Why the best hotels have blogs... and what they write about

In the competitive travel industry, where brands are constantly vying for attention, content marketing is key. Every word a potential guest reads influences their decision on where to stay.

That is why blogs are so valuable when it comes to online marketing for hotels. An engaging blog helps customers discover your brand, it builds trust and establishes you as an authority in your niche. A blog is also an opportunity to communicate your brand personality and serves as a source of information to address any questions your guests might have.

How can a blog help with Hotel SEO?

When it comes to search engine optimisation, a blog is one of the most effective tools for hotel content marketing. It boosts your website’s profile and status, giving you an opportunity for link-building and improving your overall SEO ranking. This is because each blog post adds more relevant, indexed pages to help you appear in search engine results pages (SERP). Each extra page is another chance for potential guests to find you, and search engines love websites that are regularly posting information.

You can incorporate On-Page SEO by applying researched keywords in your titles, headings, subheadings, meta titles and descriptions to boost your site’s visibility (more on this later).

Link building is another great way to aid your website’s visibility, particularly backlinks, where reputable websites link to your blog as an authoritative source of information. Consider writing guest posts for other established websites with links back to your site.

Ultimately, establishing your brand as a source of authority is key. Travellers want to book with a brand they trust, and developing a comprehensive blog with reputable backlinks is one of the best ways to gain this trust.

What to write about

There’s a near-limitless scope for hotel content ideas, from delving into the local history and culture of your location to top tips for travellers visiting your region.

Depending on where you are, you might talk about the colourful variety of wildlife. You could highlight amazing facts about the history or geography of your neighbourhood or region. You could even craft articles about the delicious local cuisine, paired with chef’s recipes for an extra special touch.

To provide the useful information travellers look for, consider diving deeper into your destination. Write guides to local restaurants or exciting day trips, highlight markets and experiences locals love, map out nearby museums or walking routes. Create connections to your community with an active events calendar and itinerary suggestions.

You can even turn the spotlight on yourself and your hotel brand, perhaps interviewing staff about their experiences, or showcasing a brief history of the hotel or town to help guests discover the story of where they’re staying.

The best hotel blogs create active engagement with an audience. This could include quizzes, giveaways or encouraging users to share their experiences.

How to find inspiration

While those initial ideas might be easy to find, generating a consistent flow of hotel content ideas involves a lot of imaginative thinking.

Get inspired by taking the time to research your audience, their pain points and desires. Browse social media, forums and other hotel and travel blogs to see what your audience is talking about online, and then see how you can add your own unique take to the conversation. 

Travel magazines are a great place to look for ideas, look at your own reviews and even consider asking your guests what they’d like to have known before visiting.

Looking for the right keywords can lead you to new inspiration too. These keywords need to be focused on how your target audience searches for your accommodation or information about your area. A hospitality marketing agency can help with this, or you can conduct your own research into search trends with sites like Google Trends or companies like Semrush or Ahrefs. You can use Answer the Public or use Google autocomplete predictions to see how people search for topics similar to yours. 

Trying to answer these questions can inspire the direction of your hotel content writing, and might also reveal some useful long-tail keywords. These are the longer search terms people use online, which result in less competition and a greater chance of potential guests finding your page, tying into the SEO aspect we mentioned above.

Another useful tactic is to recycle previously used content in a different format or rewrite it for different audiences. Using your old content for inspiration can be a more efficient model, whether repeating old blog posts with updated information or infographics or converting that promotional video into a series of Instagram posts.

Once you’ve got a strong list of ideas, it’s time to create a content calendar. Think about how often you want to post and map out which blog posts can go where. Remember, key dates like Valentine’s and Easter can provide their own inspiration for posts. By mapping everything out, you’ll never have that writer’s block as you sit down in front of a blank screen to write the next blog post.

Hotel brands getting it right

Of course, the best way to ensure your hotel blog is a success is by examining how other brands have done it well. Take the time to read the best hotel blogs around to see what works for them, and what might work for you. 

Borrow inspiration from companies such as Marriott Bonvoy and their Traveler blog, which details recommendations, top tips and amazing hidden gems from locations around the globe. These blog posts ensure you can make the most of your stay with Marriott, but also boost the brand’s online reach among tourists looking for an escape in that part of the world.

Ritz-Carlton’s The Journey blog takes a slightly different approach to hotel content writing. Beautifully curated travel guides walk you through some of the world’s most extraordinary destinations and experiences, through the lens of their glamorous brand.

Mandarin Oriental’s blog extensively explores travel experiences through several key pillars, including adventure, culinary, wellness, arts & culture, family, and sustainability. This allows the brand to target various key audiences and showcase their brand pillars and core philosophies in an elegant, subtle way.

The Hyatt blog positions the brand at the centre. It introduces a selection of its hotels from some of the world’s most desirable destinations before proceeding to showcase the different experiences and journeys that you can embark upon during your stay.

As you can see, each of these hotel blogs takes a slightly different approach, yet all captivate their audience with fantastic writing, fabulous images, and a strong brand offering.

Blog your way to business success

For any brand looking to build its name and reputation, blogs are an invaluable hotel content marketing tool. As a constantly fresh source of content, a consistent blog means your SEO strategy will be flying. It shows off your brand personality, inspires trust in your audience, and helps you engage and excite the reader.

Check out as many successful brands as possible to find inspiration for hotel blog ideas, and then think outside the box for more great topics. An effective blog should also be built on a well-constructed brief, and following a consistent publishing schedule can help you stay regular.

If you need content for a hotel website, get in touch with the team at Peregryn. We’ve worked with some of the world’s biggest and most successful hotel brands and can provide the transformative content you need to inspire your jetsetting audience. We can work on everything from hotel content strategy to crafting SEO-friendly copy that converts.

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