101 Hotel Content Marketing Ideas For Your Blog, Social Media & Emails
Travel demand is picking up, and there’s one thing every hotel marketer needs: Content. So what’s your hotel content marketing strategy?
Creating new content consistently is a challenge, even in the best of times. It’s no wonder many hotel marketers have no idea what to post, share, or promote.
But here’s the thing: Radio silence was not the answer when occupancy dipped, and now? Showing up online is more important than ever.
Hotels need to communicate with customers, whether that’s through social media, email newsletters, blogging, creating videos, hosting a podcast… wherever your audience is, you need to be there. That’s the only way to stay top of mind.
A well-rounded hotel content marketing strategy means creating content to feed multiple channels.
So I’m going to give you 101 content ideas your hotel can use on social media, in your blog, in your email newsletter… basically, anywhere you need content!
Why Quality Content Matters For Hotel Marketing
Hotels need a combination of online and offline marketing to drive business.
Why? Studies show the majority of hotel bookings begin with a web search. Research from Cornell University suggests this trend has not gone away. Digital marketing the best way to reach potential guests and build a loyal base of repeat customers.
That’s not to say your offline efforts don’t matter. They absolutely do! But even securing Groups and event business requires — you guessed it, content.
So what are the effective approaches for content marketing in a hotel? Be consistent, get creative, use multiple channels, and repurpose.
One of the main reasons I encourage hotels to blog is to increase their website traffic organically.
(Meaning, for free!)
Google wants to know that your site is current and relevant — publishing or updating content consistently impacts how your hotel ranks on search engine results pages. This supports a well-rounded hotel SEO strategy by increasing the quality of your natural, unpaid traffic.
Having consistent, relevant, and engaging content on your website also gives you material to repurpose elsewhere, like on your social media channels or in your email marketing campaigns.
But don’t let all that overwhelm you.
You don’t have to blog to have a content strategy.
Your hotel content marketing could focus on social media, or even email. Distribution is totally up to you and what channels make the most sense for your audience.
You can also get a LOT of mileage out of a single content idea. I’ll share a few tips for repurposing that content at the end of this blog post, so make sure to read all the way to the end.
Not sure what to post? Start with your hotel content pillars
You’ll notice I’ve organized this list into a few categories — or, ahem, hotel content pillars — so you can pick and choose what’s most relevant to your guest profile.
Your hotel doesn’t need to use every one of these categories or “themes.” Some might not be a high priority, and others might not even be relevant to you.
Examples of pillars or themes used in content marketing for hotels:
Local Area
Food & Beverage
Behind the Scenes
Seasons or Citywide Events
Occasions & Celebrations
Travel Tips
Places of Interest
Attractions
Travel Itineraries
Photography
The rest of this post contains 101 plug-and-play hotel content marketing tips following those 10 content pillars above.
But what if you’re after some specific hotel social media post ideas? Oh, I’ve got you covered there, too.
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Local Area Content Marketing Ideas
This category of content is going to be super-relevant throughout the hospitality industry.
Whether you’re a small bed and breakfast or a big chain hotel, most properties cater to some percentage of out-of-town guests — and most of the time, they want to know what there is to do in your local area.
Even right now, domestic travel and “staycations” are helping a lot of hotels recover occupancy, so this category of content remains valuable.
Think about how you can help local residents re-discover their own neighborhood, or what things are new or unusual for them to do.
Some of these content ideas you can share as a longer list — or simply highlight one specific recommendation.
It’s also a good idea to put a personal touch on this, because travelers love seeing authentic, local recommendations from you and your team.
Ask your concierge for their recommendations that maybe aren’t in the guide books. Or if you have someone else on your team who is really knowledgeable about your destination, get them to help you and share their tips and experience with potential guests.
Local Area Content Ideas
THINGS TO DO FROM AN INSIDER’S PERSPECTIVE:
1. X Local Dishes You Have to Try in (Destination)
2. Our List Of X Local Markets In (Destination)
3. X Off The Beaten Path Places In (Destination)
4. How to Get Around Like A Local In (Destination)
5. X Things You Didn’t Know About (Destination)
6. Best Local Cooking Classes in (Destination)
7. Where The Locals Hang Out In (Destination)
8. Where To Watch The Sunset In (Destination)
9. Ultimate Guide To (Neighborhood): What To Eat, Drink, See, And Do
10. Know Before You Go: X Local Traditions In (Destination)
Food & Beverage Content Marketing Ideas
You’ll notice I didn’t even mention restaurants above, and that’s because Food & Beverage deserves its own category.
