European Digital Marketing Act Implementation Sinks 30% of Clicks and Bookings on Google Hotel Ads - Mirai

Excerpt from Mirai

Following several months of adaptation, on the 19th of January Google began to roll out changes it made in order to comply with DMA (Digital Markets Act) requirements; a roll-out that finished on the 7th of March.

Just days after the first changes were implemented, we began to see how they influenced hotel campaigns in Google Hotel Ads. Three months on, results for hotels are still getting worse: 

• Just over three months following implementation, click-through data has shown a 30% decrease in traffic volume in EU markets affected by DMA implementation compared to those markets where DMA has not been implemented. 
• The graph below shows the Google Hotel Ads click differential between regions affected by the DMA vs. those not affected, revealing a click volume drop of 30%.

From the hotel perspective

The hotel has lost visibility in terms of the user experience, which can be proven as follows:

• 30% drop in clicks to websites in markets affected by DMA.
• 36% drop in direct bookings in markets affected by DMA.

Source: Mirai. Traffic volume comparison of 3450 hotels between DMA and non-DMA markets from 01.01.24 to 22.04.24

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