You wouldn’t skip counting cash at the end of the night—so why skip tracking what earns it?
Most restaurants and hotels measure success by “how busy we were this weekend.” But without knowing which ads, emails, or posts drove that traffic, you’re marketing blindfolded.
The good news? You don’t need complicated software to fix it. A simple system—one you can check in minutes—can tell you what’s working, what’s wasting money, and where to double down.
Let’s break it down together.
ROI stands for return on investment.
In plain terms: for every dollar you spend on marketing, how much comes back in revenue?
For a restaurant, that might look like this:
For a boutique hotel, maybe it’s this:
Once you know these numbers, you can scale with confidence.
Forbes reports that businesses tracking ROI grow 25% faster than those guessing.
When you don’t track ROI, you start relying on gut feeling:
“That post got lots of likes—it must be working.”
Maybe it is. Maybe not.
Likes don’t pay invoices. Conversions do.
The problem isn’t overspending—it’s not knowing where the money goes. You might be investing in ads that look busy but never bring bookings, while ignoring the channels quietly performing best (like search or email).
The result? Wasted time, wasted budget, and a false sense of success.
You don’t need a fancy dashboard to start measuring.
Open a basic spreadsheet and track a few simple details:
Example:
“November 15: Google Ads – $150 spent, 12 reservations made, about $700 in revenue.”
This one line tells you your ROI at a glance—no special software needed.
💡 Want a ready-made template? Download our free ROI Tracker →
In hospitality, “conversions” can mean more than sales. For your business, it might include:
Pick one or two that matter most. Track them consistently for every campaign.
If you use online booking tools (like OpenTable, Resy, or your hotel reservation system), make sure those platforms are tagged correctly in your marketing reports. Even a quick note—“came from Facebook ad”—can reveal powerful insights later.
Chances are, you already have everything you need to track ROI. You just need to connect the dots.
Export those numbers once a week, plug them into your tracker, and review totals monthly.
Patterns will start emerging right away.
Data by itself doesn’t change anything—it’s what you do with it.
If you see that Instagram drives engagement but not bookings, maybe use it for storytelling, not promotions.
If your Google Ads consistently outperform, shift more budget there.
If your emails bring repeat business, focus on growing that list.
Think of ROI tracking as your marketing compass. Every number points you toward smarter spending.
It’s easy to get distracted by likes, reach, or impressions. They look exciting but often mean little.
The metrics that really matter:
When you focus on these, you start seeing marketing as an investment—not an expense.
Let’s say you run a $300 Facebook campaign to promote your new brunch menu.
You track 250 website visits, 20 online reservations, and 15 tables actually served at an average check of $60 each.
That’s $900 in revenue from $300 spent—a 200% ROI.
Now you know that ad works, and you can confidently run it again or increase the budget.
The goal isn’t perfection—it’s awareness.
Once you start tracking, you’ll naturally make smarter moves:
Even reviewing your data once a month can completely change how you view your marketing.
If you’d like to stop guessing and start measuring, we’ll send you our free ROI Tracker Template—the same one we use with clients to identify what’s driving growth.
Request your free ROI tracker.
We’ll also walk you through how to plug in your numbers and set realistic goals for your next campaign.
