Flywheel news | June 2026 hotel digital marketing news

1. Spotify rolls out display advertising

Spotify is making display advertising more accessible with visual ad formats that help brands connect with listeners beyond traditional audio placements. Display ads can appear while users browse, search, or interact with the platform, giving marketers additional opportunities to reinforce messaging throughout the customer journey. For hotels, this presents another channel to build destination awareness, promote seasonal offers, and stay top-of-mind with travelers already engaged in planning and entertainment. As media consumption continues to diversify, testing platforms like Spotify can help expand reach beyond traditional search and social campaigns. Learn more here.

2. Google Business Profile can now connect to GA4 and be managed with Gemini

Google has introduced two significant updates to Google Business Profile: direct integration with Google Analytics 4 and support for Gemini AI. The GA4 connection gives marketers a much clearer view of how local search interactions contribute to website engagement and conversions, while Gemini helps simplify profile management with AI-assisted recommendations and updates. These enhancements make it easier to measure local marketing performance and keep business listings accurate and competitive. At GCommerce, we see this as another step toward more data-driven local SEO strategies guided with the use of powerful AI tools. Read more.

3. How hotels are reclaiming direct bookings in the age of OTAs

While online travel agencies remain an important distribution partner, hotels are increasingly investing in technology, personalization, and loyalty strategies to encourage more guests to book directly. Improved booking engines, first-party data, and personalized website experiences are helping independent properties compete more effectively while strengthening guest relationships. Rather than eliminating OTAs, the most successful hotels are finding the right balance between third-party visibility and direct revenue growth. Building a seamless booking experience has never been more important as travelers expect convenience at every touchpoint. Read the full article from Techloy.

4. Google Ads: New rolling 37-month data retention policy begins June 1, 2026

Google Ads now limits access to granular campaign data to a rolling 37-month window, an extreme change from the previous window of viewing data from up to 11 years prior. Daily, weekly, and hourly performance data older than that will no longer be available through Google Ads, APIs, or connected reporting tools unless it has been exported and stored elsewhere. Monthly, quarterly, and yearly summary data will remain available for much longer, but marketers who rely on long-term trend analysis should begin archiving detailed historical data now. The good news? GCommerce already solves this issue by storing all campaign data within Big Query, which means that your YOY trends and more are ready to be utilized. Learn more.

5. 3 hotel landing page mistakes that cost your property bookings (and how to fix them)

Driving traffic to your website is only half the battle, your landing pages ultimately determine whether visitors become guests. We’ve highlighted three common mistakes that hurt your conversions: unclear messaging, poor mobile experiences, and friction-filled booking paths. Even well-performing campaigns can underdeliver if landing pages don't align with traveler expectations or make it easy to take the next step. For hotel marketers, regularly auditing landing pages is one of the highest-impact ways to improve return on ad spend and increase direct bookings without increasing marketing budgets. Read the full article here.

6. Smarter campaign structure for stronger cyber sale results

Cyber season is no longer just a nice-to-have on the hospitality marketing calendar. It's one of the highest-stakes promotional windows of the year, and the gap between a well-structured campaign and a loosely assembled one is growing wider. For Cyber 2025, we ran a structured test across a consistent group of hotel and resort clients to answer one question: Does building cyber promotions inside existing campaigns outperform launching net-new ones? The results were clear, and they have real implications for how hospitality brands should think about campaign architecture heading into 2026. Explore the full case study here.

7. Hotels losing to AI agents, collapsing travel funnel, video platforms impacting booking

The traditional travel booking funnel is rapidly evolving as AI assistants, social platforms, and video-first discovery reshape how travelers research and choose hotels. Instead of moving through a predictable path from search to booking, consumers increasingly rely on AI-generated recommendations and inspiration from platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. This shift means hotels must optimize not only for search engines but also for AI visibility, rich content, and structured information that recommendation engines can easily understand. GCommerce believes brands that invest in discoverability today will be better positioned as AI becomes an even larger influence on booking decisions. Read more.

Flywheel news | May 2026 hotel digital marketing news

1. Hotel metasearch advertising and the power of impression share

Within the landscape of Google Hotel Ads and hotel metasearch marketing, many hoteliers prioritize a single metric: Return on Ad Spend (ROAS). However, fixating on this figure alone can cause properties to miss a far more critical data point: Impression share.

