Guests are booking based on local events—are you cashing in? This is just one of the hotel marketing trends you need to know. Learn how to ride the wave of the six trends to drive demand and stay booked year-round.

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Today, we’re unpacking something hot—2025–26 hotel marketing trends. Why? Because your guests’ expectations are evolving faster than a room service cart in a five-star kitchen. And if you’re not keeping up? You’re falling behind.

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You’ll find out what’s working now, how to stand out without a Marriott-sized budget, and I’ve got a cracking tip at the end that might just save you thousands in missed bookings.

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🎧 Listen to the Hotelier Helpcast Podcast: hotelierhelpcast.com/podcast

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🔥Trend 1: Event-Driven Wanderlust

Here’s a question: What do Taylor Swift, Comic-Con, and the World Cheese Awards have in common?

They drive hotel bookings.

Events—big or small—trigger sudden spikes in demand. Smart hoteliers tap into this by building themed packages or offering extras like shuttle services, early check-ins, or event-themed welcome kits.

👉 Local food festival in town? Offer a “Gastro Getaway Package.” You’ll get booked faster than a suite on Valentine’s Day.

Pro tip: Create a yearly local events calendar and build 3-month rolling offers. You’ll always be ahead.

⚡Trend 2: The Rise of the Working Wanderer

Remember when business and leisure travellers were two different people? Not anymore.

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“Bleisure” is booming. More guests are plugging in laptops by day and sipping cocktails by night. They want fast Wi-Fi, ergonomic chairs, and a cheeky mid-week massage.

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A boutique hotel in Brisbane added a “Work & Wind Down” midweek package—bookings jumped 34%.

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If your property doesn’t cater to remote workers? You’re leaving money on the table.

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🌱Trend 3: Regenerative is the New Sustainable

Sustainability is no longer a “nice to have”—it’s expected.

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But the buzzword in 2025? Regenerative tourism.

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That means giving back more than you take—like tree-planting partnerships, composting kitchens, or offering volunteer guest experiences.

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Sound expensive? It’s not. A guesthouse in Tasmania added a $5 per night “eco fee” to fund local wildlife corridors—and 87% of guests opted in.

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Transparency is key. Show your impact, don’t just preach it.

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📢 Promo Break #3

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🧠Trend 4: AI-Powered Personalisation

Here’s a stat that’ll make your eyes water: Hyatt used AI-powered guest data and increased revenue by $40M.

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Today’s travellers want relevance over random—think custom offers, smart pricing, even birthday greetings with their name (spelled right, of course).

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Use data you already have: previous stays, room preferences, booking behaviour.

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Don’t overcomplicate it. Even a basic CRM + email workflow can make guests feel like VIPs.

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💛Trend 5: Loyalty Without Points

Guests are bored of generic point systems. What they want now? Connection. Exclusivity. Club vibes.

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Some hotels are ditching loyalty tiers for members-only perks, local invites, or even sneak peeks of new suites.

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Build a “Friends of the Hotel” circle. It doesn’t need to be fancy—just meaningful. Loyalty is no longer transactional—it’s emotional.

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📸Trend 6: Shoppable Social & Visual Storytelling

People buy with their eyes. Video isn’t the future—it’s the present.

Hotels now use:

• Shoppable Instagram posts

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• 360° room tours

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• UGC (guest-made videos)

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• Behind-the-scenes TikToks

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A 12-room inn in the Blue Mountains saw a 45% spike in direct bookings after launching a “Room Reveal” reel series. One take. One phone. One big payoff.

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You didn’t dream of hotel ownership…
Just to become a spreadsheet whisperer.

This free guide?
It gets you back to the fun part.

“Your Independent Hotel Blueprint” download.
Download it. Ditch the chaos.

You can find a link in the show notes.

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Which of these trends do you want to try at your hotel first?

Drop your answer in the comments.

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Here Are Your Key Takeaways

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In Conclusion

These aren’t fads. They’re shifts in guest behaviour. Implementing even one of these 2025 hotel marketing trends can make your hotel stand out like a pop of colour in a beige corridor.

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Want deeper guidance on this? It’s all in the “Hotel Owner’s Roadmap: 90 Days to More Bookings, More Time, and Less Stress.” Go check it out now.

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If you liked this episode, you also might like “Using Storytelling In Your Hotel Content Marketing To Skyrocket Bookings” episode 19.

https://hotelierhelpcast.com/2024/02/using-storytelling-in-your-hotel-content-marketing-to-skyrocket-bookings-019

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✅ Subscribe so you don’t miss the next episode—and if you found this helpful, feel free to buy us a coffee. It keeps us going (and slightly over-caffeinated).