You have €500 a month for advertising. Maybe less. And two paths ahead: Google Ads, or Facebook and Instagram (Meta Ads). Everyone will tell you theirs is best. The truth is it depends on what you want to achieve and where you are today.
In this article we compare Google Ads and Meta Ads for a hotel on a small budget, to help you decide where to put your first euros.
The fundamental difference
| Google Ads | Meta Ads | |
|---|---|---|
| The user | Is searching | Is scrolling |
| Your role | Capture existing demand | Create desire |
| Strength | High intent, close to booking | Images, emotion, precise targeting |
| Best for | Brand, specific searches, Google prices | Offers, remarketing, past guests, weekends |
| Risk | High costs on generic searches | Lots of views, no actions |
On a small budget, Google usually comes first
The reason is simple: on Google you pay to reach people already searching for a hotel. On a small budget, every euro should go where intent is highest.
Typical priorities:
- A brand campaign on your hotel name, especially if OTAs bid on your name. See should you advertise on your own hotel name?.
- Google Hotel Ads (if your booking engine is connected) on key dates.
- A few highly targeted searches (events, audiences, amenities) at the right times.
When to start with Meta instead
- your hotel relies on weekends and short stays with guests from a few hours' drive away;
- you have strong, visually appealing offers (spa, food, experiences);
- you already have good website traffic or a list of past guests to reactivate;
- your target is very specific (cyclists, families with toddlers, people travelling with dogs);
- Google searches in your area are very few or very expensive.
The combination that works for many small hotels
On a small budget, a starting split might be:
- 60–70% Google: brand + targeted searches or Hotel Ads;
- 30–40% Meta: remarketing to website visitors + one seasonal offer.
Meta remarketing is often the best complement to Google: Google brings people to your website; Meta brings them back if they didn't book.
Before choosing, check the basics
Neither works if:
- your website is slow or awkward on mobile;
- your direct price is higher than the OTAs;
- booking tracking doesn't work;
- there's no clear offer or perk.
See Google Ads for small hotels: when is it worth starting?.
How to decide with numbers
After 6–8 weeks of testing, compare:
| Google Ads | Meta Ads | |
|---|---|---|
| Spend | ||
| Bookings | ||
| Revenue | ||
| Cost per booking | ||
| Enquiries (WhatsApp, forms) |
Shift budget towards the channel with the lower cost per booking, bearing in mind Meta tends to claim more conversions than Analytics sees. And always compare with OTA costs. See how to tell if your hotel ads cost more than OTA commissions.
Frequently asked questions
Does advertising make sense with €300 a month?
Yes, if you focus the budget on one or two targeted campaigns (for example brand and remarketing). It makes no sense to split it across five different campaigns.
Instagram or Facebook?
It depends on your audience. With Meta Ads you can show ads on both and let the system optimise, then check results by placement.
What about TikTok or other channels?
They can work for some audiences and destinations, but on a small budget it's best to consolidate Google and Meta first.
Not sure where to put your first euros?
With our free marketing audit we analyse your hotel's demand, guests and tools and tell you how to split your budget between Google and Meta to get more direct bookings.
