Adobe, Omniture, Google Analytics 4, Google Conversion Tracking, Facebook Pixel, Snowplow, Gravity Forms, WordPress, Pinterest, Google Maps, Hotel Schema, Vimeo, YouTube, BugHerd, ADARA, the list goes on. For most properties, managing this evolving tech stack is like maintaining a complex ecosystem. Each tool provides value, but without alignment and expertise, they rarely deliver the efficiency or insights hoteliers need to drive direct bookings and optimize digital performance.
The complexity of connection
Today’s hospitality marketing ecosystem is powered by data. Every pixel, tag, and API call contributes to a hotel’s visibility, guest acquisition, and conversion strategy. Yet, even the most advanced technology can become a liability when misconfigured or underutilized. The truth is that connecting and optimizing these tools demands a deep understanding of both hospitality operations and digital infrastructure.
Why experience matters
Expertise in hospitality technology
A hospitality-focused digital marketing agency understands the nuances of this industry, from metasearch strategy to the importance of first-party data in driving direct bookings. These partners know how to configure tracking tools like Google Analytics 4 and Facebook Pixel to reflect booking engine behaviors, cancellation patterns, and revenue attribution specific to hotels and resorts.
Comprehensive solutions
An experienced partner provides a full-service solution that extends beyond web development. From designing fast, conversion-optimized websites to managing paid search and hotel metasearch campaigns, these experts ensure every element of your digital presence is connected. This end-to-end integration prevents data silos and enables more accurate reporting and decision-making.
Customization and personalization
No two properties are the same. A boutique resort will have different data needs than a multi-property management company. Expert partners can customize analytics dashboards, automate reporting across multiple properties, and apply advanced tools like GCommerce’s Multi-Property and Channel Rollup APIs to surface performance insights that inform smarter strategies.
Keeping up with trends
The digital landscape evolves constantly. New privacy regulations, analytics updates, and platform shifts, like the move from Universal Analytics to GA4, require continuous adaptation. Agencies immersed in hospitality marketing stay ahead of these changes, ensuring your property’s tech stack remains compliant, optimized, and competitive.
ROI and performance tracking
Experienced partners don’t just implement tools; they turn data into action. By integrating your property’s analytics with media performance data, they can identify what drives revenue and what doesn’t. This allows for precise ROI tracking, smarter budget allocation, and a clear understanding of which campaigns are increasing direct bookings.
Building stronger foundations for hospitality success
In an era where digital infrastructure defines performance, your tech stack is as important as your property’s physical foundation. Managing it requires the same level of expertise, planning, and precision. Partnering with a seasoned hospitality marketing agency ensures your technology ecosystem is optimized for both efficiency and growth.
With the right guidance, hotels can transform a tangled web of tools into a unified system that powers visibility, conversions, and profitability. The outcome isn’t just a better website or more data, it’s smarter marketing that helps your property connect with guests and increase direct bookings.
Ready to simplify your tech stack and drive more direct bookings? Connect with GCommerce to build a smarter digital foundation for your property.
AI in Hospitality. There is something perverse about the machines taking over a distinctly human industry. An industry that trains human connection and thrives on lived experiences. And yet, AI is the topic de jure, and for good reason. AI, LLMs, ML, and other acronyms that held no meaning just a few short years ago are permeating our industry and threatening, or maybe offering, to upend how guests experience our hospitality.
In our work at GCommerce, AI has evolved from being an unknown to a curiosity to being the single most discussed topic with our clients. Yet, there is no topic with more divergent opinions. I often ask audiences to rank their sentiment about AI on a scale from apprehension to excitement. Apprehension always wins out. So, what do we do as an industry, as a property, or as an individual in the face of this emerging technology? Are we bound to lose our jobs, or our souls, to the machines?
In this article, I’ll outline the current state of AI hospitality marketing. I’ll discuss current, proven tactics for maximizing performance and outline why LLMs have introduced new barriers to insight and audience engagement. Then, I’ll look to the future. What can we expect from AI in the next 3 - 5 years? How will our industry change, and what can we do to remain competitive? Finally, I’ll leave you with some perspective, and a reminder that ours is still a human endeavor.
