Navigating the AI-Driven Search Landscape: New SEO Strategies for Hotels

The world of search is evolving, and fast. As Vizergy’s Senior Manager of Search, over the past year I’ve seen significant shifts in Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs), largely driven by the integration of Artificial Intelligence. For hotels, understanding and adapting to these changes isn’t just an option – it’s essential for maintaining visibility and driving direct bookings.

My team of highly skilled SEO pros has been working diligently to crack the code on these changes and find the best ways to move the needle in the AI space. We’ve been testing some tactics and have seen some significant results so far with a few of our strategies. The drastic changes we’ve seen over the last year can be overwhelming, but we’re here to help you understand and create an action plan moving forward. 

The New Face of the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) 

Historically, we’ve seen the same key elements in the Search Engine Results Page (SERP): ads placed at the top, a map or local listings beneath, and organic results taking up the rest of the page. A knowledge graph or Google Business Profile (GBP) for branded searches is on the right and pagination on the bottom.

Now you’ll find a richer, more complex landscape with significantly less space for traditional organic results. We’re seeing more map packs, carousel ads, “People Also Ask” sections, and crucially, new “More hotels” sections featuring additional metasearch ads. Organic listings are often pushed further down the page, often below the fold, requiring users to scroll extensively.

Take this search for hotels near a landmark in San Antonio, for example:

We’re only seeing a handful organic search results, which is a substantial reduction in the number of organic results we’ve been shown in the past. Google has also removed the pagination and changed the experience to a continuous scroll in many searches.

But this isn’t anything new – Google changes this landscape frequently aiming to deliver a rich set of search results. Therefore, we must focus efforts on ways to get visibility within these facets of the landscape since ads and features dominate SERPs far more than organic results.

What is Google’s AI Overview? The most prominent new player in Google search is the AI Overview. Depending on the query, this AI-generated summary can appear at the top of the SERPs for a significant percentage of searches. The AI Overview is comprised of a variety of sources including hotel and attraction websites as well as online publications and other travel-related or relevant websites. The existence of the AI overview has already shown to lead to a reduction in website clicks since its intelligent and well-developed answers tend to answer the query right there in the results instead of requiring further action. However, we don’t anticipate to see a huge shift in click-through-rate for lower funnel travel searches since the user would still need to take some action to complete a purchase in the end.  From Keywords to Conversations: Shifting Search Behavior

The rise of AI in search means a fundamental shift in how users search and, consequently, how we should optimize. While traditional keyword research still has its place, the emphasis is now on understanding and answering conversational, intent-based queries. People are asking longer, more detailed questions, expecting AI to provide highly relevant, comprehensive answers. They can also ask follow-up questions to refine their answers.

Instead of just optimizing for “hotels near Disneyland,” think about queries like: “Where can I stay for the Warped Tour in Orlando?” or “I need a family-friendly hotel with a pool near Yosemite.” Your content needs to address these specific problems and provide detailed solutions.

Optimizing for AI: Your New SEO Toolkit I know you’re probably thinking, “Okay, great. How do I get our website to show up in the AI results?”

1. Master Schema Markup

This is the “language” search engines speak. Implementing specific schema for hotels, restaurants, events, and attractions helps search engines (and AI) quickly understand the context and details of your pages. By connecting your hotel to nearby venues or on-site services through schema, you significantly increase your chances of appearing in AI Overviews for relevant queries. This is particularly powerful when your property is genuinely relevant to the search.

For example, the page about your onsite wedding venue can contain hotel markup, event venue markup, and also markup for particular attributes and amenities, like catering services, wedding packages to take advantage of, the onsite restaurant and spa for the rehearsal dinner and bridal party, and so much more. This provides extensive details and context for search engines to match queries related to wedding experiences. 

2. Rethink Your Content Strategy

• Be Detailed & Specific: Provide rich, factual content that directly answers potential guest questions. Balance engaging brand voice with concrete information.
• Structure is Key: Use clear headings (H1s, H2s), lists, and organized formats to make your content easily digestible for both users and AI crawlers.
• Leverage FAQs: A well-structured FAQ section is gold. Beyond administrative questions, include answers to common guest queries about local points of interest, amenities, or unique hotel features. These are often cited in “People Also Ask” sections and AI Overviews.
• Strong Homepage & About Page: Ensure your homepage is detailed with amenities and room summaries and use your About page to provide rich historical or unique selling point content.

3. Cultivate Citations

While not always easy to obtain, mentions and links from high-authority industry sources (like travel publications or local tourism boards) can significantly boost your credibility and help you appear in AI-powered results, even if your site isn’t directly sourced.

The Bottom Line The digital landscape is constantly evolving, but by focusing on providing detailed, structured, and accessible content, leveraging powerful schema markup, and understanding user intent, hotels can continue to thrive. It’s about meeting your guests where they are – in the new, conversational world of AI search.

Trish is the Senior Manager, Search Marketing Services at Vizergy Digital Marketing. Connect with Trish on LinkedIn. 

About Vizergy Digital Marketing

For over 25 years, Vizergy has served the hospitality industry with leading marketing technologies and exceptional service for clients worldwide. Vizergy’s platform is easy to use, turnkey, and SMART — continually enhanced to help hotels compete within the market and maximize revenue. By leveraging a data-first approach, hospitality marketing is not only the mission, but Vizergy’s sole focus. Reach out to our team for more information.