Hotel reviews were old news, reputation was a managed thing. But maybe it is new again. How CEOs should deal with AI, Content creators rule the airwaves, Media industry evolution.
Hello,
I remember speaking to a hotelier once who was pining about the “good old days” before online reviews existed that the hotel was kind and the guest didn’t have a choice. He was a client at the time, so it was hard to explain to him that he was utterly wrong and online reviews were a great thing for the travel industry… how things have changed.
Best, Martin
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Are Content Creators the New Kings of Media?
Evan Shapiro’s suggests that content creators have overtaken legacy media, marking a shift in the media landscape. This indicates the growing influence of new content providers over traditional outlets. Basically an unboundling of the media landscape. In the 60s we had pirate radios, which then bundled together to become radio stations. And they’re now unboundling into creators. If history is any sign, we’ll soon see them re-boundling into networks etc. But it is interesting for hotels because there’s a lot more choice and more tailored choice for collabs, and ads.
CONTENT CREATORS DOMINATE
What should travel CEOs know about AI?
CEOs should lead the charge in adopting AI. But usually experimental tech isn’t the main concern of CEOs. However with AI – we’re looking at tech that will likely be woven into the fabric of all our other tech. Enabling employees in ways we still haven’t quite figured out yet. But for hotel companies who want to stay relevant, it requires a top-down push. Here are some travel CEOs and what they think.
AI IN TOURISM LEADERSHIP
About me: I'm a fractional CMO for large travel technology companies helping turn them into industry leaders. I'm also the co-founder of 10minutes.news a hotel news media that is unsensational, factual and keeps hoteliers updated on the industry. Tiktok becoming a search engine?
TikTok has emerged as a preferred search engine for a significant portion of 15-28 year olds, challenging Google’s dominance. The platform’s content discovery loop and SEO optimization strategies differ from traditional search engines, focusing on trending content and the ‘For You’ page. The rise of TikTok as a search tool reflects the changing landscape of online engagement and content discovery. Hotels should take note, it might just be a passing fad. But what isn’t a passing fad is the “same-old” SEO will not be relevant in the next 5 years.
TIKTOK SEO GUIDE
TV Advertising with Brand+
Amazon Ads has introduced Brand+, an AI-driven optimization feature for brand awareness campaigns on TV. It uses Amazon’s extensive data to target audiences likely to be interested in the advertised products, potentially resulting in increased sales and traffic. Hotels haven’t had lots of opportunities to do big screen ads. But this could shift. And Youtube now say they’re bigger than traditional TV.
AI TV ADVERTISING
Social, Youtube, Influencers. Results
According to a study, Social reach improves paid search performance by an average of 32%, while YouTube campaigns can improve email performance by up to 25%, and influencer content improves paid social performance by an average of 30%. These are interesting numbers. They theoretically make sense – but how does one implement it in hotels?
MARKETING CHANNELS AND ISOLATION
Media planning is evolving
Buying media has been either run by big agencies or fragmented into silos. A labor intensive job of running ads on platforms getting creatives designed, selecting platform, channels etc. But with AI this is changing. Meta, Google, Amazon are growing their AI tools making it easier for agencies or groups to select goals such as brand building or revenue generation and letting the AI do the heavy lifting. And that’s a great thing for both users and hotels. More relevant ads – delivered better.
ADVERTISING AI EVOLUTION
Podcast: I was invited on the Hospitality Daily Podcast and spoke about technology in hospitality, some thoughts on what wont change in hospitality, and why I co-founded 10minutes.news. Best, MartinOpinion
The Comeback of Hotel Reviews
Hotel reviews have never really been useless, but they did lose some of their impact over time. When they first emerged, they revolutionized the hotel industry. Suddenly, hoteliers had to up their game—guest feedback was no longer limited to a suggestion box at the front desk; it was out in the open, influencing bookings. But as reviews became ubiquitous, their influence started to wane.
For many travelers, reviews turned into a quick scan of the star rating and a glance at the last few comments. Because, who really has time to read 50 reviews, half of which are from people with wildly different expectations and travel styles? Platforms, driven by algorithms that prioritize ratings over actual content, reinforced this behavior. The result? We started making decisions based on a number (rating) rather than meaningful insight.
But AI is about to change that.
Large Language Models (LLMs) are giving reviews a second life. The ability to analyze vast amounts of unstructured content means that travelers can now extract relevant insights tailored to their needs. Imagine asking an AI, “How is this hotel for a family with young kids?” or “Is the Wi-Fi actually good for remote work?” and getting a summary based on thousands of reviews, filtered for relevance.
Suddenly, that wealth of information we had no time to sift through becomes accessible again. AI can surface details from travelers with similar preferences, even if their trip was for a different purpose—say, a business traveler mentioning soundproofing, which also happens to matter for families with toddlers.
This shift could have bigger implications than just improving decision-making. If reviews regain their importance, they might evolve into more than just a reference tool. Could hotels start monetizing specific attributes based on AI-identified trends? If enough reviews highlight the importance of blackout curtains or soundproof walls, could those become upsell opportunities?
We’re entering an era where review content could drive revenue—not just through bookings but by shaping hotel offerings in real-time. Hotels have always tried to adapt to guest feedback, but AI will accelerate the process, making reviews a dynamic force rather than a static scorecard.
So, the next time you ask for a review, remember: it’s not just a rating—it’s data, tell guests to mention specific attributes they liked or that could be improved. It just might be a key to your AI-search optimization.
