Set or Update Bids

You can use the Google Ads API to set or update bids for Hotel ads.

Do not set the bidding_strategy or bidding_strategy_type fields. The bidding_strategy_type field is only for reading the current setting for a campaign; the field is read-only.

For a Commission (per conversion or per stay) strategy:

  • You initially set bids at the campaign level as part of assigning the bidding strategy.
  • You can update bid amounts by updating the fixed percentage of the conversion value that was set at the campaign level when you assigned the strategy. For details, see Update a bidding strategy.

For a CPC% or Manual CPC strategy:

Set CPC% or Manual CPC bid amounts

For CPC% and Manual CPC bid strategies, specific bid amounts need to be set at:

  • The ad group level
  • The listing group level on unit nodes of a listing group tree

However, although you must set the value at the ad group level, that value won't be used by Hotel ads. Hotel ads will use the value at the listing group level, which will override the irrelevant value at the ad group level.

You can also control bid ceilings at the campaign level as part of setting the bid strategy. For details, see Assign or Update a Bidding Strategy.

Set a bid on an ad group

The code below shows how to set a bid at the ad group level when creating a new hotel ad group.

Java

private String addHotelAdGroup(
    GoogleAdsClient googleAdsClient, long customerId, String campaignResourceName) {
  // Creates an ad group.
  AdGroup adGroup =
      AdGroup.newBuilder()
          .setName("Earth to Mars Cruises #" + getPrintableDateTime())
          .setCampaign(campaignResourceName)
          // Sets the ad group type to HOTEL_ADS. This cannot be set to other types.
          .setType(AdGroupType.HOTEL_ADS)
          .setCpcBidMicros(1_000_000L)
          .setStatus(AdGroupStatus.ENABLED)
          .build();

  // Creates an ad group operation.
  AdGroupOperation operation = AdGroupOperation.newBuilder().setCreate(adGroup).build();

  // Issues a mutate request to add an ad group.
  try (AdGroupServiceClient adGroupServiceClient =
      googleAdsClient.getLatestVersion().createAdGroupServiceClient()) {
    MutateAdGroupResult mutateAdGroupResult =
        adGroupServiceClient
            .mutateAdGroups(Long.toString(customerId), Collections.singletonList(operation))
            .getResults(0);
    System.out.printf(
        "Added a hotel ad group with resource name: '%s'%n",
        mutateAdGroupResult.getResourceName());
    return mutateAdGroupResult.getResourceName();
  }
}
      

C#

private static string AddHotelAdGroup(GoogleAdsClient client, long customerId,
    string campaignResourceName)
{
    // Get the AdGroupService.
    AdGroupServiceClient service = client.GetService(Services.V16.AdGroupService);

    // Create an ad group.
    AdGroup adGroup = new AdGroup()
    {
        Name = "Earth to Mars Cruise #" + ExampleUtilities.GetRandomString(),

        // Sets the campaign.
        Campaign = campaignResourceName,

        // Optional: Sets the ad group type to HOTEL_ADS.
        // This cannot be set to other types.
        Type = AdGroupType.HotelAds,

        CpcBidMicros = 10000000,
        Status = AdGroupStatus.Enabled
    };

    // Create an ad group operation.
    AdGroupOperation adGroupOperation = new AdGroupOperation()
    {
        Create = adGroup
    };

    // Issue a mutate request to add an ad group.
    MutateAdGroupsResponse response = service.MutateAdGroups(customerId.ToString(),
        new AdGroupOperation[] { adGroupOperation });
    return response.Results[0].ResourceName;
}
      

PHP

private static function addHotelAdGroup(
    GoogleAdsClient $googleAdsClient,
    int $customerId,
    string $campaignResourceName
) {
    // Creates an ad group.
    $adGroup = new AdGroup([
        'name' => 'Earth to Mars Cruise #' . Helper::getPrintableDatetime(),
        // Sets the campaign.
        'campaign' => $campaignResourceName,
        // Sets the ad group type to HOTEL_ADS.
        // This cannot be set to other types.
        'type' => AdGroupType::HOTEL_ADS,
        'cpc_bid_micros' => 10000000,
        'status' => AdGroupStatus::ENABLED,
    ]);

