In today’s ever-more digitally connected world, social media plays a huge part in shaping travel decisions. When people want to find a cosy hotel for a romantic break or a perfect place for a group getaway, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube have become essential sources of inspiration.
For hotels looking to increase bookings, influencer marketing is a powerful strategy that can help you reach hundreds of thousands of potential new guests in just a few days.
By partnering with an influencer, a hotel can showcase its unique features, amenities and overall experience in a modern and effective way. Beautifully curated images, engaging videos and authentic reviews from social media influencers can help your hospitality business appeal to more people and attract greater custom.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll look into the essentials of hotel influencer marketing. From identifying the right influencers to examples of effective campaigns, this guide will provide you with the knowledge and tools to harness the incredible power of influencer marketing.
Whether you’re a boutique hotel looking to boost your local presence or a large resort aiming to attract a global clientele, read on to discover how you can transform your marketing strategy, with four impressive examples. If you’re new to the world of influencers, our beginner’s guide to influencer marketing covers everything you need to know.
The rise of influencer marketing
Influencer marketing is unstoppable. It’s grown astronomically in the past few years – with the market size more than doubling from 2019 to 2023.
It’s become a game-changer for the hotel industry too. By partnering with creative influencers who have loyal followings on popular platforms, you can skyrocket your brand awareness – faster and easier than ever before.
Of course, influencer marketing is constantly changing, with all sorts of new strategies making an entrance. Take AI and virtual influencers for instance, both of which are becoming increasingly popular digital marketing strategies. However, the basics psychology behind influence remains the same, with Robert Cialdini’s seven principles (Reciprocity, Consistency, Social proof, Liking, Authority, Scarcity and Unity) still holding true today – as covered in this article: A Beginner’s Guide to the Psychology of Influence.
Benefits of influencer marketing
There are numerous benefits to partnering with an influencer. They create engaging content, have trustworthy, authentic voices, loyal audiences and everyday relatability. This can help hoteliers tap into new markets, boost bookings and increase revenue.
An increasing number of young millennials and Gen Z travellers rely on social media platforms for inspiration and recommendations. In a 2022 survey by Arrivia, one in three travellers said they turn to social media for travel inspiration, with 60% being millennials and Gen Zs.
Influencer marketing allows hotels to showcase properties in a visually appealing way that’s perfect for social media algorithms. Influencers will create high-quality content, including beautiful photography and videography to share with their audience.
It gives their followers a sense of a hotel’s location, amenities and overall guest experience – crucial when building trust. Ultimately, this type of content can be the difference between someone making a booking and looking elsewhere.
Want to see a great example of an in-demand influencer in action? Take a look at Shweta’s Instagram Reel of her visit to Pennyhill Park. The video highlights a range of different luxury amenities, including spa experiences, thermal rooms, and sauna treatments.
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12 benefits of influencer marketing for your hotel
What’s so great about influencer marketing, and why should you be using it?
For a start, it’s a relatively affordable form of marketing and has proven to be great at bypassing adblockers. At a time when 912 million people use adblockers worldwide, influencer marketing is an incredibly effective way of reaching new audiences with genuine, authentic content.
That’s just the start! There are plenty of other reasons why your hotel should add influencers to your marketing mix, such as:
1. Inspiring and visually appealing content: Influencers are known for creating high-quality content that is visually appealing and inspiring. By showcasing a hotel’s amenities, rooms, dining options and overall ambiance in a creative way, influencers can captivate their audience and entice them to book a stay at the hotel.
2. Increased direct bookings: Effective influencer campaigns can lead to a direct increase in room bookings.
3. Enhanced brand visibility: Influencers can dramatically increase a hotel’s visibility on social media platforms. Influencers have a strong following and influence in their specific niche. When they promote a hotel, they can bring attention to the brand and increase its visibility among their followers. This exposure can generate interest in the hotel and lead to increased bookings.
4. Higher engagement rates: Influencers often have highly engaged followers, leading to improved interaction rates.
5. Authentic and credible recommendations: Influencers often build a connection and trust with their audience by sharing their genuine experiences and opinions. When they recommend a hotel, it is seen as a trustworthy endorsement. This credibility can influence their followers to consider booking the hotel, as they value the influencer’s judgment and recommendations.
6. Luxury brand association: Partnering with luxury or niche influencers can position your hotel as a premium destination.
