Social media marketing for hotels: The ultimate hospitality playbook

Key points

• Social media marketing for hotels drives direct bookings by turning followers into paying guests.
• Hotel social media content that converts includes property showcases, destination highlights, and guest experiences.
• Hospitality reputation management on social media builds trust through quick responses, review management, and crisis communication.
• User-generated content and influencer partnerships increase hotel brand visibility and inspire future guests to book.

Tomorrow’s hotel guests are scrolling their phones today, just one aspirational post away from booking a trip. Especially for Millennial and Gen Z travelers, social media has become the number one source of inspiration for travel planning, far surpassing traditional travel booking sites.

Travelers are even growing more comfortable booking high-priced experiences directly through social media apps, 57% of respondents to a Skift survey said they’d book trips this way.

That’s why a hospitality social media marketing strategy is imperative for hotels and other travel businesses today. Showing up on social in smart, thoughtful ways can boost discovery of your brand and lead to real impact in bookings, positive sentiment, and brand advocacy.

In this article, we’ll cover each step needed to create a hotel social media marketing strategy that converts followers into guests.

Social media platform strategy: where your hotel guests are looking

The first step is to determine which platforms you should develop, and that will depend on your ideal audience and goals. 

The table below lays out what each platform is best-suited for in the hotel and hospitality industries, including industry-specific KPI benchmarks and best-performing content types. 

Start by choosing 2-3 platforms that align best with your audience. For example, if your hotel is popular with business travelers and conferences, consider LinkedIn. If you want to engage younger travelers, TikTok and Instagram are the best places to start.

Hotel social media content that converts

The travel and hospitality industry has a distinct advantage on social media – endless sources of visually stunning content. 

Here are a few content types to consider for your brand:

Property showcase: Photos and video showing off guest rooms, on-site dining options, scenic views, lobby features, amenities, decor – there are endless possibilities for visually captivating content. You can show off historical elements of the property, extraordinary in-room touches, or any of the small details that come together to make your location special.

Destination highlights: Showcase local hotspots and all the places that guests will want to visit on their trip. If your property offers event coordination or transportation options, such as group trips or shuttles, be sure to showcase these as well.

Staff spotlights: Introductions to key staff members put a friendly face on your brand and help set it apart. This lets you highlight what makes your resort or hotel stand out – whether it’s the special aromatherapy technique of your head masseuse or the personal backstory of your concierge.

Behind-the-scenes peeks: This could be anything from your housekeeping staff’s special towel folding technique to getting in the kitchen with your pastry chef. Showing how everything runs behind the scenes helps build trust with potential guests and gives them a reason to follow your account.

Guest experiences: Any opportunity to reshare user-generated content (UGC) from guests boosts your brand’s credibility and lets others see themselves in the experience. There are many ways to encourage guests to post about their stay. Consider creating hashtags for guest experiences, asking questions in Instagram Stories, creating TikTok videos primed for stitching and duets, or inviting guests to tag your brand in Facebook photos.

Don’t neglect IRL opportunities to encourage guest content, too. Consider incorporating QR codes in guest rooms, lobby signs with social handles and hashtags, and setting up areas throughout the property that provide perfect photo backdrops. You can even equip photo walls with signs and provide phone stands or selfie sticks.

Content pillar ideas by hospitality segment

Depending on the type of property, you can tailor social media content pillars to match your unique value proposition within your category. Here are some examples:

Luxury hotels: Showcase elevated experiences like fine dining and high-end spa treatments. Highlight anything that’s exclusive or premium. Show off art collections, architectural details, and sophisticated amenities and service.

Boutique B&Bs: Focus on local authenticity and how your property is part of its community. Introduce staff and owners for a personal touch, share the property’s history, and show off the cozy, one-of-kind elements that make a stay memorable, like homemade scones for breakfast or locally made soaps in every room.

Budget-friendly hotels Feature elements that attract families and travelers who value affordability and family-friendliness, including pools and outdoor areas, clean rooms with extra sleeping options like pull-out beds or cots, and complimentary continental breakfast. Friendliness of staff and an emphasis on customer service go a long way to set you apart from competitors.

Resort properties: Promote both adventure and relaxation. Feature all the activities your resort has to offer, as well as the many locations for leisure and lounging. Play up the natural surroundings and integrate local cultural experiences, excursions, and seasonal attractions.

Business hotels: Highlight meeting spaces, business amenities, and the convenience of the location. Think about professional excellence in every element. To appeal to business travelers, highlight how your hotel promotes work-life balance while traveling, offering features such as rentable workout gear and equipment you can use in-room, relaxation spaces, and essential amenities like high-speed WiFi and 24/7 access to fresh coffee.

Community management and reputation: Your digital front desk

Your social media presence functions as a digital extension of your front desk – often the first point of contact between your hotel and potential guests. How you manage interactions, respond to feedback, and handle challenges directly impacts your reputation and booking potential.