    // Creates an ad group operation.
    $adGroupOperation = new AdGroupOperation();
    $adGroupOperation->setCreate($adGroup);

    // Issues a mutate request to add an ad group.
    $adGroupServiceClient = $googleAdsClient->getAdGroupServiceClient();
    $response = $adGroupServiceClient->mutateAdGroups(
        MutateAdGroupsRequest::build($customerId, [$adGroupOperation])
    );

    /** @var AdGroup $addedAdGroup */
    $addedAdGroup = $response->getResults()[0];
    printf(
        "Added a hotel ad group with resource name '%s'.%s",
        $addedAdGroup->getResourceName(),
        PHP_EOL
    );

    return $addedAdGroup->getResourceName();
}
      

Python

def add_hotel_ad_group(client, customer_id, campaign_resource_name):
    ad_group_service = client.get_service("AdGroupService")

    # Create ad group.
    ad_group_operation = client.get_type("AdGroupOperation")
    ad_group = ad_group_operation.create
    ad_group.name = f"Earth to Mars cruise {uuid.uuid4()}"
    ad_group.status = client.enums.AdGroupStatusEnum.ENABLED
    ad_group.campaign = campaign_resource_name
    # Sets the ad group type to HOTEL_ADS. This cannot be set to other types.
    ad_group.type_ = client.enums.AdGroupTypeEnum.HOTEL_ADS
    ad_group.cpc_bid_micros = 10000000

    # Add the ad group.
    ad_group_response = ad_group_service.mutate_ad_groups(
        customer_id=customer_id, operations=[ad_group_operation]
    )

    ad_group_resource_name = ad_group_response.results[0].resource_name

    print(
        "Added a hotel ad group with resource name '{ad_group_resource_name}'."
    )

    return ad_group_resource_name
      

Ruby

def add_hotel_ad_group(client, customer_id, campaign_resource)
  # Create an ad group.
  ad_group_operation = client.operation.create_resource.ad_group do |ag|
    ag.name = generate_random_name_field("Earth to Mars Cruise")

    # Set the campaign.
    ag.campaign = campaign_resource

    # Optional: Set the ad group type to HOTEL_ADS.
    # This cannot be set to other types.
    ag.type = :HOTEL_ADS
    ag.cpc_bid_micros = 10_000_000
    ag.status = :ENABLED
  end

  # Issue a mutate request to add the ad group.
  ad_group_service = client.service.ad_group
  response = ad_group_service.mutate_ad_groups(
    customer_id: customer_id,
    operations: [ad_group_operation]
  )

  # Fetch the new ad group's resource name.
  ad_group_resource = response.results.first.resource_name

  puts "Added hotel ad group with resource name '#{ad_group_resource}'."

  ad_group_resource
end
      

Perl

sub add_hotel_ad_group {
  my ($api_client, $customer_id, $campaign_resource_name) = @_;

  # Create an ad group.
  my $ad_group = Google::Ads::GoogleAds::V16::Resources::AdGroup->new({
    name => "Earth to Mars Cruise #" . uniqid(),
    # Set the campaign.
    campaign => $campaign_resource_name,
    # Set the ad group type to HOTEL_ADS.
    # This cannot be set to other types.
    type         => HOTEL_ADS,
    cpcBidMicros => 1000000,
    status => Google::Ads::GoogleAds::V16::Enums::AdGroupStatusEnum::ENABLED
  });

  # Create an ad group operation.
  my $ad_group_operation =
    Google::Ads::GoogleAds::V16::Services::AdGroupService::AdGroupOperation->
    new({create => $ad_group});

  # Add the ad group.
  my $ad_group_resource_name = $api_client->AdGroupService()->mutate({
      customerId => $customer_id,
      operations => [$ad_group_operation]})->{results}[0]{resourceName};

  printf "Added a hotel ad group with resource name: '%s'.\n",
    $ad_group_resource_name;

  return $ad_group_resource_name;
}
      

Set a bid on a listing group unit node

As described in Create Hotel Listing Groups, Hotel ads will not serve until you create a valid listing group tree with at least one unit node. Also, nodes are objects of the ListingGroupInfo class, which contains the ListingGroupType field that indicates if nodes are a unit or subdivision. Setting ListingGroupInfo to listing_group of AdGroupCriterion links the ListingGroupInfo object to the AdGroup. You can set bids on unit nodes by setting the percent_cpc_bid_micros field or the cpc_bid_micros field of AdGroupCriterion. Attempting to do so on subdivision nodes will fail with an error.