By optimizing strictly for high ROAS, hotels often trade away auction visibility and total revenue. This shift essentially hands direct booking opportunities over to Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) that your property could have secured itself. The end goal of metasearch is simple: capture as many profitable direct bookings as possible. Read more here on how Metadesk can help power your hotel metasearch campaigns for optimal results.

2. Hotel booking comes to TikTok

TikTok is evolving into a hotel booking channel, allowing travelers to move directly from discovery to reservation through features like TikTok Go and Travel Ads. For hoteliers, this presents a new opportunity to drive bookings through engaging video content and creator partnerships. However, it’s important for users of this marketing channel to understand that hotel pages are pulling content and OTA partner feeds and other sources like TripAdvisor. 

Purchases will take place through those same OTA partners and will not contribute toward a direct booking. This may be a great tool for brand discovery, and the marketing team at GCommerce will continue to explore more and help properties develop potential strategies and opportunities. Learn more here.

3. The hoteliers guide to AEO: How hotels and resorts should approach AEO for real ROI

Answer engine optimization is reshaping how travelers discover hotels and resorts, often before they ever engage with a traditional search engine. As AI platforms increasingly summarize, suggest, and compare properties for users, visibility now hinges on your property’s clarity and structure, not just its ranking position. If you’re struggling with your approach to AEO, take a look at our 10 practical steps when it comes to implementing AEO into your hotel strategy. Learn more here.

4. Google Marketing Live 2026: Key takeaways from the GCommerce team

Every year the marketing team at GCommerce looks forward to viewing Google Marketing Live, and this year was no exception! This year Google continued to highlight the ways AI is transforming the way consumers discover and engage with brands online while showcasing prominent technology updates with Gemini and new opportunities across channels and campaigns with YouTube, Maps, and Demand Generation. 

While the marketing team takes all the new updates and announcements into consideration for how to improve our client strategies and performance, a recap of our top findings can be found here.

5. OpenAI expands Ads Manager Beta with new budgeting and geo targeting controls

OpenAI is enhancing its Ads Manager Beta by adding daily budgeting, state and ZIP-code geo-targeting, and interactive conversational ad types within ChatGPT. This update provides hoteliers with sophisticated ways to reach specific feeder markets and run regional promotions with improved budget oversight.

As this platform transitions into a viable performance channel, hospitality marketing leaders should assess how AI-driven placements can support their existing search, social, and direct booking efforts. GCommerce will remain at the forefront of any advertising opportunities and developing strategies around ads within ChatGPT that best fit our clients’ needs. Read the full article here.

Flywheel news | April 2026 hotel digital marketing news

1. Organic social media best practices for 2026: How brands can win with consistency, quality, and authentic engagement

As organic social continues to evolve, one thing remains true. Hotels that show up consistently and authentically build stronger communities, deeper loyalty, and more meaningful long-term customer relationships. Whether you are building awareness, nurturing current audiences, or carving out your presence in niche communities, a strategic approach will elevate your digital ecosystem. Read more on tactic tips to improve your organic presence.

2. YouTube testing new search experience, Ask YouTube

Google announced that a new feature is being tested for YouTube premium members 18+ in the US who are opted in called “Ask YouTube.” This new feature likes users diving deeper into topics of interest in a more interactive way. Based on questions like “help me plan a 3-day road trip from San Francisco to Santa Barbara” will pull up structured itineraries in states of a list of videos, bringing together a mix of videos, shorts, and informative text. Why does this matter? AI search continues to creep into every facet of search across Google, and showcases just another way your property could be seen on this social channel. Read more.

3. AEO vs GEO for hotels and resorts: What’s the difference?

AI is reshaping how travelers discover hotels and resorts. Traditional search rankings still matter, but AI-powered answer engines and generative platforms are changing how visibility works. For hospitality marketing leaders focused on increasing direct bookings, understanding the difference between AEO and GEO is no longer optional. It is foundational. We’ve put together a comprehensive guide on how answer engine optimization and generative engine optimization differ and can be applied together in tandem. Learn more.

4. [Ebook] Designing emails for Dark Mode

Dark mode is no longer a niche preference on your browser; it’s more commonly a default experience for a growing share of users, especially on mobile. In fact, around 40% of email opens now happen in dark mode. This means if you aren’t incorporating design choices aimed to function in dark mark, you are serving a large chunk of your database a poor user experience from the moment they click open. Learn more about how to design emails for dark mode and what to look out for here.