AI in hospitality marketing is here to stay
I started GCommerce in 2002, and over the last 23 years, there have been notable and significant moments of disruption. Twenty-three years ago, a vocal minority of intransigent hoteliers argued that most people would never use their credit cards to make online purchases. In the following years, some argued that ad networks would be less effective than direct media buys, or that social media was a passing trend and not worthy of our attention. In each case, the emergent technology became dominant, and even the most strident naysayers were forced to evolve. Which brings us to today.
AI is here to stay. It can’t be legislated or managed away. The statistics on AI adoption leave no doubt; 43% of consumers now report using AI daily. Consumers and businesses alike are hooked, and it’s our job to meet them where we are. Or better yet, already be there when they arrive. To do so, we can’t simply “accept AI” and start a slow process of adoption. Advancements are happening too quickly.
Moore’s Law was famous for stating in 1975 that microprocessor power would double every two years…a statement that at the time seemed unimaginable. AI processing power is now doubling every seven months. That fact alone should scare you and compel you to take action. The bleeding edge of advancement today will be old news tomorrow. But there’s gold in the hills of innovation, and if you get there first, you can start to mine that value before your competitors arrive.
Brief summary of the current state of play
Travelers’ adoption of LLMs will change the landscape of hospitality digital marketing. Unlike previous emerging technologies in travel, there is no clear path to improved performance through ad placements. When Google launched, it was quickly accompanied by Google Ads. Facebook started as a novelty, but quickly evolved into a powerful marketing tool with the launch of its advertising platform. Even OTAs provided a clear path to monetization…pay the toll.
Today’s dominant LLMs don’t offer advertising models. Their “answers” often reference our hotels, or competitor hotels, but their methodology for ranking those choices is not published, and the techniques to improve visibility continue to shift.
The most vexing issue is that LLMs rarely direct visitors to a hotel’s website or social media channels, and they offer little to no internal reporting. ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and other LLMs are the most important emergent channels in a generation, and we’re all flying blind.
I firmly believe that this reality will soon change; that marketers and business owners will have access to better tracking of AI’s impact on their customer journey. However, at this particular moment in time, we are left to review reputable consumer studies, do our own research, and focus on the essential elements that we know will drive performance.
GCommerce has conducted significant research across our portfolio. We’ve tested AI techniques, measured outcomes, ideated on new strategies, and coalesced around a long list of best practices. I encourage you to review our content…it’s free and it’s damn good.
AI marketing optimization starts now
If we agree that travelers are using AI to dream about and plan their travel, but advertising on those channels is not available, is it possible to improve our visibility?
The simple answer is yes.
Thanks to our ongoing studies, combined with those of reputable third parties, we have identified specific techniques that significantly impact AI visibility. For the purpose of this article, I’ll provide an abbreviated list of tactics; however, I encourage you to visit our insights page for more in-depth information.
Conversational content - Create content that answers questions more comprehensively and naturally. Examples of this type of content includes guides on amenities, nearby attractions, or the history of your property.
Social media content - Frequent posting, proper linking, and comment responses all impact a hotel’s relevance to LLMs.
Local SEO - LLMs frequently reference local listing data on sites like Google My Business, TripAdvisor, Yelp, and Bing Places. Manage your listing with care, and at a minimum, ensure that your name, address, phone number, and website are accurate and consistent.
Review management - Reviews play a consistent role in AI placement. More positive reviews lead to more visibility. Better yet, responses to reviews has a real impact on LLM visibility.
Schema - LLMs love structured data and content. Use Schema.org’s structured data markup for applicable information on your website.
PR for the win - Brand strength and brand mentions are back. They continue to be referenced in studies as important in LLM rankings. Beyond working with a PR firm to secure brand mentions in high-profile publications, consider listing with your Chamber of Commerce, partnering with local organizations, and engaging bloggers for third-party mentions.
Reddit - Reddit continues to be overindexed in LLM rankings, yet most hotels do not participate on the channel. Reddit offers organic opportunities to insert your property into a conversation, and relatively inexpensive paid opportunities to further appeal to the Reddit community.
Consider these tactics to be foundational. Not only will they have an impact on your visibility on LLMs today, they’ll position you for future innovations.