7. Enhanced customer trust: Influencers endorsements can lend credibility and trustworthiness to your hotel brand.
8. Targeted reach and engagement: They can also reach specific demographics that match your hotel’s target market. Influencers have the ability to target and engage with a specific audience. By partnering with influencers who have a similar target market as the hotel, the hotel can effectively reach its desired audience. This targeted reach is valuable for driving bookings as it focuses on individuals who are more likely to be interested in the hotel’s offerings.
9. Event promotion: Influencers can help promote special events and encourage more people to attend.
10. Increased press coverage: Influencers can attract additional media attention, further amplifying marketing efforts.
11. Global reach: International influencers can help attract foreign visitors by showcasing your hotel to a worldwide audience.
12. Seasonal campaign support: Finally, influencers can promote off-peak season visits to boost year-round occupancy.
Kickstart your hotel influencer marketing campaign with Hoopla today. Arrange a discovery call to get started.
Creating an influencer marketing strategy: 5 questions you need to ask
It’s easy to rush into hotel influencer marketing and make mistakes. But before you get started, you need to know what you want to achieve and who you want your campaign to target. An influencer that’s best known for playing video games might not be the right match if you want to promote a luxury spa facility, for instance.
Here are the five questions to ask yourself when starting your influencer marketing campaign…
1. What is your objective and target demographic? 🎯
Common objectives for hotels starting an influencer marketing campaign include:
- Improving the hotel’s brand awareness.
- Getting greater numbers of people to view the website.
- Increasing the number of bookings.
- Boosting followers on social media accounts.
- Advertising specific rooms or amenities.
- Attracting certain types of clientele – such as wedding guests.
2. Which platform do you want to target? 📱
Instagram is the most commonly used social media platform for hotel influencer marketing. Previously, the main USP of Instagram was beautiful photo posts. However, since 2020, the app has shifted towards a greater use of video content. Attention-grabbing ‘Reels’ of 15-90 seconds can be ideal for showcasing a hotel’s locations and amenities.
You might also want to consider working with influencers who are active on other platforms, such as TikTok, YouTube and Facebook. YouTube is best for high-quality video content and popular videos will generally get views for far longer than something posted on Instagram.
With over a billion active users, TikTok is extremely popular among younger travellers. Its algorithm makes it easy for a user to find content related to things they’ve been searching for. However, with so much competition, creating content that stands out can be challenging.
Facebook, meanwhile, is particularly popular among older demographics, but content discovery can be harder compared to other platforms.
Choosing which one to run your campaign on should be considered carefully. Each platform has its benefits and limitations. Go for one that you’re familiar with and that your brand already posts content to regularly.
Of course, it’s possible to run a campaign across multiple platforms, but it may require you to work with several influencers who specialise in different platforms. A YouTube vlogger won’t be the best choice if you want to increase your followers on Instagram, for example.
3. Which influencers will best help you achieve your objectives? 🌟
The popularity of social media means there’s no shortage of influencers out there, but finding one that perfectly aligns with your hotel’s brand can be difficult. Hotels are often approached by influencers who ask for a free stay in exchange for content. However, it’s important to research options carefully and find someone who aligns with your target audience.
You should also consider the type of content you want to meet your objective. For example, do you want a blogger to increase the number of visitors to your website? Or an Instagram influencer to help boost your number of followers?
When researching influencers, consider their background:
- Does their content match the brands content style?
- Who is their audience?
- Do they have an engaged audience?
- Are they an influencer that has a good reputation, or are they losing followers?
- Are they considered trustworthy or have they previously been involved in controversies?
- What type of content do they specialise in?
- What’s their audience demographic?
To find the right influencer, you should consider some of the following criteria:
- Content quality
- Relevance and alignment with brand values: It is essential to select an influencer whose content and values align with the brand’s image and target audience. The influencer’s niche, audience demographics, tone, and content type should match the brand, and both parties’ values and interests should be similar. This relevance and alignment ensure that the influencer’s content resonates with the brand’s target audience and drives engagement and conversion.
- Authenticity and engagement rate: Authenticity is vital for an influencer’s credibility and ability to drive user engagement. The chosen influencer should have a high engagement rate with their followers, meaning their audience actively engages with their content. It is also crucial to ensure that the influencer’s content and sponsored posts are transparent and genuine to ensure credibility. The influencer’s past collaboration history should be checked to ensure their sponsored content aligns with their pre-existing content and brand values.
