Hotel Advertising – Master Our 11 Proven Tactics (2025)

By: Frank DePino | June 9, 2025

Picture your rooms sitting empty tonight—not because travellers aren’t searching, but because they never saw you. 

In an age where nine out of ten trip decisions now start on a phone screen, hotel advertising has become the control panel for occupancy, rate, and brand perception. 

Hotel advertising is the strategic use of paid media to promote a hotel’s unique selling points, attract potential guests, and drive direct bookings. It involves crafting compelling messages and visuals across various digital platforms to create awareness, interest, and desire for a hotel’s accommodations and experiences.

You’ll get a concise roadmap of 11 proven tactics, clear metrics to watch, and practical tips for tailoring spend to need periods, all aimed at winning more direct revenue while strengthening long-term guest loyalty.

Here’s an overview of what we’ll cover, the 11 hotel advertising strategies:

1. Develop an Online Presence
2. Identify the Ideal Target Audience
3. Establish & Maintain Brand Consistency
4. SEM — Search Engine Marketing
5. Social Media Advertising
6. Video Advertising
7. Display Advertising
8. Native Advertising
9. Influencer Marketing
10. User-generated Content
11. Retargeting

What is hotel advertising?

Hotel advertising refers to all paid, deliberately placed messages that promote a lodging property, its brand, or its ancillary services (spa, restaurant, event space, etc.) to current or prospective guests.

While advertising is a subset of the broader marketing mix (which also includes pricing, distribution, loyalty, PR, etc.), its hallmark is pay-to-place visibility—whether via cost-per-click (CPC), cost-per-impression (CPM), cost-per-acquisition (CPA), or fixed-rate buys.

Why is advertising important for hotels?

1. Perishable inventory & revenue pacing
   Rooms expire at midnight. Effective advertising in hospitality industry lets revenue managers “turn on the faucet” and stimulate demand exactly when pace and pickup lag.
2. Channel-mix economics
   OTAs charge 15–25 % commission. A well-run metasearch or branded-search campaign often converts at an all-in acquisition cost below 10 %, protecting RevPAR (Revenue Per Available Room) and gross operating profit.
3. Visibility in a crowded, digital funnel
   Travellers compare dozens of options on mobile-first platforms. Paid placements—especially Google Hotel Ads, which surfaces room rates directly in search results—can tip the decision during the “short-list” moment.
4. Audience targeting & personalisation
   Digital ad platforms allow segmentation by intent signals (e.g., travellers who searched “family resorts in Orlando” or abandoned the booking engine at checkout). This precision minimises wastage compared with mass-reach tactics.
5. Brand building & repeat business
   Even luxury brands with steady occupancy advertise to reinforce positioning, justify rate premiums, and nurture loyalty programme awareness. Consistent storytelling across paid channels shortens the gap between first impression and direct booking on future trips.
6. Data feedback loop
   Every ad click feeds first-party data into CRM and revenue-management systems, sharpening future segmentation, pricing, and creative decisions.
   

Key takeaway: Because hotel rooms are time-sensitive, highly substitutable, and increasingly chosen in digital marketplaces, strategic advertising is not optional—it’s the control panel that balances occupancy, ADR, and distribution cost while shaping long-term brand equity.

11 Hotel Advertising Strategies

1. Develop an Online Presence

With more than 60 percent of hotel bookings occurring online, developing a robust online presence is the most important part of ensuring your advertising campaign’s success.

The world has declared itself ready to travel as pandemic restrictions lift, but the way people travel has changed.

Online advertising should be a cornerstone of your hotel advertising strategy, and all your digital marketing efforts should point your target audience to your hotel’s website.

Ensure potential customers can easily find your hotel’s information with updated listing on Google Business Profile and accurate contact information.

Register with review sites to make it easier for customers to leave online reviews for your hotel, and respond to those reviews, as engagement is one of the most significant deciding factors when consumers are choosing between companies. 

2. Identify the Ideal Target Audience

Identifying your target audience, the group of consumers most likely to become your customers is a vital part of a digital marketing strategy.

Worldwide, hotel and resort locations exceed 700,000, and it’s up to you to give people a reason to choose yours for their trip.

