Hospitality Leaders on Maximising ROI from Marketing Budgets

“To begin with, I will abide by the old rule:” Fish where the fish are!” Hotel marketing today means digital marketing. Over 90% of travellers turn to the Internet when looking for a place to stay, which is more than all other sources of travel inspiration combined, including family, friends, travel guides, travel advisors, tour operators, etc.

Splitting a budget into 3 areas, I would allocate it as follows:

1. 25% of the budget: invest in CRM technology and program. Only a meaningful CRM technology application – as part of your hotel tech stack – can ensure deep engagement with your past and future guests. CRM tech not only provides automated pre-, during- and post-stay communications, guest satisfaction surveys, guest retention marketing automation and drip marketing campaigns but takes it a step further via guest recognition program management and loyalty marketing. All of these fully automated CRM initiatives keep “the conversation going” with your upcoming and past guests. It keeps them engaged and steers them in the right direction: to book your hotel when it’s time for them to visit your destination again.In addition, you can use your CRM’s first-party data about your best guests to launch similar audience marketing on Google, Facebook, Instagram, etc., to target potential customers with similar characteristics as your best guests. CRM initiatives in combination with ORM (Online Reputation Management) tech can turn your happy guests into brand ambassadors and avid social media influencers.
2. 25%: I would make sure my website is mobile-first, overhaul the SEO on the site, optimize the website for AIO (Artificial Intelligence Optimization), update the website content to be original, highly engaging and of editorial quality, will improve the visuals to professional quality, will keep fresh and enticing special offers and packages on the site, and finally install a hotel-specific AI chatbot to handle 24/7 customer service, information requests and reservations.
3. 50%: I would not forget the hotel marketer’s “old” friend Google. I will update my Google Business Profile, monitor and respond to Google Reviews, launch Google Ads to protect my property’s brand name and target key customer segments and key feeder markets, launch a GDN retargeting to target users who have visited my website, sign up for free booking links in the Google Hotel Ads (GHA) program plus launch paid GHA campaigns in need periods.”

“When allocating a marketing budget, it’s crucial to prioritise channels that align with your brand values and foster long-term relationships. Each channel plays a unique role in driving engagement and ROI.

1. Trade Shows: Building Relationships & Industry Influence
   Trade shows can be a key element in a marketing strategy. They offer excellent opportunities to connect with industry professionals, stay ahead of trends, and inspire innovation. Allocating a portion of the budget to attend global conferences can help establish connections across international markets. For businesses like Villa Tracker, this approach has proven valuable in bridging two industries—travel professionals and property managers/homeowners—while fostering lasting partnerships and gathering crucial industry insights.
2. Luxury-Focused Marketing: Highlighting Values & Storytelling
   For brands in the luxury travel segment, campaigns that focus on meaningful topics—such as sustainability and curated travel experiences—tend to resonate more deeply with both travellers and property managers. By emphasising core values, companies can position themselves as trusted voices in the industry. Leading conversations about luxury rentals can establish thought leadership and educate property managers on best practices.
3. Organic Growth & Community Engagement
   An organic marketing strategy focused on genuine conversations and long-term relationships can be highly effective. Instead of relying on aggressive selling, creating valuable content that naturally engages the audience fosters trust and strengthens relationships. This approach helps future clients recognise the true value of your offerings. Cultivating a global network of like-minded individuals or partners can also lead to deeper industry connections and long-term success.

In conclusion, strategically allocating your budget across these channels can nurture relationships, foster organic growth, and build a reputation grounded in authenticity, value, and expertise.”

“RevenYou’s approach to marketing budget allocation is based on a tailored strategy, focusing on the specific property type and its target demographic.

Our onboarding process begins with a comprehensive analysis of the property’s historical marketing expenditures and their corresponding results. We engage in detailed discussions with property owners to understand their past marketing initiatives and their perceived effectiveness. This collaborative approach allows us to determine whether existing strategies can be optimised or if a shift towards new tactics is warranted.

Next, we will leverage our market expertise and industry insights to develop a strategic marketing plan. We will present this to the owners and ask for their valuable input. We recognise that their intimate knowledge of the business is crucial in refining the plan.

Our decision-making process incorporates a range of factors, including seasonality, customer behaviour patterns, competitor analysis, budgetary constraints, and evolving technological and industry trends. For properties with limited budgets, we prioritise high-ROI initiatives. Conversely, larger budgets enable us to explore niche marketing opportunities.

Following the plan’s implementation, we conduct monthly performance reviews to track ROI and assess the effectiveness of each area. We adapt and refine our strategies based on ongoing data analysis and insights gained throughout the process.”

“Images sell, and properties need to spend money on photography to be able to maximise on distribution, platform performance and overall positioning and ranking. While the OTAs are a cost of doing business, the online photography presence sells. The budget will be determined on your property, the mix, the rooms and where the business comes from. The direction is more paid search and attending/participating in the traditional trade shows.”

“Investing in multi-channel branding through social media, influencer partnerships, email, and direct ads should take priority in your budget to ensure your hotel remains top of mind when guests turn to AI-driven tools for recommendations.

First-party data and guest relationships are becoming strategic assets. As AI reduces the value of third-party data, hotels need to focus on direct relationships through loyalty programs, personalised offers, and targeted communication.

A larger portion of the budget should be allocated toward CRM systems, guest data management, and personalised marketing to increase the chances of repeat business and direct bookings.

Direct booking incentives also play a key role.

Allocating funds toward exclusive perks, room upgrades, or discounts for direct reservations can sway guest behaviour and reduce OTA reliance.

AI Voice Agents are already reshaping guest service, handling booking inquiries, modifications, and upselling opportunities in real-time. Investing in AI-driven guest service technology will improve operational efficiency and ensure no booking opportunity is missed.”

• “Step 1: Define your target market/niche and have clear differentiators.
• Step 2: Define various available touch points throughout that customer journey and life cycle.
• Step 3: Educate, then Convert, Test and Learn.

This differs depending on whether it is B2B or B2C and how much existing brand awareness already exists.”

“AI is flipping the sales and marketing playbook on its head, and hospitality needs to pay attention. Traditional SEO is declining, and with the rise of zero-click search, your content might be seen but never visited. Add in AI-driven search engines like ChatGPT and Google’s SGE, and now your guests are getting booking advice without ever touching your website.

The ripple effect?
Legacy channels like paid media, tradeshows, and even email campaigns aren’t delivering the ROI they once promised. AI curates personalised, on-demand recommendations that bypass the funnel altogether. In this new landscape, the brands that win will be the ones that rethink, not just refresh, their entire strategy.

Here’s a quick example:
A traveller asks ChatGPT for “a boutique hotel in Santa Fe with an artsy vibe and great margaritas.” If your hotel isn’t feeding the right signals to AI models, you’re invisible. No ad, billboard, or tradeshow booth will change that.

Hospitality marketers must pivot to a world where brand visibility happens before a click, in the context of AI conversations, predictive content, and dynamic personalisation. The old rules are fading. It’s time to stop optimising for search engines – and start optimising for everywhere.

As for budget allocation, I’m not certain, but…
Shift from “more impressions” to “smarter impressions” – and from chasing clicks to earning trust in the AI-powered decision journey.”