Thousands of people search for a motel in Dunedin every month. Many of them already know which motel they want, type its name into Google, and still end up booking through a travel site that takes a cut. This roadmap shows Dunedin motel owners what guests search, what Google shows them, and how to turn more of those searches into direct bookings.
Key takeaways
- “Motels dunedin” and “dunedin accommodation” each get 1,000–10,000 searches a month from New Zealand. Australians search too, but they use different words.
- Some Dunedin motels are searched by name as often as the whole category. Those guests have already chosen you; the question is who takes the booking.
- Google can show your own rate, marked “Official site”, next to the travel sites, at no cost per click. Many motels have not switched this on.
- Nine local motels show what works, from 335 Google reviews to a 17-second alpaca video. Everything they do can be copied.
Dunedin: Road to Google Top 10, part 2 of 7
One trade per article, built on real Dunedin search data. The series supports our main guide to SEO in Dunedin.
- Painters & decorators
- Motels & B&Bs (you are here)
- Movers (coming soon)
- Plumbers & electricians (coming soon)
- Mechanics & WOF (coming soon)
- Property managers (coming soon)
- Heat pumps & insulation (coming soon)
In this guide
What guests search for
Motel guests plan from home, usually days or weeks ahead. That means the search comes from Auckland, Christchurch or Brisbane, not from Dunedin itself. We pulled Google’s own planning data for New Zealand and for Australia separately.
| Search phrase | From New Zealand | From Australia |
|---|---|---|
| motels dunedin | 1,000–10,000 | around 50 |
| dunedin accommodation | 1,000–10,000 | around 500 |
| places to stay in dunedin | 1,000–10,000 | around 500 |
| hotels dunedin / dunedin hotels nz | 1,000–10,000 | around 500 |
| cheap accommodation dunedin | 100–1,000 | around 50 |
| pet friendly accommodation dunedin | 100–1,000 | small |
| motels mosgiel | 100–1,000 | small |
Kiwi tip
Kiwis search for “motels”. Australians search for “accommodation” and “places to stay”. If your website only ever says “motel”, you are harder to find for half of your overseas guests. Use both, naturally, in your page titles and text.
Read the full breakdown: how motel searches split in Dunedin
Keyword Planner returned 480 related phrases for our Dunedin seed list. They fall into four groups, and each needs a different response.
- Category searches such as “motels dunedin”, “dunedin accommodation” and “places to stay in dunedin”. The biggest volume and the hardest competition: travel sites dominate these results. Your Google Business Profile and the Google Hotels listing compete here more realistically than your website.
- Name searches. Dozens of individual Dunedin motels are searched by name every month. For the best-known names, Google reports 1,000–10,000 searches a month, the same range as the whole “motels dunedin” category. These are the most valuable searches you have, and the easiest to lose (see “The leak” below).
- Location searches such as “accommodation dunedin central”, “motels dunedin george street”, “accommodation st clair dunedin” and “motels mosgiel”. Each is 100–1,000 a month. A page on your site for your genuine area, with walking times and nearby landmarks, can win these.
- Need searches such as “pet friendly accommodation dunedin”, “dog friendly accommodation dunedin”, “cheap motels dunedin” and “bed and breakfast dunedin”. Also 100–1,000 each. If you are pet friendly or have family units, say so on a page built for that search.
Google groups related phrases in its own tool around the stadium, the university, George Street, North Dunedin and Mosgiel. Those are the reasons people come to Dunedin, and they are ready-made page topics.
Advertisers pay roughly NZ$1.50–5 for a top-of-page click on “motels dunedin” and up to around NZ$8 on “cheap accommodation dunedin” (Keyword Planner bid ranges, converted from our account currency and approximate). Clicks on individual motel names are cheaper, and travel sites bid on them too.
What page one looks like today
We searched “motels dunedin” as a mobile user in Dunedin in September 2026. Page one is a very different place from the painters’ page one.
- Travel-site ads on top. Booking.com and trivago pay to appear first. Only one Dunedin motel ran its own ad.
- The Maps top three. Motels with 184, 291 and 335 Google reviews. The bar is roughly ten times higher than for local trades.
- Google Hotels. On desktop, a hotel block with dates, prices and a map sits at the top of the page.
- Organic results. Mostly travel sites (Booking.com, Tripadvisor, Wotif, Trip.com, Kayak, Expedia), the official Dunedin tourism site, and a handful of motels with their own websites.