Near-future AI applications for travel marketing
Innovation often chases consumer sentiment, especially when the incentives are high. The travel industry offers $648b per year in incentives, quite the table stakes to encourage innovation. Couple that with the fact that consumers are clamoring for change…in a recent survey by Accenture, 66% report being dissatisfied with the planning options available today. Our industry is closing in on $1 trillion per year in revenue, and ⅔ of our customers hate buying from us. Unsustainable.
As such, I expect the travel marketing and distribution landscape to undergo the most disruptive half-decade of change in our lifetime.
Transformation will come in many forms; some unimaginable and some obvious. I’ll stay grounded for the purpose of this article and highlight three seemingly obvious developments.
1. How data will help you win with AI
GCommerce has evolved into a Hospitality Data Platform thanks to our proprietary process to extract, optimize, and then utilize performance marketing data in real time. To loosely quote Wu-Tang…data rules everything around us. And yet, when it comes to the impact of LLMs on the traveler journey, we lack reliable data and insights. That’s going to change in the not-so-distant future.
First, I expect that the platforms themselves will begin offering insight into brand visibility as a precursor to the rollout of an advertising model. For example, Google recently launched “Google AI Mode”, their new answer engine that uses Gemini and a more conversational approach. Traffic, impressions, and position from AI Mode have already been incorporated into Google Search Console, though they are lumped together with organic results with no way to differentiate. We hope that will change in the coming months. It’s no surprise that Google is the first LLM-powered platform to provide access to data, but expect the rest to follow suit soon.
Second, the search industry has long benefited from third-party reporting platforms like SEMRush and Ahrefs. They have long made a living measuring visibility and impact from digital channels. As traditional traffic sources cede ground to AI, I expect these platforms will innovate. They have the size, scale, and engineering talent to solve this massive data problem on behalf of their customers.
As more data becomes available, expect our understanding of the traditional customer journey to evolve. AI will play a role, but so too will existing channels. A comprehensive and data-driven view of the customer journey will uncover opportunities that the less-informed will miss.
2. Paying for visibility on AI search
Is there a way to advertise on ChatGPT? Can a hotel utilize sophisticated audience targeting, similar to what is available on other platforms, to identify high-intent travelers at the exact moment with the right message? The simple answer is no, at least not yet.
The dominant platforms of our time, Google and Meta, have used sophisticated advertising platforms to monetize their traffic. It’s easy to imagine ChatGPT and other platforms doing the same. However, building an ad platform that provides advertisers with the types of audience targeting, tracking, and management tools they expect is an expensive and time-consuming endeavor.
For example, consider Google Hotel Ads. Not only does the platform provide real utility to the user, but it is chock-full of hard-to-duplicate features for the hotel. They list live availability, rates, and inventory, which means that they have taken the time to map and build connectivity with our industry’s painfully fragmented ecosystem. They’ve learned how consumers shop specifically for travel, and provided the type of user and advertiser experience that caters to that behavior. NOT easy to replicate, which is why I consider Google to be one of the two mature and ubiquitous advertising platforms. While not a certainty, I believe that emerging AI platforms, including ChatGPT, will decide that the shortest path to monetization is to partner with one (or both) of the existing platforms.
As AI advertising opportunities become available, we’ll encourage hotels to be early adopters. When Google Ads launched, they were comparatively inexpensive before mass adoption drove up prices. The same was true for social media advertising. I expect the same dynamic will play out with AI advertising.
3. Travel SuperApp
As previously mentioned, our customers view the current travel planning process as tragically flawed. It's time-consuming, stressful, and fragmented. Consumers want a simpler and more personalized experience. In fact, 61% of consumers say personalized travel recommendations are somewhat or very important, with only 7% saying that they are not important. Cue the AI-powered travel Super App.
Deep in the Accenture study was a statistic that took my breath away:
“An overwhelming majority (97%) of travelers want a travel 'superapp.” They want something that will offer one-stop, integrated access to a whole range of travel-related services, including personalized, inspirational destination ideas, flights, dining, and everything in between.”
The company that creates and truly delivers on this promise will change the travel landscape forever.