Even the best hotel advertising is worthless if it doesn’t reach the right people. Learn about your target audience and target your marketing efforts toward them for the best results.

Combining business trips with leisure travel exploded during the pandemic and continues as the world recovers, according to a report for the American Hotel & Lodging Association.

Consider marketing toward the niche of travelers looking for easy entertainment while on business trips in addition to your other hotel advertising.

3. Establish & Maintain Brand Consistency

Your brand is everything consumers associate with your hotel.

It extends beyond your color scheme, slogans, and logo to include anything the public uses to identify your brand.

It is crucial to establish a clear brand message and ensure it remains consistent across all platforms.

Maintaining your brand messaging in all your advertising lets customers know what to expect from your hotel.

Once they book a stay, it’s up to you to provide the experience your advertising promises. Brand consistency inspires customer loyalty.

4. SEM — Search Engine Marketing

Use search engine marketing to secure the placement of paid hotel advertisements on search engine results pages. When using an online search engine, the first few results usually consist of paid advertisements, also called SEM.

You’ll bid on keywords searchers may use on sites like Google and Bing when looking for goods or services and pay for each person clicking on the ad.

SEM lets you put your ad in front of motivated customers when they are searching for your industry, making your travel advertising more effective.

5. Social Media Advertising

Social media advertising is one of your hotel’s most cost-effective hospitality and tourism marketing strategies.

Online social networks, of one variety or another, is part of daily life for the vast majority of your hotel’s potential customers. If your digital marketing plan doesn’t include social media advertising, you aren’t taking advantage of all the tools at your disposal.

A clever, engaging social media presence can do more for your hotel’s brand at a low cost than anything else on this list.

Advertising on social media may be daunting for those not well-versed in the industry. Hiring a hotel marketing agency allows you to lean on the experts to boost engagement, increase bookings, and stay relevant on consumers’ radars.

Social media pages also offer you a wealth of demographic information, which will help you identify your niche and tailor your efforts toward your target audience.

Advertising via social media is most effective when combined with the other methods on this list and used as a platform to share your brand messaging. Running a successful campaign on social media takes time and effort, but the payoff should be more than worth it.

6. Video Advertising

Consumers take in more information online than ever before, with shorter attention spans.

Short-form video advertising is an excellent hotel marketing technique. Short videos with a calculated visual appeal on apps like Instagram and TikTok will help you expand your target audience while driving traffic to your website and building brand awareness.

Adding video advertising to your hospitality marketing strategy will assist with lead generation and highlight your location to viewers.

Combining video marketing with social media and influencer advertising helps you maximize your budget and expand your target audience.

7. Display Advertising

Combining text, imagery, and a URL link is called display advertising.

Use this method to guide consumers to your hotel’s website, where they can learn more about your location and services or book a room.

Display advertising comes in many formats, from static images to video. Use imagery to your advantage and showcase your hotel’s spacious rooms or your region’s stunning vistas.

You might consider publishing guides to local entertainment with links back to your site for convenient accommodations.

Partnerships with local tourist attractions for discounts will additionally create legitimate backlinks leading to your website and adding to your site’s legitimacy with search engines.

8. Native Advertising

Paid media content designed to match the publishing source is native advertising.

From paid video ads on YouTube to advertisements written as paid press releases on news sites, native advertising gives you a chance to connect with users in a format of their choice while searching for similar content.

The most effective native ads will use contextual relevance to produce higher click-through rates to your website.

Matching the publication’s editorial content doesn’t disrupt the users’ interaction with the page like banner and display ads would.

Native advertising doesn’t feel like advertising but still exposes readers to promotional content.

9. Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is another incredibly useful tool in your digital marketing toolbox.

Influencers are called so because they influence trends and can put your hotel advertising in front of a massive audience.

Short-form videos have exploded in popularity, particularly visually stimulating travel-related influencer videos on apps like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

According to Shopify, influencer marketing is the fastest way to build brand awareness on social media. Influencers build their reputation around a specific niche, like travel, and cultivate an active audience within that niche.

Collaborating with an influencer by providing a free or discounted stay at your hotel has a little tangible cost for you and can have an enormous effect on your social media presence as the influencer posts stunning images and talks about what a wonderful time they had.

