SEO for hospitality and travel
Every OTA booking costs you up to 25% in commission. SEO fights for the thing with the most margin: the direct booking — and for showing up while the traveler is still dreaming about the destination.
Travelers search in two moments: inspiration (“things to do in Cusco in 3 days”) and transaction (“hotel downtown Cusco pool”). The OTAs dominate the second with budgets impossible to match — but the first is wide open: destination content captures the traveler before they open Booking, and pulls them into your direct channel.
For hotels, the package rounds out with an optimized Google profile (half of all direct bookings are born there), managed reviews, and a website that converts: clear rates, the direct-booking perk visible, and a frictionless process. For agencies, the play is destination authority: being the guide that ranks is being the agency that gets the quote request.
The industry playbook
Destination content that captures the trip inspiration
Hotel Google profile: photos, rates, attributes, and reviews
Direct-booking perk visible on every page
Pages per season and event (holidays, festivals)
EN/ES international layer for the foreign traveler
Frequently asked questions
Can I really compete against Booking and Expedia?
On their turf, no; on yours, yes. The OTAs can't create deep content about YOUR destination or offer the direct perk you can. The strategy concedes them the generic search and wins you the specific one and the branded one.
Doesn't destination content just attract window-shoppers?
It attracts dreamers — who are buyers at an early stage. The architecture walks them along: from the destination guide to the specific tour or hotel, with natural remarketing in between. Today's inspiration is next month's booking.
Related industries
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