The hospitality industry is highly competitive, making it an ongoing challenge to win over potential guests.
NB: This is an article from Travelboom
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But a powerful social media marketing trend can offer big help for hotels, especially when it comes to attracting younger audiences. When used effectively, influencer marketing for hotels can deliver powerful benefits including new perspectives, fresh and authentic content, and increased brand awareness and bookings.
Research shows that Millennials and Gen Zers take roughly 20% more trips than other generations, and they devote nearly 30% of their incomes to travel. In addition, these same groups put significantly more trust in influencers than other generations do, and their leading channel for product discovery is social media. It’s also worth noting that 62% of travelers use platforms like Instagram and TikTok for inspiration, with 29% swayed by influencer partnerships.
Our own 2025 Influencer Travel Study offers even more evidence of the power influencers can provide for hotels specifically. Just a few of the study’s findings include:
- Nearly three-quarters of travelers have booked a hotel based on a recommendation from an influencer.
- More than 35% of survey respondents said they consider influencer advice when making travel decisions.
- 54% of travelers on Instagram and 57% of travelers on YouTube report placing either a fair or great amount of trust in influencers’ recommendations.
The data is clear: A strong social media presence with genuine influencer content can help you attract guests – especially younger hotel guests who look to these personalities for travel recommendations. For independent or boutique hotels with limited staff, influencers can also help fill in marketing gaps and provide the attention-grabbing, authentic content social audiences crave.
Hotels Need To Use Influencers or Risk Being Left Behind
Influencer marketing is relatively new for most hoteliers, but its ongoing success indicates this tactic won’t be going away anytime soon. Influencers’ creative marketing ideas for hotels can help your brand stand out, and these pros bring a ready-made audience with them, too. Your competitors are likely already using influencers to reach new audiences, so it’s time you do, too.
Why Is Influencer Marketing Important in the Hospitality Industry?
Standing out in the competitive hospitality industry is difficult without fresh, compelling content, and influencers’ engaging posts give hotels an edge in increasing brand awareness or providing social proof. Even better, influencer-created content can accomplish these and other marketing objectives faster and more effectively than a branded ad, as their audiences already trust what they have to say. Boutique hotels and independent properties without many resources can use influencer marketing campaigns to grow their audience in less time than doing so organically.
