August 23, 2024
Haven Hadley

Social Media for Hotels: What Works, What Doesn’t and Why It Matters

Social media can be a challenging space to navigate for a hotel. It is constantly evolving, and what worked last year, or even last month, may not work today. Yet, staying updated with the latest trends is crucial for you to maintain a strong online presence, considering 67% of travellers are currently consulting social media first before booking.

Plus, in such a competitive market, with 85% of travel brands already using social media, you want to stand out by keeping your social media fresh and relevant to drive ever-important bookings, and foster your guest loyalty.

So, what should you be doing with your hotel’s social media strategy?
Based on our team’s experience and insights, here are the key practices we’ve identified that will keep your hotel’s social media presence strong in 2025.

Let’s start with what isn't working anymore for hotels on social media

Before we dive into what to do, we must first identify what not to do. Building a new strategy on a broken foundation is a waste of effort. So, let’s begin by addressing what is no longer effective and work from there.

1. Ditch the hard sell - stop using overly promotional content

Today’s guests no longer require a sales pitch, nor do they want one.

‘Escape to luxury, book now and get 20% off your stay! Call or Email Now. Your dream escape awaits you.’

Sound familiar? It’s not a bad thing to punt your offers now and again, in the right setting, but on social media your guests are looking for way more than just a deal, they are looking for a real connection, an experience that feels tailored to them, they want to relate to you.

What makes you unique? Because, if your selling point is that you’re offering 20% off this season, bad news, so are all your competitors… Why should the guest choose you?

Bottom Line: You don’t want to seem impersonal. Guests are looking for authenticity and connection. Not advertisements.

2. Stop ignoring engagement - potential guests are reaching out

To be frank. Why post online if you are not going to monitor your online space? It’s like sending a WhatsApp message and then ignoring any response that comes through.

People send DM’s (direct messages), they comment, they share, they like – they interact. Maybe the DM isn’t always relevant, like the all-too-familiar, no-context “price?” DMs we see almost daily… I mean for what? for who? Anyway. Social media has to be viewed as the modern day TripAdvisor.

Plus, the more interactions you have on social media the more the platform’s algorithm favours you and will then push your content to more users. This is why you don’t want to simply respond to comments and messages, you want to start conversations. Be interested in your audience, ask questions, share insights and ultimately show Instagram, Facebook and TikTok that people love engaging with your account – and those platforms will reward you with more eyes on your account.

Now, if the issue is that you are getting no engagement at all, (ie: it’s just you and your family hitting like), that presents more of a challenge. Your next step is to entirely re-analyse the content you are putting out, because guests are not able to connect with it. Consider why a guest should follow you at all. What value does your social media provide that inspires guests to follow you – and let’s remember, it’s not to see your “20% limited time only discount.”

3. Organic reach is great, but paid reach can be better

The successes of organic-only reach are few and far between. There are simply too many players in the digital space.

That does not mean organic reach is dead – our team has seen content go viral organically and bring in customers – but these moments are intentionally curated by our studies and our strategies.

Most days, you will need to run a campaign to remind people that your hotel still exists. This is where those promotional content pieces we talked about earlier can be used.

“Book now and get 20% off your stay!” (But, you can offer something better. That’s another conversation entirely.)

Conversion-focused campaigns are designed to drive action from an “already-warm” audience – those ready to make a booking – and are worth the investment to reach more people.

Reserve your organic content for the fun, engaging posts that are meant to build your brand community, brand personality and help you connect with your future guests.

Think about it like this: paid ads drive conversions, while organic content nurtures your relationship with your future guests and tells them who you are. You need both.

what is currently working

Now that we have covered what not to do, let’s explore what is currently working for hotels on social media.

4. Authentic videos

People want, yearn for, real. They don’t just want to see your curated photos of your property’s architecture and how well you designed your rooms. That has a place and time, for sure, like your website, but on social media that alone won’t help your guests connect with you. Remember, our goal is to enhance how your audience connects with you.

Let’s look at an example.

For The Tulbagh Boutique Heritage Hotel, we created short narrative videos on TikTok that highlighted the hotel’s staff – their unique selling point. Room tours led by the staff, a day in the life of the head chef, the maintenance team and more.

People fell in love with the staff, and rightfully so, because we showed off their authentic personalities. This authentic touch increased their bookings by 30% and we were even named the Friendliest hotel in South Africa.

5. Storytelling

As humans, we are naturally drawn to stories, and in the world of hospitality, storytelling is a powerful way to create a distinct brand identity that sets you apart from your competitors.

If you own a boutique hotel, you already understand the impact of individuality; how each room, with its own unique story, can captivate your guests. Whether it’s the history behind a particular suite, the inspiration for the decor, or the local culture infused into the design, guests love staying in rooms that offer more than just a place to sleep. They seek an experience, a connection to something meaningful, being a part of something, and storytelling allows you to offer that. Through your social media for your hotel, you should bring these stories to life, drawing guests in and making your hotel memorable. Remember to share the stories that you tell your guests in person, online as well.

6. Social media, SEO & the new website

We all know the importance of having a website, it’s where conversions happen. But what if we told you that your guests are visiting your social media profiles first, before they think about clicking on your website?

48% of travellers have booked a trip based on a social media post, 67% of travellers consult social media for travel tips and recommendations before making decisions.

Platforms like TikTok and Instagram are now focusing on intrinsic SEO (search engine optimisation), meaning that they are slowly becoming the new search and discovery platforms similar to Google. It’s quick, entertaining, mobile-friendly and trustworthy. Social media is a place where people can search for travel inspiration and recommendations, and is ultimately where they will discover your hotel (or not), before clicking through to your website to convert.

What you can do for your hotel's social media today

Improving your occupancy rate, and hotel’s online status, is within your grasp.

Take social media for your hotel seriously. Social media is far from a trend or passing fad, it’s here to stay, and, unfortunately, it changes fast. Don’t fall into the fallacy that it’s a youngsters game with no ROI in it for you. Look at the biggest players in the hotel space, they invest in social media. Continuously.
Be authentic. Your guests want to see and connect with you, not your offers. What makes your hotel unique? Bring that to life online!
Engage on social media. Reply to those DM’s, respond to comments and start conversations.
Play to win. Organic content fosters relationships, paid campaigns brings in conversions. Your strongest strategy should feed both.
Create video content. Video marketing for hotels is essential, especially as search engines are favouring video content more and more. Your text-based website could already be falling behind.
Tell stories. More and more hotels, brands and creators are learning to tell stories in new, creative and engaging ways – because it works.
Treat social media like a search engine, because it is one. Think about your post captions, plan your comments, write clear stories and focus it all with a clear overarching strategy that continuously builds and builds your SEO, so that you can be found on social media by your future guests.

An underestimated necessity of social media success is a bravery. Venturing into the social media world for your hotel can be daunting, no doubt, and who’s to say what will or won’t even work? What if they hate what I do?

As with many things in life, the bigger the risk you take on social media, the bigger the possible reward. So, be bold.

If you’re not quite sure how to be bold on your own yet, or you simply don’t have the time, let’s chat. We can maximise your hotel’s social media, strengthen your online status and remove your stress entirely in one fell swoop.

Sources

WinSavvy, “Social Media and Tourism: Key Statistics,” WinSavvy Website, 2023.

Tammy Van Gool

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Social Media for Hotels: What Works, What Doesn’t and Why It Matters

Table of Contents

Let’s start with what isn't working anymore for hotels on social media

1. Ditch the hard sell - stop using overly promotional content

2. Stop ignoring engagement - potential guests are reaching out