How to incorporate video as part
of your hotel marketing strategy

Video marketing is a powerful tool for hotels looking to stand out and attract direct bookings. By incorporating engaging, visually compelling content, you are better able to showcase your property’s unique amenities, build brand awareness, and create an emotional connection with potential guests. 

This guide will provide tips and best practices for effective hotel video marketing, helping you create impactful videos that drive results.

Whether you’re just getting started or looking to refine your approach, these insights will elevate your hotel’s marketing efforts and maximize your property’s potential.

Benefits of video marketing

87% of marketers attribute an increase in lead generation to their use of video content. By showcasing the visual elements of your hotel, its services, amenities, teams, and local attractions, you drive direct bookings, increase engagement, and build brand awareness.

Increase engagement

The adage of “show, don’t tell” is more important than ever, given the attention spans of today’s online audiences. Combined with your other social media marketing efforts, online video paints entertaining and engaging experiences with your content by capturing guest imaginations and driving conversions to your hotel’s booking site. In fact, users are 67% more likely to make a booking when a video tour is available.

Build brand awareness

Ensuring your property remains top of mind when your potential guests decide to book is especially critical when you’re up against a sea of competitors on major OTA websites. Video marketing creates emotional connections with your audiences through effective storytelling that builds brand awareness.

Drive direct bookings

The more visibility and engagement you receive via your video marketing efforts, the more likely your potential guests will visit your website directly to book their next stay with you, leading to increased occupancy and revenue. Be sure to include calls to action at the end of each video, so viewers know how to book.

Build trust

With video marketing, it’s much easier to explain concepts or show features of your property in more detail. Your willingness and transparency to take viewers along for the ride as you capture all elements of the property builds trust with potential guests. Additional elements like social proof, staff features, customer feedback, and testimonials only strengthen your hotel’s video marketing strategy.

Best platforms to share videos

When building out your video strategy, it’s important to understand where your target segments are most active. Video creation and sharing are possible on most social platforms, and video can and should be repurposed across channels for reach. 

Here, we break down some of the most popular video platforms.

YouTube

With over 2 billion active users and the second largest search engine after Google, hotels can significantly expand their reach on YouTube. The opportunities are endless with the types of videos you can post on YouTube, from long-form videos to shorts. YouTube also provides great insights into viewers, including traffic sources, age, gender, and location, helping you tailor your content to your target audience.

TikTok

TikTok is a platform popular among Gen Z and millennials – making it a great spot to reach younger audiences. It’s algorithm is designed to promote trending content, making it easier for hotels to expand their reach when participating in current trends. It’s also the best platform to showcase authentic, behind-the-scenes content, along with user-generated and influencer-driven content.

Instagram

Instagram blew up thanks to its focus on engaging images and videos. Its Reels feature, similar to TikTok, enables users to scroll through video content. Hotels can easily curate their feed to include both images and videos highlighting stunning visuals of amenities and nearby attractions.

Website

While you may be generating content on other platforms, it’s important to incorporate that content into your website. From embedding meet-the-team YouTube videos and user-generated Instagram content to offering 360-degree video tours, there are plenty of ways to make your website more dynamic and engaging to increase conversions.

6 video marketing ideas and examples of each

There are numerous ways to kickstart your next video marketing campaign, like showcasing your hotel’s history, highlighting your special offers and local attractions, and even taking viewers behind the scenes to meet your team. Below are a few types of videos to get started. 

1. Virtual tours

Widely considered one of the most effective video marketing types, 360-degree videos, and virtual tours are disrupting the hotel industry as a new way for hoteliers to showcase their spaces.  Invite travelers to your property by offering a walkthrough of your hotel room types, event spaces, and amenities, like your spa and sauna, onsite restaurant and bar, as well as conference rooms.

NH Hotels and Resorts offers 360º Virtual Tours using virtual reality to showcase all their properties, including their NH Collection Madrid Gran Via which features stunning rooftop views from its Picalagartos Sky Bar 360º. 

2. Testimonials

Nothing inspires trust and confidence in your property more than testimonials of your past and present guests. Guest testimonials make for a great video marketing asset and can also incorporate positive reviews from third-party websites like TripAdvisor and Booking.com.

Panda Pod Hotel features glowing reviews and testimonials from guests in this one-minute video published on YouTube. Guest reviews highlight the unique pods and security of the property.

3. Influencer videos

Combine influencer marketing with video production, and you’ll see a powerful return on investment for your efforts. Creator-powered video posts deliver 65% more views than traditional video posts from destination marketing organizations. 

Partnering up with destination influencers when producing videos to promote your hotels, not only adds a human touch to your marketing efforts but builds credibility and trust with potential guests. It also adds diversity and inclusivity to your content while tapping into the influencer’s existing audience base.

Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas collaborated with travel influencers Kara and Nate, inviting them to stay in their $ 10,000-a-night penthouse in exchange for a feature on their social pages (where they have almost 4 million YouTube subscribers).

4. Behind-the-scenes

Grant your potential guests a sneak peek at your accommodation with behind-the-scenes videos that will surely inspire transparency and authenticity. Not only do they pull the curtain back to reveal the inner workings of your property but they showcase your staff hard at work, giving a face to your brand.

