Quick Answer
Google Things to Do is Google's platform for displaying tour, activity, and experience products directly in Google Search and Google Maps results, with a Book Now button that lets customers complete a booking without leaving Google. For operators who appear in these results, it is a source of direct bookings at zero OTA commission. Getting listed requires connecting your booking platform to Google's API, meeting Google's product quality requirements, and maintaining accurate pricing and availability data. Zaui supports this integration.
What Google Things to Do Is
When someone searches Google for things to do in a destination or for a specific type of tour, Google displays a Things to Do section in the search results showing relevant tour and activity products. Each listing includes the product name, pricing, photos, and a booking button that takes the customer directly into the booking checkout. This placement is distinct from Google Ads (paid advertising) -- appearing in Google Things to Do does not require a paid ad campaign. It requires a technical integration that makes your inventory available to Google in real time. The practical implication for operators: customers who are actively searching for experiences in your destination can find your specific products, see your pricing and availability, and complete a booking without ever visiting an OTA like Viator or GetYourGuide. No OTA commission. No referral fee. Just a direct booking.
How Google Things to Do Works Technically
Your booking platform connects to Google's Things to Do API. This integration sends Google your product listings -- titles, descriptions, photos, pricing, and availability -- and keeps that data updated in real time. When a customer clicks Book Now from a Google search result, Google directs them to your booking checkout, and the booking comes through to your platform like any other direct booking. For this to work, your booking platform needs to support the Google Things to Do integration. Zaui has a direct Google Things to Do integration. Once configured, it pushes your product data to Google automatically and updates availability in real time as bookings come in from any channel.
Why This Matters for Direct Bookings
OTA commission rates -- typically 20-30% of the booking value for channels like Viator and GetYourGuide -- represent a significant cost for operators who depend heavily on those channels for customer acquisition. Google Things to Do bookings come through at zero commission. The customer found you through Google, clicked through to your booking checkout, and paid you directly. For an operator doing $500,000 in annual bookings with 40% coming through OTAs at a 25% commission rate, that is $50,000 per year going to OTA commissions. Shifting a portion of those OTA bookings to direct channels -- including Google Things to Do -- has a direct impact on margin. The realistic expectation is a meaningful stream of zero-commission bookings for operators with organic search visibility in their destination and accurate, well-presented product listings.
What Determines Which Products Appear in Google Things to Do
Relevance to the search query: product titles, descriptions, and categories need to match what customers are searching for. Pricing accuracy: Google requires that the prices displayed in search results accurately match the actual prices at checkout. Operators who show a low starting price that does not reflect the actual checkout price risk having their listing demoted or removed. Availability in real time: if your availability data is stale or inaccurate, Google may reduce the prominence of your listing. Photo quality: high-quality photos that accurately represent the experience improve visibility and click-through rate. Reviews and ratings: Google factors customer reviews and ratings into how prominently products appear. Complete product data: products with complete, accurate data across all required fields perform better than incomplete listings.
How to Get Listed: The Setup Process
Step 1: Confirm your booking platform supports Google Things to Do. If you use Zaui, the integration is available and the Zaui account team can walk you through activation. Step 2: Review Google's content requirements for product titles, descriptions, photos, and pricing before activating the integration. Step 3: Activate the integration in your booking platform and configure which products you want to syndicate to Google. Step 4: Allow indexing time -- new listings may take a few weeks to appear in search results. This is normal. Step 5: Monitor and maintain -- check your product listings periodically to ensure pricing accuracy, photo quality, and availability data are maintained.
Common Issues That Prevent Listings from Appearing
Pricing discrepancies: if the price shown in a Google listing differs from the actual checkout price, Google will flag the product. This happens when operators have a base starting price that does not reflect actual pricing including taxes and fees added at checkout. Incomplete product data: missing photos, short or vague descriptions, incorrect categories, or missing required fields can prevent products from appearing. Stale availability data: if your booking platform's Google integration is not updating availability in real time, Google may show products as available when they are sold out. Integration not properly configured: work with your booking platform's support team to verify the integration is working correctly. Geographic or category mismatch: if your products are not accurately categorized by Google's taxonomy, they may not appear for the searches your customers use.
What to Expect from Google Things to Do
Operators with strong organic search presence in their destination category typically see Google Things to Do contribute a meaningful additional stream of zero-commission bookings within three to six months of the integration going live. Operators in destinations with heavy competition may see lower traffic initially, with results improving as review count and product data quality improves over time. The highest-performing operators on Google Things to Do tend to have accurate and complete product listings, high-quality photos, competitive pricing displayed transparently without hidden checkout fees, and strong review scores across Google.
FAQ
Does appearing in Google Things to Do cost anything? No. Google does not charge operators for appearing in Things to Do results, and there is also no commission when a customer books through a Google Things to Do listing. The cost is in having a booking platform that supports the integration.
How is Google Things to Do different from Google Ads? Google Ads is paid advertising where you pay per click or per impression. Google Things to Do is an organic placement based on your product data and quality signals. You do not pay Google anything directly for Things to Do appearances.
How long does it take to appear in Google Things to Do after setting up the integration? After the integration is activated and your products are submitted, it typically takes two to six weeks for listings to appear in Google search results. Products that meet Google's quality requirements and have complete data tend to be indexed faster.
Will Google Things to Do replace OTA bookings? Not immediately or completely. OTAs have built audiences and search visibility that Google Things to Do listings complement rather than replace. The realistic outcome for most operators is an incremental additional stream of direct bookings at zero commission, which improves margin on a portion of your bookings.
Does Zaui support Google Things to Do? Yes. Zaui has a direct Google Things to Do integration that syncs your product listings and availability to Google in real time. Your Zaui account team can walk you through the setup process.
What happens if my pricing changes -- will Google's listing update automatically? If your booking platform's Google integration is working correctly, pricing changes should propagate to Google automatically. Verify with your platform vendor that pricing updates are synced in real time.
Last reviewed June 2026. Google Things to Do requirements and functionality change over time. Verify current setup requirements and eligibility directly with Google and your booking platform.
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