New AI tools that guests could use to find and book hotels seem to appear every week. But Google remains a part of the booking journey for a huge amount of people. Analysis run in mid-2024 found that Google was still the dominant driver of website traffic after the introduction of tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity.
OK, a few months is a long time in AI terms nowadays, and AI use is only likely to grow. But ‘old fashioned’ search won’t disappear overnight.
For many hotels, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) remains a useful part of the marketing mix when it comes to attracting more web visitors and driving direct bookings. A strong SEO strategy ensures that when potential guests search for hotels in your area, your property appears on that coveted first page of search results. Yet, many hotels still underestimate the power of content marketing—particularly travel blogs—as a way to improve search rankings and attract direct bookings.
At the Direct Booking Summit in Chicago, Alex Velazquez, Vice President of Digital Marketing at Westgate Resorts, captivated the audience with his insights on using AI-driven tools to achieve SEO success and enhance their digital presence. Though initially presented back in 2023, Alex’s advice remains relevant in 2025 so we’ve summarized the key points in this blog. You can also watch the full presentation here.
A well-optimized travel blog can be a game-changer for hotels looking to drive organic traffic and improve search engine authority. Here’s why hotels should invest in a travel blog:
Before diving into content creation, hotels should define their blog’s goals. These may include:
For SEO, the primary goal should be to increase search engine authority for your hotel's website.
Generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, can help hotels efficiently scale their content production. Below are specific prompts that hoteliers can use to optimize their blog content effectively:
These prompts are taken directly from Alex Velazquez’s talk on SEO. You can use them as a guide; however, feel free to experiment with the prompts you provide to ChatGPT or a similar tool. For example, you may want to input your tone of voice guide to ensure the generated article aligns with your usual writing style.
It's also really important to note that a human reviewer is always a good idea. Although AI can save a lot of time, it sometimes 'hallucinates' - or to put it more clearly, 'makes things up' - so you'll want to check that the final output is accurate, written in a style you're happy with, and doesn't make any concerning claims!
Prompt: "Forget all previous commands. You are now an SEO optimization expert who will be going through a series of keyword research, technical SEO research, and strategic content SEO research steps in order to outrank a specific competitor for a MAIN KEYWORD we will decide upon. Browse this [INSERT COMPETITOR BLOG PAGE URL], identify the main topic, and then extract the main keyword, LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) keywords, and any other important keywords needed to rank for the main keyword. Create a table that includes the keyword, type of keyword, number of times the keyword was used in the blog post, and the level of importance of the keyword"
Prompt: "Now after browsing (THE COMPETITOR), extract the main headings, h1, h2, h3, h4 and sub-headings from the blog post"
Prompt: Please browse our own site [INSERT YOUR HOMEPAGE URL] and audit the META TITLE structure. This will serve as a reference for a future prompt and research step when we need to generate a new META TITLE for a blog article on our site. From this point forward, this URL will be referred to as (OUR SITE). Please confirm this step by providing three examples of the META TITLE structure used on our site
Prompt: "We are writing a perfectly optimized list-style article on the topic of [INSERT TOPIC], which is the MAIN KEYWORD we want our article to rank #1 on Google for. For this task, we have a pre-collected list of keywords that must be naturally incorporated throughout the text. Please create a comprehensive, engaging, clickbait-oriented, high-CTR, compelling, and informative article TITLE that includes the MAIN KEYWORD we want to rank for. Additionally, provide a perfectly SEO-optimized META TITLE, META DESCRIPTION, and URL SLUG for this new blog article on (OUR SITE). The TITLE must contain at least double the points about the MAIN KEYWORD compared to (THE COMPETITOR). For example, if our competitor's title says “20 Things to Do,” then our title should list at least 30 things (this is just an example). However, please limit the number of points to a maximum of 30, regardless of the competitor’s"
Prompt: Browse Google and research a list of [INSERT TOPIC], based on search results and the most popular articles that are ranking, including the article found on (THE COMPETITOR). Then, provide a comprehensive list of all [INSERT NUMBER] places, attractions, businesses, or places of interest you will be using in the article. Please write out each one’s name, address, phone number, website address, and Instagram link in a large list as you go. Continue listing these out until you have all of them. Ensure that all of them are unique and that there are no duplicates.
