Google has made it very clear that they don’t want you to use their services. You can also read more about the benefits of using help users search – it wants to help them find Answers. Google’s latest update in Search and Maps is powered by AI generative, and helps to achieve its aim of giving the users what they need with as little friction possible. This evolution has major implications for how travellers plan trips and, in turn, how hotels are discovered, compared, and chosen.
We sat with Pete Stevens to make sense of all this. He is the Head of Marketing and Operation at Clockwork MarketingWe discussed what Google’s AI tools meant for the hospitality marketing. We talked about what hoteliers can do to remain visible and competitive and why good marketing is still important.
Generative vs Predictive AI
Predictive AI Analysis of existing data is used to make decisions or forecasts. Predicting hotel demand and pricing trends, for example.
Generative AI It creates content based upon patterns found in data. It can, for example, write a travel schedule or summarise reviews of guests in natural language.
Google Rolling Out New Services
Google’s strategy is clear, even though the tools may not be available to everyone yet. Pete highlighted three key developments hoteliers should be aware of.
1. AI-Powered Travel Planning
Such searches as “What can I do in Malaga for a week?” Itineraries can be compiled from a variety of sources on the internet. “You’ve probably seen Google’s AI answering service already,” explains Pete, “but now it’s starting to pull together itineraries, if you ask it in the right way… It’ll give you a day-by-day breakdown of the top things to do.”
These AI-generated responses synthesise content from a wide array of sites — media, tourism boards, OTAs, blogs — to create a coherent, structured answer.
This is a major change from Google’s previous format where users had to click on several results individually to create a plan. Instead, AI curates a single view that makes it difficult for any hotel to standout organically.
Google has always given you one answer. Pete explained that the AI is now scraping information from various sources and putting it together. You risk being overlooked if your hotel is not well-represented in the AI’s sources.
2. Conversational Refinement via Generative AI
Google searches are no longer the only way to plan a trip. Gemini lets travellers refine their travel plans in a conversational fashion. Travellers can adjust their preferences and priorities mid-search — a fundamental shift from the traditional model of one-query, one-result. Pete pointed out:
“You might go, ‘Oh, actually, I’m taking my kids, so these first three days aren’t any good for me. What do I plan to do when dealing with young children or teenagers?’… You can just start refining it and interrogating it and having a conversation.”
Gemini must be able find rich, diverse and relevant content for a variety of user intentions.
For hotels to be discovered, they need to create content which answers situational and layered questions, rather than just static queries. For example, a list of ‘family-friendly things to do within 5 miles of the hotel’ could become far more relevant than a general attractions page.
3. Hotel Price Tracking
Google’s inclusion of price tracking tools in hotel listings (familiar to those who use Google Flights), will cause concern among many hoteliers. Travellers will be able to use this feature to monitor changes in hotel prices, and get alerts whenever a deal becomes available.
This greater price transparency could pressure hotels to compete more aggressively, especially independent hotels. Pete warns that, for many boutique properties or luxury properties, the trend could dilute value proposition. “It’s all about price. It doesn’t matter about staff, location, furnishings or experiences. “It’s a race to bottom,” he warned.
Pete pointed out that while dynamic pricing is common in hospitality, there’s also the risk of conditioning customers to wait for bargains, or worse still, devaluing your brand by appearing inconsistent.
What does this mean for your hotel’s discoverability?
The major implications of this update is that even though a hotel may be included in Google’s data scraping, it will not have any ownership of the customer journey. Pete noticed that, in the early AI tests, it was not always brand websites being linked to.
After testing several generative searches for hotels in Malaga, London, and New York, Pete noted that the top three links he clicked on all led to Mr. and Mr. Smith, The Times Hotel Guru, Booking.com and The Times. None of these were brand.com.
This raises some important strategic questions. How can independent hotels compete when high-authority platforms carry more algorithmic weight that their own websites do?
Hotel marketers must be vigilant on several fronts. own content is outstandingOTAs are a great way to find new destinations. But you need to manage their presence carefully on aggregator and OTA sites. Your website’s content is still important, but your visibility depends increasingly on where you are featured online.
The goal isn’t just to exist in Google’s ecosystem — it’s to be recommended within it.
What hotels can (and should) do now
Pete advised not to panic, or chase after the latest gimmick. Instead, he pointed out that organic search traffic was still the most dominant.
“We see typically around 70% of visitors to a hotel website coming from Google search… so ranking for all the key phrases that you might need to rank for, depending on your business, is absolutely essential.”
Pete suggested that to improve the discoverability of your hotel, you should continue to adhere to core principles in hotel marketing while adapting them according AI.
1. Double down on human-centric, high-quality content
Google’s AI tools can create original summaries and rewrite existing content, but they don’t produce entirely new information. They assemble and interpret existing information. The content that you create (blog posts and landing pages, FAQs or image metadata) must be helpful and accurate. Designed with the real guest in mind.