Read the full breakdown: each layer of page one
Ads. Booking.com’s ad promises “no booking fees” to the guest. The fee is real; the motel pays it. Travel-site commissions are set by contract and are commonly quoted at 10–25% of the booking, with around 15% a typical figure for independent properties.
Maps. The top three for “motels dunedin” were Cable Court Motel (4.5 from 335 reviews), 97 Motel Moray (4.4 from 184) and 315 Euro Motel and Serviced Apartments (4.6 from 291). Below them, the list is long: Google Maps showed well over thirty places to stay across the city, from Mosgiel to the Otago Peninsula.
Google Hotels. Each listing shows photos, a star class, amenities such as free parking and Wi-Fi, and a price for your dates. Tap a listing and Google compares rates from different sellers. This is where direct bookings are won or lost, and it gets its own stop in the roadmap.
Organic. Among the travel sites we found several independent motels ranking with their own websites, including Dunedin Motel & Villas, Bella Vista, Allan Court, Dunedin Palms and Alexis Motor Lodge. The official visitor site, dunedinnz.com, also ranks and features individual motels. Page one is crowded, but it is not closed.
Google’s “People also search for” suggestions are worth reading: cheap motels, motels in central Dunedin, motels on George Street, best motels, and specific motel names. “People also ask” adds questions such as the best area to stay in Dunedin, the average price of a motel, and the difference between a hotel and a motel in New Zealand. Every one of those is a page or FAQ your website can answer.
The leak: your own name, someone else’s booking
Here is the pattern we saw again and again. A guest searches your motel by name. Google shows your listing, but the first price button belongs to a travel site, and your own link sits lower in the list. The guest taps the first button. You pay commission on a guest who chose you before they even searched.
NZ$36,000
A year of commission for a 20-unit motel at NZ$170 a night, 65% occupancy, with 30% of nights booked through travel sites at 15%. Move a third of those bookings to your own site and you keep about NZ$12,000.
Illustrative calculation: 20 units × 365 nights × 65% = 4,745 nights; 30% via travel sites = 1,424 nights × NZ$170 × 15%. Your own numbers will differ.
Common mistake
Treating travel sites as the enemy. They bring guests who would never have found you, especially from overseas. The goal is not to leave them; it is to stop paying them for guests who were already looking for you.
Where is your motel right now?
Do this five-minute check before you change anything. It decides your route.
- Search your own name. On your phone, logged out, type your motel’s name and “dunedin”. Note whether your website is the first result.
- Tap “Check availability”. Pick dates next month. Is your own site listed with an “Official site” badge? Where does it appear compared with the travel sites?
- Open your photos. In your Google profile, tap the first photos. Who supplied them: you, or a booking site?
- Search “motels dunedin”. Are you in the Maps top three? If not, how far down do you appear?
- Route A: no official linkGoogle shows only travel-site prices for your motel. Fix the foundation and connect your rates first.
Start at stop 1 - Route B: listed, but buriedYou have an official link and a profile, but travel sites win most bookings. Work on photos, reviews and your name searches.
Start at stop 2 - Route C: strong, want more directYou rank well and have plenty of reviews. Now grow the share of direct bookings.
Start at stop 5
The roadmap: ten stops
Each stop has a short version and a full breakdown. The tags show which routes use it.
1. Google Business Profile: your front desk on Google
All routes · one-off setup, then monthly
Claim and verify your profile, set the category to Motel, and fill in every amenity Google offers. Guests filter by free parking, pets, kitchens and Wi-Fi. If the box is not ticked, you are filtered out.
Read the full breakdown
- Ownership first. Many motel profiles were created automatically from booking data. If you have never claimed yours, do it now: everything else in this roadmap depends on it.
- Amenities. Google shows them as icons under your name in Maps and Google Hotels: free parking, Wi-Fi, breakfast, pet friendly, kitchen, air conditioning, accessible units, EV charging. Tick every one you genuinely offer.
- Website link. Point it to your own booking page or home page, never to a travel-site listing.
- Description. Say where you are in plain words: “a five-minute walk to the Octagon”, “across the road from the hospital”, “ten minutes from Forsyth Barr Stadium”. These phrases match how guests search.
- Updates. Use Google posts for events and offers: graduation weekends, big concerts, winter deals.
2. Own your photos
Routes A and B · one-off shoot, refresh yearly
In several Dunedin motel profiles, the first photos guests see were supplied by booking sites and wholesalers, not by the motel. Some are ten years old. Upload your own: every unit type, bathrooms, the view, parking and the entrance at night.
