Gas prices are rising at an alarming amount. And, our industry is noticing the booking window getting shorter and shorter due to travelers’ last-minute decision to get in the car and travel.
Capturing last-minute demand aka walk-ins is still relevant. In fact, it may be more relevant now than it was pre-pandemic. I know we adore our highway signage from the local department of transportation and advertising billboards, but for a hotel that is struggling to ramp back up post-covid, why not put a little funding into something that is “with the times?”
Let’s talk about Map Ads.
What Are Map Ads?
Map Ads are designed to help businesses, aka your hotel, be more visible when people are traveling to your area. These ads are best when used on a mobile device. Advertisers, like us, can set up a geofence around your hotel of 5, 10, 15 miles and your ad will pop up. This allows anyone looking for a hotel to see that your hotel is nearby without the dreaded “hotels near me” search. Activating map ads allows you to get in front of your competitor by being seen first. Its that simple!
Why Do I Need Map Ads?
Map apps such as Waze, with 140 million monthly active users, and Google Maps, with 154.4 million monthly users*, offer the opportunity to advertise your business on their apps. As mentioned above, map ads allow you to be relevant with the times by advertising on a mobile platform, something everyone owns, while a user is navigating through your city searching for a place to stay. Rather than hoping they are on the highway you put your advertisement with a picture of a stack of pancakes on, your stack of pancakes can show up on their mobile device from a few miles away on the backroads they took to get to your city.
What Map Apps Allow Ads?
Google Maps, which is pre-installed on all Android Smartphones. Waze must be downloaded by the user. Apple Maps does not offer ads at this time.
Tell Me More About Google Map Ads
There are a couple different ad options for…