Set up conversion tracking for hotel campaigns

Conversion tracking can help you understand how effectively your ad clicks lead to valuable customer activity on your website, such as bookings.

After you set up conversions for hotel campaign reporting, Google will send the booked hotel data to you to enable campaign performance tracking. This will allow you to monitor your hotel data and overall campaign performance.

Follow these steps to implement conversion tracking:

Step 1: Install the Google tag

Note:

• The conversion category must be set to "Purchase" to be used for Smart Bidding campaigns (ECPC, Commissions).
• Google only supports the Last-Click Attribution model for hotel campaigns.
• If you’re already using the Google tag conversion tracking code, go to Step 2.

1. Sign in to your Google Ads account.
2. In the upper right corner, click the tools icon .
3. Select Measurement > Conversions.
4. Click the conversion action you want to use, or create a new conversion action.
5. Install the Google tag on your site. Learn how to set up your conversion tracking tag

Step 2: Modify the Google tag hotel parameters

To submit conversion tracking information, install these additional parameters into the code:

Parameter	Value type	Example value	Description	Required - Yes/No
'value'	Float	16.20	Replace ‘value’ with the amount the user will pay. You can use either the base price or total price. Use a "." for decimal numbers. For example, "16.20". Note: The value will be used for Smart Bidding bid strategies.	Yes
'currency'	String	‘USD’	Replace ‘currency’ with an ISO 4217 3-letter currency code representing the currency where the booking was made. The currency code applies to the ‘value’ variable.	Yes
'transaction_id'	String	'HA12345'	Replace ‘transaction_id’ with a booking reference number or order ID to your conversion tracking tag to help avoid counting duplicate conversions. Note: Order IDs won't be reported in Google Ads.	No (Recommended)
'id'	String	‘1234’	Replace ‘id’ with the property ID of the hotel that you want to record conversion data for. This ID must match the ID in your hotel list.	No (Yes—Commission per stay)
'start_date'	String	“2020-12-13”	Replace ‘start_date’ with the check-in date. Format dates as YYYY-MM-DD.	No (Yes—Commission per stay)
'end_date'	String	“2020-12-13”	Replace ‘end_date’ with the check-out date. Format dates as YYYY-MM-DD.	No (Yes—Commission per stay)

Note: The only conversion variables available in your campaign reports are ‘value’ and ‘currency’. You can't view ‘transaction_id’, ‘id’, ‘start_date’, or ‘end_date’ values.

Examples of the Google tag configured (Important)

Check the syntax below carefully against your tag implementation. Make sure you’re using the ‘item’ array to include the hotel parameters (for example, ‘id’, ‘start_date’, and ‘end_date’).

Place the Google tag on all pages, including the confirmation page above the event snippet.

After the Google tag is updated:

<!-- Global Site Tag (gtag.js) - AdWords -->

<script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=AW-GOOGLE_CONVERSION_ID"></script>

<script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];

function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments)};

gtag('js', new Date());

gtag('config', 'AW-GOOGLE_CONVERSION_ID');

</script>

Then place the event snippet on the confirmation page.

After global event snippet is updated:

<script>

gtag('event', 'purchase', {

'send_to': [

'AW-GOOGLE_CONVERSION_ID/GOOGLE_CONVERSION_LABEL'

'transaction_id': 'BOOKING_ID',

'value': PRICE,

'currency': 'CURRENCY',

'items': [{

'id': 'PARTNER_HOTEL_ID',

'start_date': 'CHECK_IN_DATE',

'end_date': 'CHECK_OUT_DATE'

}]

});

</script>

Instructions for Google Tag Manager

If you're using Google Tag Manager, you can implement the gtag.js for hotel ads by using the custom HTML tagging option to add the booked hotel variables. The global site snippet should be set to run on all pages, including the confirmation pages, and the event snippet should run on the confirmation pages only. We don't recommend using the Google Ads template because it doesn't support all variables for hotel campaign reporting.

Measure conversions for multiple accounts

If you need to count the same event as a conversion for multiple Google Ads accounts, you can pass multiple conversion ID strings via the 'send_to' parameter of the conversion event snippet.