You’re going to be looking for long, descriptive, natural language type of key phrases, like ‘What can I do with my children when I’m on holiday in Cornwall and it’s raining?’
Content that answers such questions will not only meet the needs of actual guests but also make it easier for AI to recognize your hotel as being relevant to certain types of travellers.
The AI won’t be fooled by keyword stuffing, but it may irritate the human. Natural language. storytellingDetail matters more than ever.
2. Optimise Search in all Its Forms
The basics of technical SEO like page titles and internal links are still important. Pete touched on one particular area that’s often overlooked: Visual search.
He said that image optimization is more important than most hoteliers realize, especially during the planning phase when travelers are still looking for inspiration.
Pete said, “Your image titles and alt tag are extremely important.” “Rather than just having the name of the image from the camera with no alt tags. Every image should have a clear and accurate description.”
You can do this by renaming images to better describe what is pictured. Add alt text, which helps both search engines and people with disabilities, and ensure that visuals match the hotel’s experience. These small technical details, if done well, can help your hotel appear in Google Images and AI-driven content suggestions.
3. Make Your Differentiators Visible
AI can’t market what it doesn’t know. Hotels undersell the most attractive features of their hotels, either because they assume that these are obvious or because they hide them in generic copy. “So many hotels have a great story – about the building, the people, the setting – but they bury it,” said Pete.
To stand out, hotels need to clearly articulate what makes them different; not just once, but consistently across their website, listings, and content. It doesn’t matter if it is a family-friendly hotel, a sustainable ethos or a historical building. These attributes need to be clearly spelled out in a way that AI tools can easily understand.
Pete’s advice suggests that this isn’t just about branding — it’s about Clarity. Google’s artificial intelligence is more likely than not to surface a website that confidently describes its niche when travellers are searching for experiences that align with their values or preferences.
If you want to be unique, it’s important to say so explicitly. If you’re family-friendly, say so explicitly — and give examples. Showcase your chefs’ philosophy and suppliers if you provide farm-to table dining. If your hotel has a wellness program or a dog-friendly service that is well known, ensure those pages are easy to access and detailed.
If you don’t specify your niche, your guests will not know that you are exactly what they want.
4. Get to know reviews and user-generated material
The ability of AI to use third-party content – especially reviews – is a major change. These reviews help the algorithm to understand your property. You can also find out more about the following:.
“User-generated content Pete said. “If the word family is mentioned positively [in reviews]It’s pushing this content higher for people who are looking for family-friendly stays.”
In order to make the best of it, hoteliers need to focus on encouraging and highlighting reviews that match their target audience.
5. Play to your strengths!
Google may not have fully implemented user-specific suggestions, but the signs are already there. When a person searches for “top Plymouth schools” then looks for hotels in London it is not difficult to believe that AI will assume the user has children and prioritize family-friendly choices.
You can’t cheat this kind of personalisation, but it shows how important it is to find your niche. Pete asserts that “you can only describe who you are”. If you are catering to families then you will want to cover it in your content.
Hotels that clearly signal their strengths – whether that’s family-friendliness, culinary excellence, wellness retreats, or adventure travel – are more likely to surface when AI matches travellers with experiences that suit their interests.
Practical steps include creating dedicated landing pages for key guest segments (e.g., ‘Family Adventures in Cornwall’), publishing detailed blog posts that answer specific guest questions, and gathering guest reviews that reflect the themes you want to be associated with. AI will be more likely to recognize and amplify your story if it is clear and consistent.
PR and external authority matter again
Your online presence must be extended in a world of Google that draws on a variety of sources Beyond Your website. Your website’s editorial features, blog posts, listicles and influencer reviews will help the AI determine whether your hotel is credible.
Pete pointed out that it doesn’t seem like the app is pulling in much content from Facebook or Instagram. “But influencers still have the option to blog and create other content.” So yeah, definitely PR… because again, you’re in control of that.”
This new digital visibility, unlike traditional PR that was focused on brand awareness or prestige, is functional. These external signals directly affect how AI interprets your property and whether it is recommended to a user when they ask for “the best”.“Best boutique spa in Devon, with pet-friendly rooms”..
Influencer campaigns and content partnerships as well as media coverage are now more important than ever, not only to the people but also to the platforms that they use.
Final Word: tools change, people don’t
While it’s easy for us to be distracted by the latest gadgets, Pete’s main point is that people’s travel plans may change, their travel goals do not.
The people still seek meaningful experiences, valuable information, reliable recommendations, and an understanding of what your property is about. You can also find out more about like. And if your content delivers that – honestly, clearly, and consistently – you’ll be well-positioned, whether the answer comes from a search result, an AI assistant, or a word-of-mouth recommendation.
What is Pete’s recommendation? “Just really great content… human-first content, content that’s rich and gives descriptions and feelings and what your business is like.”
AI will continue evolving. But hospitality is still about people, stories, and service – things no algorithm can replace.
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The original version of this post appeared on GuestRevu. here This is reproduced by their permission.
