Third-Party Cookies Are Going Away, Here's What Hotel Teams Need to Know for 2024

Third-party “cookies” have been the digital facilitators of personalized online journeys for years. Those bits of info collected behind the scenes detail your browsing history and preferences and, in turn, allow marketers to curate the messaging you’re served.

But the third-party cookie is crumbling.

While many hotel and resort teams still rely on third-party cookies as a cornerstone of their digital strategy, Google will begin phasing out third-party cookies from Chrome during the first quarter of 2024 and Microsoft Edge expected to quickly follow. Some browsers, such as Safari and Firefox, have already phased out third-party cookies.

At Screen Pilot, we’ve been actively helping hoteliers reimagine their marketing approach and prepare to thrive in a world without third-party cookies. For marketing teams who have more questions than answers ahead of 2024, here are some insights on marketing in a cookie-free future.

Understanding the Evolution of Cookies

The concept of a cookie-free future doesn't truly mean the disappearance of all cookies, but specifically suggests the elimination of third-party cookies.

These small data pieces, stored on a users' device by websites, have been instrumental for advertisers and marketers to gather insights into user interests and behaviors, enabling personalized advertising and content delivery.

A cookie-free world calls for innovative approaches that prioritize first-party data – information actively submitted by your audience – as well as contextual targeting and ethical user profiling.

What Are Third-Party Cookies?

To grasp the impact of this transition, let's break down third-party cookies.

Imagine attending a friend's party where your preferences are known and catered to (a first-party cookie scenario).

Now envision going to another gathering shortly after where the host knows every detail about your activities from the previous party. That's akin to a third-party cookie tracking your movements across different websites.

In a real internet scenario, if Website A embeds ads or incorporates social media buttons from Website B, the data collected by Website B in this interaction is regarded as third-party data. This mechanism enables Website B (the third party) to track the user's activities across various websites, including Website A, to gather information for advertising, analytics and other purposes.

Why Do Cookies Matter?

Cookies have been essential in customizing the user experience, helping brands understand what matters most to a user and deliver a personalized digital journey.

Generally, however, users have concerns about privacy and the ethical use of cookies, especially third-party cookies, that can be invasive and track a user beyond a specific website.

What's Driving This Transition?

Privacy Concerns: Extensive tracking by third-party cookies raised privacy concerns, as users felt their online activities were being monitored without consent.

Regulatory Changes: Regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) aim to protect user data and privacy, restricting the use of third-party cookies without explicit user consent. These regulations have emerged as the benchmark for privacy and data protection, globally adopted and adhered to all around the world.

Browser Changes: Major browsers, including Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge, are phasing out support for third-party cookies to enhance user privacy.

Technology Advancements: New privacy-focused technologies like Topics API and Google's Privacy Sandbox are emerging as alternatives to third-party cookies. They are focused on protecting user rights and privacy by grouping users into “large crowds” or “cohorts” based on the user’s preferences and interests without any of those users able to be identified individually.

Consumer Expectations: Users demand more transparency and control over their data, prompting the industry to explore alternative approaches to targeted advertising.

Why Should Hotels Care?

The phasing out of third-party cookies will impact hotel and resort teams on several levels.

Targeted Advertising: Refining targeted advertising will necessitate platform-level adaptations in the absence of third-party cookies, demanding innovative audience-targeting methodologies focused on user privacy.

Customer Engagement and Personalization: Understanding guest preferences and behaviors, particularly concerning paid advertising, will require discovering innovative methods to target users and craft exceptional digital experiences. Emphasizing the collection of first-party data and adopting less intrusive approaches towards users will significantly contribute to enhancing experiences. This shift not only enables deeper personalization and more precise targeting but also contributes to enhancing overall website performance.

Marketing and Revenue Generation: Shifting reliance to first-party data collection and privacy-focused technologies can significantly influence marketing strategies, impacting conversion rates via websites, paid advertising, and social media.

The Perks of a Cookie-Free Future

The transition to privacy-focused technologies, like the Privacy Sandbox, can contribute to increased user confidence.

Users are more likely to trust websites prioritizing privacy, contributing to a more trustworthy online experience where users may be inclined or more willing to share information for increased personalized interactions.

How Screen Pilot is Responding

Screen Pilot is actively preparing hotels for the phase-out of third-party cookies. Many have adopted our Digital Brand Experience solution, known as DBX for short.

DBX uses first-party data to pick up on a user's individual tastes, behaviors and preferences during their digital journey and enables hotels and resorts to deliver relevant, personalized content through an omni-channel strategy of website content and retargeting messaging.

The strategy addresses users’ privacy concerns by utilizing privacy-focused technology to capture user interests and behaviors while protecting anonymity.

Next Steps for Hotels

Having a reliable, experienced digital agency partner is crucial in the transition to a cookie-free future.

As all marketers, tech giants and advertisers navigate the evolution, partnering with a trusted guide will help hotel and resort teams adapt and find success long after the third-party cookie crumbles.

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