AI in marketing is causing the most significant search transformation to date in the digital ecosystem for hospitality. AI is a force that is fundamentally redefining how hotels approach hotel advertising, metasearch, and visibility on Google.
Understanding these changes is critical for maintaining a successful digital strategy. As a Google Premium Partner, Bookassist has direct access to Google's strategy teams, ensuring our clients stay ahead of these complex shifts.
To provide clear insights into what this transformation means for hoteliers, our Head of Client Strategy, Jacopo RIta spoke with Bookassist Founder & Chairman Dr Des O’Mahony and shared his key takeaways from the recent exclusive Google Partner Summit.
Des: We're here at the Google Partner Summit at The Foundry in Dublin and I'm joined by Jacopo Rita, Bookassist’s Head of Client Strategy, who is attending along with Luis Llopis, our Digital Marketing Manager.
So Jacopo, the Google Partner Summit, a big event - Bookassist is a Premium Partner of Google. Can you tell us a little bit about that, what that means for Bookassist and our clients?
Jacopo: Sure. Being a Premium Partner puts us in that small top percentage of agencies that manage very large budgets with Google and who operate across many different Google products with a highly qualified in-house team. Being part of this Google event is a great opportunity to hear directly from Google about what's new in the industry and specifically what Google is working on for the future which was the focus of almost everything in the last couple of days. So from search and how search is transforming up to YouTube and video, and of course there was a lot of discussion about AI and how it is infusing everything and driving innovation and efficiency in Google products.
So we hear directly from Google about what's coming next in their portfolio. Being made aware of what is coming in such detail helps us to plan and be ready for release rather than trying to catch up later. So we’re always ahead.
Des: This is a very fast-moving industry, in particular AI obviously is going to transform everything. So there are two sides to this: How Bookassist's clients can benefit, but also what the team in Bookassist can benefit from in terms of the tools available, efficiency etc. Is there anything in particular at the Summit that was a highlight for you in the last couple of days?
Jacopo: There are a number of things... things are changing so rapidly it’s hard to pick any one thing. But honestly it's even more than a change, it's really a complete transformation that is happening. And of course AI is driving that transformation, and Google is one of those players leading such a transformation.
Google’s AI Overview is reportedly “one of the most successful launches in Search in the past decade”. And only a few months after that, Google has now launched AI Mode - which is now rolling-out across more countries - which is a “total reimagining of Search”
With AI, people are getting used to “talking” with agents so the implication of this in search is that we are assisting a shift from query-driven searches to conversation-empowered discoveries: with AI Mode people are using Google’s AI to learn, explore and dig deeper.
Users’ searches previously delivered answers in a list of links (Google SERP pages) and actual discovery happened when moving to other websites; with Google’s AI mode, users discover more as they converse directly with agents. There’s plenty of opportunities for a business’s brand to be part of those conversations! As Google reported, “early testers of AI Mode are asking much longer queries, 2-3 times the length of traditional searches”: so your brand or product’ opportunity to show up in front of your potential customers are much higher.
From the perspective of what we in Bookassist bring to our clients, it's all around the advertising space. “A new era of Google Search means new business opportunities” for your brand. The way we do advertising on the internet is going to change dramatically, and Google has already taken action here: AI Max for Search Campaigns should already be (if not should have already been!) part of your hotel’s Digital Marketing Mix. With the newly-launched AI Max for Search Campaigns, your brand is where discovery starts and where decisions are made.
And another good thing about events like this is that we can really leverage our partnership with Google, we can hear directly from Google about what's coming next and we can introduce our clients to Google and work joint strategies. As I said, being in the loop here means we can already be ready to benefit when the tools are released.
Des: So, a lot of exciting things are coming for us but for our clients, too.
Jacopo: Yes, very exciting times, very fast moving.
Jacopo’s insights highlight a critical reality: the evolution of AI in marketing is not a gradual change but a "pure transformation" of the hotel advertising landscape.
This AI-driven shift on Google impacts everything from organic search visibility to the technical mechanisms of metasearch. As Jacopo noted, the way we advertise is set to "change dramatically." For hoteliers, this means that relying on legacy approaches to digital strategy is no longer a viable option. Success now demands a proactive partnership that leverages new AI-driven tools and maintains direct insight into what is coming next. Our role as a Google Premium Partner is to translate these complex developments into stronger, data-driven strategies that protect and grow your direct booking channel.
Is your hotel's digital strategy prepared for the AI-driven transformation?