10. User-generated Content

Encourage guests to share pictures and videos of themselves enjoying their stay at your hotel.

User-generated content from real people is a fantastic way to engage your target audience while showing your hotel is trustworthy, authentic, and a picture-worthy place to stay.

Consider starting a page on your website specifically for user-generated content.

For example, highlighting guests’ experiences, and taking advantage of free advertising for your hotel brand.

Creating a social media hashtag and using it across all your advertising platforms will make it part of your brand identity. Getting guests to use the same hashtag will be easier.

11. Retargeting

Employ a retargeting campaign to ensure your hotel digital marketing is as effective as possible.

Reconnecting with consumers who previously interacted with your business but did not complete the reservation process helps put your paid advertising in front of people who are already interested in your hotel. You have three avenues for retargeting.

Site Retargeting

Target prospective guests who previously visited your hotel’s website and tailor your display ads based on the content they viewed.

You can give undecided guests the inspiration they need to make a reservation or leave booked guests out of display ad campaigns, so they aren’t overwhelmed.

Search Retargeting

Tailor your display ads on Google and other search engines specifically toward people searching for keywords related to your geographic region, like “Florida oceanfront hotel” or “Las Vegas weekend trip.”

Search retargeting will also boost your hotel search engine optimization.

Email Retargeting

You can focus your marketing efforts on consumers who’ve opened your messages with email retargeting.

Adding a simple code to your emails makes it possible for guests who open them to see ads for your hotel on sites across the internet.

Email retargeting is a subtle yet powerful way to share your brand messaging with interested consumers without overwhelming them with emails.

What are the benefits of hotel advertising?

• Fills need periods in real time – Rooms are perishable; timely campaigns shift demand into low-season or mid-week gaps, stabilising occupancy and cash-flow.
• Reduces distribution cost – Direct-response channels (Google Hotel Ads, branded search, metasearch) typically convert at a 6–10 % cost of sale versus the 15–25 % OTA commission.
• Builds brand equity – Consistent storytelling across video, display, and out-of-home reinforces positioning and rate integrity, especially for upscale or lifestyle properties.
• Targets high-value audiences – Look-alike modelling and intent signals let you reach wedding planners, business travellers, or luxury guests with minimal wastage.
• Unlocks ancillary revenue – On-property screens, in-stay push ads, and post-stay retargeting upsell spa, F&B, parking, and late checkout.
• Creates a data feedback loop – Every paid click feeds first-party data into CRM and RMS platforms, sharpening future segmentation, pricing, and creative.
• Sustains competitiveness – In parity-pricing markets, prominence in “zero-click” SERP or metasearch carousels can provide a decisive edge.

Types of hotel advertising

Digital performance advertising covers pay-per-click search ads, Google Hotel Ads, metasearch bidding, dynamic social ads, and retargeting display. Because these channels surface your real-time rates to travellers who are already researching dates and destination, they should run continuously as the backbone of your direct-booking engine and as the quickest lever for last-minute occupancy boosts.

Social and influencer campaigns rely on paid reels, TikTok Spark Ads, creator whitelisting, and affiliate links to weave narrative content into the user’s feed. They shine when you need to spark destination discovery, tell a brand story, and reach younger cohorts—particularly Gen Z—who respond to authentic, mobile-first video.

Programmatic display and connected-TV buys use geo-fencing, third-party audience data, and streaming-platform inventory to blanket multiple markets at scale. They are the most efficient way to raise top-of-funnel awareness for a brand family or a newly acquired portfolio of properties without buying each placement by hand.

Video and other rich-media formats—from YouTube pre-roll and cinema spots to interactive 360-degree banners—deliver high-impact storytelling. Deploy them when unveiling a flagship opening, showcasing a renovation, or simply wanting a cinematic punch that still photography can’t match.

Partnership or cooperative advertising aligns your hotel with tourism boards, airlines, or credit-card issuers. By sharing creative costs and tapping into partner databases, you can ride broader destination demand waves and borrow the credibility of well-known travel brands.

Traditional and out-of-home media such as travel-magazine spreads, airport billboards, radio, and taxi-top ads remain powerful for drive-market audiences, prestige placements, and an omnipresent feel that digital alone seldom provides.