Read the full breakdown
Open any photo in Google Maps and the top corner shows who supplied it. In our September 2026 check, main photos for several Dunedin motels came from Hotelbeds, Hotels.com, Agoda, Tripadvisor and other booking sites. That is not a disaster, but it means someone else is choosing how your motel looks at the most important moment of the decision.
- Book a professional photographer once, on a bright day. It pays back faster than almost anything else on this list.
- Shoot each unit type from the doorway, plus the bathroom and kitchenette.
- Show what guests worry about: parking, the entrance, the street at night, stairs.
- Add seasonal photos: garden in spring, heat pump and warm lounge in winter.
- Use the same photos on your website, so guests recognise you across channels.
3. Switch on your “Official site” price
Route A · one-off, often one phone call
Google offers free booking links: your own rate shows in Google Hotels and Maps with an “Official site” badge, and the click goes straight to your booking page. There is no cost per click and no commission. If you use a booking engine or channel manager, it may already be able to connect you.
Read the full breakdown
According to Google’s Hotel Center help, free booking links show your site or hotel name with the rate for the guest’s dates, clicks cost nothing, and nobody can pay for a higher position among them. Motels, B&Bs, inns and farm stays all count as hotel properties for this purpose.
- Check your profile is verified. Google uses it to match your motel to your rates.
- Ask your booking system provider whether they connect to Google Hotels. Many do, and can switch it on for you.
- Keep prices accurate. Google ranks free links partly on price accuracy and the quality of the landing page. The rate on Google must match the rate on your site.
- Test it. Search your motel, tap “Check availability” and confirm your “Official site” line appears.
Travel sites can still pay for the sponsored rows above you. You cannot remove them, but you can make your own line worth choosing: the same price or better, plus a reason to book direct (see stop 5).
4. Reviews: the 200-review club
Routes B and C · every checkout
The Maps top three for “motels dunedin” have between 184 and 335 Google reviews. You will not get there in a month, but a steady flow of a few reviews a week gets you there within a couple of years. Ask at checkout and reply to every review.
Read the full breakdown
- Put a QR code to your Google review page at reception and in each unit.
- Send a thank-you email or text the day after checkout with the review link.
- Reply to every review within two days. Mention the unit type or occasion naturally.
- Answer criticism calmly and specifically. Future guests read the replies more closely than the complaint.
Reviews on travel sites count too: Tripadvisor’s rankings appear on page one for motel searches. Never buy reviews, offer discounts for them or post them for yourself. Google removes them and can suspend the profile.
5. Give guests a reason to book direct
Routes B and C · one-off, review each season
If your site offers the same room at the same price, the guest books wherever is quickest. Add something only direct guests get: late checkout, a free breakfast pack, free cancellation until later, or a better unit when available. Then say it clearly on Google and on your site.
Read the full breakdown
Check your travel-site contracts before advertising a lower direct price; some terms restrict how you publish rates. Perks are usually the safer lever: they cost you little, they are hard for a travel site to match, and they turn “same price” into “better deal”.
Make the booking itself easy: a booking button visible on a phone without scrolling, real-time availability, and payment in a couple of steps. A beautiful site with a clumsy booking form sends guests back to the travel site.
Returning guests are the cheapest bookings you will ever get. Collect emails from direct bookings (with permission) and send a short note before the busy seasons.
6. Protect your name in search
Routes B and C · one-off, check monthly
Your name is your most valuable search term. Your own website must be the first organic result for it, and a small ad on your own name can stop travel sites from sitting above you. Clicks on motel names are cheap compared with the category.
Read the full breakdown
- Your home page title should start with your exact motel name and “Dunedin”, followed by what guests want to know: “Motel accommodation near the Octagon”.
- One name everywhere. The same spelling on your sign, website, Google profile and travel-site listings. “Motor Lodge” on one and “Motel” on another splits your searches.
- A brand ad. In our check, only one motel, Alcala Motor Lodge, advertised on “motels dunedin” above the travel sites. A small campaign on your own name is usually inexpensive and keeps the first thing a guest sees in your hands.
- Check monthly. Search your name on a phone. If a travel site ranks above your website, your site needs attention (stop 7).
7. A website built for how guests search
Routes A and B · one-off build or refresh
Beyond a home page and a booking button, add pages for the reasons people come to Dunedin and the needs they search for: near the hospital, near the stadium, near the university, St Clair, pet friendly, family units. Only for what is genuinely true of your motel.
Read the full breakdown
A strong Dunedin motel site usually has:
- Home page: name, location in one line, photos, reviews, the booking button.
