No items found.
Hi there! Good to have you here.
I’m Roman Makarenko. Linkbuilder, then SEO-specialist, not long after—full digital marketer. My path started on Upwork, where I earned my first $1 million, and then I went on to create my own digital marketing agency, Thunder Marketing Solutions (TMS).
Money earned on Upwork, nonetheless, is only a tool that allows me to apply my vision in practice more broadly. Vision that comes from knowledge and experience. That’s the vision of my team today. We all use this experience that taught me what truly drives results in marketing.
Not long ago, I published the article with my top hotel marketing strategies for 2025, where I went through 21 ideas for increasing your bookings. But, you know, it is impossible to fully cover all aspects in one blog post, although I tried to highlight and show you the most important topics+practical advice. You can check it if interested.
Yet, today, we will cover some of the most important hotel marketing tips in more detail. What, when, how, tools, my experience, pros and cons, common issues, hidden tricks—basically all of that.
You need faster results? You need to be one level above, then. One step at a time, of course. From the basics to the nuances.
Speaking of basics, treat these strategies like the foundation that makes everything else more effective. After some brainstorming, I deliberately chose the most impactful of them all, and I've picked 5 absolute pillars (in my opinion) that form the core of successful hotel marketing—the ones that amplify every other tactic you'll ever use.
I remember the exact moment when mobile optimization shifted from "nice to have" to business-critical for hotels. Back in 2018, Google's mobile-first indexing rollout hit the hospitality industry hard. Hotels with desktop-focused websites saw their bookings drop dramatically overnight as their search visibility plummeted.
That crisis taught me something powerful: improving hotel marketing starts with acknowledging that your guests live on their phones. They're researching your property during lunch breaks, comparing prices while waiting for coffee, and booking rooms from their beds at midnight. If your website doesn't work flawlessly on mobile, you're not just losing bookings—you're becoming invisible in search results.
From what we've seen working with hotel clients, properties with truly mobile-optimized websites capture significantly more direct bookings and enjoy much better visibility in search results. When I audit hotel websites now, mobile performance reveals everything about their marketing priorities.
Google's Core Web Vitals became the ranking factor that finally made hotel owners pay attention to mobile performance. These three metrics directly impact how high your hotel appears in search results when travelers are searching for accommodations:
LCP measures how quickly your main content loads on mobile devices. For hotels, this usually means your hero image and booking widget. Hotel websites with beautiful desktop experiences often take 8 seconds to load their main content on phones. Google penalizes slow LCP scores, pushing these properties down in search rankings when travelers are looking for accommodations.
FID tracks how quickly your mobile site responds when someone taps your "Check Availability" button—any delay longer than 100 milliseconds creates frustration and hurts rankings.
CLS measures visual stability as your mobile page loads. Hotels often struggle with this because booking widgets and image galleries shift around while loading, creating jarring experiences where users accidentally tap the wrong elements. Google's algorithm recognizes this poor user experience and adjusts rankings accordingly.
Mobile Core Web Vitals carry more weight in Google's algorithm than their desktop counterparts because most travel searches happen on phones.
I know that feel, when every tool gives you different recommendations, causing page speed issues be a real headache. But I've also spent countless hours debugging LCP and CLS problems that tank hotel search rankings. Simply share your specific Core Web Vitals problems in the comments—I'll break down which fixes to prioritize first.
I've lost count of how many times I've seen hotels completely miss the point with responsive design. Phone users behave differently—they scan quickly, tap with their thumbs, and expect instant information.
I've audited hotel websites that looked perfect on desktop but turned into navigation nightmares on mobile. Tiny booking buttons that require surgical precision to tap. Contact information buried three menu levels deep. Room photos that take forever to load because they're the same massive files designed for 27-inch monitors.
CSS media queries should prioritize mobile experience first, then enhance for larger screens. Most hotels do this backwards, creating desktop experiences that get cramped and broken when squeezed onto phones.
Adaptive content takes this further by showing different information based on device type. Desktop visitors might read detailed amenity descriptions and browse extensive photo galleries. Mobile users want immediate answers: "Is there availability? What's the price? Where are you located? How do I book?"
Navigation simplification separates successful mobile experiences from frustrating ones. Desktop users tolerate complex dropdown menus. Mobile users abandon sites that make them hunt through multiple menu levels to find a phone number. My golden rule: two taps maximum to reach any critical information.
