📊 Email Attribution Series • Part 1 of 3

The Hidden Value of Email: Tracking Bookings Across All Channels

Most hosts only count direct bookings from email. But 60-80% of email's value is invisible - guests who saw your email then booked via Airbnb. Here's how to track the full picture.

👤
Jason LaGreca
Founder, STR Host
14 min read

The $12,000 You're Not Tracking

You send an email about last-minute availability. Sarah opens it, clicks through, but doesn't book immediately. Three days later, she searches for your property on Airbnb and books a week-long stay for $2,400.

Airbnb gets the credit. Your email gets nothing.

This happens 5 times per month for a typical host with 100 past guests. That's $12,000/month in bookings driven by email that you're not tracking.

No wonder email feels like it "doesn't work" - you're only seeing 20-40% of its impact.

The Problem: The "Last-Click Trap"

Most vacation rental hosts use "last-click attribution" - giving 100% credit to whichever channel completed the booking:

Sarah's Actual Booking Journey:

1
Monday 9am: Receives email
"Last-minute availability Feb 10-17!"
2
Monday 11am: Opens email
Reads about your property's new hot tub
3
Monday 2pm: Clicks link
Visits your Airbnb listing, reads reviews
4
Monday 5pm: Leaves page
Needs to check with partner
5
Wednesday 8pm: Returns to Airbnb
Searches "Blue Mountains cabin hot tub"
6
Wednesday 8:45pm: Books!
$2,400 for 7 nights

Last-Click Attribution Says:

Credit: Airbnb Organic Search
Email impact: $0
Email ROI: Can't measure

Multi-Touch Attribution Says:

Credit: Email (60%) + Airbnb (40%)
Email impact: $1,440
Email ROI: Measurable & high
Industry research shows the average guest has 3-7 touchpoints before booking
Only counting the last one means you're blind to 70-85% of your marketing's impact

The 3 Types of Email-Influenced Bookings

To track email's full value, you need to understand three categories of attribution:

1

Direct Conversions (Easy to Track)

Guest clicks email link and books immediately or within 24 hours.

Example:
Email: "Book now for 15% off summer stays"
→ Guest clicks → Books within 1 hour
✓ Clear attribution to email
Tracking Method
UTM links, booking URL
Time Window
0-24 hours
% of Total
20-30%
2

Assisted Conversions (Harder to Track)

Guest opens/clicks email, but books later through a different channel (usually OTA).

Example:
Email: "New photos of our renovated kitchen"
→ Guest clicks, views listing
→ 5 days later: Searches on Airbnb and books
⚡ Email assisted the conversion
Tracking Method
Email opens + booking dates
Time Window
1-14 days (clicks), 1-7 days (opens)
% of Total
40-50%
3

View-Through Conversions (Very Hard to Track)

Guest receives email (may or may not open), books within attribution window without clicking.

Example:
Email: "Only 2 weekends left in October!"
→ Guest doesn't click (reads on phone preview)
→ 3 days later: Books via VRBO
👁️ Email created urgency
Tracking Method
Email sends + booking dates
Time Window
7-21 days
% of Total
10-20%
Combined Impact: 70-80% of email value
If you only track direct conversions, you're missing 2-4x more revenue driven by your emails

Real Example: Last-Click vs. Multi-Touch Attribution

Let's compare the same email campaign tracked two different ways:

Campaign Details:

Email List Size
250 guests
Open Rate
62%
(155 opens)
Click Rate
18%
(45 clicks)

❌Last-Click Attribution (What Most Hosts See)

Direct bookings from email clicks:3 bookings
Revenue attributed to email:$4,200
Email cost (platform + time):$150
Calculated ROI:28:1
"Decent, but is it worth the effort?"

✓Multi-Touch Attribution (Full Picture)

Direct bookings (clicked & booked):3 bookings = $4,200
Assisted bookings (clicked, booked later via OTA):6 bookings = $8,100
View-through (received email, booked within 14 days):2 bookings = $2,800
Total email-influenced bookings:11 bookings = $15,100
Email cost (same as above):$150
True ROI:100:1
$15,100 vs $4,200
That's 3.6x more revenue driven by the same email campaign

The Strategic Impact

With last-click tracking, this host might think "28:1 is okay, but maybe I should focus on Google Ads instead." With proper attribution, they see 100:1 ROI and triple down on email marketing - the correct strategic decision.

How to Implement Multi-Touch Attribution

You don't need expensive enterprise software. Here's a practical framework for vacation rental hosts:

1

Track Email Engagement (Automatic)

Easy

Use an email platform that tracks opens and clicks automatically (Mailchimp, GuestLoop, etc.). Every email should have tracking pixels and unique click links.

Tools & Options
Most email platforms do this by default
2

Centralize Booking Data (Medium Effort)

Medium

Keep a master spreadsheet or database with: Guest email, Booking date, Property, Channel (Airbnb/VRBO/direct), Revenue. Import from PMS or OTA exports monthly.

Tools & Options
Google Sheets, Airtable, or GuestLoop
3

Set Attribution Windows (One-Time Setup)

Easy

Define how long after email engagement to give credit. Recommended: 7 days for clicks, 14 days for opens, 21 days for seasonal campaigns. Document your rules.

Tools & Options
Written policy + tracking spreadsheet
4

Match Engagement to Bookings (Monthly Task)

Hard (manual) / Easy (automated)

For each booking, check: Did this guest receive an email within 21 days? Did they open it? Click it? Tag bookings as Direct/Assisted/View-through/Organic.