- Unit pages: one per unit type, with photos, beds, kitchen, accessibility and parking.
- Location page: walking and driving times to the Octagon, the hospital, the university, Forsyth Barr Stadium, St Clair beach and the Peninsula.
- Reason pages: “Visiting Dunedin Hospital”, “Graduation weekend”, “Stadium events”, “Pet friendly stays”. Each targets a real search and answers the guest’s real questions.
- FAQ: answer the questions Google shows, such as the best area to stay in Dunedin and the difference between a motel and a hotel in New Zealand.
Use both “motel” and “accommodation” in titles and headings, for Kiwi and Australian searchers alike. Keep the site fast on mobile data, and make sure Google can index it: check for free in Google Search Console. If your site needs a rebuild, our SEO services in NZ cover the full technical side.
8. Tourism listings and quality marks
Routes B and C · one-off, review yearly
The official visitor site dunedinnz.com ranks on page one for motel searches and features individual motels. AA Traveller, Tripadvisor and quality programmes such as Qualmark add trust and visibility. Several of the strongest local motels display their marks proudly on their signs.
Read the full breakdown
- dunedinnz.com: find out how accommodation providers are listed and featured. A mention there sits on page one for “motels dunedin”.
- AA Traveller: a long-standing name for Kiwi road trippers, who are exactly motel guests.
- Tripadvisor: claim your listing, add your own photos and reply to reviews. Its “best motels in Dunedin” page ranks on page one.
- Qualmark and motel groups: a recognised star grading or group membership reassures overseas guests who do not know local names.
- Local partners: event venues, conference organisers, sports clubs and tour operators often recommend accommodation. A link from them is a strong local signal.
9. Plan around Dunedin’s calendar
Route C · ongoing, two months ahead of each event
Graduations, stadium concerts, rugby, conferences and the summer season fill the city. Guests search weeks ahead. A short page or Google post about each big event, published early, catches them before the travel sites do.
Read the full breakdown
Keep a simple calendar of the events that filled your motel last year. For each one, two months ahead, publish a short page or post: the dates, how far you are from the venue, parking, and a direct-booking perk. Share it on Facebook and in your Google profile. After the event, update the page for next year rather than deleting it; it keeps its search history.
Quiet months matter too. Winter deals for visiting families, hospital visitors and business travellers are searched all year, and they are where a direct-booking offer makes the biggest difference.
10. Video, social and measurement
All routes · monthly
A 30-second walk-through of a unit answers more questions than ten photos. Add short videos to your Google profile and social pages. Then measure one number every month: the share of bookings that came direct.
Read the full breakdown
- Film each unit type in one slow walk-through, in daylight, on a phone held horizontally.
- Add videos to your Google profile, website and Facebook. Instagram suits views, sunsets and anything unusual about your place.
- Track every booking by source: direct website, phone, walk-in, each travel site.
- Check your Google profile insights: calls, website clicks and searches for your name.
- Review the numbers each quarter and put your effort into the stops that moved them.
9 Dunedin motels and what to copy
We looked at how Dunedin motels appear on Google in September 2026. Each of these does at least one thing well, and each shows a lesson any motel owner can use. Ratings and review counts are as shown on Google at the time; prices are hidden.
1. Cable Court Motel
What works: the most Google reviews of any motel in the top three, and a name that people search in its own right. Its sign carries group and quality marks that reassure first-time visitors.
Copy this: a review habit at every checkout. Volume plus a good rating is what holds the first place in Maps.
2. Dunedin Palms Motel
What works: its own rate appears in Google’s price comparison with the “Official site” badge (shown in the screenshot in “The leak” above). Its website also ranks organically for “motels dunedin”.
Copy this: connect your booking engine to Google Hotels, then give guests a reason to choose that official line over the sponsored rows above it.
3. Alcala Motor Lodge
What works: the only motel in our check running its own ad on “motels dunedin”, alongside Booking.com and trivago. The ad leads with a real reason to stay: close to the hospital, central, free parking.
Copy this: a small, focused ad that names your location advantage. You compete on the travel sites’ own ground with a message they cannot copy.
4. Bella Vista Dunedin
What works: a dedicated Dunedin page on its website ranks on page one among the travel sites, with office hours right in the search snippet. Its own recent photos, including the lit sign at sunset, lead the Google profile.
Copy this: a clear page title with the city name, practical details in the description, and photos taken by you.
