Every time a traveler searches for a hotel on Booking.com, Priceline, or Agoda, an automated auction takes place in milliseconds to determine which sponsored listings appear, and in what order. Understanding how this works helps you make smarter decisions about bids and budgets.
How to determine the winner
Two factors determine who wins each auction:
CPC Bid - your base bid, the maximum cost per click you are willing to pay per click for a search
Publisher Score - a quality signal assigned by the publisher (Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda) based on your property's listing quality, reviews, and relevance to the search. A higher Publisher Score makes your final bid more competitive.
The platform combines these factors to determine which advertiser wins the placement. The advertiser with the strongest combination of CPC bid and Publisher Score wins the premium placement.
Example: Hotel A has the highest CPC bid at $1.00. However, Hotel C has the highest Publisher Score (90%), making its bid the most competitive in the auction. As a result, Hotel C wins the placement despite bidding less than Hotel A.
This means increasing your CPC bid isn't the only way to improve performance. A stronger property listing with high-quality photos, competitive rates, positive reviews, and relevance to the search can also improve your competitiveness.
To determine how much the winning advertiser pays, Sponsored Listings uses a second-price auction model. The winner does not pay their full CPC bid. Instead, they pay only $0.01 more than the second-highest bid. In this example, although Hotel C wins the auction, it pays only $0.76 per click rather than its full $0.90 bid.
When does the CPC get charged
You're charged when a traveler clicks on your ad and is taken to your property page. Clicks that count include:
Clicking your property name
Clicking "See more availability"
Impressions (your ad appearing in search results) are free. You only pay for a click.
Why you won't see your ad on every search
Your ad won't appear on every search in your market. This is normal. Reasons include:
Another property outbid you for that specific search.
Your daily budget was already exhausted for that period.
Targeting rules excluded that search (e.g., you excluded 1-night stays, and the traveler searched for 1 night).
Your hotel already appears at the top organically. In some cases, the system may not show a paid placement for the same property.
To confirm your campaign is running, check your Reporting page for impressions and clicks. If those numbers are growing, your ad is active and entering auctions.
How to improve your competitiveness
Increase your base bid to win more auctions in your market.
Compare your CPC against the market average in Competitive Insights.
Enable Dynamic Bidding to let the system optimise bids in real-time toward your ROAS goal.
Ensure your account is always funded. Zero balance means zero auction entries.
Need help?
Our team is here to help. Reach out via Live Chat 💬 in the platform, email us at booking.sponsoredlistings@koddi.com, or browse the Help Center for additional guides and resources.