Alternatively, you should consider using cross-account conversion tracking which allows you to have a manager account (MCC) own the conversion actions and share them with one or more of its sub-accounts. You only need to specify a single conversion identifier in the event snippet. Learn more about cross-account conversion tracking. Ensure auto-tagging is enabled.

Note: When you create a new conversion action, auto-tagging will be activated automatically if you’re not already using cross-account conversion tracking. If you're using cross-account conversion tracking, you’ll need to enable auto-tagging in each of your sub-accounts manually according to the steps above.

Examples of the Google tag configured

Example Google tag:

<!-- Global Site Tag (gtag.js)& →

<script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=AW-GOOGLE_CONVERSION_ID_1"></script>

<script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];

function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments)};

gtag('js', new Date());

gtag('config', 'AW-GOOGLE_CONVERSION_ID_1');

gtag('config', 'AW-GOOGLE_CONVERSION_ID_2');

</script>

Example Event snippet:

<script>

gtag('event', 'purchase', {

'send_to': [

'AW-GOOGLE_CONVERSION_ID_1/GOOGLE_CONVERSION_LABEL_1',

'AW-GOOGLE_CONVERSION_ID_2/GOOGLE_CONVERSION_LABEL_2', ],

'transaction_id': 'BOOKING_ID',

'value': PRICE,

'currency': 'CURRENCY',

'items': [{

'id': 'PARTNER_HOTEL_ID',

'start_date': 'CHECK_IN_DATE',

'end_date': 'CHECK_OUT_DATE'

}]

});

</script>

Turn on auto-tagging

Auto-tagging must be turned on to ensure you can properly track conversions. Find instructions to set up auto-tagging for your account.

What happens if you’re missing hotel conversion parameters?

Hotel parameters provide valuable insight into your individual bookings, such as the booked hotel ID and stay dates. They’re also used by Google to better optimize your ad performance and provide more detailed reporting. If you’re using commission (per stay) bidding for your hotel campaign, these parameters are also used for billing. When the data isn’t available with your Google Ads conversion data, we use your default conversion settings for the conversion 'value' and 'currency' along with the click-time parameters for the stay dates ('start_date' and 'end_date') and hotel ID (‘id’). In this case, if your click-time check-in date occurs before the conversion date, we’ll default your check-in date to your conversion date.

Test your conversion tracking tag

If you want to create a test order, follow these steps to check if the parameters are being passed:

Debugging with Chrome Developer Tools

1. Open a new tab in Chrome.
2. Click the 3-dot icon in the upper right corner of the browser window, and then select More Tools > Developer Tools.
   • If you don't notice the Chrome menu, you can open "Developer Tools" by pressing:
     • Ctrl + Shift + i (in Windows)
     • Command + Shift + i (on a Mac)
3. Click the Network tab.
4. Leave the developer tools window open.
5. Navigate to the page that contains the conversion tracking tag.
6. Look for the request: www.googleadservices.com.
7. Examine the components of the conversion tracking request to verify it matches your account and conversion name.

All conversion tracking requests begin with the same URL structure:

www.googleadservices.com/pagead/conversion/

The full request will look similar to this:

http://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/conversion/123456789/

?

random=1309518235472
&cv=6
&fst=1309518235472
&num=1
&fmt=2
&value=0
&label=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
&bg=ffffff
&hl=it
&guid=ON
&u_ h=1200
&u_w=1920
&u_ah=1174&
u_aw=1920
&u_cd=24
&u_his=2
&u_tz=60
&u_
java=true
&u_nplug=19
&u_nmime=97
&
url=http%3A//www.example.com/conversion-page.html

The number after www.googleadservices.com/pagead/conversion/ should match your conversion ID, and the characters after &label= should match your conversion label. If they don't, this tag is most likely tied to a different conversion action.

To fix this, you may need to generate a new conversion tag for this conversion action and place it on your site, or check with anyone else who has access to your website code to confirm if they've installed a conversion tracking tag for a different conversion action.