Conclusion
Two passions comprise my professional identity:
I’m a marketer. The emergence of new ways to connect with customers is exciting and invigorating.
I’m a lifelong advocate for hospitality. I believe in the transformative power of humanity in our industry.
In practice, one cannot replace one with the other. No AI can provide a knowing and friendly smile to travel-weary parents as they check in for their family’s annual vacation pilgrimage. No AI can truly capture the stories and experiences that make a hotel special. However, AI can change the ways in which our customers dream about, plan, and purchase their travel. As such, it can change our behavior as marketers, helping us eliminate waste and focus our efforts.
Maybe, then, AI can help us eliminate our most impersonal and unemotional tasks and bring us closer to our true purpose in this industry. Serving our guests with genuine hospitality.
Why the next generation of hotel marketing agencies won’t look like agencies
The hospitality marketing landscape is evolving fast. Traditional models built around long planning cycles, isolated channels, and post-campaign reporting cannot keep pace with how guests now discover, compare, and book stays.
For years, agencies followed a predictable rhythm: plan, buy, design, report. It worked when media channels were limited and performance was simple to measure. That era has passed.
Today, travelers move seamlessly between platforms. They browse social reels, compare rates on metasearch, scroll OTAs, read influencer reviews, and even consult AI travel planners before calling to confirm a reservation. Each touchpoint creates a trail of valuable data, but most hotels lack the infrastructure to connect it all.
That is why the next generation of hospitality marketing partners will not act like traditional agencies. They will function as platforms; blending technology, data, and strategy to unify media ecosystems into one adaptive system that learns, predicts, and performs.
From tactics to intelligence
In the past, success was defined by tactics: optimizing bids, tracking conversions, and hoping the data told a clear story. But the guest journey is now too fragmented for isolated insights.
A traveler may first see your property on TikTok, research rates on Google, check OTAs for reviews, and finally book direct through metasearch. If your marketing partner manages only one part of that journey, you are missing most of the picture.
Future-ready partners will manage ecosystems, not just channels. They will connect signals across every touchpoint, automate optimizations in real time, and transform reactive reporting into predictive intelligence. The question will shift from “How did this campaign perform?” to “What did this data teach us about guest intent, and how can we act on it?”
This evolution is where data becomes strategy. Intelligence replaces intuition.
Automation with a human touch
Automation is transforming what is possible, but it does not replace the human perspective. Algorithms can process millions of data points, but they cannot yet interpret emotion or context—the reasons a guest chooses one property over another.
The next generation of marketing partners will balance data automation with human insight. They will use analytics to surface opportunities and rely on experienced strategists and creators to turn those insights into compelling stories and experiences.
Imagine a platform that automatically adjusts your metasearch bids when pickup slows but relies on a strategist to interpret the cause and adapt the message. That collaboration between intelligence and empathy defines the future of hospitality marketing.
Agencies that thrive will automate routine work and invest human energy in strategy, creativity, and relationships, the work that technology cannot replicate.
The end of outsourcing
The traditional agency model was built around outsourcing. The new model is built around empowerment.
Hotels and resorts no longer need someone to “handle marketing.” They need partners who help them understand it—partners who unify PMS, CRS, and media data, visualize performance in real time, and highlight where demand and opportunity align.
In this environment, the agency becomes a co-pilot, not a vendor. Both sides share visibility into performance and make decisions collaboratively. Transparency becomes the foundation of trust.
When everyone sees the same data, decisions get faster and smarter. The agency’s role evolves from producing deliverables to providing intelligence and recommendations that move the business forward.
Redefining value in hospitality marketing
This transformation is not just about technology, it is about redefining value.
The best marketing partners will not measure success by impressions or clicks but by revenue contribution, efficiency, and growth. Hoteliers will no longer ask for monthly reports. They will ask, “What is our data telling us about next quarter?” or “Where should we shift spend to drive the most profitable demand?”
That is the future of marketing intelligence: proactive, predictive, and performance-aligned.
The beginning of a new era
Hospitality marketing is entering a reinvention. Automation, AI, and data convergence are reshaping how hotels attract guests and how marketing partners deliver value.