Response templates for guest scenarios

Consistency in your responses builds trust and ensures no guest inquiry goes unanswered. Start with templates for common scenarios that still maintain a personal touch:

• Guest inquiries: “Thanks for your interest in [Hotel Name]! We’d love to help you plan your stay. Please send us a direct message with your dates and we’ll check availability and share our best rates.”
• Complaints: “We sincerely apologize that your experience didn’t meet expectations. Your feedback is valuable to us, and we’d like to make this right. Please DM us your reservation details so we can address this directly.”
• Praise: “Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful experience! We’re thrilled you enjoyed [specific detail they mentioned]. We can’t wait to welcome you back soon.”

Review management strategy

Reviews directly influence booking decisions. According to recent TripAdvisor data, 36% of travelers value travel review websites for guidance on booking, and 46% say they rely on general online research. 

That’s why it’s critical to monitor reviews across platforms like TripAdvisor, Google, and booking sites daily. Respond to positive reviews by thanking guests and highlighting specific amenities they enjoyed – this reinforces your strengths for future guests reading reviews.

For negative reviews, respond quickly and professionally. Acknowledge the guest’s concerns, apologize genuinely, and offer to discuss the matter privately. Never get defensive or argue publicly. Instead, use negative feedback as an opportunity to demonstrate your commitment to guest satisfaction.

Crisis management on social

When negative situations arise – from service issues to larger crises – your social media response can either escalate or defuse the situation. Respond quickly with empathy and transparency. If the situation requires investigation, communicate that you’re looking into it and provide a timeline for follow-up.

For broader crises affecting multiple guests, consider proactive communication across all channels to keep guests informed and demonstrate your commitment to their safety and comfort.

Building influencer partnerships

Social media influencers can extend your reach to new audiences, particularly when targeting younger travelers. Identify influencers whose audience aligns with your target guests – travel bloggers, local lifestyle influencers, or micro-influencers with engaged followers in your key markets.

When reaching out, offer value beyond just free stays. Consider experiences they can’t get elsewhere, like behind-the-scenes access, exclusive amenities, or partnerships with local attractions. Measure collaboration success through engagement rates, reach, and most importantly, trackable bookings through unique promo codes or dedicated landing pages.

Social listening for hospitality insights

Social listening helps you understand guest sentiment, identify trends, and spot potential issues before they escalate. Monitor mentions of your hotel name, location, and relevant hashtags. Track competitor mentions to identify gaps in your own service or opportunities to differentiate.

Pay attention to seasonal conversation trends around your destination. If guests frequently discuss specific local events or attractions, incorporate these into your content strategy. Social listening also helps identify potential guests asking for recommendations in your area – an opportunity to engage and showcase your property.

Social booking optimization: Converting engagement into reservations

Your social media efforts should ultimately drive bookings, not just likes and follows. By optimizing your social media accounts for booking conversion paths, you can increase direct booking revenue and reduce reliance on third-party booking platforms.

Direct booking strategies

Every social media post should include clear pathways to book directly with your property. Use bio links that direct to your booking engine, and include compelling calls-to-action in captions like “Book direct for exclusive perks” or “Reserve your stay with our best rate guarantee.” Create landing pages specifically for social media traffic that highlight what followers have seen in your content.

Leveraging user-generated content for conversions

UGC serves as powerful social proof that can directly influence booking decisions. When potential guests see real visitors enjoying your property, they envision themselves having a similar fabulous time. Kimpton Hotels successfully implemented this strategy by displaying galleries of real customer photos on their individual property pages, directly connecting social engagement to online bookings.

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas leverages user-generated content across their booking funnel. The luxury hotel displays authentic guest photos on property pages, showing potential visitors exactly what their experience will look like. This content approach helped drive an impressive 42% engagement rate for their Shoppable Instagram page.

The key is making UGC discoverable at crucial decision-making moments. Consider featuring guest content on your booking pages, in email campaigns, and as part of your paid advertising strategy. As The Cosmopolitan demonstrates, using authentic guest content in social media ads – like showcasing groups celebrating bachelorette parties – can create more compelling promotional content than traditional branded photography.

Tracking social media ROI

Implement tracking mechanisms to measure how social media directly impacts bookings. Use UTM parameters for social media links, create unique promo codes for different platforms, and monitor referral traffic from social channels to your booking engine. The Cosmopolitan focuses their KPIs on hotel booking rates and social media engagement, using Emplifi’s social media management platform to measure ROI and track conversions of individual pieces of UGC.

Creating urgency and exclusivity

Create limited-time offers and exclusive experiences to drive immediate booking action. Share behind-the-scenes content of special events, highlight seasonal offerings, or create social-only promotions that reward your most engaged followers with exclusive access or special rates.

Future-proofing your hotel’s social media strategy

AI-powered tools are streamlining content creation and customer service in the hospitality industry, but it’s imperative to deploy these tools with care and transparency. A recent Emplifi survey revealed that 60% of consumers prefer to know when they’re interacting with AI, and 40% would stop engaging with a brand after a negative AI interaction.

Features like augmented reality virtual property tours can help potential guests envision themselves at your destination, while UGC will remain a crucial part of your approach to give guests reliable, trustworthy sources of information.

Understanding your audience and what they value is the key to a successful hotel social media marketing strategy. When you filter everything through that lens, you can showcase your property’s unique value and optimize every digital touchpoint for direct bookings.