It’s 2025 – competitive businesses generate traction and success from online engagement. Hospitality businesses, particularly hotels, are no different. Building a strong online presence is essential. With over 80% of travelers wanting to book their trips entirely online, hotels, hostels, and vacation rentals must ensure they stand out in search results, booking platforms, and social media feeds. Let’s explore some strategies that you can use to improve your hotel’s online presence and stay competitive… 

Ways To Improve Your Hotel’s Online Presence

Website Optimization and SEO

Your hotel’s website is its digital front door. A professional, easy-to-navigate website optimized for search engines plays a significant role in drawing traffic. Using SEO, search engines can better understand your website’s content and connect it with relevant users based on their search queries. The goal is for your web pages to rank at the top of Google search results, driving qualified traffic to your hotel’s site.

Key SEO Tips for Hotels:

Target Local Keywords

• Include search terms that potential guests might use, such as “hotels near Central Park” or “beachfront resorts in Miami.”

Optimize for Mobile

• Over 60% of searches are done on mobile devices, so ensure your site is mobile-friendly. You can check your website’s mobile and desktop performance with Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool.

Create High-Quality Content

• Google favors sites with fresh and helpful content. Regularly updating your blog with quality travel tips, local area guides, and event news can improve your ranking.

SEO Takes Time

• Don’t fret about getting immediate results. SEO is best viewed as a long-term strategy for digital success rather than an overnight solution.

Guest Reviews for Credibility and Rankings

We’ve discussed it before, guest reviews are a critical tool for hotels looking to improve their online visibility.  After all, 57% of travelers read reviews when researching hotels for their trip. Hotel guest reviews serve as valuable social proof, help boost SEO through fresh content, and build credibility – they are one of your hotel’s most powerful marketing tools.

How to Improve Your Online Presence With Reviews:

Encourage Positive Reviews 

• Prompt your guests to leave reviews on Google, TripAdvisor, and Booking.com. Post signs around your property or prompt guests at check-out.

Respond to Reviews

• Engaging with positive and negative shows that your hotel is attentive and proactive. 

Use Reviews As Content

• Highlight positive reviews on your website and social media to build trust with potential guests.

> Read more about the importance of hotel guest reviews.

Social Media Marketing

Meet your target audience where they are – 39% of travelers use social media for inspiration, research, and planning. Social media will continue to be one of the most effective ways for hotels to engage with current and potential guests. Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok allow you to showcase your unique experiences and interact directly with your audience.

Key Social Media Strategies:

Content Strategy

• Develop a content strategy that fits your brand and voice. It doesn’t need to be complicated or particularly innovative. Simple, well-executed posts are effective. Remember: not all platforms may be effective for your brand; find your audience and target those platforms. Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok are the most used social channels for trip planning.  

Visual Content

• Post high-quality images and videos showcasing your hotel’s rooms, amenities, and local attractions. Studies show that visual content is 40 times more likely to be shared on social media than plain text or links. Additional research by Skift found that photos were the top content format for inspiring travel, beating out reviews and videos.

User-Generated Content (UGC)

• Encourage guests to share their experiences and tag your hotel. Sharing UGC builds authenticity and provides free promotion.

Targeted Ads

• Use Facebook and Instagram’s ad platforms to target specific demographics, such as business travelers or honeymooners.

> Want to read more about social media and travel? Take a look at travel trend insights from 2024 and their outlook for 2025.

Influencer Marketing

Partnering with influencers – travel or lifestyle – has become a powerful strategy for hotels to expand their reach and improve their online presence. Influencers with large, engaged followings can help hotels target new audiences, particularly in younger demographics.

Steps for Influencer Success:

Define Your Objectives

• Before dedicating time to finding an influencer and committing to a brand partnership, understand your brand needs – whether increasing brand awareness, driving more web traffic, or increasing social media followings. Luckily, each of these three objectives will improve your hotel’s online presence. 

Find the Right Influencers

• Partner with influencers whose audience aligns with your target demographic. Depending on your brand, look for those who focus on travel, luxury, or adventure.

Measure Campaign Success

• Track engagement rates and conversions to ensure you’re getting a return on your investment.

Engaging Blog Content

Improve your hotel’s online presence with a blog, It helps build authority, improve SEO rankings, and provide potential guests with valuable information. But, remember to keep all your content relevant and high-quality.

Ideas for Hotel Blogs:

Local Guides

• Write posts about nearby attractions, hidden gems, and local events.

Travel Tips

• Offer packing tips, weather guides, or itineraries.

Seasonal Offers

• Use your blog posts to promote special deals and packages.

Booking Platforms

In 2024, 46% of travelers booked hotel stays using OTAs like Expedia and Booking.com. This is another place to reach your target audience and improve your online presence. To maximize visibility on these platforms, ensure your hotel listing is up-to-date and appealing.

Key Strategies for OTAs

Regularly Update Listings

• Keep your photos, descriptions, and amenities list fresh. Highlight any updates, renovations, or special events.

Use Dynamic Pricing

• Hotels that frequently adjust their pricing to match market trends tend to achieve higher conversion rates. 

Paid Search and Display Ads

Sometimes organic growth isn’t enough. Paid adverts help the right people find your hotel. For clarity, paid search ads only appear to consumers actively searching for the relevant service or product, whereas display ads can appear anywhere on the web. As always, Google is a great starting point, given its market share – the search engine processes over 8.5 billion searches a day.

Paid Advertising Tips:

Google Ads

• Bid on keywords related to your hotel’s location and unique offerings (e.g., “luxury hotels in Paris” or “budget-friendly hostels in Berlin”).

Display Ads

• Use banner ads to target travelers who’ve recently searched for hotels in your area.

Conclusion

Increasing your hotel’s online presence can be a daunting task, especially when terms like SEO, UGC, and KPIs are thrown around. But there is method to the madness. Hotels can use search engine optimization, guest reviews, social media marketing, and other such strategies to reach more potential customers and boost conversions. When improving your hotel’s online presence: start with the basics and build from there – the benefits are well worth the effort.

> Why not optimize your hotel’s concierge while you’re at it? Tipsiti helps you increase guest satisfaction and boost revenue through smart digital concierge solutions.