Prompt: "Browse (THE COMPETITOR) and conduct a content audit of the article. Analyze the structure, style, tone, keyword usage, internal and external linking, meta tags, and any other SEO techniques employed. Please also note the main topics, subtopics, and any unique points they covered. From this analysis, suggest strategies and improvements we can implement in our content to enhance our SEO and outrank them"
Prompt: "We are still crafting a list-type article on the topic of [INSERT PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED TOPIC]. For this task, we now have our desired TITLE, META TITLE, and META DESCRIPTION, along with a list of keywords that need to be incorporated naturally throughout the text. These keywords include all those indicated above. Please create a comprehensive, engaging, and informative article that seamlessly includes these keywords while maintaining a coherent and enjoyable reading experience. The goal is to enhance our on-page SEO optimization, making our content more discoverable and helping us outrank our competitors. Use the suggestions above and ensure the language remains simple, readable, human, and unique while making the researched information accurate. Since this is a list-type article, it will reference various businesses, activities, and/or attractions. Please ensure that this perfectly SEO-optimized article contains the following structural items within the content, which I will list when you are ready to receive them. Simply confirm that you have received this brief to begin receiving stepped directions regarding the structural terms"
Chat GPT will then confirm by saying something like: I confirm that I have received the above brief. I am ready to receive the stepped directions regarding the structural items to be included in the article.
Prompt: "Please write an introductory paragraph that is SEO-optimized for our MAIN KEYWORD and includes an embedded internal link to the homepage of our site, woven naturally into the text as a contextual link"
Prompt: "Research and create a comprehensive numbered list of all [INSERT NUMBER] places, attractions, businesses, or places of interest you will be using in the article. Please write out each one’s name, address, phone number, website address, and Instagram link in a large list as you go. Please provide a detailed description of each that is more comprehensive than OUR COMPETITOR, and include one [INSERT CALL OUT, e.g., VISITOR’S TIP] callout at the end of each numbered point that highlights a tip, advice, or travel hack commonly mentioned by visitors online. Please place one embedded Instagram image from that place’s official Instagram account above the numbered point containing all its details. Please place the ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER, and WEBSITE below the detailed description and visitor’s tip callout for each point. Please confirm that you understand this second structural ITEM, and then proceed with generating ONLY the first 5 points/places in the list. After each batch of 5 points/places, we will proceed to the next batch after a manual command, until we have gone through the entire list"
Once CHAT GPT says I understand, you can enter in your next prompt.
Prompt: “Please provide the next 5 points, but do not duplicate any of the previous points/places”
If you are writing an article of 30 points, you should do this six times in total. After each batch has been written, CHAT GPT will ask you to review the points, so it can continue.
Prompt: "Create a TL;DR-style table using an H3 tag as the heading in the format of MAIN KEYWORD | TL;DR COMPARISON CHART, and then below it, create a table listing all the different businesses from the prior lists, ranked by popularity online and distance from our hotel. We will now refer to this as the TABLE. Please reference (OUR SITE) and its brand name to research and determine its location on Google Maps compared to the locations of other businesses mentioned. The COLUMNS of the table should be PLACE, POPULARITY, and MILES/KILOMETERS AWAY (from our hotel). Generate this table evenly, creating only 5 rows at a time, and wait for the next prompt before proceeding to the next set of 5. Make sure to double-check your work to avoid duplicating points/places from the previously created list and ensure that all points/places listed in the TABLE are unique. Do you understand?"
Once CHAT GPT says I understand, you can then say “Looks good, please continue and now provide all the correct distances”
Prompt: "Write out the [INSERT NUMBER] most common FAQs about this destination, as asked by consumers, starting with the full question followed by the best answer on a separate line. Please ensure that all answers are as SEO-optimized as possible. This section of content will be referred to as our FAQS"
Prompt: "Please write a compelling, fun wrap-up paragraph about all of these things to do. Include a disclaimer stating that the information in this article may change due to specific events, location updates, attractions, hours of operation, closures, or other factors. At the end of the wrap-up paragraph, conclude the article with a light touch explaining why a visitor should choose our hotel for this destination based on (OUR SITE)"
Prompt: "Please go back through our entire history of prompts and responses and locate the section where you attempted to insert the URL for one distinct, chosen Instagram account per point/place in our article. Provide these Instagram account URLs in the format of PLACE NAME followed by the URL, all wrapped in a dedicated RAW CODE BOX so that a developer can copy and paste the embed code for a chosen image into our blog’s CMS later. Please gather all of these at once, as you should now have the pertinent information"
Using Instagram embeds in your blog can provide several advantages over traditional stock images:
However, it’s important to conduct a manual check of Instagram URLs to ensure:
By integrating Instagram embeds in your blogs, you can provide a richer experience for readers while improving SEO effectiveness.
This article is the first in a series on what AI might mean for hoteliers and how they can harness it to their advantage. Check back regularly for more or sign up for our newsletter to make sure you get the latest updates in your inbox as soon as they’re available.
Alex Velazquez’s talk about SEO was one of many jam-packed sessions that took place over two days at the Direct Booking Summit in 2023. Join us at the 2025 eventin Dallas, where you’ll be surrounded by like-minded hoteliers, to learn more about how hotels are solving one of the most important goals: driving direct bookings.