Navigating The Consent Conundrum

As data privacy regulations tighten globally, implementing website cookie banners has become standard practice for hotels seeking to comply with frameworks like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

While this is essential for legal compliance and fostering user trust, it can of course impact the valuable data captured in platforms such as Google Analytics 4 (GA4).

So, what should you expect when you correctly implement a cookie consent banner on your hotel website and how can you navigate the 'consent conundrum'?

Data Tracking & Traffic Loss

Let's start with a difficult to swallow stat. When a cookie banner is correctly implemented, giving users the choice to opt into tracking, you may see a noticeable drop in reported website traffic - anywhere up to 30% according to our recent research. Many users will opt out of tracking and, as a result, their sessions and activities won't be captured by analytics platforms like GA4.

However, this doesn't neccessarily mean you're losing valuable insights. The data collected from users who do opt in is more reliable and reflects a privacy-respecting audience.

The key here is to view this shift positively. It's not a loss of data but a refinement in the quality of the data you're gathering.

Growing Data Loss Over Time

This initial decline in tracked data is expected to increase steadily over time. As users become more privacy-conscious and regulations shift from an opt-out model to an opt-in approach, hoteliers must obtain explicit consent before tracking any data.

This will likely lead to further reductions in the amount of data captured by third-party cookies, making first-party data even more valuable.

Focus on Trends, Not Absolute Figures

In light of these changes, it’s important to reframe how you interpret your hotel's analytics data.

Rather than focusing on absolute numbers, which may fluctuate due to opt-out rates, focus on identifying trends over time.

By analysing patterns, such as the relative growth or decline in engagement, conversions, or bounce rates of your hotel's website, you can still gain meaningful insights without being misled by the lower volume of tracked users. While the total number of sessions or users might decrease, the overall trends will still accurately reflect your hotel website's performance, helping you make informed decisions based on the direction of key metrics.

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The Strategic Value of First-Party Data

With cookie-based tracking becoming less effective over time, now is the moment to invest in first-party data acquisition strategies.

Encouraging users to engage directly with your brand, through email marketing, your hotel's CRM, or loyalty programs, can help you collect valuable data while maintaining transparency and trust.

This shift will require us all to focus on cultivating deeper, consent-driven relationships with our guests, which will be more sustainable in the long term and hopefully help increase those all-important direct bookings.

Key Takeaways

Correctly implementing a cookie consent banner may result in a 30% drop in tracked data due to users opting out, and this number will likely grow as privacy preferences evolve. At 80 DAYS we use Digital Control Room for our clients as a trusted, fully-compliant, cookie banner partner. Through 80 DAYS, we are able to offer preferential rates with them for our clients.

It's not all doom and gloom! Shift your focus to trend analysis, as evaluating absolute figures can be a little misleading. By better understanding user behaviour patterns you'll still gain valuable insights, despite a reduction in tracked data.

Building a strong first-party data strategy will help you adapt to the changing data landscape, ensuring you can still gather meaningful insights from your audience while respecting their privacy.