When setting bids at the listing group level, note the following:

  • You can't set the bid amount on the "All hotels" (root) hotel listing group.
  • You can't set the bid amount on a subdivision.
  • Google recommends not setting bids on "Other" nodes that are unit nodes. Bids on "Other" (unit) nodes can have unintended effects on other hotel ad bids.

The code below shows how to set a bid on a listing group unit node.

Java

private static String addLevel1Nodes(
    long customerId,
    long adGroupId,
    String rootResourceName,
    List<AdGroupCriterionOperation> operations,
    long percentCpcBidMicroAmount) {
  // Creates hotel class info and dimension info for 5-star hotels.
  ListingDimensionInfo fiveStarredDimensionInfo =
      ListingDimensionInfo.newBuilder()
          .setHotelClass(HotelClassInfo.newBuilder().setValue(5).build())
          .build();
  // Creates listing group info for 5-star hotels as a UNIT node.
  ListingGroupInfo fiveStarredUnit =
      ListingGroupInfo.newBuilder()
          .setType(ListingGroupType.UNIT)
          .setParentAdGroupCriterion(rootResourceName)
          .setCaseValue(fiveStarredDimensionInfo)
          .build();
  // Creates an ad group criterion for 5-star hotels.
  AdGroupCriterion fiveStarredAdGroupCriterion =
      createAdGroupCriterion(customerId, adGroupId, fiveStarredUnit, percentCpcBidMicroAmount);
  // Decrements the temp ID for the next ad group criterion.
  AdGroupCriterionOperation operation = generateCreateOperation(fiveStarredAdGroupCriterion);
  operations.add(operation);

  // You can also create more UNIT nodes for other hotel classes by copying the above code in
  // this method and modifying the value passed to HotelClassInfo() to the value you want.
  // For instance, passing 4 instead of 5 in the above code will create a UNIT node of 4-star
  // hotels instead.

  // Creates hotel class info and dimension info for other hotel classes by not specifying
  // any attributes on those object.
  ListingDimensionInfo otherHotelsDimensionInfo =
      ListingDimensionInfo.newBuilder()
          .setHotelClass(HotelClassInfo.newBuilder().build())
          .build();
  // Creates listing group info for other hotel classes as a SUBDIVISION node, which will be
  // used as a parent node for children nodes of the next level.
  ListingGroupInfo otherHotelsSubdivision =
      createListingGroupInfo(
          ListingGroupType.SUBDIVISION, rootResourceName, otherHotelsDimensionInfo);
  // Creates an ad group criterion for other hotel classes.
  AdGroupCriterion otherHotelsAdGroupCriterion =
      createAdGroupCriterion(
          customerId, adGroupId, otherHotelsSubdivision, percentCpcBidMicroAmount);
  operation = generateCreateOperation(otherHotelsAdGroupCriterion);
  operations.add(operation);

  return otherHotelsAdGroupCriterion.getResourceName();
}
      

C#

private string AddLevel1Nodes(long customerId, long adGroupId, string rootResourceName,
    List<AdGroupCriterionOperation> operations, long percentCpcBidMicroAmount)
{
    // Create listing dimension info for 5-star class hotels.
    ListingDimensionInfo fiveStarredListingDimensionInfo = new ListingDimensionInfo
    {
        HotelClass = new HotelClassInfo
        {
            Value = 5
        }
    };

    // Create a listing group info for 5-star hotels as a UNIT node.
    ListingGroupInfo fiveStarredUnit = CreateListingGroupInfo(ListingGroupType.Unit,
        rootResourceName, fiveStarredListingDimensionInfo);

    // Create an ad group criterion for 5-star hotels.
    AdGroupCriterion fiveStarredAdGroupCriterion = CreateAdGroupCriterion(customerId,
        adGroupId, fiveStarredUnit, percentCpcBidMicroAmount);

    // Create an operation and add it to the list of operations.
    operations.Add(new AdGroupCriterionOperation
    {
        Create = fiveStarredAdGroupCriterion
    });

    // Decrement the temp ID for the next ad group criterion.
    nextTempId--;

    // You can also create more UNIT nodes for other hotel classes by copying the above code
    // in this method and modifying the value passed to HotelClassInfo().
    // For instance, passing 4 instead of 5 in the above code will instead create a UNIT
    // node of 4-star hotels.

