Skip to main content
GA4 + GTM for Direct Bookings: Track Search, Select, and Checkout Like a Pro Featured Image
Blog

GA4 + GTM for Direct Bookings: Track Search, Select, and Checkout Like a Pro

In the world of vacation rentals, understanding exactly how guests move through your direct booking flow can be the difference between explosive growth and flatlining conversion rates. At Homerunner, we know the process doesn’t end once a guest lands on your site. Precise tracking using Google Analytics 4 (GA4) paired with Google Tag Manager (GTM) is how we get a microscope into the real journeys—search, select, and checkout—and how we continually optimize for higher revenue, not just clicks.

Why Direct Booking Analytics Are Now a Superpower

Operators running WordPress vacation rental sites with professional engines like Homerunner have unprecedented freedom. You control your tech, your checkout flow, your pricing—and, with the right analytics setup, your insight into every guest behavior. But too often, critical actions like using search filters, engaging with property cards, or initiating checkout get lost in the noise. That’s especially true if you’ve ever felt in the dark about where guests get stuck or why a supposedly high-intent search doesn’t end in a booking.

  • Spot exactly where you lose guests. Running full-funnel analytics helps us see if guests filter by “waterfront” but never click through to view details, or if they abandon checkout at payment.
  • Link channels to bookings. Tying Google Ads spend or organic traffic to reservations means we can finally measure real ROI, not just visits.
  • Optimize conversion, not just UX. We combine GA4/GTM tracking with Homerunner’s business intelligence dashboards, so every tweak in the booking flow is performance-driven.

Our Approach: Track Search, Select, and Checkout Like a Pro

At Homerunner, we’ve built our booking platform and analytics stack around the three mission-critical guest stages:

  • Search: What queries and filters bring people in? Are users looking for “pet-friendly pool homes” or “budget studios downtown”?
  • Select: Which properties or collections actually engage guests enough to click?
  • Checkout: Who moves from confirmation to payment, and who drops off?

This data isn’t just for info. It’s how we transform insights into conversion wins. For example, our internal team might spot a drop-off when guests select ocean-view condos but leave at checkout. Are price displays unclear? Is the add-on step too long? Once we see these patterns quantitatively in GA4, we know exactly where to focus.

A soft-lit hotel room entrance, welcoming guests with luxury appeal and comfort.

The Prerequisites: What You Need Before You Track

  • A live direct booking engine. Homerunner connects natively to your PMS (Hostfully, Guesty Pro, OwnerRez, Lodgify and others), syncing listings, rates, and availability in real time. No migration or site rebuild is needed for WordPress sites.
  • Google Tag Manager account & installed code. Use a plugin (like DuracellTomi’s GTM for WordPress) or manual code to add the GTM snippet in your site’s <head> and <noscript> sections. GTM gives you the foundation for custom event tracking.
  • GA4 property created. Set up a GA4 stream, and keep the Measurement ID handy.

If you’re at this place, you’re ready to get granular with every interaction—without ever disrupting your guest experience or core WordPress theme.

Step 1: Deploy the Core GA4 Configuration Tag with GTM

Consistent, reliable data capture starts here. In GTM, create a new tag using “Google Analytics: GA4 Configuration” and input your Measurement ID. Trigger it to fire on all pages. This keeps analytics firing page-wide—no tracking gaps or attribution errors.

Once published, give GA4 about a day to start processing all new traffic and test using the Realtime tab in GA4. This forms the baseline to build out specific booking flow events.

Step 2: Track Searches—What Guests Want Most

It’s one thing to know someone visited a property page. But do you actually know what they searched for? With customizable search filters in Homerunner, guests can slice inventory by bedrooms, amenities, price, location, and more. Every advanced search is a window into guest demand.

  • Push new search events into the dataLayer when someone submits the search form: include location, guest count, amenity tags, price range (whatever fits your site’s filters).
  • In GTM, set up a custom event trigger for these searches (e.g., “homeRunnerSearch”) that pulls parameters from the dataLayer.
  • In your GA4 property, register these as custom dimensions so you can later break down booking KPIs by search type.

Want a deeper dive into making your filters irresistible or more accurate? Check out our blog on practical search filters for vacation rentals.

Step 3: Tracking “Select”—Property Engagement That Drives Bookings

The next big conversion lever is clicks on property cards or details. When someone selects a listing, we push an event (“homeRunnerSelect”) into the dataLayer that includes parameters like property_id, property_name, and price per night at time of click. In GTM, create custom variables and event tags for these values and trigger on this custom event. Now, every click and every property selected is attributed cleanly in GA4.

  • Actionable insight: You’ll see which listings or collections get the most clickthroughs and which ones underperform. Is a luxury collection working harder than a budget one? Does a particular theme (pet-friendly, oceanfront) lag in engagement? Now you’ll know, in detail.