Last week, my friend told me a story that in this article I just really want to share. He’s tried booking a hotel room on phone while rushing through the airport. The booking button was so small he accidentally tapped three different menu items before finally hitting the right spot. Then their form demanded his full address when all my friend needed was a one-night stay. By the time he reached the payment screen, the flight was boarding, and all that remained was just to give up.
That airport experience reminded me why mobile usability matters so much for hotels. People book rooms in terrible conditions—cramped airplane seats, noisy coffee shops, while walking down busy streets. They're using one thumb, often distracted, and have zero patience for interface elements designed by someone who never tried using them on an actual phone.
I've compiled the top 4 practices that I believe are the best for user experience:
⭐Smart forms: Auto-fill saves guests from typing repeatedly. When someone enters their phone number, the numeric keypad should appear automatically
⭐Clickable contact info: Phone numbers need to work like phone numbers—tap to call immediately
⭐Simplified navigation: Remember my golden rule—two taps maximum to reach any critical information
⭐Single-column layout: Multi-column designs become cramped puzzles on phones
Page loading speed directly impacts both search rankings and booking conversions on mobile devices. Google's algorithm prioritizes fast-loading mobile websites, while slow sites frustrate users enough to abandon their booking attempts.
The most effective speed optimization techniques I've implemented across hotel clients include:
Server response time affects mobile performance more than desktop because phone users often rely on cellular data connections. Caching strategies help mobile users who return to your hotel website multiple times during their research process.
I've spent years testing mobile performance across websites—these are the tools that actually deliver actionable insights:
The hospitality industry finally woke up to something I'd been saying for years: sending the same generic newsletter to every email subscriber kills your marketing ROI faster than bad reviews on TripAdvisor. When email segmentation shifted from optional to mandatory around 2020, hotels that adapted quickly saw dramatic improvements in their direct booking rates. Email marketing delivers the highest ROI of any digital channel—but only when you treat subscribers as individuals, not numbers.
Google's algorithm constantly watches how people interact with your website after they arrive from different sources. Email traffic behaves differently from social media or paid ad traffic, and the search engine notices these patterns. When someone clicks from a personalized email about spa services and spends ten minutes browsing your wellness pages, that's a powerful signal that your content matches what people are looking for.
The key is alignment between your email content and landing pages. For instance, hotels send emails about romantic getaway packages that link to their generic homepage. The visitor has to hunt around to find what they were promised, and most just leave. Google sees this as a high bounce rate, which hurts your search rankings.
Smart email campaigns create focused traffic that explores your website deeply. A segmented email about business amenities should link to a dedicated page about meeting facilities, high-speed internet, and corporate rates. When business travelers land on that page, they're likely to check availability and spend significant time on your site. This email-to-SEO connection represents one of the most overlooked opportunities in hotel digital marketing—most hotels treat email and search optimization as separate channels when they should work together.
I use this strategy with all my hotel clients now. Each email segment connects to specifically optimized landing pages that match the subscriber's interests. Past guests who receive emails about return visitor perks land on pages that highlight loyalty program benefits. First-time visitors get emails that link to comprehensive property overview pages with virtual tours.
Email subscribers arrive with context—they clicked because something in your email interested them, so they expect to find exactly what was promised. This allows you to be more direct with your call-to-action and focus content on their specific needs. But these pages still need to work for people who find them through Google searches.
Technical SEO Elements for Email Landing Pages:
The content strategy for these pages requires balancing specificity with search potential. The best email landing pages tell a complete story. They don't just list features—they paint a picture of the experience.
The data flowing through your email campaigns reveals search behavior patterns that traditional keyword research tools miss completely. When I analyze email engagement data for hotel clients, I discover content opportunities and keyword targets that wouldn't show up in SEMrush or Ahrefs.
Email topics that generate high engagement rates indicate what your audience actually cares about, not just what keyword tools suggest they might search for. If emails about pet-friendly amenities consistently get the highest click-through rates, that's a strong signal to create more content targeting "pet-friendly hotel" related searches.
I track specific metrics that reveal hidden SEO opportunities:
Geographic data from email subscribers provides local SEO intelligence that's incredibly valuable. High engagement from subscribers in specific cities tells me there's demand for location-specific content. If lots of people from Chicago engage with emails about your property, creating content that targets "hotels in [your city] for Chicago visitors" makes strategic sense.
