Marketing

The Gemini app has officially surpassed 1 billion monthly users, making it the fastest-growing product in Google’s history. Here’s some data about …

The hospitality industry has learned to sell practically everything that can be measured. We sell a room at a specific price per night, breakfast at a per-person cost, a spa treatment by duration, an upgrade by the difference between room categories, and a loyalty program by the number of points and status level. We have become very good at showing potential guests the size of a room, a photograph of the bed, the view from the window, the restaurant, the pool, and the number of available amenities. Yet most hotels have one extremely valuable asset that is used far less than it could be: their own history. Some hotels have decades or even hundreds of years behind them, famous guests, historic events, unique architecture, works of art, gardens, legends, and human stories. Yet very often, all of this remains simply part of the interior. A guest walks past an old photograph without knowing who is depicted in it; a child runs through a historic staircase without understanding how many people passed along it before them; a family has breakfast in a restaurant that has existed for decades, but receives more or less the same experience they could have had in a modern hotel built only a few years ago. As a result, the hotel sells space, service, and convenience, but does not always sell the meaning—the sense and emotional significance—of the place itself. This is why I would like to propose an idea that at first glance may seem small and even somewhat romantic, but could actually become an interesting tool for hotel marketing, guest experience, and long-term brand building: what if a hotel deliberately began creating an emotional connection with future guests before they became independent consumers? Not by selling a room to a child, not by marketing luxury to them, and not by trying to turn them directly into customers, but by introducing them to the hotel's history, transforming its architecture and heritage into a game, creating an emotional experience, and allowing that experience to become part of their personal memory. We Sell Too Much of What Is Easy to Describe The traditional hotel business model is fairly rational. A guest chooses between room categories, compares prices, looks at photographs, reads reviews, evaluates the location, facilities, and range of services, and then makes a decision. For a hotel, this is convenient because virtually all of these characteristics can be measured, packaged, and presented in an advertising message. But this is precisely where one of the main challenges of the modern hospitality industry emerges: the more elements of a hotel product can be measured, the easier they are to compare and the more difficult it becomes to build genuine differentiation around them. A competitor can renovate its lobby, install similar furniture, open a new restaurant, improve its spa, purchase more expensive amenities, or offer a complimentary transfer. It can even copy the format of a breakfast or a particular service technology. But there is one asset that cannot simply

📈 In 2009, Cornell researchers identified the "Billboard Effect," where OTAs like Booking.com and Expedia indirectly drive direct hotel bookings. However, OTAs have since optimized their platforms to retain users, urging hotels to adapt their strategies. The direct booking rate through metasearch, like Google Hotel Ads, and strategies like Pay Per Stay (PPS) can cut costs from 15-20% to about 10-12%. Independent hotels must leverage closed-user-group incentives for immediate rewards, not traditional loyalty points.

🏨 London hoteliers saw an 8% increase in average daily rates (ADR), rising from £243.03 to £262.08 in June year-on-year, according to the RSM UK Hotels Tracker by Hotstats and RSM UK. Across the UK, ADR grew by 6%, from £165.33 to £174.69. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) in London increased from £212.68 to £222.55. Despite strong demand due to good weather, profit margins stagnated.

📈 As 2027 budget plans unfold, hotels should prioritize social media marketing. Smaller properties can benefit from at least $100 monthly for Facebook and Instagram, while larger ones should start at $750, scaling per size and goals. Effective strategies link posts to landing pages to boost revenue. Services like Lodging Interactive’s Social Media Amplified enhance this by connecting campaigns with customized pages, capturing leads for events like weddings or reunions, turning social engagement into measurable revenue.

💸 Expedia reveals fall travel trends: U.S. top destinations see a 20% rise in lodging and 2% in flight costs compared to summer. Yet, budget-savvy travelers can save 25% on average in Aspen, Anchorage, Bozeman, Fort Walton Beach, San Diego, and Honolulu this fall. Beach destinations offer a 15% savings while mountain locales promise 30%, with Aspen boasting a 45% discount. Bundle bookings on Expedia for maximum savings and leverage features like Flight Deals and Price Alerts.

🌎 Expedia's marketing stunt in April sent a streamer through five Caribbean nations in 12 hours, boosting search demand for Sint Maarten by 70% and Guadeloupe by 50%. The streamer, Darren Jason Watkins Jr, holds 50 million followers on YouTube and Twitch. Gabby Beckford, a travel creator with 300,000 TikTok followers, earns up to $100,000 per deal. The average creator's income is projected at $44,000 by 2025, with 1 in 9 making six figures.

💻 Aug 17, 2026, Booking Holdings cut costs for resolving guest issues by double digits twice in six months. CEO Glenn Fogel aims to eliminate wait lines using AI, reducing customer service costs per booking. Complaints often involve third-party providers. CFO Ewout Steenbergen reported a 10% cost reduction per booking since February, but guests can't rate AI service. Despite claims of preference for AI, no data was published. The impact on property scores from poor service experiences remains unquantified.

📖 August 12, 2026, American Express added 351 hotels to its Fine Hotels + Resorts and Hotel Collection programs, now over 3,400 properties in 116 countries. The selection process by Amex's Hotel Curation Team evaluates hotels based on unpublished criteria informed by premium Card Members' travel preferences. This unique curation contrasts with consortia like Virtuoso, where hotels apply and pay to join. Fine Hotels + Resorts, celebrating 35 years, targets Platinum and Centurion cardholders.

🏨 Since 2007, hotel representation companies act as sales and marketing arms for independent hotels in foreign markets, like Europe or the Caribbean targeting the US market. They offer strategic advice, organizing activities such as weekly sales calls, webinars, and roadshows. Successful partnerships include Golden Rock Inn (since 2011), The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa (since 2014), and Nobu Hotels. Recognized in FeedSpot’s Top 90 Hospitality Blogs, they are pivotal for hotels lacking local market presence.