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Online reviews are the new word-of-mouth. With over 90% of travelers reading reviews before booking, your hotel’s digital reputation can either skyrocket your occupancy rates or quietly sabotage them.

As AI becomes the foundation of modern search, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is redefining how guests discover and engage with your hotel online. Unlike traditional SEO, which focuses on ranking in search results, GEO ensures your property becomes the trusted, cited source in the answers that AI systems like ChatGPT, Google SGE, and Perplexity deliver.

Despite economic uncertainty, travel demand is strong. According to the 2025 TravelBoom Booking Trends Study, over 90% of U.S. travelers are planning or considering a vacation this summer. But rising costs and inflation are driving more cautious, calculated decision-making.

The hotel industry is evolving—and fast. With third-party cookies on the decline and OTAs charging hefty commissions, accessing the untapped power of first-party data in hotel marketing becomes critical. Independent hoteliers who adopt a smarter, more sustainable strategy leveraging first-party data to personalize email and CRM marketing, see better results. This direct approach not only boosts guest loyalty but also increases profit per available room (ProPAR) and drives long-term growth.

Social media has become a non-negotiable part of a modern hotel marketing strategy. For independent hotels, it’s a cost-effective and powerful way to increase brand visibility, build direct guest relationships, and reduce reliance on OTAs.

Did you know that between 50% and 60% of travelers use alternative search platforms other than Google to find hotels? While Google is the dominant player in local search, focusing solely on Google can limit your hotel’s online visibility. Alternative search engines, mapping services such as Apple Maps and Bing, and travel directories including Yelp and TripAdvisor can play a crucial role in improved reach and increased bookings. See how to get started with local SEO alternatives to take advantage of these and other benefits.

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising for hotels remains one of the most powerful tools in your marketing strategy, but if not properly optimized, it’s an easy way to overspend. As digital competition intensifies in 2025, independent hotels must become more strategic than ever. The goal? Attract high-intent travelers while staying laser-focused on ROI.

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT — the most popular AI tool in the world — can help hotel marketers by increasing efficiency, sparking creativity, providing valuable, strategy-enhancing insights and ultimately helping drive more bookings. Along with many other capabilities, AI can aid in content creation, support SEO efforts, help with campaign ideation and analyze data. And in this article, we’re sharing 30 ChatGPT prompts that can boost hotel marketing efforts in a range of areas critical to a property’s success:

Infusing short-form videos into a hotel’s social media marketing drives interest and bookings by delivering consumers the bite-sized, impactful content they crave.

Google Hotel Search Results host the complete funnel for many travelers, from destination research and trip inspiration to booking reservations and beyond. When we first published this article in 2018, Google had already made significant strides within the travel space. Now, there are even more ways to browse hotels and flights, which keeps marketers on their toes.

TravelBoom’s 2025 Booking Trends Study has revealed a clear and valuable insight: U.S. travelers overwhelmingly prefer to plan and book their trips within a 1–3 month window. For hotel marketers, this predictability creates a prime opportunity to align promotions, timing, and messaging with real guest behavior.

In the hotel world, it’s not enough to just hope people find you. You’ve got to guide them through every stage of the travel planning journey, from that first spark of awareness to the moment they click “book now.” That’s where the hotel marketing funnel comes in.