The language guests use in email responses often mirrors their search behavior. When someone emails asking about "dog-friendly rooms" rather than "pet-friendly accommodations," that specific phrasing should influence your content creation and keyword targeting.
My categories that consistently drive the highest engagement and conversions:
Setting up these segments requires connecting your email platform to your booking system and website analytics. I use behavioral triggers that automatically categorize subscribers—business meeting page visitors get tagged as business travelers, while past romantic package guests get categorized for couples content.
Clicks through personalized email campaigns are good, yes. But how’s about booking? I know that the gap between email engagement and reservation conversions can be very annoying. You’re not alone. Share your email-to-booking conversion challenges below, and I'll share with you the landing page alignment strategies.
Your reputation management strategy can't wait until business hours. Reviews happen in real-time, and your response shapes public perception faster than any marketing campaign you'll ever run. The hotels that master proactive reputation management don't just protect their brand—they turn review platforms into powerful booking engines.
Google's local search algorithm treats reviews as one of the strongest ranking signals for hotels. The quantity, quality, recency, and your responses to reviews all factor into where your property appears in local search results and Google Maps. I've tracked this correlation across dozens of hotel clients—the data is undeniable.
⭐Review velocity matters more than most hotel owners realize.
Google favors businesses that consistently receive fresh reviews because it signals active operations and ongoing customer satisfaction. A hotel receiving one review per month will struggle against competitors generating weekly reviews, even if the monthly reviews are more positive.
⭐Response rates carry significant weight in local search rankings.
Hotels that respond to 90% or more of their reviews consistently rank higher than those with sporadic response patterns. Google's algorithm sees review responses as evidence of active management and customer service commitment. Response speed matters too—properties responding within 24 hours show better local search performance.
⭐The quality of your review responses affects rankings in measurable ways.
Generic, templated responses provide minimal SEO benefit compared to personalized replies that address specific guest concerns. Google's natural language processing distinguishes between authentic responses and copy-paste templates.
⭐Star rating distribution influences local search visibility beyond just the overall average.
Hotels with mostly five-star and four-star reviews rank better than those with the same average rating spread across a wider range. A 4.3 average from mostly fives and fours performs better than a 4.3 average including significant numbers of one and two-star reviews.
Your Google Business Profile serves as the foundation for all local SEO efforts, and review management represents just one piece of a comprehensive optimization strategy. Hotels that dominate local search results treat their GBP as an active marketing channel rather than a static directory listing.
Essential GBP Optimization Elements:
Photo management on your GBP significantly impacts both review generation and local search performance. Hotels with comprehensive photo galleries covering rooms, amenities, dining areas, and exterior views receive more reviews and rank higher in local results. I recommend updating photos monthly to show seasonal changes and new amenities.
The Q&A section provides opportunities to address common guest concerns before they become negative reviews. Proactively answering questions about parking, pet policies, and local attractions demonstrates transparency and helps potential guests find information quickly.
Posts on your Google Business Profile function like mini-blog entries highlighting special offers, seasonal amenities, or property improvements. Regular posting signals active management to both Google and potential guests, appearing directly in search results and influencing booking decisions.
Guest reviews contain more valuable SEO intelligence than most hotel marketers realize. The language people use to describe their experiences often mirrors exactly what potential guests search for when looking for accommodations. This authentic vocabulary provides keyword opportunities that traditional research tools miss completely, just like email engagement data reveals search behavior patterns.
Positive reviews reveal the amenities and experiences that matter most to your guests, guiding content creation priorities. When multiple reviews mention your "amazing rooftop pool" or "perfect location for business meetings," those phrases should inform your website content and meta descriptions. The exact language guests use often performs better in search results than generic hospitality terminology.
Negative reviews provide equally valuable intelligence about content gaps and optimization opportunities. Complaints about unclear parking instructions suggest the need for detailed parking information on your website. Criticism about noise levels might indicate the need for content about soundproofing or room location options.
Geographic language in reviews provides local SEO keyword opportunities. Guests who mention being "close to downtown" or "walking distance from the convention center" are using location-based search terms that potential visitors likely use. Incorporating this authentic geographic language into your website content improves relevance for local searches.
Seasonal patterns in review language reveal content opportunities throughout the year. Summer reviews might emphasize pool and outdoor amenities, while winter feedback focuses on heating or holiday decorations. Tracking these seasonal language patterns helps plan content calendars that align with what guests actually care about.
