As AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini revolutionise how travellers plan their trips, hotel brands must rethink their content strategies or risk disappearing from the conversation.
In an era where travellers are increasingly turning to AI platforms to plan their trips, hotel brands must adapt their content strategy to ensure visibility in this new digital landscape.
Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini are becoming trusted travel planning companions, offering personalised recommendations and itineraries with remarkable efficiency.
As these AI tools transform how users research accommodations, hotels that optimise their digital content for AI discovery will gain a significant competitive advantage.
The shift is already underway. Recent studies show that 30% of travellers are now likely to use AI to plan their trips, with platforms like ChatGPT seeing 300% increases in website referrals.
Rather than scrolling through pages of search results, can simply ask an AI assistant to recommend hotels that match specific criteria: “Find me a pet-friendly hotel with a pool near Central Park that offers free breakfast.”
Unlike traditional search engines that return a list of links, AI assistants deliver synthesised, conversational responses drawn from various online sources. This fundamental difference requires a strategic pivot in how hotel’s structure and present their digital content.
AI models don’t scan the web in real-time, they generate responses based on the data they’ve been trained on, prioritising content that is:
Hotels that fail to optimise for these factors risk becoming invisible to the growing segment of AI-assisted visitors, regardless of how impressive their property might be.
1. Comprehensive FAQs That Answer Direct Questions
Large Language Models excel at finding direct answers to specific questions. Your website should include a robust FAQ section that addresses the most common traveller inquiries:
Structure these Q&As in clear, direct language that mirrors how guests ask these questions. AI tools are more likely to surface content that provides straightforward, helpful answers rather than marketing-heavy descriptions.
2. Local Area Information and Experiences
Users often ask for recommendations beyond just hotel features. Create dedicated content about:
3. Structured Data Markup
Implement schema markup on your website to help AI systems better understand the context of your content. This technical enhancement makes it easier for AI to interpret:
4. Authentic Reviews and Reputation Management
AI platforms often incorporate review data when making recommendations. Focus on:
Consistency across review platforms signals reliability to AI systems, which prioritise trustworthy information sources when generating recommendations.
Beyond what you say, how you structure your digital presence also matters:
While optimising for AI discovery requires attention to technical details, the foundation remains creating genuinely helpful, accurate content that addresses real traveller needs.
Hotels that provide clear, structured information about their properties and surroundings will naturally perform better in both traditional search and AI-driven recommendations.
As LLMs become increasingly sophisticated in their travel planning capabilities, the hotels that adapt their content strategies now will establish a significant competitive advantage in capturing AI-assisted bookings.
The shift toward AI-assisted travel research represents not just another digital marketing trend but a fundamental transformation in how guests discover and select accommodations. For hotel brands, the imperative is clear: evolve your content strategy to meet them where they are – increasingly, in conversation with AI.
Adapting to the AI-driven travel landscape requires expertise, strategic vision and execution capabilities that many hotel brands find challenging to develop in-house. This is where Filter’s services create value for forward-thinking hotel partners.
We help hotel brands optimise for search through our specialised local SEO and PPC expertise. Our approach combines strategic local keyword optimisation, structured data implementation and Google Business Profile management with targeted PPC campaigns.
We create locally focused content that addresses the specific questions potential guests ask AI platforms, while ensuring consistent information across your hotel’s entire digital footprint, from your website to OTA listings, review platforms and business directories.
By maintaining this unified local search presence, Filter ensures your property appears prominently whether potential guests discover you through direct search or AI-generated recommendations.
As AI continues to reshape how hotel guests discover and book accommodations, Filter offers the expertise, tools and strategic vision to ensure your property not only adapts to this evolution but thrives within it. Our focus on the hospitality industry means we understand the unique challenges and opportunities that AI presents for hotel brands.
Contact our team today to discuss how we can enhance your hotel’s visibility and performance in the age of AI travel planning.
CTO & Founder
Having worked in agencies since he left university, Paul drives both the technical output at Filter, as well as being responsible for planning. His key strengths are quickly understanding client briefs and being able to communicate complex solutions in a clear and simple manner.
