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Key Takeaways
Google Vacation Rentals Has Failed to Gain Traction: Despite launching in 2019, Google Vacation Rentals has not meaningfully impacted the industry. The platform lacks widespread adoption, with minimal support and integration challenges for property managers.
Integration Remains a Significant Barrier: Most property managers must rely on specific integration partners like Rentals United or OwnerRez to list properties. Even with integration, many users report low ROI, with some seeing zero bookings over extended periods.
Limited Adoption Stems from Complicated Onboarding: The process to join Google Vacation Rentals is cumbersome, requiring schema markup and a separate form submission to Google. Many property managers who attempt to join receive no response, discouraging further participation.
Competition from OTAs and Hotels Remains Strong: Google’s vacation rental block in search results is overshadowed by the dominance of Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com. The system’s default prioritization of hotel inventory further limits its utility for vacation rentals.
Google’s Lack of Monetization Hurts Investment: Unlike its hotel meta-search, Google Vacation Rentals does not generate revenue, making it difficult to justify further investment or expansion. Without monetization, the platform remains underdeveloped and unsupported compared to other Google products.
Property Manager Experiences Are Mixed at Best: Some property managers report modest success, particularly through platforms like OwnerRez, but results are rarely above 5% of bookings. For many, the time and effort invested in integration do not justify the returns.
Google’s Broader Priorities Overshadow the Platform: Google’s primary revenue streams (search ads and cloud services) render the vacation rental product a low priority. Many of the original team members responsible for the platform have moved on, leaving its future uncertain.
Predictions for 2025 and Beyond: The platform may be phased out entirely, joining the list of products on “killedbygoogle.com.” Signs of decline could include removing the vacation rental block from search results or further deprioritizing the product.
Lessons for Property Managers: Focus on proven channels like Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com for generating bookings. If pursuing Google Vacation Rentals, consider integration through well-supported partners but manage expectations regarding ROI.
A Need for Simplification and Support: For Google Vacation Rentals to thrive, it must simplify onboarding, provide clearer guidelines, and offer better support to property managers. Until these changes happen, the platform is unlikely to become a significant player in the vacation rental space.
What We Cover In This Episode
In this episode, Paul and Conrad revisit how things are going with Google’s Vacation Rentals search platform in Google Travel. Is the 800lb advertising gorilla taking tons of Vacation Rental market share? Or an almost-dead fish flopping on the deck?