@theritzlondon Preparing for a guest arrival in a Ritz suite. #TheRitz #TheRitzLondon #ASMR #HotelSuite #LondonHotels ♬ Sweet Sunset – Tollan Kim & dulai

The Ritz London takes viewers behind the scenes on TikTok to showcase how the housekeeping team prepares for guest arrival. With over 393K likes, this video gives a glimpse into the high-quality standards and precision delivered the Ritz is known for.

5. Meet the team

Another “behind-the-scenes” style video for your hotel is inviting potential guests to meet members of your staff. Giving a face and name to the employees who help keep things running smoothly as part of your lodging accommodations humanizes their experience with you and personifies your mission, values, and beliefs.

The Broadmoor has a dedicated employee stories section on its website, which highlights different team members and their roles. This not only gives potential guests a loo into who works on the property, but it is also a great hiring tool. 

6. Hotel history

Create an emotional connection and help your guests tap into their inner historian by shedding light on the history of your property. Consider key milestones, achievements, and challenges your lodging business has faced throughout its operation. Sharing stories about your property’s past through video marketing creates deeper, meaningful connections with guests rather than seeing your property as “another place to stay.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Casa Cody (@casa_cody)

Casa Cody offers guests a glimpse into its historic past, showcasing the wine cellar underneath the property that once hosted stars like Charlie Chaplin and Anaïs Nin in the not-too-distant past (click the image above to play the video!). 

Video marketing tips and best practices

To maximize the impact of video marketing for your hotel, it’s essential to create engaging, concise videos tailored to your target audience. Here are some actionable insights and best practices to elevate your video marketing efforts.

Keep videos short

When creating your first video as part of your hotel marketing plan, it’s important to prioritize short video content. By keeping your videos short, you hold viewers attention and can more easily repurpose your content across different platforms and formats.

@parkhotelvitznau Looking for an exclusive holiday adventure at Lake Lucerne? With our summer packages you will get to know the region around Lucerne from its most beautiful side, experience numerous culinary moments of pleasure and experience pure relaxation! #parkhotelvitznau #parkhotel #moments #springoffers #relaxation #spa #switzerland #zurich #mountains #lakelucerne #swissdeluxehotels #leadinghotelsoftheworld ♬ Originalton – parkhotelvitznau

Switzerland Hotel Park Hotel Vitznau showcases the property’s castle-like exterior, lakeside patios, beautiful pool area, and stunning underwater restaurant in this short and sweet TikTok video that clocks in at 12 seconds.

Understand your target audience

Ever heard the phrase, “When you appeal to all, you appeal to none?” The same goes for your hotel’s video marketing. Identifying your target audience, gaining a deeper understanding of their wants and needs throughout their stay with you, and honing in on attracting your ideal demographics is a much more efficient and effective use of your time and energy when you start producing videos for your hotel. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Jessi Bang | Solo Hiking and Travel (@theramblingraccoon)

Best Friends Roadhouse is a dog lover’s paradise, and its videos highlight that. This hotel brands itself as pet-centric and offers owners a fenced dog park, pet washing station, pull-out dog beds, and much more (click the image to watch!). 

Highlight what makes you unique

A four-star Michelin restaurant onsite? A one-of-a-kind spa featuring tailored packages for staying guests? How about your authentic connections with guests that your competitors just can’t seem to tap into? Embedding the unique features of your lodging business into the stories you share via your video marketing not only grabs potential customers’ attention while watching your video but also inspires them to take action and book with you.

@villalalaboutiquehotel Despierta aqui, rodeado de naturaleza y tranquilidad 🍀 Villa Lala, hotel boutique en Puerto Vallarta #PuertoVallarta ♬ original sound – Alejandrahuertar

For Villa Lala in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, its treehouse style accommodation, large deck space, and breathtaking views are highlighted in the property’s TikTok videos. What really makes the room special is its miniature pool area and outdoor swing for staying guests to cool down and beat the heat.

Partner with influencers

Your potential guests are more likely to take action from someone they trust. This extends not only to friends and family suggestions but recommendations from their favorite content creators and influencers, too. 

Partnering up with travel and hospitality content creators with existing social media platforms and followings and a personal brand that aligns with yours can boost your video marketing efforts for your hotel. They can also provide tailored recommendations to their audiences based on your accommodation and showcase authentic experiences while staying at your property.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by MARIA JOSÉ (@aglimpseofmaria)

The Banff Springs partnered with influencers to promote its”Banffchella” festival, showcasing the unique event and experience on property.

Analyze performance

Ensure your digital marketing efforts are actually paying off by analyzing your video’s performance and metrics as you build up a larger library of videos. Many analytical tools provide greater insight into what’s working with your content marketing strategy and what’s not, including your search engine (SEO) performance and click-through rate, so you can get back to driving results with what elements work best when promoting your hotel. 

Elevate your hotel with strategic video marketing

By incorporating visuals into your hotel video marketing strategy, you increase your direct bookings to your hotel website and showcase your amazing guest experience. Through compelling storytelling, targeted content, and consistent performance analysis, you can use video to help your hotel and hospitality marketing stand out, driving success and long-term customer loyalty.