Being found in Google when guests search your hotel by name
Picture the situation. Nikola stayed with you last summer. He liked the place, remembered the name of the hotel, and decides to book again. He opens Google and types in the name of your property.
What happens next?
Ideally he sees your official website, accurate information about the hotel and an easy way to contact you directly. In practice the first results often lead to booking platforms, maps, social networks, or old and inaccurate pages.
Which means that even a guest who has already chosen your hotel can be steered towards an intermediary.
Why does a search for your hotel’s name matter so much?
When someone searches for “hotel in Bansko” or “guesthouse by the sea”, they are still weighing up options. But when they type the specific name of your property, their intent is entirely different.
That person already knows about you. They may be a former guest. A friend may have recommended you. They may have seen the hotel on social media or on a booking platform. Either way, you have already done the hardest part — you have their attention.
So the next step should be as easy as possible: the guest finds your official site and has a clear way to reach you directly.
Check how your hotel looks in Google
There is a very simple test any owner can run today.
Open a browser in private or incognito mode, or use a device where you are not permanently signed in to your own accounts. Then search for the name of your hotel.
Pay attention to the following.
1. Does your official website appear?
Your site should make it obvious that this is the official place to learn about the property and get in touch. If your own website is hard to find, that is a sign there is work to do.
2. Is the information correct?
Check the phone number, the address, the opening hours, the link to the site and everything else guests can see. One wrong digit in a phone number, or an old link, can mean a missed enquiry.
3. Do the photos represent you well?
For a small hotel or guesthouse, photographs are often decisive. A guest cannot sense the atmosphere of a place through generic descriptions — they want to see the rooms, the garden, the view and the details that make the property different.
Old, dark or accidental photos can leave an impression that has nothing to do with the real experience.
4. What does a guest see before they reach you?
Sometimes there are too many steps between a prospective guest and your official site. The more of them that are unnecessary, the greater the chance someone gives up or books another way.
Your Google profile is part of the first impression
For many guests, Google is the first place they check a hotel. So your profile deserves the same attention you give the reception desk or the rooms.
Make sure the information is:
- accurate and current;
- the same everywhere online;
- accompanied by real, good-quality photographs;
- backed up by replies to guest reviews;
- linked to the correct official website.
This does not mean spending hours every day managing your digital presence. But it does matter that someone is responsible for it.
It is not only about being first in Google
When people talk about visibility, the phrase “being first in Google” comes up a lot. For a small hotel that is not always the most useful way to look at the problem.
The more important question is: when the right person searches for your hotel, do they get clear and accurate information, and can they reach you easily?
Sometimes one good page, a current Google profile and well-organised information are worth more than a great many marketing terms and promises. That is exactly what our visibility service does.
What can you do this week?
Start with these five steps:
- Search for your hotel’s name in Google.
- Check that your official website is clearly visible.
- Review the information and the photos in Google.
- See whether there are reviews you have not answered yet.
- Try making an enquiry through your own site as a guest, and see whether the process is easy enough.
Sometimes the biggest opportunities are not hidden in complicated campaigns. They are in the small obstacles between a guest and direct contact with your hotel.
If you are not sure how your digital presence looks through the eyes of a prospective guest, Catalyst44 can help you review it and work out what is most worth improving.