Those who cling to legacy models will struggle. Those who adapt will redefine what it means to be a marketing partner. They will connect the dots between platforms and people, between data and creativity, between performance and purpose.
Because the next generation of hospitality marketing is not about managing campaigns. It is about building intelligence.
Ready to move beyond traditional hotel marketing? Partner with GCommerce to unify your data, media, and strategy into one intelligent platform that drives direct bookings and long-term growth. Contact us today to start building a smarter hospitality marketing ecosystem.
AI is rapidly changing how travelers discover hotels and resorts. Instead of only typing queries into search engines, guests are now turning to AI-driven tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and other conversational assistants to research destinations, compare properties, and make booking decisions. For hotels, this shift creates a critical question: how do you make sure your property gets found by AI?
The answer lies in clearing the path with accurate data, optimized content, and an adaptive strategy.
What is AI search?
Before we dive into what your hotel should do now to maximize its visibility, it’s important to take a step back and understand how AI search works. The way travelers discover hotels and resorts is evolving fast, and AI is quietly reshaping the path to discovery. Unlike traditional search, where results depend on keywords and backlinks, AI search engines interpret intent, context, and credibility. They look for clarity, accuracy, and consistency across your property’s digital footprint before deciding what to recommend.
Understanding how these systems think gives your team a critical advantage. It helps you identify where your data may be holding you back, and how small changes in structure, content, and presentation can make a big impact on your property’s visibility.
Explore a deeper look into the mechanics of AI search in our full blog here.
How AI engines work
AI models do not crawl the internet the way traditional search engines do. Instead, they learn patterns from large sets of data and then surface answers based on relevance, clarity, and authority.
When travelers ask AI for “the best hotels near Yellowstone with family suites,” the model looks for trusted, structured information it can confidently provide. If your property details are unclear, inconsistent, or missing, AI may pass you over.
This makes clean data and structured content more important than ever.
Optimizing your property for AI-driven SEO
AI-driven search is reshaping how travelers discover hotels and resorts. To stay visible, properties must take a holistic approach that connects structured data, local visibility, content quality, and digital engagement. While many of these elements overlap with traditional SEO, the emphasis now lies in how clearly and consistently your data can be understood by AI systems.
Strengthen your local foundation
AI SEO begins with local accuracy. Each study we’ve conducted on AI visibility for hotels shows that many key factors align with traditional local SEO best practices. Start by optimizing these core areas:
Google Business Profile attributes and categories
Reviews across Google, TripAdvisor, and other guest platforms
Consistent and current property information across all listings
Schema markup and structured data across your website
LLMs (large language models) prioritize structured content. On your website, implement schema.org structured data for:
Local business organization
Product listings
FAQs and other key sections
This helps AI agents understand your property and ensures your most accurate information appears across channels.
Expand your website content
Your property website remains your strongest signal to AI search engines. Ensure your content reflects the full guest experience and the context of your destination.
Include:
Rich, multi-format content: text, photos, and video
Conversational, informative writing that anticipates traveler questions
Expanded pages that fully answer search intent
Organized and structured content, including dedicated FAQ sections
Comprehensive content not only informs guests—it strengthens your visibility in both AI and traditional search environments.
Prioritize technical health
Technical SEO still plays a major role, but for AI search optimization, precision matters more than ever. Focus on:
Clean site code and validated schema markup
Core Web Vitals performance and page speed
Ongoing technical maintenance and crawlability checks
Intentional internal linking to reinforce related topics
Each of these factors contributes to how effectively AI systems interpret and summarize your website data.
Engage through social channels
AI search is evolving toward “search everywhere optimization.” Social content now influences visibility across both traditional and AI-driven results. Platforms like Instagram are being indexed more frequently, creating new visibility opportunities.
Your property can strengthen its presence by:
Sharing updates, news, and reviews through organic social posts
Engaging in comments and community discussions
Repurposing blog and PR content into discoverable, shareable formats
Build visibility through PR and brand mentions
In AI SEO, brand mentions are as influential as backlinks once were. AI systems reference contextual mentions across the web to form brand summaries and recommendations. Increase your visibility by:
Partnering with local organizations and tourism boards for online mentions
Ensuring listings on reputable local directories and chambers of commerce
Collaborating with PR partners to secure coverage in relevant publications
Working with regional bloggers and influencers to appear in guides and “top 10” lists
These connections create the digital footprint AI relies on to evaluate authority and trust.
