RIP: Hotel word of mouth and the buyer's journey.

You’re texting a friend:
“Hey, where should I stay in Chicago?”

They send a few suggestions.

You smile politely… but then you open ChatGPT or Google AI and ask the same question.

The AI answer feels smarter.
More complete.
More… trustworthy.

Is this true for you?
You’re not alone.

The Stat That Stopped Me Cold

43% of travelers who use AI book the hotel that their AI tool suggests without doing any more research.

Let that sink in.

Nearly half of travelers using AI for planning choose the first suggestion they receive.

No TripAdvisor cross-check.
No flipping through Expedia.
No double-checking with friends and family.

The guest journey, as we have known it, has been hijacked!

For years, I've used my 5-part guest journey framework.
It has helped me to plan marketing activities and budgets for my hotel clients.

It's built as an acronym - I.D.E.A.L, and it was ideal!

Introduction
Discovery
Evaluation & Engagement
Action
Loyalty

Now, AI has fast-tracked steps #1 through #3 into a process that takes 5 seconds.
Oh my!

It's serving up answers quickly that bundle together content from multiple sources
- your website, social media, reviews, forums, etc.

Because it can do this at lightning speed with high-quality outputs,

The level of trust in AI is high.

Read this slowly.👇
Guests are assuming AI knows more than anyone else, even word of mouth from people they know personally.

Yeah, mind-boggling to me too, Dwayne (The Rock).

It's happening fast, but here's the part that makes me sit up straight.

This Is a Total Game Changer for Independent Hotels

AI doesn’t care if your brand spends millions on ads.
It doesn’t care that you don't have brand affiliation.
It doesn’t care if you’re not part of a loyalty program or if your brand spends millions on ads.

AI recommends hotels that have an online presence that is:

Clear
Visible
Relevant
Trusted (thanks to online content and reviews)

If you’re an independent hotel with a story to tell and some local flavor?

This is your moment.

With intention, strategy, and time, you can increase your visibility and bookings.
You don't need a big marketing budget to do it.

As a lean marketer for independent hotels that lack large teams or budgets, I'm excited.
Are you?

The Hidden Risk for Brand Hotels (Let’s Talk About It)

I love independent hotels.

But, I also have concerns about the brand-flagged properties.

Many brand hotels rely 100% on their corporate website for visibility.

And let’s be real…
Most brand sites aren’t built for AI discovery.

They’re light on local content.
They’re missing rich, guest-focused storytelling.
They don’t have pages packed with FAQs, local tips, or reasons to choose that hotel over the one down the street.

To make it worse, many brand hotels don’t even have a vanity website of their own to build content on.

AI tools, such as Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT, use easily accessible content.
They do not pull from brand booking engines hidden behind search filters.

Watch for big changes from the brands here.

It's Time for Independent Hotels to Rise

Indies… This is your low-hanging fruit tree.
It's time to start picking!

Travelers are asking AI for the best places to stay.
And AI is selecting hotels based on what’s easy to find, clear, and credible online.

If you:

Refresh your website content
Highlight your uniqueness
Share local tips and FAQs
Respond to reviews with care

You can show up more and book more without big budgets or massive overhauls.

Now, you may be wondering...

“Where do I even start with this?”
“How much time and budget is this really going to take?”
“Is it worth doing right now… or can it wait?”

Here’s the hard truth.

You can wait; many will.
You can do nothing; many will.
You can keep believing marketing is too expensive and complicated; many will.

But while you’re waiting, the hotel will become less visible.
And the OTAs will pig out on even more profit.

That’s why I created the Revenue Roadmap - recently adapted for AI search.

✅ A fast, focused assessment delivered in 14 days
✅ Showing you exactly what to focus on and fix now, next, and later
✅ As well as two months of guidance and support from me.