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How to activate Google VR (Vacation Rental) Links?
How to activate Google VR (Vacation Rental) Links?

This guide will show you the process of getting a vacation rental property online and working with Google.

Updated over 3 months ago

Step 0: Content Requirements

Before you add the Google Channel we will require you to edit the property and make sure some key things have content. Google has no extranet so we must provide a lot of details to them about the property:

To activate the Google channel we will check:

  • country

  • address

  • phone

  • Website URL (Must have https://)

  • latitude & longitude (Map location is set)

  • timezone

  • cancellation_policy

  • at least one facility

  • at least 8 photos

  • Property_description


    To use Google Vacation Rentals the property billing type must be as "Apartment", "House", "Bungalow" or "Villa" and it has to have max 1 Room Type with 1 Availability. So max 1 unit per property otherwise it is not considered as Vacation Rental.

Step 1: Add a new Channel

Connecting the channel is a fairly straight forward process:

  1. Go to the channels page and open Channels Popup.

  2. Click on the "Create" button

  3. Select "Google Hotel Search"

  4. Select the property you wish to connect in the dropdown menu.

Step 2: Configure the Booking Link

Uncheck option 'Use Built In IBE'
​
Add your own link which should be in the format: https://app.otasync.me/engine/en/?id_properties=2182&dfrom=(CHECKIN_DATE)&dto=(CHECKOUT_DATE)&adults=(ADULTS)&currency=(currency)&source=google
​
Change the default language and property ID to yours.

Step 3: Mapping Rooms and Rates

Once you have finished adding your booking link you can go to the mapping tab and select which room and rates you wish for Google to see.

Google Vacation Rental only allows 1 room type to connect since if a property has multiple room types they don't consider that a real Vacation Rental
If you have multiple apartments in the same building then you can make multiple Google channels (one for each apartment)
If you have multiple locations of properties in one Channex property then you will need to split out these properties to their own property so they can all have their own unique address in Google.

Step 4: Wait for Google to pick up the property

Google will check for new properties each week, so once you have activated the Google Channel you should wait for at least 4 weeks.

If it still does not show let us know

FAQ

Is this the Google Free Links?

Yes, the vacation rental links are 100% free

Where will it show?

Vacation Rentals free links will show if someone searches for vacation rentals in an area. It will show as a pin in the map.

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