The end of Google’s commission based metasearch: The experts weigh in

Today is the day: Google has officially ended their commission bidding model. 

In a significant shift for the hospitality industry, today  (February 20th 2025) marks the end of Google’s commission-based bidding model for Google Hotel Ads. While many hoteliers have already made the necessary adjustments to adapt to this shift, some may be left out in the cold with the abrupt departure of this Google offering. 

Recently, our co-founder Charlie Osmond hosted a webinar with Tina Markowitz, VP of Global Strategy at Cendyn, to discuss this change and what it could mean for hotels. They offered concrete tips to hoteliers who need to make a change, and showed a glimpse into what it looks like to move from Google commission bidding to another option. 

What was Google's commission-based bidding model?

Originally introduced during the uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic, Google's CPA model provided a lifeline for hotels with constrained advertising budgets. It enabled properties to appear in metasearch results without upfront costs, paying a predetermined commission to Google only upon securing a booking. 

Strategic Alternatives to Google’s Commission model

Hoteliers have 5 basic alternatives to using Google’s commission-based offering. These include:

• Moving to a CPC-based solution
• Using Google’s Target ROAS (return on ad spend) in metasearch
• Using Google’s Target ROAS in Performance Max
• Working with a provider still offering CPA
• Stopping paid metasearch as a whole 

You can see a full breakdown of these in our video here.  

Charlie and Tina agree that continuing with traditional metasearch advertising remains the best option for most hotels, so it’s now a question of considering how you pay. The choices are: either move to a cost-per-click solution, or work with a different provider who can still offer commission-based metasearch. 

CPC vs. Commission-based options: Which is better? 

In short, neither! In Tina’s words: 

“There isn’t one that’s necessarily better or worse – it always depends on the hotel.” 

Some factors that could play into whether CPC or CPA is right for you include: 

• Cash flow: Hotels who struggle with cash flow often do better on a commission model, to avoid having to provide upfront budget for metasearch.
• Regional differences: Tina and Charlie have both found that in some regions, including LATAM and Southern Europe, commission-based models are more aligned with other parts of the business, and often make more sense.
• Seasonality: Hotels with huge differences in performance month to month, or season to season, may want to use a CPA model to avoid wasting ad spend; but they may also prefer the flexibility on ad spend provided by a CPC model.
• Confidence in metasearch as a channel: If you’ve been running metasearch campaigns for a long time, and have consistently seen strong performance, moving to a more optimized, CPC-based metasearch model could make sense. 

Google’s commission-based performance didn’t stack up

Data from last summer shows that hotels which stayed with Google CPA, rather than moving to a specialist provider, saw an 8% decrease in monthly revenue from metasearch. Meanwhile, for hotels who did make a change, it was a very different story:  

• A French budget hotel group saw a 178% surge in monthly revenue after moving from Google CPA to Cendyn’s commission-based model
• Luxury Indian hotel group Paul John Resorts utilized Triptease's CPA model to achieve a 200% uplift in revenue compared to their previous provider 

Perhaps this isn’t a surprise. Google has planned to retire CPA for some time, so it’s likely they haven’t been investing as much time in optimizing their product as much as a provider like Triptease. It’s likely that, if you do make a change, you may see a significant improvement in your metasearch performance. 

Getting back on track after the end of commission-based bidding 

• Choose the right payment model for you: Take the opportunity to reconsider which model is the best fit for you – optimizing your performance with CPC, or reducing risk and upfront cost by continuing with CPA.
• Select the Right Partners: Collaborate with a metasearch provider - like Triptease - that’s experienced in managing the transition from Google CPA, and capable of delivering concrete results.

Get in touch with Triptease today.