How To Ensure Content That Actually Creates Bookings For Your Hotel

# 1 - Create Content That Serves A Clear Purpose

Let’s say that your hotel website has just released a fantastic article about the best travel outfits. You’re proud of the writing, storytelling, and keyword insertion, but there are no actual sales coming from that piece. Not only that, but the consumers who do come to your page off the power of your great blog post are barely even going as far as selecting dates for their stay. What’s gone wrong, and how can you fix it?

To answer that question, ask yourself this: What purpose was your travel outfit post actually serving? Sure, it’s travel-related, it seems relevant, but what is it doing? You see, all content should ultimately link back to your sales goals or aim to drive specific behaviors. If it’s not doing that, then you’re wasting money creating it. So take a little time looking at your booking engine analytics and tracking where your clicks are (or aren’t) coming from. If an article is failing to create click throughs or sales, then it’s ultimately wasted space.

To avoid this, narrow down your intentions before you start brainstorming any content ideas. For instance, effective hospitality content should serve purposes such as securing bookings, upselling customers, or simply selling the appeal of an area that ultimately drives customers to your hotel. It doesn’t matter how good your writing is otherwise.

# 2 - Keep it Original

Copycat content is a conflicting topic. On the one hand, relevance about everything from hotel trends to the latest spa treatments is key for gaining authority and standing out through your content. But remember that there’s a difference between relevance and regurgitation. One will lead to high-performing content that proves you’re on the cutting-edge of great hospitality. The other will have the opposite effect – making you look behind the times, and entirely lacking in originality.

If you want to release a video about a trending topic like AI usage in hospitality, you’ll never make yourself look knowledgeable if you just go right ahead and post the exact same thing about AI bookings software as your competitors. Nor are you going to look like you have a clue what you’re talking about if you just copy your competitor’s thoughts and change things up with your own wording. This is outright plagiarism at worst, and laziness at best.

You’d be far better off taking that topic and doing something relevant to your hotel, like a video about ‘How AI bookings are leading to a boost of tourism in [enter your location here]’ or something similar. This way, customers are far more likely to watch, engage with, and ultimately convert based on content that feels trustworthy and authentic.

# 3 - Ensure that Content is a Two-Way Conversation

You could have fantastic points and a great way to get them across, but your content will still fall into a void if it ends up being a one-sided conversation. After all, the whole point of creating content is to achieve connections and eventual bookings. If you’re not doing that, then you’ll inevitably miss out.

Content that’s too focused on your hotel is at an especially high risk of falling into this trap. After all, no reader is as interested in your brand as you are. They don’t want to hear you wax lyrical about why your hotel is so fantastic – they want content that’s designed with their needs in mind. In other words, content should always be a two-sided conversation that ideally errs on the side of the consumer.

Imagine that you’re introducing a 24 check-in for your hotel. A video walkthrough that’s all about why you’re excited about that development will see patients clicking off, and probably clicking elsewhere, in seconds. This approach simply leaves no opportunity for consumers to get involved or engage. By comparison, a video that considers the benefits your visitors might enjoy with this new development is a far better approach for actually increasing conversions, building trust, and encouraging customers to join in the conversation with their own opinions and preferences.

# 4 - Embrace Content Evolutions

A few years ago, business blogs felt innovative. Now, hospitality content has grown to include everything from long-form video to TikTok shorts, and even ebooks or white papers in some cases. And those advancements only look set to keep growing as AI plays an increasing role in content overall. Relevant content topics themselves are also always changing, meaning that conversations about outdated topics such as physical key cards or manual check-ins should now pivot towards mobile checkins and Google Wallet room keys.

If your content doesn’t reflect these adjustments, then it’ll end up stuck in a rut. And, even quality pieces will struggle to succeed from the depths of that outdated hole. Hence, your content strategy should be an ever-evolving part of your hotel.

Not only do you need to know which formats and subjects to lean into for attracting the most bookings at any given time, but you’ll need to adapt to visibility challenges like AI search, which is a major factor in whether or not your hotel even appears to new consumers. Doing this will keep your content on the pulse, at the top of travel searches, and way more likely to drive bookings overall.

Whether you’ve recently opened a hotel or you’ve been operating for years and need a boost, make your content shine by leaning into these simple tips to attract bookings.