Leverage YouTube, Reddit, and community platforms
YouTube remains the second-largest search engine, and one of the most favored by AI for structured learning. Its metadata, engagement signals, and video descriptions make it highly indexable. Community platforms like Reddit and TripAdvisor also serve as valuable data sources.
Opportunities for properties include:
Publishing videos that showcase amenities and local experiences
Collaborating with creators who highlight your destination
Contributing to hospitality-focused threads or travel forums
These platforms provide accessible, structured content that enhances brand discoverability.
Focus where it matters
AI SEO shares much with traditional SEO, but not every tactic deserves equal priority. With limited time or budget, focus first on local visibility, technical structure, and credible brand mentions.
When resources allow, expand into new opportunities like community content, YouTube, and advanced schema implementations.
Our hospitality marketing team can help you identify the highest-impact areas for your property and guide your AI SEO roadmap. Reach out to learn how we can help your brand grow visibility and increase direct bookings.
Ready to strengthen your property’s visibility in AI search?
Connect with GCommerce to build a smarter SEO strategy that integrates structured data, AI insights, and hospitality expertise. Our team helps hotels and resorts increase direct bookings and stay ahead in the evolving digital landscape.
Contact us today to start optimizing your property for AI search success.
Beyond the funnel: The new rules of hotel marketing
I have watched hospitality marketing evolve dramatically over the years, starting with the clean, predictable funnel: awareness, consideration, booking. It served us well. We could measure it, optimize it, and feel confident in the process it promised.
But that model is breaking. Today, 60% of searches end without a click. Travelers are not making it to your site the way they used to. Search engines and AI are serving answers before anyone even lands on your page. The journey to booking is no longer linear. It is fragmented, circular, and often invisible.
So what do we do in this zero-click world?
We stop thinking in straight lines and start building adaptive growth loops. Marketing systems that listen, learn, and continually feed back into each other.
Why funnels don’t work anymore
Funnels assume a neat progression: you find us, you compare us, you book with us. Reality is messier. A potential guest might see a display ad, scroll past your property on Instagram or TikTok, check rates on an OTA, revisit your blog, get retargeted with an ad, receive a reminder via email, and only then decide to book. Sometimes they book without ever visiting your site at all.
Trying to force that into a funnel does not just fall short. It ignores how travel browsing actually happens now.
What works instead are loops. Strategies that adapt. Every interaction, whether it is an email open, an ad view, or a review read, feeds into the next one. These loops learn from behavior and make the journey smarter, more responsive, and more personal.
Tactical takeaway: Map your current guest journey. List out every touchpoint where a traveler interacts with your brand. Ask yourself if those touchpoints are connected or if they operate in silos. Look for opportunities to create continuity, such as aligning messaging between your display campaigns and your follow-up emails.
Organic search is fading, but content still counts
Ranking well in Google historically has been marketing gold. Now, AI-generated results and featured snippets are claiming more real estate and more clicks.
That said, this does not mean SEO is dead. Fresh content, helpful blogs, and useful information are more important than ever. Google rewards them, and AI relies on them.
But here is the reality. Organic search is no longer the only hero. We need media, owned channels, and marketing loops that learn from behavior to fill the gaps.
Hotels often ask: What kind of content should we be creating? The answer lies in listening to your guests and your market. Here are some effective ways to uncover topics worth writing about:
OTA reviews- Scan Booking.com, Expedia, or TripAdvisor reviews to see what guests consistently mention. If travelers are asking about parking, dining options, or nearby attractions, those are content opportunities.
Social media conversations- Watch what people are saying in Instagram comments, TikTok travel videos, or Reddit threads about your destination. These conversations highlight authentic traveler interests.
Search trend tools- Use Google Trends or other keyword research tools to see what is spiking in interest. Seasonal queries like “best family ski resorts in Utah” or “things to do in Napa in the fall” can drive timely content.
