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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.

Metasearch channels combine the broad reach of OTAs with the conversion potential of direct booking.

Discover the must-have features of a high-converting hotel website in 2025 to boost direct bookings, reduce OTA reliance, and drive higher profits.

If you’re an independent hotel, resort, or management group still relying heavily on online travel agencies (OTAs), you’re not alone—and you’re not maximizing your profit potential.

Just like your other physical assets, your property photos become outdated and need to be replaced. And, unlike that alarm clock, great photography can lead directly to a great RevPAR. Learn why hotel photography is so important and how it can make or break a website experience.

Learn why the mobile experience matters more than ever and how to optimize your hotel website to improve every step of the mobile booking journey.