DESTINATION SUGGESTIONS
Connect Google Places
Bring attractions, restaurants, and hotels into your destination guides. This is a one-time setup for the website owner.
Checking connection settings…
Enable Google Places
Open Google Cloud, create or select a project, and connect a billing account. Enable Places API (New) in the API Library.
Create a restricted API key
In APIs & Services → Credentials, create an API key. Under API restrictions, restrict it to Places API (New).
This connection runs on your computer’s server. Website/referrer restrictions do not work for these requests. If you add an IP restriction, use your internet connection’s public outgoing IP address, not 127.0.0.1; update it if your internet provider changes it.
Add the key locally
Open places.env in your project folder, beside server.mjs. Paste the key after the equals sign and save:
GOOGLE_PLACES_API_KEY=your_google_key_here
Keep the file outside dist/. Your existing Duffel token stays in token.env. Don’t paste either credential into chat or website code.
Restart the local server with npm start, then select a destination. Google Places becomes the default when its key is configured.
Set usage limits
Google charges by request and requested fields. Search rows request names, ratings, and price levels. Expanding a row requests its description and hours, plus one photo if available. Saved places refresh when you open their list.
Set quotas for Text Search, Place Details, and Place Photos in Google Cloud, and add a billing alert. Billing alerts do not stop charges. The local server also limits Google requests to 200 per UTC day and 40 per minute; its counters reset when the server restarts, so this is not a spending cap.
Check your connection
Checking settings confirms that a key is present. The test button makes one Google search for attractions in Austin, Texas; it may count toward billed usage.