A Guide to Short-Form Videos for Hotel Marketing

Infusing short-form videos into a hotel’s social media marketing drives interest and bookings by delivering consumers the bite-sized, impactful content they crave. As more vacationers turn to TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts for travel inspiration, hotels must leverage short-form videos to market the unique selling features of their property through captivating visuals, entertaining content and attractive promotions. 

Though video is popular and effective, not all hoteliers have begun to use this medium for their social media marketing – yet. If that’s you, read on to see the benefits of short-form videos and our tips for increased engagement that turns clicks and shares that translate into increased revenue and ROI across social channels.

The Benefits of Short-Form Videos

TikTok changed how social media users consume hotel marketing content. People expect to be entertained and engaged more than ever. Delivering FOMO-inducing short-form videos is a smart social media marketing play for hotels, and it offers these benefits:

Increased Brand Awareness

Platform algorithms favor engaging short-form videos, increasing a hotel’s visibility in people’s feeds and introducing the brand to a wider audience. Hotel marketing content must be compelling and on target to be featured where people seek travel recommendations, and short-form videos can bridge the gap. 

Higher Engagement and ROI

The watchable, digestible and entertaining nature of short-form videos invites viewers to share, like and click, leading to higher viewer engagement for hotel brands. People share videos to get reactions, entertain others and start conversations. These interactions amplify the content’s reach and strengthen your return on investment. HubSpot reports that short-form video delivers a 21% ROI in 2025, dominating other content formats.

Creative Ads Stop the Scroll

Instead of letting the compressed format of short-form videos stifle you, consider it an invite for creativity. People like, share and engage with inventive, eye-catching TikTok hotel marketing content. Shorter videos support spontaneous, timely production, so marketers can adjust messaging for shifting travel trends and meet customers’ expectations.

Enhanced Storytelling Opportunities

People want to see a hotel’s unique features and amenities, and videos accomplish this more effectively than images. Immersive room tours, videos showing off incredible views, and footage of a tranquil oceanfront or a wild waterslide ride all create a lasting impression. By helping guests picture themselves at your resort, you can usher them along their booking journey.

Video Elements Essential for Conversions

Short-form videos only last between 3 and 90 seconds, so hotel marketers have only mere moments to hook potential guests and get them to click through or engage. This doesn’t leave much room for error. Effective messaging, clear CTAs and links, and smart audience targeting are best practices for hotels incorporating short-form videos into their social media marketing. Use these tips to create content that drives successful conversions:

Use Strong CTAs

Compelling, clear calls to action direct viewers what to do next. Without these, they are likely to scroll past. Use post captions and in-video text to encourage viewers to:

• Tag the friend they’d bring along for a stay.
• Send a DM for a limited promotion.
• Click the link in bio to learn more about vacation packages.
• Enter the contest for a chance to win a getaway for two.

Provide Direct Links to Booking

After a traveler watches a hotel’s video, they shouldn’t have trouble locating the link to book or find out more. Direct links for short-form videos need to be intuitive, clickable and easy to find. Make these accessible in your social media bio and YouTube channel profile, and give clear directions for viewers in the caption. Optimize your site to give visitors a seamless path from the video to the booking engine. 

Prioritize Video Captions

Captions are essential elements for TikTok, Instagram and YouTube hotel marketing videos because they enhance accessibility and make sure your message isn’t missed, even on mute. About 74% of people who watch Facebook stories do so without sound. Text overlays reinforce key points and also add interest and personality that viewers appreciate.

Target Your Core Audience

As reported by an Adobe study, three in eight people have bought a product or service after watching a short-form video, proving the power of solid content and precise targeting.

Here are some tips for ad targeting: 

• Use data-driven insights to serve video ads to the right audience, on their preferred platform, at the optimal time.
• Convert people who’ve previously engaged with video content using ad retargeting. Highlight the hotel’s features or testimonials to convince them to book their stay.
• Build lookalike audiences to target people with interests and preferences similar to your highest-performing customers.

Tips for Successful Hotel Video Content

The ‘rules’ of short-form videos for hotel marketing are consistent across YouTube Shorts, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Use these tips to create punchy, effective content that communicates your hotel’s property features and highlights promotions to capture viewers’ interest and drive bookings:

Capture Attention Quickly 

You have about 3 seconds to capture someone’s attention with a short-form video, so prioritize stunning visuals, interesting hooks and fast-motion effects for immediate engagement.

Keep Video Content Authentic 

Short-form videos should be genuine and build booking confidence by showing clips and reviews from satisfied guests.

Opt for High-Quality Visuals and Audio

Pull all the stops on your content and use your best visuals and audio to capture the scroller’s attention within seconds. 

Use Influencer and Collaborator Videos 

Marketers should encourage UGC creators to tag the hotel in posts and testimonials to build trust with the brand’s audience.

Pin High-Performing Videos

Pinning your hotel’s best marketing videos on TikTok or other platforms increases the visibility of top-performing content and maximizes your ROI.

Track & Monitor Performance Metrics

Hotels can monitor performance analytics to understand the impact of their short-form videos. Track important metrics including the CTR on booking links, conversions through Google Analytics, and UTM codes and engagement metrics.

Content Ideas for Hotel Videos

If you haven’t started incorporating short-form videos in your hotel’s social media marketing strategy,  now’s the time. While repurposing existing long-form content into shorter, more digestible videos is an option, remember that fresh content is critical for maintaining high engagement.

Here are some ideas to help you enhance your next marketing campaign with effective, engaging short-form videos: 

• Hotel Tours: Showcase rooms, suites and amenities. If you’ve renovated, feature before-and-after videos showing the improvements.
• Guest Testimonials: Feature short clips of guests enjoying the property, and film short responses where they share their favorite amenities or features (with permission, of course).
• Destinations and Attractions: Local attractions and culinary spots are big influences on booking decisions, so showcase things to do nearby and the property’s convenient location.
• Offers and Promotions: Use countdown videos to highlight promotions or travel occasions, like Spring Break.
• Behind-the-Scenes Content: Increase guests’ excitement for upcoming stays or events with fast-motion videos of ballrooms transformed for weddings or fundraisers, or kitchen prep for a special dinner menu.

Short-form videos may be brief, but they are still powerful social digital marketing tools for hotels. Making a name in the competitive hospitality industry requires visually compelling content and a solid social media strategy. Need help increasing followers, engagement and revenue? Contact TravelBoom today.

About TravelBoom Hotel Marketing

TravelBoom specializes in developing and executing customized data-driven marketing solutions that drive direct bookings and growth for its clients. With over 25 years of experience in digital marketing for travel and hotels, TravelBoom leverages advanced data science and analytics to uncover insights and develop strategies that greatly enhance results for our clients and reduce reliance on third-party channels. TravelBoom is also host of the world’s #1 ranked Hotel Marketing Podcast and its quarterly Traveler Sentiment Study both of which can be found at www.travelboommarketing.com.