One of the best ways to explore a new destination or discover a different culture is through the food and drink. So while the last category was more about activities and things to do, this is more specific to restaurants, cafes, coffee shops, bars, etc.
Maybe there’s a certain food or type of cuisine that’s really popular in your neighborhood? Where can someone go to get the best version of that? Or which stall at the local market should they visit to try it for themselves?
Again, bringing in a personal touch is great for this category too.
Where’s your General Manager’s favorite place to get a coffee in the morning? What does your concierge think is the most romantic restaurant in town?
Food & Beverage Content Ideas
EXPLORING YOUR DESTINATION THROUGH FOOD & DRINK:
11. Where To Find The Best (Specific Food Item) In (Destination)
12. Best Breakfast Spots In (Neighborhood/Destination)
13. Best Brunch Spots In (Neighborhood/Destination)
14. Best Dinner Spots In (Neighborhood/Destination)
15. X Best Bars in (Neighborhood or Destination)
16. X Local Restaurants To Try In (Neighborhood or Destination)
17. Best Rooftop Bars In (Destination)
18. Our Favorite Cafes In (Destination)
19. What To Try At The Local Market In (Destination)
20. Best Budget Eats In (Destination)
21. Fanciest Restaurants In (Neighborhood/Destination)
22. Find the Perfect Pour at (Destination)’s Best Regional Wineries, Breweries, and Distilleries
Prefer to watch? Check out the video version of this post! ⤵
“Behind the Scenes” Content Ideas for Hotels
Maybe you’re starting to notice a bit of a trend here, but travelers really respond to personal recommendations! Sharing or introducing different members of your team is a great way to humanize your brand and show what’s happening behind the scenes at your hotel.
Think about your hotel colleagues: What makes them special, or particularly knowledgeable? Do they have some specific expertise that people should know about?
This category is also a great way to market your hotel for groups and events.
Weddings, in particular, are really personal, so couples want to get to know who at your hotel is going to be helping them on their big day.
Recipes are also related to food and beverage, but it feels much more personal when it’s your hotel chef or bartender walking you through the process or sharing the inspiration behind the dish.
Finally, if you’ve done any sort of renovation or redesign, there is so much potential for content ideas there! You can talk about the inspiration behind it, introduce the designer or architect — and of course, share the before and after.
Behind the Scenes Content Ideas
HOTEL STORIES AND YOUR COLLEAGUES’ EXPERTISE:
23. Concierge Picks: Top Tips From Our Hotel Concierge
24. A Day In The Life Of Our (General Manager/Chef/Etc.)
25. Here’s What To Expect When Planning (An Event/A Wedding/A Site Visit)
26. Real Weddings: (Name & Name) Get Married At (Your Hotel)
27. Cocktail Recipes From Our Head Bartender
28. Food Recipes From Our Head Chef
29. Dessert Recipes From Our Pastry Chef
30. Behind The Scenes Of Out Multi-Million-Dollar Renovation
Content Ideas for Seasonal or Citywide Events
The next category of content ideas are seasonal, recurring events or what we call “citywides.” Think about what’s going on in your destination that’s relevant, timely, and specific.
For example, what specific things can people do during different seasons? Does your destination put on big summer festivals or concerts?
Anything that’s recurring, or happening every year, is great to create content for because you can re-use it every year which saves you time.
Obviously there are challenges to consider due to the pandemic, but every destination is different.
Many of these festivals and big conferences are starting to return, or are likely to return at some point in the future, so keep that in mind as you’re thinking about what content to create for your hotel.
Seasonal Events or “Citywides” Content Ideas
EVENTS THAT ARE TIMELY, RELEVANT AND SPECIFIC:
31. Annual Christmas Markets You Have To See In (Destination)
32. Where To Celebrate New Year’s Eve In (Destination)
33. What’s Happening In (Destination) This (Month)
34. Things To Do In (Destination) In Spring
35. Things To Do In (Destination) In Summer
36. Things To Do In (Destination) In Fall
37. Things To Do In (Destination) In Winter
38. The Ultimate Guide To (Major Annual Event In Your Destination)
39. How To Attend (Major Annual Conference In Your Destination) Like A Pro
Content Marketing Ideas for Occasions & Celebrations
Similar to events and festivals, these hotel content ideas get to the heart of WHY someone is traveling.
When you’re putting together your hotel marketing plan you should always have at least one guest profile in mind. Think about what motivates people to visit your hotel, or what makes your destination desirable to a certain type of traveler.
Maybe there’s a big university nearby, so people are coming in for alumni events, college visits, or football games.
