Marriott.com Tracking Issues Update & Recommended Adjustments to Current Reports
Marriott sent a memo on September 5, 2014 to hotels advising MRDW report users to stop relying on either visit counts to Marriott.com (including global sites), or visits and attributed bookings to online marketing sources (e.g., online search). This advice was based on evidence that the data might be inaccurate.
After extensive testing, analysis and technical reviews, we have concluded that there are no major problems with the current Marriott.com data or the MRDW ECM reports. Reports can be reliably used moving forward. There are some exceptions noted below:
- We discovered an issue with natural search reporting that impacted data prior to July 2014. This was
resolved with the launch of the responsive site in July. Report users should reference the guidance
provided below, which details how to adjust historical natural search traffic and booking metrics to account
for this issue. - Traffic to our mobile app is understated significantly in MRDW reports. This will be addressed in Q1 2015 with restated app traffic data. Mobile app booking and revenue metrics are unaffected.
To account for the natural search reporting issue, report users should adjust natural search, direct visits and bookings based on the guidelines below for full-year 2013 and 2014 reporting. The issue was resolved in July, so only the January-June time period is impacted for 2014.
Please keep in mind the below recommended adjustments are the result of a macro-level analysis. We will not be providing specific recommendations for individual hotels and/or markets.
Recommended Reporting Adjustments
| Year | Traffic Source | Visits | Example | Bookings, RNs, & Revenue | Example |
| 2013 | Natural Search | Multiply by 1.12 |
Reported: 1,000 |
Multiply by 1.07 |
Reported: 100 |
| 2013 | Direct-to-Site | Deduct Adjusted Natural Search Visits | Reported: 1,500 Adjusted: 1,500 – 200 = 1,300 Change: -200 |
Deduct Adjusted Natural Search Visits | Reported: 120 Adjusted: 120-7 = 113 Change: -7 |
| 2014 | Natural Search | Multiply by 1.15 | Reported: 1,200 Adjusted: 1,200 x 1.15 = 1,380 Change: +180 |
Multiply by 1.0425 | Reported: 110 Adjusted: 110 x 1.0425 = 115 Change: +5 |
| 2014 | Direct-to-Site | Deduct Adjusted Natural Search Visits | Reported: 1,600 Adjusted: 1,600 – 180 = 1,420 Change: -180 |
Deduct Adjusted Natural Search Visits | Reported: 130 Adjusted: 130 – 5 = 125 Change: -5 |
Marriott’s teams have taken the following steps to reaffirm the accuracy of Marriott.com tracking data and proactively address future potential issues:
- Completed a full technical assessment of our tracking implementation and updated the tracking code across all of Marriott.com
- Conducted audits of the new tracking to validate the coverage of tracking across the site
- Implemented a new data quality governance and monitoring processes
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we completed this assessment of Marriott.com data quality.