Digital Marketing General FAQ

Overview

This article consolidates frequently asked questions about Cloudbeds Digital Marketing (formerly Cloudbeds Amplify) across three topics: exporting reservations, attribution, and metasearch engines. Use this FAQ to understand how Digital Marketing appears in your Cloudbeds PMS and how to work with its data.

1. Digital Marketing Dashboard
2. Digital Marketing credits & Auto-refill
3. Exporting Digital Marketing Reservations
4. Digital Marketing Attribution
5. Metasearch Engines

⭐ Digital Marketing Dashboard

• Question: If I manage multiple properties, how will I see my reservation data?
• Answer: You will see reservation data (Bookings and Revenue) that is specific to the individual property you are viewing in its DMS dashboard.

⭐ Digital Marketing credits & Auto-refill

• Question: What does “Auto-refill credits” do?
• Answer: Some Digital Marketing campaigns (for example, Metasearch Ads, Hotel PMax, and Retargeting) use prepaid credits for ad spend. 
  
  When you add credits, you’ll see an option called Auto-refill credits. If this option is turned on, Cloudbeds will automatically purchase the selected credit package (for example, 100 credits) whenever your remaining balance falls below the threshold shown in the dropdown (for example, when the balance is less than 50). This helps keep campaigns running without interruption.

• Question: Is Auto-refill credits on or off by default when I add credits?
• Answer: Today, the Auto-refill credits checkbox is selected by default whenever you open the Add campaign credit panel to top up your Digital Marketing credits. This means that if you only want a one-time purchase, you should uncheck Auto-refill credits before clicking Continue or Save.

• Question: How do I turn off Auto-refill credits to avoid future automatic charges?

• Answer: In Cloudbeds PMS, click the Main Menu and go to Digital Marketing, then:

  1. Open the relevant tab (Metasearch, Hotel PMax, or Retargeting).
  2. Go to the Campaign Budget section and click the arrow or + Add credits button (label may vary by product).
  3. Uncheck the box labeled Auto-refill credits.
  4. Click Continue / Save to confirm your change.

  Once Auto-refill is turned off, your campaign will continue to run until the remaining credits are used. When the balance reaches 0%, the campaign will pause until you manually buy new credits and confirm the purchase again.

• Question: Will turning off Auto-refill credits cancel my Digital Marketing subscription?

• Answer: No. Auto-refill controls how credits are added, not whether you are subscribed to Digital Marketing. Turning Auto-refill off means:

  • Your subscription and campaigns remain active.
  • Your current credits are used as normal.
  • When credits run out, the campaign pauses instead of being automatically refilled.

  You can re-enable Auto-refill credits at any time by repeating the steps above and checking the Auto-refill box again.

• Question: How to be sure that Auto-refill is turned off?
• Answer: In the product dashboard, the Campaign Budget card will show the current Auto-refill status.

⭐ Exporting Digital Marketing Reservations

• Question: How can I export reservations attributed to Digital Marketing?

• Answer: Export reservations from the Main menu > Reservations using the steps below:

  1. Open Reservations and go to the Filter panel.
  2. Apply your date and status filters (Date booked, Check-in/Check-out, Stay date, Status, Room types).
  3. Under Reservation Source, select Direct.
  4. Click Apply.

  

  1. Click Export Reservations.
  2. Select the fields you want to include in your list (Origin field is mandatory).
  3. Click Export Reservations to download an Excel file.

  

  

  Now it’s time to edit your file:

  1. Open the report to create a filter for the Origin column.
  2. Filter to Digital Marketing (Cloudbeds Amplify). All reservations from this origin in the selected period will be listed.

  

  

    Digital Marketing–attributed reservations are not visible immediately in Cloudbeds PMS. The Origin field is updated monthly after processing and auditing.

⭐ Digital Marketing Attribution

• Question: How are bookings attributed to Digital Marketing in the dashboard?

• Answer: Bookings influenced by paid marketing channels (e.g., Metasearch, Google Ads/SEM, Retargeting) are attributed to Digital Marketing and displayed under the Ads source/channel in the Performance Dashboard.

  

• Question: Are Cloudbeds Website or Free Booking Links bookings counted as Digital Marketing?
• Answer: No. Reservations generated solely from your Cloudbeds Website or from Google’s Free Booking Links are considered organic/free and are not attributed to paid Digital Marketing.

⭐ Metasearch Engines

• Question: What is a metasearch engine?
• Answer: Travelers use metasearch websites to compare flights, search for accommodations, and book trips. A metasearch engine is an online information retrieval tool that uses data from a web search engine (such as Google) to produce its own results for a specific service. In travel, metasearch engines let travelers compare hotel room rates from various OTAs and other booking sites in one place, searching availability and comparing prices across OTAs and hotel websites.

• Question: How does Cloudbeds support metasearch?
• Answer: Cloudbeds offers the metasearch service to boost your property's online visibility.

• Question: Why are competitive rates important for metasearch?
• Answer: Your pricing strategy matters, especially with metasearch. Advertising on metasearch engines gives you visibility comparable to major OTAs. With that exposure, ensure your direct rates are competitive with third-party channels. Without rate parity, ads are less effective, and the campaign will provide a lower return. Contact our Support Team to learn more about our Digital Marketing.

• Question: How is metasearch different from advertising on OTAs?
• Answer:
  • Search results: OTAs (e.g., Booking.com) show listings for properties on their platform, while metasearch results include listings from OTAs and various property direct websites.
  • Booking route: Metasearch allows travelers to book directly through your own website using your booking engine. Your booking engine should be modern, user-friendly, and inspire confidence so guests complete the booking. Booking engines, like the booking engine offered by Cloudbeds, should also be seamlessly integrated with your website. OTA bookings are made directly on the OTA’s website vs. your booking engine.
  • Control guest relationship: Metasearch helps you own the guest relationship because you receive their contact information directly.