    // Create hotel class info and dimension info for other hotel classes by *not*
    // specifying any attributes on those object.
    ListingDimensionInfo otherHotelsListingDimensionInfo = new ListingDimensionInfo
    {
        HotelClass = new HotelClassInfo()
    };

    // Create listing group info for other hotel classes as a SUBDIVISION node, which will
    // be used as a parent node for children nodes of the next level.
    ListingGroupInfo otherHotelsSubdivisionListingGroupInfo = CreateListingGroupInfo
        (ListingGroupType.Subdivision, rootResourceName, otherHotelsListingDimensionInfo);

    // Create an ad group criterion for other hotel classes.
    AdGroupCriterion otherHotelsAdGroupCriterion = CreateAdGroupCriterion(customerId,
        adGroupId, otherHotelsSubdivisionListingGroupInfo, percentCpcBidMicroAmount);

    // Create an operation and add it to the list of operations.
    operations.Add(new AdGroupCriterionOperation
    {
        Create = otherHotelsAdGroupCriterion
    });

    // Decrement the temp ID for the next ad group criterion.
    nextTempId--;

    return otherHotelsAdGroupCriterion.ResourceName;
}
      

PHP

private static function addLevel1Nodes(
    int $customerId,
    int $adGroupId,
    string $rootResourceName,
    array &$operations,
    int $percentCpcBidMicroAmount
) {
    // Creates hotel class info and dimension info for 5-star hotels.
    $fiveStarredDimensionInfo = new ListingDimensionInfo([
        'hotel_class' => new HotelClassInfo(['value' => 5])
    ]);
    // Creates listing group info for 5-star hotels as a UNIT node.
    $fiveStarredUnit = self::createListingGroupInfo(
        ListingGroupType::UNIT,
        $rootResourceName,
        $fiveStarredDimensionInfo
    );
    // Creates an ad group criterion for 5-star hotels.
    $fiveStarredAdGroupCriterion = self::createAdGroupCriterion(
        $customerId,
        $adGroupId,
        $fiveStarredUnit,
        $percentCpcBidMicroAmount
    );
    // Decrements the temp ID for the next ad group criterion.
    self::$nextTempId--;
    $operation = self::generateCreateOperation($fiveStarredAdGroupCriterion);
    $operations[] = $operation;

    // You can also create more UNIT nodes for other hotel classes by copying the above code in
    // this method and modifying the value passed to HotelClassInfo() to the value you want.
    // For instance, passing 4 instead of 5 in the above code will create a UNIT node of 4-star
    // hotels instead.

    // Creates hotel class info and dimension info for other hotel classes by *not* specifying
    // any attributes on those object.
    $othersHotelsDimensionInfo = new ListingDimensionInfo([
        'hotel_class' => new HotelClassInfo()
    ]);
    // Creates listing group info for other hotel classes as a SUBDIVISION node, which will be
    // used as a parent node for children nodes of the next level.
    $otherHotelsSubDivision = self::createListingGroupInfo(
        ListingGroupType::SUBDIVISION,
        $rootResourceName,
        $othersHotelsDimensionInfo
    );
    // Creates an ad group criterion for other hotel classes.
    $otherHotelsAdGroupCriterion = self::createAdGroupCriterion(
        $customerId,
        $adGroupId,
        $otherHotelsSubDivision,
        $percentCpcBidMicroAmount
    );
    $operation = self::generateCreateOperation($otherHotelsAdGroupCriterion);
    $operations[] = $operation;

    self::$nextTempId--;
    return $otherHotelsAdGroupCriterion->getResourceName();
}
      

Python

def add_level1_nodes(
    client,
    customer_id,
    ad_group_id,
    root_resource_name,
    operations,
    percent_cpc_bid_micro_amount,
):
    """Creates child nodes on level 1, partitioned by the hotel class info.

