Viewpoint: Digital Marketing in Hospitality
Search is shifting from traditional keyword queries to AI-driven summaries and conversational formats. For hotels, this raises critical questions about content strategy and online visibility. Should they focus on local attractions, guest reviews, or rely on online travel agencies (OTAs)? And how can they cut through the flood of untested advice on AI and search optimization?
From Keywords to Conversations
Search no longer depends on rigid, short keywords. Instead, it favors conversational content that reflects how guests naturally ask questions. User-generated content (UGC), such as reviews, becomes more important as it feeds into AI algorithms and offers authenticity. Hotels must move beyond generic descriptions and embrace targeted, specific content that speaks directly to their audience’s needs and interests.
Testing and Adapting Are Key
Many hoteliers haven’t explored AI tools like ChatGPT or Google’s AI-powered search to see how their properties appear. Identifying where your property shows up—whether directly or through blogs and OTAs—is vital. While foundational SEO principles remain relevant, the focus now includes ensuring authoritative, well-structured content that satisfies evolving search algorithms.
Crafting a Rich Digital Narrative
AI values context and relationships over raw data. Hotels should create interconnected stories that convey the guest experience—the vibe, the atmosphere, and the unique elements that set the property apart. Authenticity stands out. Genuine guest reviews provide valuable sentiment, helping AI distinguish a hotel’s real character. Moreover, content must be actionable—linking descriptions directly to booking options to convert interest into reservations.
Balancing SEO and AI Optimization
Despite AI’s rise, traditional search engines still dominate user interactions. This means hotels should invest in both SEO and AI-focused content strategies. Since AI pulls from diverse sources—social media, blogs, OTAs, reviews—hotels need to maintain a strong presence across multiple platforms. Optimizing the hotel website is essential, but so is earning recognition through content marketing and social signals.
The Role of Human Insight
Algorithms keep evolving, but real progress comes from testing strategies and sharing insights within the industry. A well-rounded marketing mix that includes owned channels, social media, UGC, and partnerships is crucial. Human oversight remains necessary to ensure content reflects the emotional and trust elements that define hospitality experiences.
Diversify and Structure Content
AI draws from a wide range of inputs, so hotels must diversify their brand presence across various media and platforms. Structured content that answers guest questions in natural language works best. Unique experiences and insider knowledge remain valuable but require reinforcement through PR, experiential marketing, and cross-channel visibility to feed AI systems with authentic signals.
Focus on Quality Over Tricks
Trying to game AI or SEO systems with shortcuts may yield short-term gains but risks long-term penalties. The best approach is to create high-quality, topical, relevant, and well-organized content that meets genuine guest needs. This customer-centric focus helps hotels maintain visibility on conversational search platforms.
Optimize for AI Discovery, Not Just SEO
Ranking high is no longer enough. Hotels must aim to be referenced and recommended by AI systems. Writing content that matches conversational queries and aligns with AI-powered features like Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) changes how guests find and choose accommodations.
Write for Real Questions
Guests now ask detailed, conversational queries, such as “What’s the best hotel near Fenway Park with a great spa and late checkout?” Content must be clear, structured, and conversational—mirroring how guests speak. Blogging should showcase what makes a property unique and highlight guest favorites to build social proof and algorithmic relevance.
Leverage Hyper-Contextual Content and Reviews
Generic content is less effective. Hotels should develop hyper-localized and brand-specific narratives that AI can use to generate rich, authentic responses. Encouraging detailed guest reviews and highlighting them both on the website and third-party platforms enhances trust and influences AI-generated summaries.
Control Your First-Party Data
Managing your own data—guest reviews, amenities, policies, and local partnerships—in a structured way is crucial. This unified dataset helps avoid AI errors and ensures your hotel’s unique personality shines through. As OTAs and partners become data providers for AI, owning and syndicating accurate information is the foundation for attracting guests and driving direct bookings.
Tell Compelling Stories
Simple facts like amenities and location get scraped and summarized by AI, often without driving traffic. Hotels need to focus on original storytelling that answers nuanced traveler intent. Local insights and unique experiences make content stand out. Craft stories with specific guest personas in mind rather than SEO algorithms.
Summary
- Shift from keyword-stuffing to conversational, guest-focused content.
- Maintain a strong presence across multiple platforms, including social media and OTAs.
- Create authentic, actionable content that reflects your hotel’s unique experience.
- Encourage and showcase detailed guest reviews for social proof and AI relevance.
- Manage and structure your first-party data carefully to control your brand narrative.
- Test new strategies, share insights, and balance SEO with AI optimization.
For hospitality professionals looking to deepen their digital marketing skills in an AI-driven environment, exploring courses on AI applications in marketing can provide practical guidance and up-to-date strategies.
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