Attribution Window

Attribution Window (also called a lookback window or conversion window) is the defined period of time between a traveler's interaction with a marketing touchpoint (such as clicking an ad, viewing a metasearch listing, or opening an email) and a completed booking, during which the booking is credited to that touchpoint. If the booking occurs within the window, the marketing channel gets credit; if it falls outside, it does not.

How it works

When a hotel runs a Google Hotel Ads campaign with a 30-day attribution window, any booking made within 30 days of a user clicking that ad is attributed to the campaign — even if the guest visited the hotel's website multiple times through other channels before finally booking. The window length determines how generously credit is assigned to upper-funnel or early-stage interactions.

Common window lengths

• 1–7 days: Favors last-touch, high-intent channels. Common for retargeting and brand-search campaigns.
• 14–30 days: The most widely used range in hotel digital marketing. Balances capturing the typical booking research cycle without over-attributing.
• 60–90 days: Used for longer booking windows (luxury, resort, group travel) where the research phase can span weeks or months.

Example

A boutique hotel runs a metasearch campaign on Tripadvisor with a 30-day attribution window. A traveler clicks the ad on March 1 but does not book. On March 20, the same traveler returns via a Google organic search and completes the booking. Because the booking falls within the 30-day window, the metasearch campaign receives credit for the conversion.

If the attribution window were only 7 days, that same booking would instead be attributed to organic search.

Why it matters

Attribution windows fundamentally shape how hotels evaluate their marketing spend. A short window tends to favor bottom-of-funnel channels (brand search, retargeting) while undervaluing awareness-stage investments (display, social, metasearch). A long window risks over-crediting early touchpoints that may not have been decisive. Revenue managers and digital marketers must align the attribution window with their typical booking lead time to get an accurate picture of channel ROI. Mismatched windows can lead to misallocated budgets — cutting spend on channels that actually drive demand because they don't get credit within an artificially short window.

Related

• CPA (Cost per Acquisition) — directly affected by which bookings fall inside the attribution window
• Google Hotel Ads — a major channel where attribution window settings matter
• Retargeting — a channel that benefits from longer attribution windows
• Booking Window / Lead Time — should inform how the attribution window is configured