    Args:
        client: The Google Ads API client.
        customer_id: The Google Ads customer ID.
        ad_group_id: The ad group ID to which the hotel listing group will be
            added.
        root_resource_name: The string resource name of the listing group's root
            node.
        operations: A list of AdGroupCriterionOperations.
        percent_cpc_bid_micro_amount: The CPC bid micro amount to be set on
            created ad group criteria.

    Returns:
        The string resource name of the "other hotel classes" node, which serves
        as the parent node for the next level of the listing tree.
    """
    global next_temp_id

    # Create listing dimension info for 5-star class hotels.
    five_starred_listing_dimension_info = client.get_type(
        "ListingDimensionInfo"
    )
    five_starred_listing_dimension_info.hotel_class.value = 5

    # Create a listing group info for 5-star hotels as a UNIT node.
    five_starred_unit = create_listing_group_info(
        client,
        client.enums.ListingGroupTypeEnum.UNIT,
        root_resource_name,
        five_starred_listing_dimension_info,
    )

    # Create an ad group criterion for 5-star hotels.
    five_starred_ad_group_criterion = create_ad_group_criterion(
        client,
        customer_id,
        ad_group_id,
        five_starred_unit,
        percent_cpc_bid_micro_amount,
    )

    # Create an operation and add it to the list of operations.
    five_starred_ad_group_criterion_operation = client.get_type(
        "AdGroupCriterionOperation"
    )
    client.copy_from(
        five_starred_ad_group_criterion_operation.create,
        five_starred_ad_group_criterion,
    )
    operations.append(five_starred_ad_group_criterion_operation)

    # Decrement the temp ID for the next ad group criterion.
    next_temp_id -= 1

    # You can also create more UNIT nodes for other hotel classes by copying the
    # above code in this method and modifying the hotel class value.
    # For instance, passing 4 instead of 5 in the above code will instead create
    # a UNIT node of 4-star hotels.

    # Create hotel class info and dimension info without any specifying
    # attributes. This node will then represent hotel classes other than those
    # already covered by UNIT nodes at this level.
    other_hotels_listing_dimension_info = client.get_type(
        "ListingDimensionInfo"
    )
    # Set "hotel_class" as the oneof field on the ListingDimensionInfo object
    # without specifying the optional hotel_class field.
    client.copy_from(
        other_hotels_listing_dimension_info.hotel_class,
        client.get_type("HotelClassInfo"),
    )

    # Create listing group info for other hotel classes as a SUBDIVISION node,
    # which will be used as a parent node for children nodes of the next level.
    other_hotels_subdivision_listing_group_info = create_listing_group_info(
        client,
        client.enums.ListingGroupTypeEnum.SUBDIVISION,
        root_resource_name,
        other_hotels_listing_dimension_info,
    )

    # Create an ad group criterion for other hotel classes.
    other_hotels_ad_group_criterion = create_ad_group_criterion(
        client,
        customer_id,
        ad_group_id,
        other_hotels_subdivision_listing_group_info,
        percent_cpc_bid_micro_amount,
    )

    # Create an operation and add it to the list of operations.
    other_hotels_ad_group_criterion_operation = client.get_type(
        "AdGroupCriterionOperation"
    )
    client.copy_from(
        other_hotels_ad_group_criterion_operation.create,
        other_hotels_ad_group_criterion,
    )
    operations.append(other_hotels_ad_group_criterion_operation)

    # Decrement the temp ID for the next ad group criterion.
    next_temp_id -= 1

    return other_hotels_ad_group_criterion.resource_name
      

Ruby

def add_level1_nodes(
  client,
  customer_id,
  ad_group_id,
  root_resource_name,
  operations,
  percent_cpc_bid_micro_amount)
  # Creates hotel class info and dimension info for 5-star hotels.
  five_starred_dimension_info = client.resource.listing_dimension_info do |d|
    d.hotel_class = client.resource.hotel_class_info do |c|
      c.value = 5
    end
  end

