Rates shown on Google also surface information regarding each partner’s cancellation policy directly to users. Provide Google with as much detail as possible, including the deadline for cancellation and applicable property and itinerary information.
How to provide refundability pricing data
There are 3 options for providing refundability pricing data.
Provide refundability data via existing price feeds (Highly recommended)
- Review the refundability verification requirements below and ensure your landing pages are prominently displaying your refundability/free cancellation policies without requiring additional user action..
- Update your transaction message schema to include the
<Refundable>element.- The
<Refundable>element and its required attribute information can be provided as a child element under either the<Result>,<Rates>, or<PackageData>(RoomBundle) level. Refer to Inventory & Pricing XML Reference (Transactions)for details.
- The
- To validate any changes to the transaction message XML schema, review Hotel Ads Schema.
- Verify your prices are successfully flagged as being refundable by viewing your rate details in the Hotel Center price list page.
Setup a global refundable rates policy (Recommended only for account or brand-level policy updates)
To modify all rates without any changes required to your price feeds, you can provide Google written permission to allow modification of ALL existing and future rates for an account that has clear refundability rules. Google will then update your feeds within 24-48 business hours to reflect these changes after reviewing your landing page and policy validation. Learn more about verification requirements
This update will make all prices saved by Google default to the same refund policy and deadline provided. If you have other use cases or requirements, you can directly email your account manager or file a support request for unique or extenuating circumstances.
Information to provide:
- Check-in date range of itineraries that this policy will apply to
- The latest date and time, in the local time of the hotel, that a full refund request will be honored
- Link to landing page detailing the refund policy
- Acknowledgment of Google’s refundability verification requirements
Update your callout messages to include information regarding refundability (Least recommended)
This option won't flag your rates as being refundable and wont be shown if users filter search results for cancellable rates. However, users will still be able to view your callout text when ads or free booking links for your campaigns are displayed (for instance, "Free cancellation by April 30"). Use this option if you’re unable to provide updates to your price feed but have various brand-level policies applicable to a certain subset of your hotel list.
You can add or update callouts through your Google Ads account or contact your account manager for assistance. Learn more about callouts for hotel campaigns
Verification requirements
Make sure your rates meet the following requirements to be considered refundable:
- You are providing a full refund to the original payment method (including all applicable taxes and fees).
- Your landing page clearly indicates the rate is refundable.
- In the checkout process, provide policy details, including cancelation deadline.
- Your cancelation deadline matches the one provided by Google.
- “Free cancellation until <date/time>” must indicate the latest date and time, in the local time of the hotel, that a full refund request will be honored.
If your refund policies ever change, you need to either immediately notify Google to modify any global refundable rate policies or (if applicable) directly update your transaction messages and/or callouts. Google will continuously run validation checks on landing pages to ensure the accuracy of the refund. If these requirements aren’t followed, price accuracy scores will be impacted and your ads and free booking links may be turned off.