Special occasions aren’t necessarily about the destination itself, but you can share content that would help someone plan a special weekend away, or celebrate something special like a proposal or graduation.
Special Occasion and Celebration Content Ideas
THE REASON SOMEONE IS TRAVELING:
40. Your Hen/Bachelorette Party Weekend Guide For (Destination)
41. Your Stag/Bachelor Party Weekend Guide For (Destination)
42. How To Celebrate Your Birthday In (Destination)
43. Make Your Anniversary Memorable In (Destination)
44. X Most Romantic Places To Propose In (Destination)
45. X Places To Get Married In (Destination)
46. Planning A (Small/Socially-Distanced/LGBTQ+/Etc.) Wedding In (Destination)
47. How To Plan Your Family Reunion In (Destination)
48. College Weekend: Things To Do In (Destination) For (Homecoming/Alumni Weekend/Etc.)
Taking a break from our list to ask a quick question:
How are you using content marketing, your social media presence, and other channels to support your overall hotel business objectives? Are you not sure how it all fits together?
If you want to learn more about creating content for hotels, my online marketing courses can help. In the meantime, you may find this free hotel marketing plan template helpful:
How to use Travel Tips as Hotel Content Ideas
The next category of content ideas are all Travel Tips. This is about helping potential guests understand what the need to know about your destination if they aren’t local to the area.
Particularly for international destinations, it’s helpful to know things like the local currency, public transportation, and even some useful phrases in the local language. This can also be useful marketing for resorts, particularly if your property is quite remote.
Think about what someone should know to make their trip safe and easy.
Consider guidance related to COVID-19. What are the testing requirements, what businesses have specific restrictions in place, are visitors required to download a special mobile app, etc.
Anything that’s useful to your potential guest can be valuable content to share on your hotel’s social media platforms, in your email campaigns, or on your hotel blog if you have one.
Travel Tip Content Ideas
USEFUL INFO FOR EXPLORING SAFELY AND EASILY:
49. Common Phrases & Vocab You Need To Know In (Destination)
50. Get To Know The Currency In (Destination)
51. How To Get Around In (Destination) By Foot, Bike, Subway, & More
52. X Tourist Traps In (Destination) To Skip — And X You Can’t Miss
53. What To Pack For Your Summer Trip To (Destination)
53. What To Pack For Your Winter Trip To (Destination)
54. What To Pack For (Festival/Event/Etc.) In (Destination)
55. X Mobile Apps To Download Before Visiting (Destination)
56. X Things LGBTQ+ Travelers Should Know About (Destination)
57. X Things Female Travelers Should Know About (Destination)
58. COVID-19: Here’s What’s Open In (Destination) Right Now
Using Places of Interest in Your Hotel Content Marketing
We talked about sharing local activities and things to do, and local food and beverage, but we haven’t touched on other types of local businesses.
When you’re thinking about how to promote your hotel on social media or what content to create, remember that most of the time, people are coming to your hotel to explore what’s outside of your own four walls!
Maybe you have really great shopping in your area? Or maybe you have beautiful parks and outdoor spaces?
There’s so much content to create about your destination, so again, you want to be thinking about your target guest profile and what would most interest that person.
Places of Interest Content Ideas (POIs)
PLACES OF INTEREST: SHOPPING, LIFESTYLE, HOBBIES, AND OUTDOORS
59. X Cafes To Work From In (Destination)
60. X Most Popular Coworking Spaces In (Destination)
61. Best Women’s Clothing Stores In (Destination)
62. Best Men’s Clothing Stores In (Destination)
63. Best Toy Stores In (Destination)
64. Best Places For Bookworms In (Destination)
65. X Souvenir Shops To Check Out In (Destination)
66. How To Support Small Business In (Destination)
67. X Black-Owned Businesses In (Destination)
68. Where To Buy The Best (Popular Local Item) In (Destination)
69. Things To Do With Kids In (Destination)
70. Where To (Surf/Golf/Ski/Other Sport) In (Destination)
71. Where To Go Hiking In (Destination): Beginner, Intermediate, and Challenging Hiking Trails
72. X Most Beautiful Public Parks In (Destination)
73. Best Beaches In (Destination)
74. Where To Find The Best Views In (Destination)
75. X Things To Do In (Your Local National Park)
76. (Destination) On Film: Explore X Filming Locations From Movies and TV Shows
77. #AvGeek: Where To Go Planespotting In (Destination)
How Attractions Feature in Content Marketing for Hotels
Talking about the destination, this also includes local attractions, like museums or interesting places tied to your local history.
