There are 6 large language model AI search platforms at present, but Google’s AI, Gemini, is probably the most exciting for digital marketers even though it is still in Beta, as it is being deployed and tested in live scenarios and layered into the other Google products.
Generative AI search and traditional search?
So, what is the difference between Generative AI search and traditional search? Traditional search works by entering a query and receiving relevant results. If you change the search query, the results that are returned cater for your new query.
For example, you search for ‘best hotel in New York’ and are given a page of answers that include OTAs, sponsored listings and hotels. If you do not want to dig deeper with any of these results, you search for something different, maybe, ‘4 star hotel in New York’. However, with generative AI searches, you enter into a search thread, a continuous line of enquires that build upon each other. So, when you make the same search for the ‘best hotel in New York’, then you add ‘4 star’ or ‘with pool’, the Generative AI starts to refine the search narrowing down, understanding what you are looking for and eliminating the things it thinks you do not want to engage with.
As a hotelier, how do you prepare for this Generative AI future?
Many tactics will remain the same, solid hotel SEO for example, with a great technical base so that the bots can understand your content and put context around it.
Again, good solid, relevant content, but it is not about keywords any longer, it is about conversational context, answering questions, training the bots through good information that meets the searcher’s query. Chat GPT copy with its flowery language and keyword focus will be picked up by Gemini and ignored, even marked as spam. We are not saying ignore these AI content generators but use them as a starting piece that needs to be refined and created by humans for humans.
Redefining guest experiences
The hospitality sector known for its dedicated customer service can now embrace AI to redefine the guest experience. Instant booking and reservations AI is streamlining the booking process, allowing guests to reserve rooms, Spa treatments or restaurant tables with ease.
Virtual concierge Services can suggest local attractions and answer queries about your hotel. Amenities AI serves as a 24-7 concierge enhancing guest stays and providing personalised recommendations by analysing guest preferences, AI can offer tailored activity suggestions dining recommendations or event feedback and review collection. Post state AI can efficiently collect feedback ensuring the hotel continuously improves its services based on guest insights.
What are the questions that guests ask?
If you have a pool, a spa, a golf course or any other feature, make sure you have lots of information about it and optimise for 'hotel with [named feature]' in your location, providing FAQs on that page to answer guest queries about its opening times, how to book, hire of equipment etc.
Weddings are a good case for the above, have a full wedding page with lots of imagery, testimonials, reviews, links to suppliers, details of packages and answer as many questions as you get asked by the couple as they phone or visit the premises.
Also, be precise, no long flowery answers, people don’t have time for it, short straightforward information is rewarded more often.
Branded searches tend to account for 85% plus organic traffic drivers, but use the hotel with great food, hotel with spa or hotel with golf and spa, hotel near the train station options when optimising your site, these will drive the non-brand searches.
Making the most of your Google Business Profile
Google are building Gemini responses into every product. In reviews, there's a summary of reviews shown for your Google business listing, and it's giving a summation of all the Google reviews in there (users like / dislike) you may read things that are repeated like love the breakfast, but hate the traffic outside, the noise was too much. You need to respond to these reviews within your Google business listing to ensure your voice is being heard in that summation, which Google is going to put front and centre of the user before they go in and read the rest.
Is Google Hotel Ads a necessary requisite?
There's a huge amount happening with the Google travel product as a whole and within Gemini. When you type a prompt such as ‘Looking for the Best hotel in London’ today, you’ll see the little Gemini star, and then a drop down list of Google hotels (note the green icon of Google hotels) this is Gemini reaching into the Google Hotel travel product and calling out this information, pulling out inventory, so they're already connected.
So, it's just a matter of time before we really see that being deployed out into searches as well in Google via Gemini (all other AI agents and search engines will do the same thing).
This Google travel product will connect your inventory feed into your Google ads, and feed into the promoted hotel ads, the carousel ads that you might have started seeing recently within the Google product.
For hotels that take advantage of this knowledge, there will be more of a chance to compete with the OTAs of the world and the big-branded hotel properties in the world.
Google travel is moving to promote its Google booking links whether they are in the OTA sites or on your site – you need to be interconnected. Take advantage of this by connecting your hotel inventory into your Google ads.