You’ve seen it before, it’s not even a “probably”, instead, it’s a “definitely”, maybe it’s that one boutique hotel or bed and breakfast that keeps popping up online, stealing hearts on Instagram and TikTok. Honestly, there’s plenty that makes its rounds online. Usually, it’s the creators (be it influencers or just regular people) who post things like sunrise through gauzy curtains or a guest sipping espresso on the balcony, where it shows off some iconic landmark like the Eiffel Tower, and boom, the internet falls in love. You don’t even remember the name half the time, but you remember the feeling; there’s that vibe.
That’s the thing, though, there are just some hotels out there that just get it. They’ve figured out that today’s travelers don’t just book a stay; they buy into a story. While sure, there are still all those standard components that matter to a hotel like the entire efficiency itself, customer service, cleanliness, quality, etc., it’s just that nowadays, they’re not the only thing.
The vibe of the room, the smell of morning coffee, the view that makes you forget you have emails, yeah, it all becomes part of a lifestyle moment. But more and more hotels want to focus on becoming a content destination, not specifically to make it geared towards influencers, but more of a way to get free marketing and get free hype. But is this even worth it, though?
Why Every Boutique Hotel Should Think Like a Media Brand
This might come off as a little too blunt, but if your hotel isn’t showing up in someone’s social feed or travel bucket list, it’s practically invisible. Maybe this will change in a few years, who knows, but at this moment in time, content is king, people want to make content, and for any business, getting free content to market their brand is the goal. It’s not enough to have nice rooms and great reviews anymore.
Instead, people want to see your personality before they even step inside the lobby. Acting like a media brand doesn’t mean hiring influencers and staging fake smiles; it means realizing your hotel has stories worth telling, and sharing them boldly.
There’s the Power of Storytelling in Hospitality
It was briefly mentioned just above, but travelers don’t just want information; they want connection. But a good story can make someone feel like they’ve already been to your hotel, even if they’re still sitting on their couch in sweatpants. Actually, just think of the places that stick with people, it’s rarely because of thread count or check-in speed. It’s because they felt something.
That’s what you want to achieve here, and little things like a quick video of your pastry chef kneading dough or your night porter talking about quiet moments before dawn say more about your hotel’s soul than any glossy fancy ad.
And that’s exactly what gets people booking again and again.
How Content Can Do What OTAs Just Can’t
Now, yeah, online travel agencies serve a purpose; there’s no denying that, but at the same time, they strip the personality right out of your brand. Honestly, the same can be said about certain search features, like Google Maps, TripAdvisor, and others out there. Just think about it, just scroll through those listings long enough, and every hotel starts to look basically the same. It’s all just the bright rooms, clean sheets, generic smiles. It’s white noise. It’s not bad, but the problem is the fact that it’s all the same.
When your hotel shares stories, humor, and personality, guests see more than a place to sleep. They see themselves there, and that’s where your control comes in. When you own your media, getting more specific here, things like your blog, your socials, your emails, that’s when you own your story.
Now, yeah, just about every hotel and bed & breakfast out there already does most of these things (it’s standard at this point). But it all helps, and that’s pretty much how you can explore ways to grow direct bookings while keeping that human connection intact.
But How Can You Turn Your Hotel into a Content Destination?
Alright, now the fun part, how to actually do it. Every hotel has a story to tell; it just needs to learn how to tell it in a way people want to watch, read, and share.
Find the Stories Hidden in Everyday Operations
Okay, this one sounds a tad weird, but bear with the explanation for a moment. So, you don’t need a marketing department full of fancy cameras (unless you’re Belmond, of course). Actually, you just need eyes for the little moments guests love. Maybe your gardener is trimming herbs in the morning sun, or your bartender is laughing with regulars while shaking a cocktail. Sure, these seem mundane, but it’s realness, which is what people love. And yeah, it’s content, but it’s storytelling too, which builds trust and authenticity.
Encourage Guests to Co-Create Content
After all, the whole goal here is to get guests to make content, they share online, and this makes more people want to stay at the hotel. But yeah, your guests are walking storytellers. They’re basically the ones who are already taking photos and tagging your location, so give them something they’ll want to share. You’ve been to hotels yourself during vacation, and so you know exactly how it is.
But in order to get people to make that content, it’s up to you and your team to actually do something worthy of the content. Like, you need to create small moments that beg to be captured, maybe a colorful breakfast setup, a quirky mirror in the hallway, or a handwritten welcome card (granted, bigger and more elaborate is always better).
Chances are, you’ve seen it from other hotels, but just like them, you can feature their posts on your feed, too. It shows you value your guests, and it gives potential visitors a real-life look at what staying with you feels like. People trust people more than they trust brands, so showing off authentic guest content builds credibility in a way ads never can.
Build an Owned Media Ecosystem
But you can’t solely rely on others making content for you (even if you ask their permission and credit them). Besides, social media is great until the algorithm changes and your reach disappears overnight. That’s why hotels need a little bit of everything. So it can help to have blogs, newsletters, even YouTube mini-tours, basically anything that lives on your turf. But yes, you should have socials as well, and everything should be connected because you want to drive in people.
Just Measure What Actually Works
There’s no need to drown in analytics, but you do need to know what’s resonating (with your target audience/ customers). Like, which videos get shared? Which blog posts keep people scrolling? Which emails actually lead to bookings?