The experience of managing reputation crises. It serves me well now. Jokes aside, I've developed a systematic approach that prevents disasters and give you all the SEO benefits of active review management.
My 24-Hour Review Response Protocol:
Response timing creates the first impression of your customer service quality. Responding within 2-4 hours during business hours demonstrates active management, while late responses allow criticism to influence potential guests before they see your perspective.
Something shifted dramatically in 2023 when I noticed hotel booking inquiries changing. Instead of guests calling to ask "Do you have available rooms this weekend?" they started asking detailed questions like "What's the best pet-friendly hotel near downtown with a pool and business center that allows late check-in?" These weren't phone calls—these were the exact queries people were typing into ChatGPT and Claude.
The rise of AI assistants changed how people search for travel information. Rather than typing short keywords into Google, travelers now ask complete questions and expect comprehensive answers. Hotels optimizing for traditional SEO keywords while ignoring conversational AI queries are missing a massive shift in search behavior.
Traditional keyword research focused on short phrases like "business hotel downtown" or "family resort pools." AI search optimization requires thinking about complete questions and natural language patterns. People ask AI assistants the same way they'd ask a knowledgeable friend for recommendations.
So, what exactly does this mean for how your guests are finding information? From my point, here are the key shifts in search behavior:
When someone asks an AI assistant "What hotels near the airport have shuttle service and allow pets?" your content should provide a comprehensive answer that addresses all those requirements in one place.
Voice search compounds this trend. People speaking to Siri or Google Assistant use complete sentences. They don't say "hotel pet policy"—they ask, "Can I bring my dog to hotels in this area?" Your content needs to match this natural speech pattern.
Moving beyond exact-match keywords requires focusing on topics and relationships between different ideas. Google's algorithm now recognizes that "business traveler amenities" connect to "conference facilities," "high-speed internet," and "proximity to business districts," even when those exact phrases don't appear together.
Entity recognition drives search results. When your hotel gets mentioned alongside local landmarks or popular attractions, Google builds connections that improve your visibility for related searches.
Once you understand the "why" of semantic SEO, the "how" becomes critical. Key steps for semantic SEO implementation:
Content depth becomes more important than keyword density. A single comprehensive page about business amenities that covers meeting rooms, technology, and nearby business districts will outperform multiple thin pages targeting individual keywords.
AI assistants extract information from websites to answer user questions, so your content structure needs to make this extraction easy and accurate. Clear headings, direct answers, and well-organized information improve your chances of being featured in AI responses.
FAQ sections become incredibly valuable for AI optimization because they directly match the question-and-answer format that AI assistants use. Every common guest question should have a clear, comprehensive answer that AI can easily extract.
Start each major content section with a question as the heading. Answer questions completely in 2-3 sentences before expanding on details. Include specific numbers, policies, and procedures that AI can quote.
Schema markup helps AI assistants understand your content context and extract accurate information. Implementing structured data for your hotel's amenities, policies, and guest services makes it easier for AI to present your information correctly.
The fastest way to optimize for AI search is by auditing your existing content through an AI lens. I run client websites through ChatGPT and Claude, asking the same questions potential guests would ask. The gaps in AI responses reveal content opportunities—just like Google's AI Overviews, which now appear at the top of search results and can capture travelers before they even visit your website.
How do you make your content truly "AI-friendly" for seamless extraction? Your content optimization for AI extraction should include:
Content should anticipate follow-up questions. When someone asks about pet policies, they probably also want to know about pet fees, nearby parks, and pet-friendly restaurants. Comprehensive content that addresses the complete topic performs better in both traditional search and AI responses.
AI assistants giving wrong information about your hotel when guests ask questions? Getting your property featured correctly in ChatGPT and Claude responses requires specific content formatting, specific LLM-files to guide AI. Comment with examples of AI getting your hotel details wrong—I'll show you how to fix the underlying content issues.
OTA commissions ate $47,000 from one hotel client's revenue last year. That's $47,000 that could have funded marketing campaigns, property improvements, or staff bonuses instead of enriching booking platforms that treat hotels like interchangeable commodities. Every $100 booking through Expedia or Booking.com costs $15-25 in commission fees, while direct bookings keep 100% of the revenue.
