# 'Check availability' instead of 'Book a room': +17% engagement

- Outcome: Won
- Page type: Other (SaaS)
- Elements: Cta copy
- Date shared: 2017
- Test run by: [Google](https://liftarchive.com/practitioners/google/)
- Commentary by: LiftArchive (our analysis, not theirs)
- Original source: https://growth.design/case-studies/framing-effect
- Page: https://liftarchive.com/test/gd-google-hotels-check-availability-cta/

Google changed the button on its hotel booking module from "Book a room" to "Check availability" and saw engagement rise 17%. Google ran the test and shared it in a 2017 Google I/O talk on UX writing; it was published as a Growth.Design case study.

## Result

**+17% engagement**

- Booking engagement: up 17%, per Growth.Design citing Google I/O 2017.
- Engagement is not defined further, so it likely means clicks on the button rather than completed bookings.
- No sample size or confidence level was shared.

## Control

The hotel module's button read "Book a room".

## Variant

The same button read "Check availability". Nothing else is reported as changed.

## Why it likely won (our reading)

- "Check" sounds like exploring, while "Book" sounds like committing, so the click feels safer.
- Searchers at this step often want to see dates and prices before deciding.
- The new copy matches what actually happens next, which is a look at availability.

## Caveats

Reported second-hand from a 2017 talk, with engagement undefined and no sample shared. It is a travel search product, so the lesson applies to SaaS and lead-gen by analogy.

## How to run this test

- Hypothesis: If we reword our main button from a commitment ("Buy", "Book") to an exploratory step that matches what happens next, then more visitors will click because it feels less risky.
- Primary metric: Button click-through rate
- Guardrail: Completed bookings or sign-ups
- Guardrail: Drop-off on the next step
- Guardrail: Lead quality
- Who should test it: Lead-gen and SaaS teams whose first CTA leads to a step that still isn't a commitment, such as a quote, demo slot or pricing check. If the button really does charge or commit the user, softer copy can mislead.

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Credit: Google ran this test and owns the result. Summary and commentary by LiftArchive (https://liftarchive.com/test/gd-google-hotels-check-availability-cta/).
Usage: Free to use, quote and build on, with credit and a link: name the practitioner or organization that ran the test and link to its LiftArchive page. The results belong to the practitioners who ran and shared them; the summaries and commentary are LiftArchive's.