The Latest News on Third-Party Cookies and Hotels
TLDR: Google Chrome is phasing out third-party cookies. We’ve been warning hotels about this for months. Now, it appears that Google is backtracking. Cookies — tiny snippets of code that allow marketers to advertise directly to previous website visitors — anchor many hotel marketing strategies. Losing this traceability would have been a significant blow to those unprepared, since many direct hotel bookings come via these targeted “remarketing” ads, shown to people browsing in Chrome. Now, Google will launch a “new Chrome experience” instead, so those who prepared for the cookie-apocalypse may find themselves in an advantageous position after all.
How Hotel Marketing Uses Cookies
Google’s decision to sunset third-party marketing cookies caused a stir. Why did everyone raise the alarm? Essentially: Cookies are a cornerstone of one of the best hotel marketing strategies: retargeting website visitors. When a traveler visits a hotel website to do their research, does not book a room, and moves on to consider other properties, the website can host cookies on the page that tag that user’s browser. Marketers then target these visitors with direct, intentional ads, enticing them to complete their booking. They work wonderfully, delivering a significantly higher conversion rate and lower cost-per conversion than advertising against a broader audience.
Why Did Google Plan To Phase Out Cookies?
Google’s decision to end Chrome’s support for cookies by the end of 2024 can be attributed to data security and privacy concerns. Regulations like the EU’s GDPR require explicit consent to use cookies — an extra step for many websites. Google tested a feature called Privacy Sandbox in the interim, an interface which aimed to protect users’ personally identifiable information while continuing to provide information to advertisers. The goal: feed user intent to advertisers instead of known people.
Google Won’t Kill Cookies. Now What?
After a series of delays and updates, Google announced that they will continue to support third-party cookies, and will also launch a new version of its Chrome browser. They claim that this compromise will give users more control, and will continue to push forward with the Privacy Sandbox initiative. While hotel marketing strategies can continue to use cookies and retarget website visitors, these developments still call for preparation. First-party data, i.e. email lists and loyalty programs, remain your most valuable marketing asset, enabling more ways to activate your most likely customers across many channels. And, the new version of Chrome may result in many users throttling marketing cookies significantly. Not a total elimination, but a big hit to a hotel’s remarketing pool.
Our take: Continue to build and use first-party email lists. Combine remarketing strategies with investments in optimized on-page booking experiences in order to maximize revenue from visitors to your site. Whatever Google’s new experience looks like, these fundamentals help your hotel prepare. Interested in preparing for this uncertain future? Reach out to us! We’d love to discuss ways we can use your marketing lists and website experience to the fullest.