Direct visibility declines as search costs rise, forcing hotels to rethink demand generation
Dec 19, 2025
Google’s expanding AI Overviews are reshaping how travelers research destinations and hotels, with more answers delivered directly on the search results page. For hotels, this means fewer clicks from organic search—especially during the consideration phase—while competition and costs in paid search continue to rise.
As Google inserts itself deeper into the discovery journey, hoteliers are being pushed to rethink how they attract demand, shifting from keyword-driven tactics toward stronger brands, direct relationships, and diversified marketing channels. What is emerging is not a short-term disruption, but a structural change in how hotel demand is created and captured.
Key takeaways
- Guest discovery is happening before your website: Travelers increasingly get hotel recommendations, area insights, and shortlists directly from Google, reducing organic visits to hotel sites.
- Mid-funnel traffic is eroding first: Searches where guests compare locations and hotel options are seeing the biggest drop in clicks, even if bookings still happen later.
- Search marketing is getting more expensive: Hotels are paying significantly more each year to maintain the same performance, driven by higher CPCs and intense OTA competition.
- Brand matters more than ever: Hotels with strong brand recognition and branded search demand are better positioned as generic keyword visibility declines.
- Direct channels need reinforcement: Owned assets—website content, SEO foundations, loyalty programs, and first-party data—are becoming critical to offset shrinking discovery.
- Marketing mixes are diversifying: Hoteliers are reallocating budgets toward social, video, metasearch, influencers, and partnerships to reduce dependence on Google search alone.
- Success is shifting beyond CPA: Long-term value, repeat stays, and direct guest relationships are becoming more important metrics than short-term acquisition costs.
Source: exchange4media
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