Negative Keywords for Hotels and Resorts: A Ready List for Google Ads in India
A copy-ready negative keyword list for Indian hotels, resorts and homestays, grouped by the kind of wasted click it blocks, plus the weekly routine that keeps it current.
Google Ads matches your keywords to searches more loosely than most people expect. Bid on "resort in Munnar" and you may pay for clicks from "resort in Munnar jobs", "Munnar resort for sale" and "Munnar resort images".
Negative keywords stop that. They tell Google which searches you don't want to appear for. For hotels, resorts and homestays, a good negative list can save a large share of wasted spend, especially in the first months of an account.
This list is built for Indian hospitality businesses. Use it as a starting point, then refine it from your own search terms.
Why hospitality accounts leak money
Travel searches are full of people who aren't looking to book:
- Job seekers searching "resort jobs in Kerala" or "hotel vacancy Kochi".
- Students looking for hotel management courses, project reports and images.
- Investors looking for resorts or land for sale.
- Researchers checking the weather, distance or history of a place.
- People looking for something you don't offer: wedding venues, day-out packages, pool entry.
Each of those clicks costs money and will never become a booking.
The ready list
Jobs and careers
jobs, job, vacancy, vacancies, careers, career, salary, hiring, recruitment, internship, walk in interview, hotel management, course, training, apply
Free, DIY and study
free, pdf, ppt, project, essay, images, photos download, wallpaper, drawing, sketch, logo, template
Wrong product
for sale, sale, buy resort, land, plot, lease, rent out, franchise, construction, architect, interior design, furniture
Wrong budget (only if it applies)
cheap, cheapest, dormitory, dorm, hostel, PG, paying guest, lodge
Don't add these if you run a budget property. "Cheap homestay in Wayanad" might be exactly your guest.
Research only
history, wikipedia, map, weather, temperature, distance, how to reach, route, train timings
Be careful here. "How to reach Munnar" is research, but a resort that ranks for it with a helpful page can win the booking. Block it in paid search, and write about it on your site instead.
Things you don't host
wedding venue, marriage hall, party hall, banquet, convention centre, day out, day package, swimming pool entry, conference hall
Remove any you actually offer. If you host weddings, they may be your most valuable searches.
Competitors and OTAs (optional)
Adding other properties' names and OTA brand names stops you paying for searches by people looking for someone else. Whether to do this is a strategy decision: some resorts deliberately bid on OTA searches to win direct bookings.
Match types matter
- Broad match negatives block searches containing all the words in any order, but they don't cover close variants or plurals automatically. Add "job" and "jobs" separately.
- Phrase match negatives block searches containing the exact phrase.
- Exact match negatives block only that exact search.
For most of this list, broad match single words (jobs, vacancy, sale) work well. Use phrase match for multi-word ideas like "wedding venue".
Where to add them
- A shared negative keyword list for universal waste (jobs, free, for sale) applied to every campaign. Google allows up to 5,000 negative keywords per list.
- Campaign-level negatives for things that depend on the campaign. Your honeymoon campaign might block "family" and "group". Your family campaign might block "honeymoon".
- Ad group negatives to stop your own ad groups competing with each other. Block "pool villa" in your general ad group so pool searches go to the pool villa ad group.
I explain how to structure those ad groups in Google Ads for resorts in Kerala.
Travel agencies can use most of this list too, with a few additions. See digital marketing for travel agencies in Kerala.
The weekly routine that keeps it working
A negative list is never finished. New wasted searches appear every week.
- 01Open the search terms report for the last seven days, sorted by cost.
- 02Spot the waste: queries with clicks and no bookings that will clearly never book.
- 03Add them at the right level: shared list, campaign or ad group.
- 04Check for conflicts. Google flags negatives that block your own keywords. Fix them immediately.
A mistake to avoid
Don't over-block. If you add "price", "rates" or "tariff" as negatives because you think price-shoppers are bad leads, you'll block some of your best searches. People searching "Munnar resort tariff" are often ready to book. Only block what you're sure will never convert.
Frequently asked questions
What are negative keywords in Google Ads?
They're words or phrases that stop your ads from showing for searches containing them. For hotels, typical negatives include jobs, free, for sale and hotel management.
How many negative keywords should a hotel use?
There's no right number. Start with a shared list of the obvious groups, then add new ones weekly from your search terms report. Mature accounts often have hundreds.
Should hotels block OTA names as negative keywords?
It depends on your strategy. Blocking them saves money on people looking for a specific OTA. Bidding on them can win direct bookings from people who were about to book through an OTA. Test it and judge by cost per booking.
Want your Google Ads account cleaned up and structured for bookings? Request a quote.
Ads, a website that converts, or both: get a custom quote.