What is SiteMinder used for?
SiteMinder is a hotel commerce platform. Its core product is a channel manager that maps rooms and rates from a PMS or booking engine to online travel agencies and other channels. Many SiteMinder customers also use it for a booking engine, hotel website, or demand products. Google Hotel Center is one channel among those connections.
That stack is the right choice when the hotel already needs OTA distribution. It is a heavier project when the only goal is to show the direct rate on Google.
What does Hotels Connect do instead?
Hotels Connect reads publicly available rates from the hotel's own booking website and publishes an ARI feed to Google Hotel Center. There is no SiteMinder account, PMS mapping, or channel-manager contract. Setup is hotel name plus booking URL — about five minutes per property — at $15 per month per hotel, with no commission on bookings.
| SiteMinder | Hotels Connect | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Hotel commerce / channel manager | Google rate-publishing service |
| Needs a CM or PMS? | Yes — that is the product | No |
| OTA channels | Yes (Booking, Expedia and others) | No |
| Google Hotel Center | Available as a connected channel | The only destination |
| Setup | Property mapping and channel configuration | Hotel name + booking URL |
| List price | SiteMinder subscription (varies) | $15 per month per hotel |
Should a SiteMinder hotel switch?
Usually no. If SiteMinder already pushes rates to Google, keep using that connector. Switching would only drop OTA channels the hotel still needs. Hotels Connect does not replicate SiteMinder's OTA mapping.
Hotels Connect is for independents who were told they must buy a channel manager in order to appear on Google. That is not a Google rule. See Google's Hotel Prices documentation and Free Booking Links.
Can both be used together?
A hotel should not send two competing ARI feeds for the same property to Hotel Center. Pick one Google connectivity path. SiteMinder hotels should use SiteMinder's Google channel. Hotels without a channel manager can use Hotels Connect. How long Google Hotel Center takes to go live covers the feed-review window after the first successful delivery.
Questions people ask
Is Hotels Connect a SiteMinder alternative?
Only for Google Hotel Center. Hotels Connect does not replace SiteMinder's OTA channel manager, booking engine or demand products.
Does Google require SiteMinder for Hotel Ads?
No. Google Hotel Ads require a live Hotel Center ARI feed. SiteMinder can provide that feed; so can Hotels Connect, from the hotel's public booking website.
How much is Hotels Connect compared with SiteMinder?
Hotels Connect lists at $15 per month per property with no booking commission. SiteMinder pricing is set by SiteMinder and covers a wider platform. The products are not priced for the same job.