- Where they’re located.
- Age of the influencer – is this appropriate for the demographic you’re targeting?
- Influencer’s interests – whether they focus more on budget trips, luxury travel or lifestyle content.
- Engagement rate – how many people typically engage with an influencer’s posts, and are these mostly genuine accounts of real people?
A professional agency like Hoopla Marketing can help you find the influencer that’s best for your hotel. We’ll ask about your objectives and target audience and identify the right candidates for your marketing strategy.
4. What should they share? 🎥
After finding the influencer that meets your objectives and target demographic, you should start crafting a detailed creative brief for your social media marketing strategy. Outline the campaign’s goals, key messages, deliverables and any other guidelines.
By keeping the brief as concise and clear as possible, you’ll allow influencers to effectively communicate your brand message to their audience. Remember to consider what call to action you want influencers to share – whether that’s a discount code, direct link to your booking page or limited-time offer.
5. Strategic amplification via social media ads 📣
Strategically amplifying influencer content allows you to tap into a wider pool of your ideal audience, inspiring them to engage with your brand and take action.
Effective promotion of the influencers content across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube allows you to drive more bookings, boost brand awareness, and create meaningful connections with potential guests.
6. How will you measure your campaign’s success? 📊
To determine how successful your influencer partnership is, it’s important to monitor and analyse its performance throughout the campaign. Analytic tools allow you to gather data on impressions, reach, engagement, click-through rates, conversions, bookings and purchase value. These metrics mean you can see what worked well and what could be done better in future campaigns.
What are the different types of influencers?
Earth Web estimates that there are currently between 3.2 million and 37.8 million influencers in the world. From small nano and micro-influencers to mid-tier, macro and mega influencers, there’s likely to be someone out there who’s a perfect match for your brand.
Many nano and micro-influencers (accounts with anything from 1,000 to 50,000 followers) are happy to accept a free stay in exchange for content. However, larger accounts (with followers between 50,000 to more than a million) could demand payment for the extra reach their content is capable of generating.
But bigger doesn’t always mean better! Niche micro-influencers can be more genuine and have more engaged followers than accounts with millions of followers.
And don’t forget that relatability is often a more important factor than popularity. A study by Edelman revealed that relatability was ranked nearly twice as important as popularity in terms of what attracts 18-to-34-year-olds to influencers. So, while mega-influencers can reach greater numbers, don’t overlook the power that nano and micro-influencers might have in pulling more people towards your brand.
How much does influencer marketing cost?
Influencer campaigns are flexible for a wide range of budgets. Costs can vary based on the type of influencer you choose, their following, and your campaign expectations.
Hospitality brands can enquire about costs by contacting influencers directly via social media or through dedicated marketplaces such as TikTok’s Creator Marketplace.
Alternatively, you can collaborate with a professional agency like Hoopla Marketing. We can help you select influencers that align with your objectives and target audience – as well as assisting with campaign creation and management. Get in touch to talk to our team and get a no-obligation quote tailored to your campaign requirements.
Four examples of successful hotel influencer campaigns
At Hoopla Marketing, we launch and manage highly successful hotel influencer campaigns. Here are four examples with impressive results…
Pennyhill Park Hotel
- 111 Pieces of content produced 🎬
- 9.5M Reach & impressions 🌍
- 134K Engagements ❤️
- 14.8 X Return on ad spend 💵
Pennyhill Park is a luxury hotel and spa located in Surrey, boasting an incredible array of experiences for fun, leisure and special occasions.
They wanted influencers to create engaging content to boost awareness of the luxury hotel and spa and showcase the overall customer experience. This content would then be used to promote social media ads to drive engagement, website traffic and bookings.
@mialuckie3 Save this for your next staycation out of London, I highly recomend!! There’s so much to see and do at @pennyhill_park, so make time to stay JUST ONE MORE DAY. Book for two nights or more and get 15% off your stay using code MIALUCKIE315 #pennyhillpark #pennyhillhotelandspa #luxuryhotel #ukhotel #michelinstar #5starhotel #fivestarhotel #escapelondon ♬ original sound – Mia Luckie
Following extensive research, Hoopla Marketing identified several key luxury lifestyle and travel influencers with engaged followings. Local influencers that matched Pennyhill Park’s target audience were invited to stay at the hotel and create content.