Architecture, art galleries, kid-friendly activities, historic places… there are so many different things you could share from this category.
If you do have a hotel blog, creating content around popular attractions and publishing that on your website can be very good for SEO. When people are starting to research their trip, they’re often searching for specific information about a popular attraction or place.
Attractions Content Ideas
MUSEUMS, HISTORIC PLACES, GALLERIES, AND MORE:
78. The Ultimate Guide To Visiting (Your Destination’s Top Attraction)
79. X Quirky Or Unusual Things To Do In (Destination)
80. Best Museums In (Destination)
81. Best Art Galleries In (Destination)
82. How To Visit All The Theme Parks In (Destination)
83. Top Kid-Friendly Attractions In (Destination)
84. Architecture Lovers: X Most Beautiful Buildings In (Destination)
85. X Most Stunning Churches To Visit In (Destination)
86. The History Buff’s Guide To (Destination): X Historic Sites You Can’t Miss
87. (Notable Historic Event): See Where It All Happened
88. Walking In The Footsteps Of (Notable Person From History) In (Destination)
89. X Of (Destination)’s Most Famous Landmarks
Why Creating a Travel Itinerary is Great Content
Itineraries are a great starting point for content ideas because you can really tailor these to different guest profiles.
This kind of content really combines all the best elements of the other categories: It’s really helpful to the guest because you’ve kind of done all the work and all the research for them!
When you’re creating itineraries, try to start with a specific theme in mind that aligns with your target guests’ travel intent. Some examples could be a girls’ getaway or a specific timeframe, like a 3-day weekend.
Travel Itinerary Content Ideas
COMBINING YOUR GUESTS’ INTERESTS WITH TRAVEL INTENT:
90. The Ultimate Weekend Itinerary For (Destination)
91. 3-Day Weekend Itinerary For (Destination)
92. One-Week Itinerary For (Destination)
93. “Bleisure” Itinerary: Things To Do After Work Hours In (Destination)
94. How To Spend (24/36) Hours In (Destination)
95. What To Do On Your Next Layover In (Destination)
Hotel Content Ideas Using Photography
Finally, I’m shifting gears a little bit with the last category, and that’s content ideas related to photography.
We all know that people love to document and share their travels with friends and family on social media.
For a hotel, there’s all sorts of content you can create around that theme, whether it’s sharing the most “Instagrammable” places in your neighborhood or showing where people can find public art installations, street art, or visually-interesting architecture.
Photography Content Ideas
WHAT VISITORS WANT TO SHOW THEIR FRIENDS BACK HOME:
96. X Most Instagrammable Spots In (Destination)
97. Coolest Architecture In (Destination)
98. (Destination) Drone Photography Guide: Where To Go And What’s Off-Limits
99. Best Street Art In (Destination)
100. X Places More Beautiful At Night In (Destination)
101. X Hidden Places In (Destination) That Are Picture-Perfect
Repurposing your content marketing for hotels
Before I sign off, it’s important to reiterate that content should be repurposed.
You don’t have to keep reinventing the wheel. Or spinning on it like a hamster, trying to put out new content on every single channel, every single day.
(You don’t have time for that. There’s a meeting with revenue management in 5 minutes and your monthly reports are due tomorrow. Eek!)
The best hotel content marketing examples have one thing in common — they’re easy to repurpose. Savvy hotel marketers understand this and create content that can be easily adapted to different mediums.
For example:
Promo video → Edit into shorter clips and share them on social media
Email newsletter → Hit “view in browser” to get a shareable link you can post on social media, giving fans the chance to preview your hotel newsletter before subscribing
Colleague interview → Record it as a video, upload it on YouTube or another social channel.
Colleague interview → Use a free tool like Otter.ai to get a text transcript and share that as a blog post
Blog post → Break it up into shorter chunks and you get multiple social media posts
Blog post → Use the first paragraph(s) as a teaser in your next email newsletter
Social media graphic → Collect your favorites and turn it into a blog post with more detail
We’re only scratching the surface here, but you get the idea!
Final Thoughts
Publishing consistent, engaging content on your hotel website and social media channels creates enormous opportunity to reach potential guests with the information they need or want.
Oh, and if you’re looking for even more hotel social media marketing ideas or want to know what to put in your hotel email newsletter, know that blogging gives you SO much good stuff to repurpose for those channels.
You should always keep your target audience in mind, of course. Not everything I’ve listed will work for every hotel, but these 101 hotel blog post ideas are certainly a good start!
By the way, if you want to learn more about creating content for hotels, my online marketing courses can help.