  # Creates listing group info for 5-star hotels as a UNIT node.
  five_starred_unit = create_listing_group_info(
    client,
    :UNIT,
    root_resource_name,
    five_starred_dimension_info,
  )

  # Creates an ad group criterion for 5-star hotels.
  five_starred_ad_group_criterion = create_ad_group_criterion(
    client,
    customer_id,
    ad_group_id,
    five_starred_unit,
    percent_cpc_bid_micro_amount,
  )

  operations << generate_create_operation(
    client,
    five_starred_ad_group_criterion,
  )

  # You can also create more UNIT nodes for other hotel classes by copying the
  # above code in this method and modifying the value passed to HotelClassInfo()
  # to the value you want.
  # For instance, passing 4 instead of 5 in the above code will create a UNIT
  # node of 4-star hotels instead.

  # Creates hotel class info and dimension info for other hotel classes
  # by *not* specifying any attributes on those object.
  other_hotels_dimention_info = client.resource.listing_dimension_info do |d|
    d.hotel_class = client.resource.hotel_class_info
  end

  # Creates listing group info for other hotel classes as a SUBDIVISION node,
  # which will be used as a parent node for children nodes of the next level.
  other_hotels_subdivision = create_listing_group_info(
    client,
    :SUBDIVISION,
    root_resource_name,
    other_hotels_dimention_info,
  )

  # Creates an ad group criterion for other hotel classes.
  other_hotels_ad_group_criterion = create_ad_group_criterion(
    client,
    customer_id,
    ad_group_id,
    other_hotels_subdivision,
    percent_cpc_bid_micro_amount,
  )

  operations << generate_create_operation(
    client,
    other_hotels_ad_group_criterion,
  )

  other_hotels_ad_group_criterion.resource_name
end
      

Perl

sub add_level_1_nodes {
  my ($customer_id, $ad_group_id, $root_resource_name, $operations,
    $percent_cpc_bid_micro_amount)
    = @_;

  # Create hotel class info and dimension info for 5-star hotels.
  my $five_starred_dimension_info =
    Google::Ads::GoogleAds::V16::Common::ListingDimensionInfo->new({
      hotelClass => Google::Ads::GoogleAds::V16::Common::HotelClassInfo->new({
          value => 5
        })});

  # Create listing group info for 5-star hotels as a UNIT node.
  my $five_starred_unit = create_listing_group_info(UNIT, $root_resource_name,
    $five_starred_dimension_info);

  # Create an ad group criterion for 5-star hotels.
  my $five_starred_ad_group_criterion =
    create_ad_group_criterion($customer_id, $ad_group_id, $five_starred_unit,
    $percent_cpc_bid_micro_amount);

  my $operation = generate_create_operation($five_starred_ad_group_criterion);
  push @$operations, $operation;

  # You can also create more UNIT nodes for other hotel classes by copying the
  # above code in this method and modifying the value passed to HotelClassInfo
  # to the value you want. For instance, passing 4 instead of 5 in the above code
  #  will create a UNIT node of 4-star hotels instead.

  # Create hotel class info and dimension info for other hotel classes by *not*
  # specifying any attributes on those object.
  my $others_hotels_dimension_info =
    Google::Ads::GoogleAds::V16::Common::ListingDimensionInfo->new({
      hotelClass => Google::Ads::GoogleAds::V16::Common::HotelClassInfo->new()}
    );

  # Create listing group info for other hotel classes as a SUBDIVISION node, which
  # will be used as a parent node for children nodes of the next level.
  my $other_hotels_subdivision =
    create_listing_group_info(SUBDIVISION, $root_resource_name,
    $others_hotels_dimension_info);

  # Create an ad group criterion for other hotel classes.
  my $other_hotels_ad_group_criterion =
    create_ad_group_criterion($customer_id, $ad_group_id,
    $other_hotels_subdivision, $percent_cpc_bid_micro_amount);

  $operation = generate_create_operation($other_hotels_ad_group_criterion);
  push @$operations, $operation;

  return $other_hotels_ad_group_criterion->{resourceName};
}