Trivago Wants to Do More Google Advertising Now That a Ban Is Lifted
Skift Take
Trivago views Google Hotels as a separate channel from Google AdWords, and it is testing participation now that sites such as its own are no longer banned. Then comes the question of how profitable using Google Hotels would be, and whether Trivago wants to spend a lot of money in a competitive product.
Trivago is considering spending more money with Google to diversify its advertising spend.
Huh?
Axel Hefer, Trivago's chief financial officer, told Skift the company is testing advertising in Google Hotels, a competitor to Trivago's own hotel-price comparison service, in the Netherlands and Germany now that Google has lifted a ban and is allowing referral sites to participate.
And, he's not a fan of some of the recent changes Google has made to its hotel product. He believes the new interface, which make low hotel prices harder to find, is part of Google's strategy "to maximize the value they can extract out of their user base," even though the consumer clearly doesn't benefit.
"Google is shifting more traffic into that product [Google Hotels] and away from AdWords," Hefer said. "This doesn't mean there is more user choice in deciding to use that product, but it's more automatic."
In an interview in Skift's Manhattan offices earlier this week, Hefer explained that "historically we have not been able to participate in that channel," meaning Google Hotels.
If you are new to the travel industry — or even if you have worked in travel for 20 years — these dynamics might seem confusing, so let's back up a bit.
Started TV Advertising In Its Early Days
Trivago
