Three Things Every Hotelier Needs to Know About AI Right Now

1. Don't ignore LinkedIn

AI-powered search doesn't just crawl your website anymore — it looks for signals of authority across the web, and increasingly, that means people, not just brand pages. Your GM, your chef, your spa director and your in-house experts all shape what your hotel is known for online, whether or not you're actively managing that.Get your experts talking, and not just from the brand account. A chef's LinkedIn post about sourcing local ingredients or a GM's take on hospitality trends does more to build topical authority than another polished property photo ever will — and it's exactly the kind of first-person, credible content that AI-driven search and generative engines are starting to favour.

2. Treat Instagram and TikTok as discovery engines, not just content feeds

Social platforms are no longer just top-of-funnel inspiration — they're becoming part of the booking journey itself. Expedia now offers a "Trip Matching" tool that lets travellers send it an Instagram Reel; its AI identifies the locations and activities shown and turns them into a bookable itinerary with matched hotels, tours and stays, pulling directly from Expedia's own inventory and Google's location data.That's a meaningful shift. Your social content isn't just content anymore — it's becoming searchable, interpretable and, increasingly, bookable, whether or not the guest ever visits your website.

3. Prioritise real, human content

Expedia Group's research into what actually drives travel decisions found that video influences bookings nearly three times more than static images do: 71% of travellers said video shaped their travel decisions, compared with 24% who said the same of static imagery.In a feed increasingly filled with AI-generated content, that gap matters more, not less. Authentic guest footage, creator content and behind-the-scenes staff video are becoming one of the few remaining signals of genuine credibility — the kind that's hard to fake and easy for guests to trust.

The takeaway

Use AI. But don't let it replace the human voices that make your hotel worth choosing. The hotels that win the next few years of discovery will be the ones that pair AI-literate marketing with real people, real footage and real expertise, out in the open where both guests and algorithms can find it. To find out how we can help, contact Tilly Gray, PR and AI Director, at tilly@masonrose.com.