Local events- Build content around festivals, conferences, and seasonal activities happening near your property. Guests are searching for this information, and it positions your hotel as a helpful resource.
Tactical takeaway: Audit your website content and brainstorm new ideas from these sources. Focus on creating content that answers real questions, reflects your property’s unique perspective, and positions you as an authority both in Google and in AI engines.
Media is essential at every stage of the guest journey
With organic traffic shrinking, media becomes critical. Smart marketers treat it as a portfolio, not silos.
Display advertising works at the top of the journey. It plants the idea and inspires travel before the traveler even knows they want it.
Meta is both a discovery and consideration channel. It combines reach and targeting, letting hotels inspire travelers with visuals while also re-engaging them through remarketing.
Paid search captures the moment travelers are actively looking. It helps you show up when intent is clear.
Metasearch sits at the bottom, where comparison happens and booking decisions are made.
When display, Meta, paid search, and metasearch work together, they create a seamless journey, feeding the loop from inspiration to conversion. But it is not enough to just run these channels side by side. What sets high-performing hotels apart is the ability to understand how the entire media mix is working together through unified data.
Without unified reporting, display, or Meta, they may look like they are underperforming, when in fact they are seeding demand that shows up later in paid search or metasearch. Paid search might appear expensive if viewed in isolation, but when connected with attribution data, you can see that it is strengthening both direct bookings and assisted conversions.
Another critical element is creative differentiation. Boilerplate ads that could be promoting any property will always underperform. What builds brand trust and drives bookings is featuring the hotel’s sustainable competitive advantages, the unique experiences, amenities, and positioning that no competitor can replicate. Media spend is only as effective as the story it tells, and hotels that lean into their unique strengths see higher conversion rates across every channel.
This is where GCommerce’s data platform makes a difference. By pulling performance data across all media channels into one unified view, we help hotels see the true value of each channel, how they interact, and where to shift budget for maximum impact.
Tactical takeaway: Do not evaluate your media channels in silos. Look for ways to connect performance data across your media mix to understand the entire guest journey. And make sure your ads reflect what makes your property different. Generic creative erodes trust, while highlighting your brand’s long-term competitive advantages builds authority and drives higher booking conversion.
AI search is here, and it is shifting the game
AI is not on the horizon. It is in the search bar already. AI-powered results are answering traveler questions on the spot. That means:
Organic clicks may shrink further.
Authority, both in content and brand, becomes critical.
AI could start sending traffic directly to your booking engine without OTAs in the mix.
This is both a threat and an opportunity, which is why we are introducing AI Metasearch, a way to place your direct booking link in AI-powered search results while still enjoying reporting, attribution, and control. It is the next evolution of metasearch for a zero-click world.
Tactical takeaway: Begin preparing for AI visibility now. Make sure your property information, reviews, and content are accurate, fresh, and structured. Think of every piece of content you create as a potential answer AI could surface to a traveler’s question.
Even as AI rises, fundamentals remain your foundation. In fact, they are more important now because they fuel both human and AI discovery.
Email marketing remains the most revenue-efficient channel. It is direct, owned, and powerful.
Content and blogging keep Google interested and give AI engines a reason to cite you. The demand for fresh content has never been higher, but simply publishing words on a page is not enough. AI can assist with speed and efficiency, but it cannot replace the strategic perspective, brand alignment, and hospitality-specific expertise required to create content that actually drives bookings. Hotels need content that answers the questions travelers are asking, reflects the property’s unique story, and builds long-term authority. That requires a thoughtful strategy behind the words.
Schema markup provides structured data that helps AI and traditional search understand your property.
Guest reviews reinforce credibility. Not just with travelers, but also with AI that values citations and signals.
These fundamentals are not optional. They are the base layer upon which loops, AI visibility, and media integration stand.
Tactical takeaway: Look for ways AI can accelerate the process, such as generating topic ideas or first-pass outlines, but always layer in human editing and hospitality expertise. This ensures your content is not just fast, but accurate, on-brand, and positioned to win visibility in both search and AI engines.
Growth comes from loops, not ladders
The old ladder-like funnel is obsolete. Guest journeys loop back, circle forward, and intersect across channels. Marketing loops that learn from behavior, feeding insights back into media, content, email, and AI discovery, are how we stay relevant.
