Hotel & Lodging Marketing That Books More Rooms

It depends on your market, the number of rooms or units you need to fill and the services you choose. Most lodging clients pair SEO as the long-term foundation with paid search to capture travelers who have already picked their dates.

We’ll right-size a plan to your property, your competition and your occupancy goals, and we’ll show you exactly where each dollar goes.

Very. At the typical hospitality business in the calls we've listened to, 30% (about 1 in 3) of calls went to voicemail or were never picked up: 34% during business hours and 28% after hours. And most of those callers do not try again: 72% of callers who reached voicemail did not call that business again within a week.

That is why we track every call from your campaigns, flag missed calls, and help you set up call routing, after-hours coverage and fast call-backs, so the leads you pay for are not lost at the front desk.

Based on calls to 7 hospitality businesses we market, Apr to Sep 2026.

Mostly business hours: 30% of calls came outside Monday to Friday 9 to 5 (18% on weekends), and the busiest day is Tuesday. Of the calls that were answered, 52% were new-customer inquiries, 29% were existing customers, and 9% were sales pitches or wrong numbers.

That mix is why we report on qualified calls, not raw call counts.

Based on 4,300 calls to 11 hospitality businesses we market, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026 (timing) and Apr to Sep 2026 (call types).

Across the Google Ads accounts of the 15 hospitality businesses we manage, the median cost per lead over the last 12 months was $80, with a median cost per click of $2.60 and a median conversion rate of 2%.

Your number depends on your market, services and how well the landing page and phones convert. We use these medians as a starting benchmark, then work to beat them.

Source: Google Ads accounts managed by SmartSites, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026; a lead is a tracked call or form conversion as set up in each account.

For the 5 lodging businesses whose Google Business Profiles we manage, the median profile got about 2,790 views, 22 calls and 134 direction requests a month over the last year.

Reviews, photos, accurate hours and categories move those numbers, which is why local SEO is part of every plan we build for a lodging business.

Source: Google Business Profile performance data for profiles managed by SmartSites, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026.

Booking sites bring reach, but every reservation through them costs you a commission. We win more of those guests back by ranking your own site for destination and getaway searches, running brand and high-intent Google Ads so you don’t lose your own name to a third party, and building a booking path that’s as easy as theirs. Email then brings past guests back directly.

Results vary by market and starting point, but our hotel and lodging case studies include a 1279% increase in leads for The Carolina Experience, a 772% increase in conversions for Blue Hills Ranch and a 559% increase in conversion rate for Arrowhead Manor.

Paid search usually produces bookings and inquiries within the first month, and cost efficiency tends to improve as campaigns are tuned. Luxury Vacation Stays saw a 523% increase in leads and a 48% improvement in cost per lead. SEO builds over several months and keeps compounding, especially ahead of your busy season.

All of them. Our lodging clients include boutique inns, vacation rental companies, luxury rental portfolios and ranch-style destinations. Each sells differently, whether that’s room nights, whole-home stays or packages and events, so we shape the keywords, ads and website around how your guests actually choose and book, and we measure the bookings and inquiries that follow.

A lot. Travelers compare star ratings and photos before they ever reach your website, and your Google Business Profile often appears right next to the booking sites. We optimize your profile with current photos, amenities and booking links, keep your details consistent across directories, and set up post-stay review requests so satisfied guests leave reviews while the trip is still fresh.

Yes. We optimize for generative engines (GEO) as well as traditional search, so your property shows up when travelers ask ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews or Perplexity where to stay. That means clear pages about your rooms, amenities and location, consistent business details across the web, and tracking that includes AI mentions and citations, not just rankings.

For most properties we recommend three tracks: pre-arrival messages that answer questions and offer upgrades, post-stay emails that request a review and invite a return visit, and seasonal campaigns to past guests before your slower periods. We write, design and send every campaign and report on the bookings it brings back.