planners” (Google Ads Help: Audiences Overview).

• Using Affinity Audiences including “Foodies” or “Luxury Travellers”.

• Applying radius targeting around your venue. Google highlights that localised display significantly improves engagement for physical hospitality businesses (Think With Google: Local Search Behaviour).

Making Science also reports that hospitality consumers respond more strongly to atmospheric visual creative at the discovery stage than text-only formats (Making Science: Hotel Advertising Trends).

Remarketing Is Essential For Conversion

Hospitality is a category with high browsing and high abandonment. People look at menus, room images, table packages or events, then leave. Remarketing reconnects these users at the moment they are ready to book.

Google explains that remarketing lists improve conversion efficiency because returning users hold higher intent (Google Ads Help: Remarketing Lists).

Best practices include:

• Creating segmented remarketing lists by behaviour such as “viewed booking page”, “viewed room type”, or “viewed event hire”.

• Using Dynamic Remarketing for hotels so specific rooms or offers automatically follow users (Google Ads Help: Dynamic Remarketing).

• Using RLSA to increase bids when returning visitors search again (Google Ads Help: RLSA).

Think With Google notes that returning users in the travel and hospitality sector convert at a significantly higher rate due to prior brand exposure (Think With Google: Travel Performance).

Monitor Competitors and Impression Share

Competition is intense in areas like Soho, Shoreditch and Mayfair. Competitor targeting and impression share monitoring are key to protecting your visibility.

Google’s Auction Insights tool shows when competitors are outranking or overlapping your ads (Google Ads Help: Auction Insights).

Competitor best practices:

• Bidding on high-value generics rather than brand names.

• Watching impression share shifts during peak demand periods.

• Highlighting differentiators in your copy such as “late licence”, “exclusive private booths”, “award-winning chef” or “free cancellation”.

How These Campaign Types Work Together

Think With Google emphasises that hospitality journeys are multi-touch, multi-device and non-linear. Advertising must meet the user at every stage (Think With Google: Multi-Channel Travel Behaviour).

A complete hospitality funnel looks like this:

Awareness

Display, YouTube, Discovery

• Build recognition

• Reach lifestyle-driven and in-market segments

• Seed demand before intent forms

Consideration

Mid-intent Search and Remarketing

• Capture searches such as “best brunch Shoreditch” or “boutique hotel London”

• Re-engage visitors who did not complete a booking

Conversion

High-intent Search

• Target terms with booking intent

• Use aligned landing pages

• Use Target ROAS or Enhanced CPC as recommended for hospitality and travel sectors (Google Ads Help: Smart Bidding)

Loyalty

Brand Search and Customer Match

• Promote seasonal menus, events and member benefits

• Engage guests who already know and trust the brand

Hospitality Examples

Boutique Hotel in Mayfair

• Search: “boutique hotel Mayfair”, “luxury Mayfair hotel”.

• Display: high-end room visuals aimed at affluent travellers.

• Remarketing: last-minute winter escape or direct-booking incentives.

• Competitors: watching impression share across nearby hotels.

Nightclub in Central London

• Search: “VIP table booking London”.

• Display: DJ content, nightlife atmosphere, event teasers.

• Remarketing: users who viewed table or bottle packages.

• Competitors: adjusting bids during peak weekend demand.

Shoreditch Restaurant

• Search: “best brunch Shoreditch”, “private dining east London”.

• Discovery: hero dishes, interiors, cocktails.

• Remarketing: return-to-book messaging for menu viewers.

• Competitors: protecting visibility during seasonal brunch peaks.