Hotels that master both fundamentals and future-facing strategies, email and AI, reviews and media, schema and marketing loops that learn from behavior, will not just survive. They will define what hospitality marketing looks like in our new era.
The funnel has run its course. The future belongs to systems that adapt, learn, and keep guests connected.
Tactical takeaway: Start building your own loop model. Sketch out how your media, content, email, reviews, and AI readiness connect. Ask: What happens after a traveler clicks? After they open an email? After they read a review? Growth will come from the connections you build between these moments.
Where hotels go from here
The rules of hotel marketing are shifting. The funnel that once guided strategy is no longer reliable, and organic search alone will not deliver the results it once did. But that does not mean growth is out of reach. In fact, the opportunities for hotels have never been greater.
The hotels that will win in this new era are the ones that adapt. They will invest in media at every stage of the guest journey. They will lean on data to understand how channels work together instead of judging them in silos. They will prioritize fundamentals like email, reviews, and content while preparing for the rise of AI-enabled search. Most importantly, they will create marketing loops that learn from every interaction and strengthen with each cycle.
Hospitality has always been about connection. The tools may change, but the goal remains the same: to build trust, inspire travelers, and keep them coming back. For hotels ready to embrace this shift, the future is not something to fear. It is something to build toward with clarity, confidence, and creativity.
The metasearch landscape continues to evolve. On September 1, 2025, trivago shifted all campaigns to a CPA-only (Cost-Per-Acquisition) bidding model, introducing a global minimum NET CPA of 10%.
For many hoteliers, that means sudden adjustments, less flexibility, and a scramble to meet new requirements. But if you’re on Metadesk’s Pay-Per-Stay model, you don’t have to worry.
Here’s why this approach isn’t just important—it’s a smarter, safer way to manage your metasearch investment.
The problem with CPA-only hotel metasearch model
On the surface, CPA bidding looks appealing: you only pay when a booking occurs. But there’s a catch—CPA doesn’t account for cancellations or no-shows. That means hotels still end up paying for revenue they never actually realize.
With trivago’s new rules, hoteliers also lose:
Flexibility: All campaigns are locked into CPA, whether it fits your strategy or not.
Control: A global 10% minimum NET CPA reduces your ability to manage margins.
Efficiency: You may still pay for bookings that don’t turn into stays.
Why pay-per-stay natters for hotel metasearch
Pay-Per-Stay takes performance marketing a step further by aligning costs with actual, consumed revenue. Instead of paying for every booking, you only pay when the guest checks in and completes their stay.
This protects your budget and ensures your spend is tied directly to real business impact.
In short: Pay-Per-Stay eliminates wasted spend, smooths out the risks of cancellations, and gives hoteliers confidence that their investment is working as hard as possible.
Why pay-per-stay with Metadesk is different
Not all Pay-Per-Stay models are created equal. Here’s why using Metadesk’s Pay-Per-Stay model gives you an edge:
✅ End-to-End Transparency – Our upgraded portal shows exactly how your campaigns are performing, from impressions through to actual stays.
✅ Direct Connection to ROI – You don’t just see bookings; you see revenue earned from completed stays, so you know every dollar spent drives true value.
✅ Smarter Insights Built In – Features like Funnel Analysis, Parity Monitoring, and Roll-Up Reporting give you more control over campaign optimization—something a CPA-only environment can’t match.
✅ Fewer Surprises, More Trust – With reconciliation tools that tie campaign performance directly to guest stays, you’ll never be blindsided by wasted spend.
The bottom line
While other providers are adjusting to trivago’s CPA-only model and its mandatory 10% minimum, Metadesk clients are already ahead.
With Metadesk’s Pay-Per-Stay model, you:
Avoid wasted spend.
Protect your ROI against cancellations and no-shows.
Gain better visibility into true campaign performance.
Enjoy peace of mind knowing your marketing dollars are directly tied to real revenue.
👉 In an evolving metasearch landscape, Pay-Per-Stay with Metadesk isn’t just a safer option—it’s the smarter way to win. Contact us now to learn more.
