There are a myriad of reasons why traditional hotels (and even unique stays) fail to gain traction on social media, let alone convert their traffic to direct bookings.

Lack of onscreen text, unclear posts, overly staged reels–

The list is endless.

But if there’s one thing that should be the foundation of your social media strategy to drive views and direct bookings, it’s this:

Assume a potential guest will only see your content once.

Simple, yet the majority of accounts fail to do this…

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Scrolling through the feeds of traditional hotels will leave you confused.

You’re getting hit with:

✔️ Interior design shots

✔️ A few clips of someone’s breakfast

✔️ Actors doing yoga somewhere on the property

✔️ Some friendly staff waving as people enter the hotel

✔️ A few shots of the landscape or city surrounding the property

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You'll find yourself asking: Is this a travel account? A photography account? Or maybe an interior design or wellness account?

One thing’s for sure– it’s leading to minimal engagement and likely 0 direct bookings.

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Yet, most properties carry on posting this content for one reason:

It’s what’s always worked.

Magazine ads, billboards, brochures, TV commercials– hotel advertising used to be solely focused on aesthetics.

Print ads didn’t give hotels the chance to inspire people like a video does, it had to be an aesthetic image in order to capture the reader's attention.

Before streaming services, viewers were forced to watch 15 minutes of ads during their favorite shows. You didn’t need an attention grabbing strategy, you already had their attention.

10 years ago, at the dawn of social media, aesthetic content might have worked.

Not anymore.

TikTok and IG Reels came around and killed attention spans.

If a viewer isn’t interested, they have an instant cure– just keep scrolling.

Meaning you have just a handful of seconds to both get them hooked and convince them that your content is worthy of their attention.

The best way to do that…

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Assume viewers will only see your content once.

Make it blatantly obvious what your account is about.

After watching just one of your reels, they should understand:

- Who your property is for

- What your property offers

- What a stay at your property might look like
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And if they are interested in following you/ booking or not.

If this is the one time they come across your property on social media, make it count.

Don't waste your one shot at bringing a potential guest into your ecosystem with cinematic b-roll that doesn't show who you are, what you do, or the experience you offer.

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More importantly…

For larger accounts, the majority of views on your reels are going to come from the discover page and recommended posts.

They are not coming from your followers.

In most cases, 10-12% of your followers will see your content. Potentially much less.

That means the vast majority of viewers aren’t familiar with your property. This is their first time seeing your content and don’t know who you are or what you do.

If the one post they see from you is some aesthetic b-roll shots of breakfast or your room designs, they will have no idea what your account is about.

You’ll fail to grab their attention long enough to get them to engage, they won’t click into your account and they definitely won’t be booking a stay with you.

Plus, social media algorithms are dynamic. If they didn’t engage with your content the first time, the likelihood of them getting organically shown your content again goes way down.

In other words, you missed your chance at attracting a potential guest.

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Here’s how you can implement this into your content–

✅ Explain what the viewer is looking at with on-screen text

✅ Have a hook at the beginning of your reel that grabs attention

✅ Add variety to each post, showcase multiple areas of your property

✅ Add the best parts of your property to every reel (amenities, features, units, etc)

✅ Have a clear CTA at the end of your reels to show viewers they can book a stay

✅ Eliminate posts about landscapes & activities around your property (sprinkle them into your other posts instead)

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This might lead to more "repetitive" content than what you are currently posting.

That’s totally fine.

The percentage of followers that actually get shown your content is so low compared to organic views– most people likely won’t notice.

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Bringing traditional hospitality marketing strategies to social media doesn’t drive views and more importantly: doesn’t convert viewers into guests.

The foundation to any hospitality social media strategy has to be the assumption that the viewers might only see your content once, so make it count.