Map the handoff
Start with the guest journey on a phone. Move from a room or offer page into date selection, availability, rate choice and checkout. Note every domain and system involved. A website click and a confirmed reservation are different events; the reporting must preserve that distinction.
Check the measurement boundary
Ask the booking-engine provider which events and transaction fields are available and how cross-domain attribution is supported. Test the agreed path with consent choices in mind. Do not assume that an advertising platform, website analytics and the reservation system will report identical numbers or attribution windows.
Look beyond headline ROAS
Record the basis of the booking value being reported: gross or net, tax included or excluded, booked or stayed, before or after cancellations. Add media and booking costs where the property supplies them. A high platform-reported ROAS can coexist with weak incremental contribution; the number needs commercial context.
Treat the feed as part of the experience
Hotel Ads and metasearch depend on the rate and availability connection as well as the advert. Confirm the engine or connectivity partner, rate consistency, landing experience and conversion reporting before scaling spend. An account setup does not establish that every property or rate is eligible.
Keep the property context visible
Changes in inventory, rates, source markets, seasonality and offers can move results independently of marketing. Compare like periods and explain what changed. Review branded demand separately from demand generated by a new campaign. Where possible, use a controlled test to investigate incrementality.
Make the audit actionable
The output should be a prioritized list of observed friction, missing evidence and dependencies, each with an owner. Some fixes belong to the website team, others to the booking-engine provider or hotel commercial team. The next investment becomes easier to choose when those responsibilities are explicit.
Sources and further reading
Sources support the external guidance cited above; the planning approach is this company’s editorial perspective.
From the collective
Related expertise from a separate company and team.
For teams considering automation after clarifying their booking data and review process.