Travel industry cries foul over unstoppable rise of Google
Patrick Andrae has spent eight years building an online marketplace where more than 14 million villas can be rented. In September, HomeToGo was listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange with a value of nearly € 1.2 billion and a growth trajectory that prompted a comparison with Airbnb.
However, vacationers sitting in London searching for vacation rentals on Google had a hard time finding it by scrolling down the number of paid ads and the link to Google’s own vacation rental search. .. View photos, prices and maps.
It is this attention-grabbing service that particularly plagues Andre and others throughout the travel sector from Wizz Air to Expedia. They say it’s unfair to have to buy paid slots if you want them to appear above Google’s own accommodations and flight searches. Otherwise, it will appear at the bottom of the screen.
Arguably the most important partner in the travel industry, Google provides an important way to reach customers as the world’s most used search engine. This is especially true if the travel agency, which is suffering from the ongoing impact of Covid’s restrictions, needs as much exposure as possible. obtain.
However, Andrae said that instead of ranking websites based on the quality of service the algorithm provides, they promote the most expensive websites or their travel products in advertising auctions.
This gives you more data about what your customers are booking, further strengthens your ability to charge your company for advertising, and improves your ranking.
“All companies that want to be organic and higher [unpaid for] The result must be a battle for a great user experience. This is what Google is trying to measure. Only Google doesn’t apply these rules to their products, “Andrae said.
Expedia’s CEO, Peter Kern, called the company a “big bully.”