Step 4: Checkout & Booking Completion—Getting Paid (And Proving Attribution)

Once guests proceed to checkout, add another custom event (like “homeRunnerCheckout” for form fill, and “homeRunnerPurchase” on booking completion). Homerunner’s native integrations with your PMS and payment gateways mean we can securely push transaction details—transaction_id, revenue, currency, property details—directly into the dataLayer right as the booking is processed. In GTM, you’ll pick up these events and send a corresponding “purchase” or “begin_checkout” event to GA4. In GA4, mark purchase as a Key Event so it is tracked as a primary business goal.

A close-up of a hotel check-in process with a smartphone and card transaction at the reception desk.

  • Why it matters: You get the full revenue and performance cycle directly in GA4, segmented by channel, property, or guest cohort. Hone in on the highest ROI sources, or test pricing and see immediate impact.

Don’t Forget Funnels, Custom Dimensions and Attribution

With your primary events—search, select, begin_checkout, purchase—piping into GA4, use GA4 Explore to build dynamic funnels. Segment by source, by collection, even by specific promo campaigns. Set up custom dimensions in GA4 for search queries, property IDs, revenue, and more, so every booking is quantifiable and optimizable.

For even richer insights, link your GA4 property to Google Ads. That way, paid campaigns can be evaluated down to the transaction—not just the click.

On the Homerunner side, you’ll have the added advantage of our guest search trends and conversion analytics, so you can compare website user behavior against the AI-powered insights in our dashboard.

Getting Hands-On: Implementation Tips (and Pitfalls to Dodge)

  • Always test in Preview/Debug mode in GTM before publishing. Check that each custom event pushes the right variables and that nothing breaks across WordPress plugins, popups, or checkout gateways.
  • Sync issues: If availability in your PMS doesn’t match what’s shown in the search, add a custom event to flag the discrepancy—Homerunner’s real-time sync minimizes but does not eliminate all risk if your PMS provider lags.
  • Friction is deadly on mobile. Run booking flows yourself on phone and tablet. Homerunner is responsive by design, but even small speed hiccups or pop-up interference can derail a booking session. Capture friction as custom events for future optimization.
  • Analytics delay: GA4 and GTM changes can take up to 24 hours to appear. Don’t panic if you don’t see data right away.

A concierge stands at a hotel reception desk under ambient lighting, ready to assist guests.

How We Use These Insights to Build Better Booking Engines

Because Homerunner sits on top of your WordPress site, we get to see the full spectrum of guest journeys day in and day out. When we notice trends—like guests filtering for ocean views but only converting on homes with clearer cancellation terms—we quickly roll out site or copy tweaks across all partner sites.

We also regularly update our internal conversion optimization guides so the entire Homerunner community can leverage best practices instantly, without weeks of trial-and-error.

If you want to get more creative, consider integrating this GA4/GTM data with your business intelligence tools. Advanced users often compare custom queries from GA4 with Homerunner’s AI-powered recommendations to unlock conversion lifts. If you’re new to this realm, our support team is happy to walk you through the reporting and action steps—we’ve helped everyone from solo operators to 100+ property groups get up and running in under an hour.

Level Up: Action Plan for Vacation Rental Operators and Agencies

  1. Install GTM and GA4. Make sure the container is live and events are being received.
  2. Work with your developer or Homerunner support to ensure the dataLayer events are being pushed for search, select, and booking stages.
  3. Set up custom events and variables in GTM, then tag them for GA4 ingestion.
  4. Test with real cross-device guest journeys—desktop, tablet, mobile.
  5. Configure custom dimensions in GA4 for funnel reporting: search filters, property IDs, revenue, and campaign sources.
  6. Tie these conversion events back into your own business intelligence dashboard (if using) for even richer attribution.

Most of our clients see a measurable lift in both insight quality and conversion rates within a few weeks of optimizing based on analytics. Even a handful of key improvements to how you display availability, organize themed collections, or present checkout steps can have a meaningful impact on your bottom line. For more on actionable optimization steps, our detailed booking flow UX guide gives tactical, real-world improvements you can try right away.

Final Thoughts: Make Your Analytics Work for Your Business

GA4 and GTM aren’t just for marketing teams at big hotels or agencies. They’re for every short-term rental operator who wants less guesswork and more direct bookings. Whether you’re running five properties or five hundred, tracking these core guest actions—search, select, and checkout—is how you move from hoping for results to engineering them. And remember, analytics should fit in seamlessly: on a Homerunner-powered site, you get full transparency and control, minus the tech headaches.

If you’re ready to step up your analytics or just want a hand getting the basics in place, we’re here to help. Explore more insights, guides, and best practices or connect with us for tailored support at Homerunner. Let’s make your direct booking strategy truly data-driven.

Year‑End Insights: What Your Guest Search Data Says About 2026 Demand (and How to Act)
Last‑Minute Holiday Deals: How to Package, Price, and Promote December Stays