5. From chaos to clarity: The new era of hospitality data transparency

Hotels have never had more data at their disposal. PMS reports, CRS exports, Google Ads dashboards, OTA extranets, the list goes on. But more data hasn’t meant more clarity. Instead, it’s created chaos. The solution? GCommerce Solutions’ Roll-Up APIs are purpose-built for the complexity of hospitality data. The result? A single, real-time source of truth. Read more here.

6. LinkedIn is rewriting the rules of visibility

LinkedIn is shifting from a purely social platform to a key source for AI-driven discovery. As tools like ChatGPT increasingly cite LinkedIn content, experts in the field like AJ Wilcox have seen AI referrals generate 30–40% of leads, making optimization for both humans and AI essential. Short-form posts still drive immediate engagement but tend to fade away within days, while long-form content (like newsletter articles) remains accessible to AI indefinitely. AJ notes that marketers should prioritize clear, audience-focused writing and create verifiable, trustworthy content. Meanwhile, LinkedIn’s evolving ad tools and reduced tolerance for automation signal a broader shift toward authentic, high-quality engagement. Read more here.

Flywheel news | March 2026 hotel digital marketing news | GCommerce

1. How to rank your hotel higher on Google

Getting your property to the top of the search engine results page (SERP) can increase traffic to your website and net more direct bookings. However, to get your property to the top of relevant searches, you need to implement strategies that show Google that your site has exactly what its users want: helpful, reliable, quality, people-first content. With a tried and true three-pronged approach from GCommerce, your property can maintain a people-first approach to improve search engine ranking. Read more here.

2. What Meta’s latest attribution changes mean for your reporting

Meta recently quietly released an update on how ad performance is measured within the platform by changing their attribution models and adding in incremental attribution. The reasoning behind this update was to provide a more clear picture on which conversions actually happened because of your ad, compared to which ads contributed to a conversion. In turn, users could see a decline in traditional ROAS for data after April 1, 2025. The update also changes how clicks are measured and removes actions such as likes, shares, and photo clicks. While this hasn’t been rolled out to all accounts yet, GCommerce will continue to research the updates fully and make strategic recommendations based on the new attribution findings. Read more here.

3. The importance of guest sentiment and reviews in driving local SEO success for hotels in the age of AI

Customer reviews and star ratings have long been critical for local businesses, including hotels, shaping visibility in search results and influencing potential customers’ choices. While traditional search remains important, AI-powered tools such as Google AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity, and ChatGPT are changing how reviews influence decision-making. Reviews are no longer just something that appears on the listing; they are analyzed, summarized, and highlighted which plays a direct role in user perception. To learn more about integrating review management into your marketing strategy, read more here.

4. Automated traffic now exceeds human activity across the web

A recent report states that automated traffic grew 23.5% YOY, compared to just 3.1% for human traffic, and AI appears to be the main driver behind that, according to HUMAN Security. Why is this important? Each year search behaviors continue to be shaped more and more by non-human queries as AI agents can now participate in discovery, comparison, and transactions with nearly 2% of those agents completing checkout flows. This means that optimization needs to include which machines can access, interpret, and act on your content. Read more.

5. The role of color psychology in hospitality marketing

First impressions in hospitality are formed within seconds, often before guests are consciously aware. From a digital advertisement to the hotel lobby, people start evaluating their surroundings almost immediately. Color plays a major role in this process, serving as a powerful tool for shaping guest expectations and experiences. Understanding how color psychology works can be applied to your marketing campaigns and across your digital channels, leading the user to perform certain actions or a feel a certain way. Overall, it reinforces your brand and the specific feelings you want your user to associate with your hotel. Learn more here.

Flywheel news | February 2026 hotel digital marketing news | GCommerce

1. ChatGPT ads spotted and they are quite aggressive

Some of the first ads have been spotted by U.S. users in ChatGPT, but the already look much different than the company originally envisioned. So far the ads are appearing after the very first prompt and not after lengthy conversions as many originally predicted. Instead, when a users asked “What’s the best way to book a weekend away?”, sponsored placements appeared immediately. This is important because it means OpenAI is treating these single prompts, not conversations, as viable inventory and a signal for advertisers on where to place budget. GCommerce will continue to monitor the emergence of ads on ChatGPT and direct recommendations from these findings. Read more.