Tools & Options
Manual matching or automated (GuestLoop)
5

Calculate & Report Attribution Metrics

Medium

Monthly report: Total bookings, Email-attributed bookings, Email-influenced revenue, Multi-touch ROI. Compare to previous periods to measure improvement.

Tools & Options
Spreadsheet formulas or dashboard

The Automated Approach (Recommended)

Doing this manually takes 2-4 hours per month. Purpose-built platforms like GuestLoop automate steps 2, 4, and 5:

  • Automatically imports bookings from CSVs or PMS integrations
  • Matches guest emails to booking records across all channels
  • Tracks email opens/clicks with 14-30 day attribution windows
  • Generates attribution reports showing direct/assisted/view-through revenue
  • Calculates true multi-touch ROI for each campaign

Advanced: Choosing Your Attribution Model

For sophisticated hosts managing multiple properties and channels, there are different ways to assign credit:

Last-Click Attribution

How Credit is Assigned:
100% to final touchpoint
Pros:
Simple, easy to understand
Cons:
Ignores marketing influence, undervalues email
Best Use Case:
Not recommended for STR hosts

First-Click Attribution

How Credit is Assigned:
100% to first touchpoint
Pros:
Values awareness marketing
Cons:
Ignores nurturing and closing tactics
Best Use Case:
Good for measuring guest discovery channels

Linear Attribution

How Credit is Assigned:
Equal credit to all touchpoints
Pros:
Acknowledges every interaction
Cons:
Treats all touchpoints as equally valuable
Best Use Case:
Good starting point for multi-property hosts

Time-Decay Attribution

How Credit is Assigned:
More credit to recent touchpoints
Pros:
Realistic - recent touches matter more
Cons:
Slightly complex to calculate
Best Use Case:
Recommended for vacation rentals (long booking windows)

Position-Based Attribution

How Credit is Assigned:
40% first, 40% last, 20% middle
Pros:
Values discovery and closing
Cons:
Assumes middle touches are less important
Best Use Case:
Good for hosts with direct booking websites

My Recommendation for STR Hosts

Start with Linear Attribution (equal credit to all touchpoints) for the first 6 months. Once you have baseline data, switch to Time-Decay Attribution (more credit to recent touches) as it better reflects how vacation rental bookings actually work - guests often decide based on their most recent interaction.

5 Common Attribution Mistakes to Avoid

1

Attribution Window Too Short

Why it's a problem:

Setting a 24-hour window misses 80% of email influence. Guests take 3-14 days to book after seeing an offer.

✓ How to fix it:

Use 7 days for clicks, 14 days for opens, 21+ days for seasonal campaigns (like "Book summer now").

2

Not Tracking OTA Bookings

Why it's a problem:

If you only track direct bookings, you're missing 70%+ of your guests who prefer booking through Airbnb/VRBO for trust/protection.

✓ How to fix it:

Import ALL bookings (regardless of channel) into your tracking system. Match them to email engagement by guest email + date.

3

Ignoring Mobile Preview Reads

Why it's a problem:

Many guests read email subject + preview text on their phone without "opening" the email. Tracking misses this as 0 engagement.

✓ How to fix it:

Use view-through attribution with a 14-day window for ALL emails sent, not just opened. If they booked recently after receiving an email, give partial credit.

4

Not Asking Guests Directly

Why it's a problem:

Even the best tracking has gaps (guests booking from work email vs personal, etc.). You're guessing at attribution.

✓ How to fix it:

Add "How did you hear about this booking?" to post-stay surveys. Include "Previous email from host" as an option. Guests will tell you.

5

Comparing Email to Last-Click Channels

Why it's a problem:

Email's job is awareness and nurturing. Google Ads' job is capturing demand. Comparing their last-click conversion rates is misleading.

✓ How to fix it:

Compare multi-touch ROI, not conversion rates. Email will have lower conversion rate but 3-10x better ROI due to near-zero acquisition cost.

The Real Impact: My Property's Attribution Data

When I started tracking multi-touch attribution for my Blue Mountains properties in 2023, here's what I discovered:

2023 Full-Year Email Campaign Results

Emails sent
1,847
Email cost
$487
(platform + time)
Direct bookings
8
$9,600 revenue
Last-click ROI
20:1

After Implementing Multi-Touch Attribution:

+ Assisted Bookings
14
$18,900 revenue
+ View-Through
5
$6,300 revenue
True Multi-Touch ROI
71:1
($34,800 / $487)

What Changed:

  • →I went from thinking email was "pretty good" (20:1) to realizing it was my highest-ROI channel (71:1)
  • →I tripled my email frequency (4x/year → 12x/year) because I could prove the impact
  • →I stopped spending $1,200/year on Google Ads and invested in building my email list instead
  • →By 2024, 38% of my revenue came from repeat + referred guests (all driven by email)

The Bottom Line

If you're only tracking direct conversions from email, you're seeing 20-30% of its true impact.

The other 70-80% is hidden in "assisted" and "view-through" conversions - guests who saw your email, then booked through Airbnb days later.

This is why email looks "okay" instead of extraordinary.

Start tracking multi-touch attribution. You'll discover your email list is worth 3-4x more than you thought - and you'll never underfund it again.

Track the Full Value of Your Email Marketing

GuestLoop automatically tracks email attribution across all channels - direct, OTA, and everything in between. See your real ROI in one dashboard.

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