Keep in mind

If you switch to cross-account conversion tracking, any conversion actions set up in your managed accounts will stop tracking conversions for new clicks, regardless of the status of your tag. The conversion action will, within its own window, continue to track conversions for the clicks that happened before you made the switch. When you opt into cross-account conversion tracking, you can only track conversions in the manager account.

Security and privacy for website tracking

Google's security standards are strict. Only pages containing the Google conversion tag are tracked through this program using data encryption and secure servers.

Ensure you're providing users with clear and comprehensive information about the data you collect on your websites, and get consent for collections when legally required.

Note: If you haven't obtained users’ consent for the collection, sharing, and use of personal data for personalization of ads when legally required, be sure to disable the collection of remarketing data by modifying the Google tag for specific users. Learn more about the changes to the Google site tag

Mobile app conversion tracking

You can use mobile app conversions to track app installs and in-app actions. Similar to website conversions for hotel campaigns, you must enable auto-tagging and set the conversion type to “Purchase” in your conversion settings to be used for Smart Bidding.

You need to subsequently send the relevant hotel parameters, like check-in or checkout dates and hotel ID, via Firebase or third-party SDK to begin tracking mobile app conversions.

Set up mobile app conversion tracking with Firebase

Firebase is Google's mobile platform that’s made to help you build better mobile apps and grow your business. To complete mobile app conversion tracking set up for hotel campaigns, you may send the required hotel parameters via the Firebase Analytics API.

Firebase parameter	Value type	Description	Example
FirebaseAnalytics.Param.VALUE	Float	Replace this parameter with the amount the user will pay. You can use either the base price or the total price. Use a "." for decimal numbers (for example, "16.20"). Note: The value will be used for Smart Bidding bid strategies.	Bundle params = new Bundle(); params.putDouble(Param.VALUE, 150.00); params.putString(Param.CURRENCY, "USD" ); // e.g. $150.00 USD
FirebaseAnalytics.Param.CURRENCY	String	Replace this parameter with an ISO 4217 3-letter currency code representing the currency used during booking. The currency code applies to the VALUE variable.	Bundle params = new Bundle(); params.putString(Param.CURRENCY, "USD");
FirebaseAnalytics.Param.TRANSACTION_ID	String	Replace this parameter with a booking reference number or order ID to your conversion tracking tag to help avoid counting duplicate conversions. Note: Order IDs won't be reported in Google Ads.	Bundle params = new Bundle(); params.putString(Param.TRANSACTION_ID, "HA12345");
FirebaseAnalytics.Param.ITEM_ID	String	Replace this parameter with the property ID of the hotel that you want to record conversion data for. This ID must match the ID in your Hotel List Feed.	Bundle params = new Bundle(); params.putString(Param.ITEM_ID, "1234");
FirebaseAnalytics.Param.START_DATE	String	Replace this parameter with the check-in date. Format dates as YYYY-MM-DD.	Bundle params = new Bundle(); params.putString(Param.START_DATE, "2022-09-10");
FirebaseAnalytics.Param.END_DATE	String	Replace this parameter with the check-out date. Format dates as YYYY-MM-DD.	Bundle params = new Bundle(); params.putString(Param.END_DATE, "2022-09-14");

Set up mobile app conversion tracking with a third-party SDK

To help you make informed marketing decisions about your app, Google Ads works with many third-party app analytics providers to support the Google Dynamic remarketing for apps scheme.

If you use one of these third-party app analytics providers, link your third-party app analytics provider to Google Ads to enable your data segment creation. Work with your third-party app analytics representative to set up their app’s SDK, and create the “Purchase” conversion type.

After completion, implement mobile app conversion tracking for hotel campaigns by sending the required hotel parameters using the app_event_data JSON object as a part of the Conversion Tracking Request. Acceptable values are strings and array of strings.

The following parameters should be added to app_event_data:

• start_date (in YYYY-MM-DD format)
• end_date (in YYYY-MM-DD format)
• item_id
• transaction_id

The following parameters should be added at the conversion level:

• value
• currency_code

Learn more about mobile app conversion tracking