2. How to write AI Search optimized content for hotels

Getting your hotel’s content and brand included in generative AI answer engines for relevant prompts comes down to ensuring it’s crawlable, well-structured, answers questions concisely and directly, and is contextually rich. But how does your hotel produce or revise its content to ensure it’s best structured for visibility in AI search engines? Check out our guide for how to write content that is well optimized for AI search engines without ignoring the importance of traditional SEO, an essential part of brand success and bookings. Read more.

3. The real risk of AI-generated content

The use of AI in every day tasks continues to be on the rise, and one of its biggest uses is with content creation. However, the evidence continues to show that low-quality AI content can tank your online visibility as Google and Bing continue to crack down through advanced detection algorithms. Essentially, using AI as a writing assistant is still fine and great, but publishing raw AI output without introducing a human element can backfire. When it comes to how to use AI content safely, it’s always recommended to focus on quality, never publish what AI gives you without editing and adding a human touch, insert your own insights and context to the content, and view AI as an assistant and not your replacement. Read the full report here.

4. Improving AI search visibility: A practical action guide for your hotel

Like many other marketing channels, the factors that impact AI search visibility fall under a variety of categories and optimizations, requiring a comprehensive multi-channel strategy to achieve success. But don’t let that scare you! While AI search visibility isn’t an exact science, there are plenty of things you can do to improve your hotel’s standings. View our list of the most important actions to take when improving your AI Search visibility here. 

5. Bing Webmaster Tools is rolling out an “AI Performance” report

Recently Bing Webmaster Tools announced that they are implementing a new AI Performance report, something huge that other major tech companies are not doing. Within the dashboard it’s reported that you’ll be able to see average cited pages, key phrases used when AI was used to generate an answer, a timeline of your citations activity, and page level citations. Why does this matter? As SEOs we can finally receive some data on how we show up in Bing’s AI features, and could potentially force other companies to follow suit. GCommerce will stay diligent as this feature rolls out and provide recommendations on best uses moving forward. Read more.

Flywheel news | January 2026 hotel digital marketing news | GCommerce

1. ChatGPT ads come with premium prices–and limited data

A few months ago ChatGPT announced the addition of ads into their interface which certainly caught our attention. While details have been vague ever since, a report released last week showcased that OpenAI’s pricing for ChatGPT ads will come with a hefty price tag. Estimated at about $60 per 1,000 impressions (CPM), this places the cost of advertising on the platform nearly three times higher than a typical CPM on Meta. Despite the cost advertisers will only receive high-level reporting on metrics like impressions or clicks, but no bottom-of-funnel reporting. Bottom line, while GCommerce will remain aware of opportunities to test the ad beta in the coming weeks, it’s also important to consider the tradeoff for awareness when it comes to cost and success visibility. Read more here.

2. Hotel visibility in AI search results: Where to start

Visibility in AI search results is a vital piece of your hotel’s success within the current marketing landscape. But with AEO being a hot topic on everyone’s minds lately, it can be hard to understand how to improve your hotel’s standings. AI models assess a variety of factors when digesting data and generating responses, including your website’s structure, local business listings, your social media engagement, schema, and much more! Learn from the experts some of the top ways to help increase your property’s visibility within AI search results. 

3. How to write AI search optimized content for hotels

Getting your hotel’s content and brand included in generative AI answer engines for relevant prompts comes down to ensuring it’s crawlable, well-structured, answers questions concisely and directly, and is contextually rich. But how does your hotel produce or revise its content to ensure it’s best structured for visibility in AI search engines? Our team has put together this guide on how to write content that is well optimized for AI search engines, but doesn’t ignore the importance of traditional search engine optimization, which is still an essential tool for brand success and bookings. Learn more here.

4. How your hotel can get started with organic Reddit marketing

When most hotel brands think about social media, Reddit is not the first platform that comes to mind. But with more than 70 million daily active users spread across thousands of niche communities, it is one of the most influential spaces online. Unlike Instagram or Facebook, Reddit thrives on honesty and conversation. This is one of the reasons why it’s been shown as one of the top cited sources within AI search visibility. If you are considering adding Reddit to your hotel’s digital marketing strategy, the smartest first step is building an organic presence. Here is how your hotel can get started.

5. [On-demand webinar] How AI is reshaping the inspiration to booking journey for hotels and resorts

AI is reshaping how travelers plan and book with nearly a billion people using tools like ChatGPT in the trip planning process. With this on-demand webinar you will learn why travel behavior feels unpredictable, how AI assistance influences bookings, more about the rise of zero-click search, and how to prepare your property for Answer Engine Optimization. Watch here.