Experiential and on-property activations range from lobby LED walls and event sponsorships to pop-up installations and QR-code scavenger hunts. These tactics upsell ancillary revenue—think spa, food-and-beverage, or paid parking—while also generating shareable moments for guests’ social feeds.

Loyalty- and CRM-driven advertising leverages triggered emails, SMS flash sales, and app push notifications sent to known guests. Because the audience is first-party and already familiar with your brand, these messages are ideal for repeat bookings, filling shoulder-season gaps, and promoting add-ons after the initial reservation.

Additional Considerations

To maximize the impact of their advertising efforts, hotels should also consider:

• Mobile Advertising: Optimize advertising campaigns for mobile devices to reach travelers on the go.
• Advertising for Different Hotel Segments: Tailor advertising messages to specific target audiences, such as luxury, budget, or business travelers.
• The Role of OTAs: Collaborate with online travel agencies to reach a wider audience and leverage their marketing expertise.
• Measuring Advertising Effectiveness: Continuously monitor and analyze campaign performance to identify areas for improvement and optimize ROI.

By incorporating these additional considerations into your advertising strategies, your hotel can further strengthen its market position and achieve long-term success.

Understanding the Modern Traveler

Today’s travelers are more discerning, tech-savvy, and value-conscious than ever before.

Social media has empowered them to research extensively and share their experiences with a global audience.

This shift in consumer behavior necessitates a deep understanding of traveler preferences to create targeted and personalized advertising campaigns.

2025 Trends in Hotel Advertising

The advertising landscape is constantly evolving, and hotels must stay ahead of the curve by embracing emerging trends.

• Artificial Intelligence (AI): AI-powered tools can analyze vast amounts of data to provide valuable insights into guest behavior. Personalized recommendations, ad targeting, and chatbot interactions can enhance the guest experience.
• Voice Search Optimization: As voice search becomes more prevalent, hotels need to optimize their online presence for voice queries.
• Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR): Immersive technologies offer exciting opportunities to showcase hotel amenities and create unforgettable guest experiences.
• Data Analytics and Measurement: Tracking advertising performance and calculating return on investment (ROI) is essential for optimizing campaigns and making data-driven decisions.

Hotel Advertisement Examples & Ideas

Marriott Bonvoy “Where can we take you?”

International hotel chain Marriott Bonvoy’s recent “Where can we take you?” campaign focuses on the experiences traveling provides as shifting exotic vistas fill the background.

Four Seasons “Feel the Beat of the City with Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans”

Marketing focused on the tourist destinations near the Four Seasons Hotel highlights the many exciting sites in New Orleans while making the viewer feel like the hotel rests at the heart of it all.

FAQs for Hotel Advertising in 2024

Need Expert Guidance?

If you don’t have the expertise or resources to manage your own advertising campaigns, partnering with a hotel advertising agency can be a great option. Mediaboom offers comprehensive hotel advertising solutions tailored to your specific needs. From strategic planning to campaign execution and optimization, our team is dedicated to driving results for your hotel. Contact us today to explore how we can help you achieve your goals.

Hiring a Luxury Hotel Advertising Agency

Creating and implementing a hotel advertising strategy can be a harrowing experience if you aren’t well-versed in digital marketing.

You might consider hiring a professional marketing agency like Mediaboom to handle your hotel’s marketing campaign.

The experts will guide your business through building a sustainable brand and running a successful hotel advertising campaign.

From designing a luxury hotel website to implementing a social media campaign, and everything in between, a hotel advertising agency will help you build brand awareness and increase bookings.

Get in touch now to prepare an outstanding hotel advertising strategy together!

By: Frank DePino

Frank DePino is the Principal and Founder of Mediaboom, a digital marketing agency that partners with top hospitality and luxury brands. With over 30 years of experience, Frank has led strategic digital marketing initiatives for iconic names including Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott, Millennium Partners, and Guardian Jet. He specializes in helping hospitality businesses elevate their brand presence, generate leads, and enhance guest experiences through website design, SEO, content marketing, and paid media. Under Frank’s leadership, Mediaboom is a trusted partner for brands seeking meaningful digital growth in the competitive hospitality landscape.