Why hotel email campaigns need to move beyond opens and clicks

Focusing on bookings and revenue is becoming essential as engagement metrics fail to reflect true performance

Hotel marketing teams often rely on open rates and click-through rates to evaluate email campaigns, but these metrics rarely indicate whether emails actually drive bookings or revenue. Data from extensive campaign testing shows that high engagement does not reliably translate into business results. This creates a risk of optimizing campaigns for curiosity rather than conversion. The article highlights the need for hoteliers to shift toward outcome-based metrics that directly reflect commercial impact.

Key takeaways

• Open rates rarely predict bookings: A subject line that generates more opens does not necessarily lead to more reservations or higher revenue.
• Click-through rates can mislead decisions: High CTR often reflects curiosity rather than intent, and frequently fails to identify the campaigns that actually convert.
• Engagement does not equal revenue: Opens and clicks measure guest interaction with an email, not whether the guest completes a booking or takes a meaningful action.
• Conversion rate shows real demand: Tracking how many recipients actually book or complete a desired action provides a clearer picture of campaign effectiveness.
• Revenue per email reveals true ROI: Measuring total revenue generated per email sent connects marketing performance directly to financial outcomes.
• Risk of optimizing for the wrong audience: Campaigns that drive clicks may attract low-intent users rather than high-value guests ready to book.
• Engagement metrics remain diagnostic tools: Opens and clicks can help refine subject lines and content but should not be used as primary success metrics.
• Outcome-based metrics drive better strategy: Hotels that focus on bookings and revenue per email can better align marketing efforts with commercial performance and profitability.

Source: MarTech

Enjoying this analysis? Hospitality.today delivers daily insights on hotel distribution, AI trends, and travel commerce — straight to your inbox. Subscribe for free at Hospitality.today →