The tragedy is that most hotels drive traffic to their websites through SEO and paid advertising, only to lose those visitors to comparison shopping and OTA bookings. Smart direct booking optimization captures visitors who have already found your property and converts them into profitable direct reservations. This represents the highest ROI in improving hotel marketing strategy available because you're maximizing revenue from traffic you're already generating.
Your booking engine represents the final, often fatal, hurdle between website visitors and direct reservations. I've seen hotels lose significant revenue due to clunky processes, hidden fees, or confusing navigation. Every friction point, especially slow loading times and too many steps on mobile, drives frustrated guests straight to OTAs, which offer smoother booking experiences.
From my experience, this booking checklist is non-negotiable for maximizing direct revenue:
Form optimization dramatically impacts completion rates. Required fields should be limited to essential information only. Optional fields for preferences and special requests can appear after core booking details are captured. Auto-fill functionality for returning guests eliminates repetitive data entry that causes abandonment.
Payment security displays build confidence during the final booking step. Trust badges, SSL certificates, and payment processor logos should appear prominently near credit card forms. Many potential guests abandon bookings due to security concerns rather than price objections.
Guest login systems create competitive advantages by simplifying repeat bookings. Returning visitors should be able to complete reservations with minimal data entry. Loyalty program integration at this stage encourages direct booking habits while rewarding guest loyalty.
Website visitors who leave without booking represent lost revenue opportunities, but retargeting campaigns can recover 15-25% of abandoned booking attempts. These campaigns work by showing targeted ads to people who visited your booking pages but completed reservations elsewhere.
Pixel implementation across your website tracks visitor behavior and enables sophisticated audience segmentation. Different retargeting messages should target people who viewed rooms, versus those who started booking processes, versus guests who completed stays previously.
Retargeting Campaign Structure:
⭐Room Viewers (visited room pages, didn't book)
⭐Booking Abandoners (started reservation process)
⭐Past Guests (completed previous stays)
Campaign Performance Metrics:
Dynamic retargeting displays specific rooms and rates that visitors viewed on your website. These personalized ads perform significantly better than generic hotel promotions because they match demonstrated interest with relevant offers.
Cross-platform retargeting reaches potential guests across Facebook, Instagram, Google Display Network, and other advertising platforms. Consistent messaging across channels reinforces direct booking benefits while staying visible during guest decision-making periods.
Website authority signals convince both search engines and potential guests that your hotel deserves direct bookings instead of third-party platform reservations. I've structured this into three key areas that work together to establish booking confidence:
1. Trust Signal Implementation:
2. Content That Drives Direct Bookings:
3. Direct Booking Incentive Strategy:
For improving hotel marketing over the long term, the compound effect of direct booking optimization is indispensable. It extends far beyond immediate revenue protection. Hotels that successfully reduce OTA dependence gain crucial pricing flexibility, guest relationship control, and marketing budget efficiency. These competitive advantages strengthen over time as direct booking habits develop among repeat guests.
Those 5 pillars didn't just come out of the air. I've worked hard, and by the method of trial and error, I've figured out the top 5 strategies to improve hotel marketing. Some deliver results within weeks. Others need months of consistent execution.
These aren't the only strategies that work for hotels—there much more tactics I could have covered. But these five pillars form the foundation that makes everything else possible. You can't run effective social media campaigns if your mobile site converts poorly. Paid advertising wastes money when your reputation management is broken.
Don't rush into implementing all five at once. Pick one or two that match your biggest problem right now. Get those working properly before adding complexity. I still see hotels jumping to trendy marketing tactics while their basic booking process frustrates mobile users.
Really hope this helps you figure out how to improve your hotel marketing, but if you have more specific questions—just ask me in the comments. I read each of them and respond with actionable advice based on what I've learned solving these exact problems for hotel clients.
Roman Makarenko is an SEO and digital marketing pro with over 8 years of experience. He’s worked with businesses around the world, helping them drive more traffic and improve conversions. Roman enjoys sharing what he’s learned about website promotion, offering practical advice that’s helpful for both marketers and business owners who want to boost their online presence.
Roman Makarenko is an SEO and digital marketing pro with over 8 years of experience. He’s worked with businesses around the world, helping them drive more traffic and improve conversions. Roman enjoys sharing what he’s learned about website promotion, offering practical advice that’s helpful for both marketers and business owners who want to boost their online presence.
By entering your e-mail address you’re confirming
that you agree to subscribe to our newsletter.
