A decade ago, hotel marketing was driven by a “be everywhere, all the time” approach. Success was often measured in impressions and 100% visibility in search results. But as we head towards 2026, that landscape looks very different.
Being everywhere no longer matters, but being in the right place does. Welcome to what industry leaders are calling the ‘great reprioritisation’: a shift forcing hotel marketers to rethink not just where they spend, but how they define value.
To explore how this shift is reshaping behaviours and decision-making, I spoke with Jasmine Firth, senior digital marketing manager, and Lindsey Sagnella, VP of content at hospitality marketing agency three&six.
Between them, they’ve spent the past decade guiding hotels through platform changes, new technologies, and evolving consumer behaviours. They’re well-placed to share what hotel marketers have stopped doing, what they’ve started doing, and what they should do next to stay relevant and resilient in 2026 and beyond.
What hotels stopped doing: Goodbye to being “everywhere, all the time”
Looking back at 2016, one of the biggest shifts is how hotel marketers have become open to “diversifying” their social strategies. Rather than chasing visibility at all costs, marketers are now focusing their resources where they count most.
“They’ve stopped focusing solely on the one or two channels they’re most comfortable with and started exploring other platforms where consumers are growing and spending,” explains Lindsey Sagnella.
That means brands are now embracing awareness-building opportunities via platforms like TikTok and leaning into “upper funnel strategies on newer platforms.”
It’s the same on the paid side, adds Jasmine Firth: “In the past, there’s been such an emphasis for brands to appear in search results 100% of the time, particularly within metasearch.
“But now, it’s about getting in front of the right people at the right time. With so many new channels available to use within your marketing strategy, you don’t need to be everywhere, but you need to know which placements actually match your target customer.”
When it comes to budgets, the past decade has seen a big shift in decision-making too. As an example, CRM and social media teams often worked in silos with little visibility into what was driving returns.
“Now, we can use tools like GA4 and attribution paths so marketers can see what’s truly influencing revenue and converting transactions at each stage of their journey,” says Firth. “It’s no longer a guessing game, it’s decision-making backed by real data insights.”
But this extends beyond hospitality, explains Sagnella.
“A significant trend from 2016 until now, is that many brands are consolidating their agencies and outsourced partners. They’ve realised how much time and resources were being lost by managing multiple vendors and constantly redistributing information.”
The most “valuable” shift has been how brands and businesses are now working with partners, such as three&six, who have an integrated approach instead.
“Because we have access to metrics across all areas, we can analyse consumer behaviour more clearly,” explains Sagnella. “That’s especially powerful during budget season. With platforms and algorithms changing daily, we help clients make informed decisions and act as a true extension of their team.”
What hotels have started doing
If 2016 was the year of social media, 2026 is shaping up to be the year of AI.
Where hotel marketers once spent hours combing through reviews and social feeds, AI can now deliver the same insights in minutes, freeing up teams to focus on strategy and creativity instead.
“Within ten minutes, AI can handle the amount of research that could have taken days for a human to do,” explains Firth.
“I know there are fears around AI replacing creativity in the workplace but nothing can replace the human touch or human understanding. You should make use of it, maximising on this business resource to ensure that you’re not left behind.”
While AI can feel “intimidating”, especially in hospitality, Sagnella stresses it should be seen as a partner, not a threat: “AI is moving even faster than social platforms which change every day, and not everybody loves change, so it’s no surprise people are nervous.
“But if you use it as a ‘partner’ to help digest consumer trends and data, it will make marketers’ lives easier. It’s not a replacement for creativity, but a tool to spark it.”
The benefits aren’t limited to big brands. For small businesses without in-house marketing teams, AI can help to analyse anything from customer data to building spreadsheets.
“Use AI as your personal tutor,” Firth explains, “but always fact-check the results”.
What hotels should do next as we head towards 2026
When it comes to social media, what should hotel marketers be doing to elevate their brand and how should they be leveraging AI?
With Millennials and Gen Z gaining spending power, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube have become critical spaces to engage with those consumers.
“It’s critical for hotel marketers to take a step back and make sure they’re assessing their audiences and really understanding the best ways to reach them: which platforms they’re on, how much time they spend there, and what content they actually engage with,” says Sagnella.
And there’s still a big risk in solely relying on a single platform.
“Some people built their entire business on one social channel, it was their only means of income, and almost lost it overnight,” she warns. “Hotels need to diversify, be open to shifting gears, and pivot when consumer behavior changes.”
And as scrutiny on ROI and measurement grows, marketers are under pressure to justify every decision. For many hotel marketers, that means leaning on trusted advisors.
“We have the responsibility to pass on the information that revenue managers and hotel teams require to make those decisions,” Firth explains.
“They have so much going on day-to-day that they don’t have the time to deeply research what’s in their interest to do next. Right now, it’s budgeting season, and clients are asking us: ‘We have this much budget, what should we do with it?’ We look at all the data available, across properties and markets, and advise them on where they should be.”
This advisory role is especially important in hospitality, adds Sagnella: “Many of our partners are on-site, managing guest experiences while wearing multiple hats. They need someone to track trends, flag opportunities, and act as a guide. With an open mind, we can step in as an extension of their team.”
Looking ahead to 2026 and beyond, the advice for what hotel marketers should be doing is clear: keep adapting.
“Don’t assume that you know everything. Keep an open mind,” says Firth. “So many people in the marketing industry say: ‘We’ve been doing it this way for ten years and it’s worked.’ But you could be doing even better if you adapt to user behavior, which is changing so significantly.
“Whether it’s short-form video or how people are using ChatGPT to answer their every inner thought, if you just stick to what you know and don’t test and adapt, you’ll be left behind.”
Sagnella agrees: “Keeping an open mind is the best thing you can possibly do.”