5. 97 Motel Moray
What works: a central address and a steady review count keep it in the Maps top three. It has uploaded some of its own photos too.
Opportunity: the first photo guests see is supplied by a booking site. A fresh set of the motel’s own photos would put its best foot forward at the moment guests decide.
6. 315 Euro Motel and Serviced Apartments
What works: a high rating across nearly 300 reviews and a George Street address, a location people search by name (“motels dunedin george street”).
Opportunity: the lead photos come from wholesale and booking sites. Owning that first impression is a quick win for any motel.
7. Aria on Bank
What works: strong reputation on Tripadvisor as well as Google, and an elevated photo that shows the motel in the context of its neighbourhood and the hills.
Opportunity: some profile photos date back to 2015. Guests notice dates; a seasonal refresh keeps a great reputation looking current.
8. Bonnie Knights Motel
What works: Mosgiel has its own search demand (“motels mosgiel” gets 100–1,000 searches a month), and a motel there competes with far fewer rivals than in central Dunedin.
Copy this: if you are outside the centre, own your suburb. A page about staying in your area, with drive times to the airport and the city, can win searches the big names ignore.
9. Hunters Moon
What works: it sells an experience, not a bed. A short video of guests meeting alpacas sits among the profile photos, next to a view of the lodge in the hills.
Copy this: find the one thing guests remember about your place, film it, and put it first.
Your work list
The whole roadmap as a list. One-off jobs build the foundation; ongoing ones keep the direct bookings coming.
| Task | Type | How often | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claim and complete Google Business Profile, all amenities ticked | One-off | Check monthly | Guests filter by amenities |
| Connect rates to Google Hotels for the “Official site” link | One-off | Test monthly | Free clicks, no commission |
| Professional photo shoot of every unit type | One-off | Refresh yearly | Replaces booking-site photos |
| Website with unit, location and reason pages | One-off | Update each season | Wins name, area and need searches |
| Direct-booking perk | One-off | Review each season | Turns “same price” into “better deal” |
| Brand ad on your own motel name | One-off setup | Check monthly | Keeps the first result yours |
| Listings: dunedinnz.com, AA Traveller, Tripadvisor, quality marks | One-off | Review yearly | Trust and page-one visibility |
| Ask for a review at checkout | Ongoing | Every stay | The Maps top three have 184+ reviews |
| Reply to reviews on Google and travel sites | Ongoing | Within two days | Future guests read the replies |
| Event page or Google post | Ongoing | Two months before each big event | Catches guests before travel sites |
| New photos and a short video | Ongoing | Monthly | Keeps the profile current |
| Track direct share of bookings | Ongoing | Monthly | The one number that shows progress |
A worked scenario
A 14-unit motel near the hospital, with 90 reviews and no official link on Google (Route A). In the first month, the owners claim their profile, connect their booking engine to Google Hotels and upload their own photos. Over the next season they add a “Visiting Dunedin Hospital” page, a late-checkout perk for direct guests and a small ad on their own name. The measure of success is simple: the share of bookings arriving direct, month by month. This is an illustrative scenario, not a client case study or a guaranteed result.
Travel sites bring you guests. Google can bring them straight to your door. The difference is often one setting and a few good photos.
SEO4 team
Questions motel owners ask us
Google’s free booking links show your direct rate in Google Hotels and Maps at no cost per click. Your Google Business Profile must be verified, and your rates need to reach Google, usually through your booking engine or channel manager. Ask your provider whether they connect to Google Hotels; many can switch it on for you.
Usually not. Travel sites bring guests who would not find you otherwise, especially from overseas. The aim is to stop paying commission on guests who were already searching for your motel by name, by making your own booking option visible and attractive on Google.
In September 2026 the Maps top three for “motels dunedin” had between 184 and 335 Google reviews. Aim for a steady flow from every checkout and reply to each one; consistency matters more than a sudden burst.
Often, yes. Travel sites bid on motel names, so without your own ad a guest searching for you may see a travel site first. Clicks on your own name are usually inexpensive, and the ad keeps the first result in your hands.
A home page with your name and location, a page per unit type, a location page with distances to key places, and pages for the real reasons guests visit, such as the hospital, the stadium, graduation or pet friendly stays. Use both “motel” and “accommodation” so Kiwi and Australian searchers find you.
Want to see where your direct bookings are leaking?
We will check how your motel appears on Google Search, Maps and Google Hotels, what guests see when they search your name, and which stop on this roadmap will make the biggest difference first. Plain English, no pressure. More about local search in our Dunedin SEO guide.