The rise of GEO: Why hotel marketers need to think beyond SEO

It's true: SEO is undergoing its most significant evolution in decades. As travelers increasingly turn to artificial intelligence (AI) assistants for booking research, hospitality and hotel marketers face a critical question: How do we ensure our properties appear in AI-generated responses, not just traditional search results?

Working with hotel partners across independent properties and major brand portfolios, we have a unique vantage point on how search behavior is shifting industry-wide. The data we're seeing across this diverse portfolio signals a fundamental change in how travelers discover accommodations.

Since late 2024, we've tracked consistent month-over-month increases in traffic to hotel websites originating from AI sources like ChatGPT. While this AI-driven traffic remains a small percentage of overall site visits, the growth potential across properties of all sizes and brand affiliations is unmistakable.

We are also seeing some downward trends as it relates to traditional search side. We're observing marked year-over-year declines in organic search traffic across brand websites—a pattern consistent with broader industry research on "zero-click searches," where users find the information they need directly in search results without clicking through.

Recent studies indicate that nearly 65% of Google searches now end without a click. For mobile users, that figure approaches 78%. When Google or an AI assistant provides a comprehensive answer within the search interface, the traditional pathway to hotel websites is disrupted. The strategic imperative is clear: If travelers aren't clicking through, hotels must be featured prominently in those AI-generated answers themselves.

The new frontier: GEO

As such, this shift has given rise to generative engine optimization (GEO). GEO centers on being cited within the AI-generated response itself. When a traveler asks an AI assistant for "family-friendly hotels near Disneyland with breakfast included," the objective is to have properties mentioned in that conversational answer.

The mechanics of GEO differ significantly from traditional SEO. Large language models powering AI assistants don't just crawl websites; they synthesize information from review platforms, local listings, news articles, social media and countless other sources. This means what influences a hotel's AI visibility extends far beyond owned digital assets.

The implications are significant. Third-party review management, already important for reputation, now directly impacts discoverability. Every guest review, every local blog mention, every directory listing contributes to how AI models understand and represent properties.

This compression makes initial visibility more critical than ever. Hotels that aren't surfaced in AI responses may not enter consideration at all, regardless of website optimization. Additionally, the conversational nature of AI interactions means travelers often refine queries through follow-up questions. A traveler might start with "hotels in Nashville" and then ask, "Which ones have live music on site?" Hotels with rich, detailed content across multiple platforms are better positioned to surface in these progressive queries.

It's crucial to emphasize that GEO doesn't replace SEO. Rather, it extends it. The fundamentals remain critical: site performance, quality content, technical optimization and strategic keyword implementation. GEO builds on this foundation by ensuring content is discoverable not just by search engine crawlers but by the AI models increasingly mediating traveler research.

One current challenge is the nascent state of GEO measurement tools. Unlike SEO, where mature analytics platforms track rankings and conversions, tools for measuring AI visibility are still emerging. The industry needs robust measurement capabilities, but hotels can't wait for perfect metrics to begin optimizing for this new reality.

Next steps

So, where do we go from here? The pace of change in AI capabilities shows no signs of slowing. New platforms emerge regularly, each with its own approach to sourcing and citing information. Search engines continue integrating generative AI features. For hotel marketers, this environment demands both immediate action and ongoing adaptation.

The fundamentals of hospitality marketing remain unchanged: understand where guests are, meet them there and tell your story compellingly. The channels and formats may be evolving, but that core mission endures. The hotels that adapt their digital strategies to encompass both traditional search and AI-generated discovery will be the ones travelers find, regardless of how they choose to search.