Generative AI in Hotel Marketing: How to Use it for Smarter Hospitality

Gone are the days when a simple Google search produced ad after ad and page after page of generic results. With AI search overviews, travellers now receive responses that feel personal, as if someone who truly understands their needs is speaking to them. Plus, the searches have shifted from broad queries like ‘best time to visit Paris’ to specific, experience-driven ones such as ‘best places to visit in Paris for Valentine’s Day under €350.’
 

This is the new era of generative AI in the hospitality industry.
 

According to Oliver Wyman, more than one-third of leisure travellers already use generative AI to plan trips and make bookings. And the stakes couldn’t be higher. The $200 billion search industry, long dominated by Google, is undergoing rapid evolution. With tools like its Search Generative Experience already rolling out worldwide, hoteliers have no choice but to adapt.
 

In this blog, we’ll unpack what generative AI is in the hotel industry and how you can leverage it to save time, spark creativity, and sharpen your targeting strategies.
 

What is Generative AI?

It's almost impossible to create another human being artificially, but artificial intelligence is the field that tries to imitate the human mind by mimicking reasoning, decision-making, and the ability to learn new things by analysing patterns.
 

Generative AI goes one step further. At its core, it doesn’t just recognise existing data and patterns but creates something entirely new from it. In simple words, using Generative Artificial Intelligence for hospitality is beyond chatbots. The most common use case now is copywriting, itinerary planning, and branding strategies designed to meet today’s traveller expectations.
 

Popular platforms like ChatGPT (by OpenAI), Google’s Gemini, Meta AI, Perplexity, and Anthropic’s Claude have quickly become household names. According to a Statista and Semrush report, the generative AI market was valued at $67 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow annually by 24.4% through 2030. This rapid expansion reflects how industries are moving from using AI for operational tasks to leveraging generative AI for value-added content creation and marketing.
 

The goal is not to replace hoteliers, but to support them.

 

Why hotel marketing needs AI now

Imagine a marketing manager at a 5-star beach resort in Spain. She spends weeks planning seasonal campaigns, writing emails, designing ads, and scheduling social content only to see her carefully crafted messages buried beneath OTA promotions. Her team is stretched thin, struggling to personalise offers for different traveller segments but often ends up pushing out generic content.
 

Meanwhile, her potential guests are planning trips using AI tools. If her hotel isn’t part of those personalised AI-powered answers, the opportunity is lost. There is also a fundamental shift in the use of generative AI for the travel industry. Nearly 70% of ChatGPT queries are unique, rarely appearing in traditional search engines, as per another Semrush study. This means classic SEO tactics alone won’t ensure visibility anymore.
 

Adobe reports that traffic from AI-driven sources to US travel and hospitality sites surged by 1,700% since July 2024. Highlighting AI search is now becoming a branding channel in itself, where showing up in personalised answers matters.
 

The urgency is clear. If you haven’t adapted, you’re already behind. But here’s how you can catch up.

 

How hoteliers can use generative AI for hotel marketing

1. Creating content marketing faster

For hotels without big content teams, content production is a struggle keeping up with today’s various content formats: short posts for social media, long-form informative blogs, updating website copy—all as per your brand guidelines. AI makes this easier:
 

Swift Ideation and Content Creation: AI gives us fresh ideas and fast content, but we must refine output to make it unique. The catch is to use prompts wisely. Commands like 'act as a GenZ' can generate content tailored to an expert tone. If you don’t like the output, refine your prompts and train AI. Sample commands:
 

• ‘Give me 10 post ideas to sell ocean-view rooms for Valentine’s Day.’
• ‘Write 10 CTAs encouraging visitors to click on the sustainability offer link for World Tourism Day.’
   

Visual Content Creation: AI isn’t limited to words. Platforms like MidJourney, DALL·E, Stable Diffusion, or Stockimg.ai can create mood boards, ad mockups, or even room visualisations. Again, the key is to be specific and paint a scene for effective output. Sample command: ‘Give me an image of a luxury beachside restaurant on the Caribbean Sea, elegant open-air seating, fine dining setup.’
 

AI-Friendly Content Creation: Semrush recorded a 300% surge in website referrals from ChatGPT, showing why hoteliers must move beyond traditional SEO toward Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). Get structured content, so AI platforms can easily retrieve and showcase your hotel in search results.

2. Personalising guest communication

Hyper personalisation is a rising trend in hotel marketing, and its use cases are vast. But you can start using Generative AI for language translation, tailored emails, or even personalised offers on a booking type. The results can be significant: For instance, Hyatt used personalisation to boost revenues by $40 million in just six months.

 

3. Improving SEO & local visibility

While younger travellers (18–34) increasingly rely on AI assistants for search, a large portion of guests still use Google. That means SEO isn’t dead. Traditional tactics like crawlability and backlinks remain important. So you need an upgraded SEO strategy to increase your chances of being featured in AI-generated search summaries and Google rankings. Here's how AI can help you. Sample prompt: ‘Create a list of long-tail keywords for a sustainable resort in Spain.’

4. Competitor analysis & guest review insights

From monitoring competitions, summarising reviews to analysing market trends, platforms like ChatGPT or Perplexity can highlight where your competitors are winning or where they’re falling short. It can also crunch historical data, pricing reports, and guest patterns faster than any human team. Sample prompt: ‘Compare the positioning and unique selling points of [Hotel Name] with its top 5 competitors in Spain.’

5. Data analysis

From social media reports to booking history, AI tools can spot patterns that humans might overlook. You can feed data into AI systems to understand which posts perform best, what days generate the most engagement, or which offers resonate most with certain guest segments.

 

Important considerations before getting started

• Fact-check everything: AI content can be fast but not always accurate. Proof check every output. Don’t hurt any sentiments. 
   
• Data privacy first: Never share phone numbers, or sensitive details on public platforms. Use guest data responsibly and ethically. Tell guests when and how AI is used to build trust.
   
• Stay compliant: AI usage rules vary geographically, track legal updates.
   
• Structured, real-time data: AI relies on strong data, so build your datasets wisely. Keep it up to date.
   
• Control your brand narrative: Monitor how AI platforms display your hotel’s information to ensure accurate representation.

Generative AI is not here to replace hoteliers, it's here to help both boutique hotels and global brands do more with less. If 81% of industry leaders see value in Gen AI, can your hotel afford to wait? 
 

Register now to start your journey and explore how our Marketing Suite solutions can elevate your hotel marketing strategies—leveraging the power of AI and beyond.
 

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