Google hotel prices no longer appear in a new European Union search unit this week as the company changes travel results to comply with the Digital Markets Act. Travellers can still find rates through booking sites, Google Maps and Google’s dedicated hotel search.
The supplier listing now works like a directory
The redesigned page separates booking platforms from hotels, airlines and restaurants, but restricts the tools available in the supplier panel.
A hotel entry can display its name, website, address and telephone number. Users cannot enter travel dates, view live room rates or apply descriptive filters such as “budget” and “boutique” within that panel.
Google had developed the separate unit after travel suppliers argued that earlier changes made under the Digital Markets Act sent more visitors to booking platforms. The planned format was expected to use live information supplied through data feeds, but the version introduced in Europe does not include that data.
Booking websites continue to receive their own area above the supplier listings. It has not been independently established which shopping tools remain in that section following this week’s redesign.
Where Google hotel prices remain available
Room rates remain visible on Google Maps and within Google’s dedicated hotel-search service.
Travellers can also use the separate booking-platform panel shown in general search results. This means prices have moved away from the hotel-focused listing rather than disappearing across Google’s services.
The change adds another step for someone starting with a broad query such as a city and the word “hotel.” Instead of checking availability inside the supplier panel, the traveller must open another Google service, use a booking platform or visit the property’s website.
A separate hotel feed deadline arrives on 30 September
From 30 September, hotels must provide their own rates through Google Hotel Center or an approved connection partner if they want prices used in Google advertising.
Google will stop obtaining those rates from third-party sources. The change covers hotel advertisements and Performance Max campaigns, while unpaid search listings are unaffected by this particular deadline.
Hotels and their agencies will need to maintain the feed and check that the price received by Google matches the property’s booking engine. Google has not specified where a hotel’s directly supplied rate will appear in Europe after the deadline.
The operational change does not restore live prices to the restricted supplier panel. A property can complete the required feed work and still have only its name, contact details and website displayed there.
Google cites traffic losses in its dispute with the EU
Google says earlier compliance changes reduced free direct-booking clicks to European travel suppliers by as much as 30%.
The company also tested stripped-down hotel results in Germany, Belgium and Estonia. It says hotels lost more than 10% of their traffic during that test, while traffic to booking platforms remained stable.
Those figures come from Google and have not been independently verified. No outside measurement yet shows how the current layout affects hotels, booking websites or traveller behaviour.
The company is contesting regulatory pressure after the EU fined it €460 million in July and allowed 60 days for compliance. Google argues that restricting the travel panel makes search less useful for European users.
Travellers should compare the same stay across channels
Travellers should treat a supplier listing without a price as a directory entry, not as evidence that the hotel is unavailable.
To compare a stay, users can enter their dates through Google Maps, the dedicated hotel-search service or a booking platform, then check the hotel’s own website. Comparisons should cover the same room type, dates, payment terms and cancellation conditions because those details can differ between offers.
The 30 September deadline concerns the feeds used for hotel advertising rather than existing reservations. Travellers do not need to book before that date, but they may notice changes in where advertised rates appear afterward.
Google’s wider travel tools also vary by region. When it added flight price tracking, points pricing and hotel booking to AI Mode, users in the European Economic Area were excluded from the first two features, while the booking function remained limited to the United States.