Social media advertising campaigns were also launched to complement the influencer activity to key target audiences, which helped achieve an even greater campaign reach.
Throughout the campaign, 111 pieces of unique content were produced on platforms including Instagram and TikTok. The content got over 9.5 million views combined with 134,000 engagements. The end result? Pennyhill Park saw a 14.8x return on their ad spend. Find out more >
South Lodge Hotel & Spa
- 86 Pieces of content produced 🎬
- 4m Reach and impressions 🌍
- 66,500+ Engagements ❤️
- 1 x Return on ad spend 💵
A luxury spa hotel in Sussex, South Lodge offers visitors award-winning dining and an incredible state-of-the-art spa.
They created a hotel influencer marketing strategy to raise brand awareness and showcase the overall customer experience. Influencers were chosen to create engaging content that would help increase engagement of the hotel’s social media pages, boost website traffic and lead to more bookings.
Hoopla Marketing identified several local influencers who demonstrated authority in their niche and a passion for creating engaging content for their followers. The luxury lifestyle and travel influencers that matched South Lodge’s target audience were invited to stay and use the amenities at the spa hotel.
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During the rollout of the campaign, influencers could access a network with personalised invitations and detailed creative briefs which helped with the development of the content.
This content was then amplified across social media ads to drive awareness, engagement and bookings.
In this campaign, 86 pieces of content were produced by several well-established influencers on Instagram and TikTok. The content reached over 9.4 million people and generated over 66,500 engagements. As a result, South Lodge saw a 9.1x return on their ad spend. Find out more >
Manor House
- 158 Pieces of content produced 🎬
- 5m Reach and impressions 🌍
- 287,000+ Engagements ❤️
- 8 x Return on ad spend 💵
The Manor House is a 14th Century luxury hotel and golf club in Wiltshire. Offering fairy-tale weddings, romantic nights away, Michelin starred dining and a championship golf course.
The Manor House approached Hoopla Marketing to help create awareness of their luxury hotel, tap into new audiences and to drive bookings online. We began by researching and building authentic relationships with key luxury lifestyle and travel influencers, whose online audiences align perfectly with The Manor House’s target audience.
Next came an opportunity for the influencers to experience the hotel. We made sure that those selected had expertise in their niche and proven experience of connecting with an online following and creating quality content.
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Personalised invitations and detailed creative briefs were sent out to help guide content development. We also launched social media advertising campaigns that targeted key audiences, boosted reach and drove traffic to our website, ultimately ending in increased bookings.
Lastly, we compiled all the content produced and reported on the data collected to measure the end results. Find out more >
Lainston House
- 108 Pieces of content produced 🎬
- 4m Reach and impressions 🌍
- 6k+ Engagements ❤️
- 5 x Return on ad spend 💵
Lainston House is a 17th Century luxury hotel tucked away in 63 acres of rural Hampshire countryside, offering luxurious stays and award-winning dining.
To help create awareness of Lainston House, Hoopla Marketing created a campaign to tap into new audiences and drive bookings online.
With careful research, we developed strong relationships with top luxury lifestyle and travel influencers whose engaged followings perfectly matched Lainston House’s target audience.
Selected local influencers were invited to visit the hotel, choosing those with professional experience in creating quality content and building a loyal online following. The entire campaign was carried out seamlessly, with personalised invitations and detailed creative briefs to help with content creation.
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To amplify the content, we also launched social media advertising campaigns on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. This advertising was able to drive awareness, engagement, website traffic and ultimately, bookings.
Finally, we reported on all available metrics and collected all the content produced throughout the campaign. Find out more >
Discover how hotel influencer marketing can benefit your business today
Standing out and attracting travellers to book a stay at your hotel is becoming more challenging than ever. Showcasing beautiful experiences and engaging content on social media is an increasingly powerful way of enticing potential guests. Pair that with the trust, authenticity and relatability of influencers, and you’re onto a winner.
By partnering with an influencer that matches your brand, you’ll create engaging content that makes your hotel a must-visit destination for hundreds of thousands of guests. At Hoopla Marketing, we work closely with some of the country’s best influencers to help your campaign reflect your values and the messaging you want to convey.