AI, Search and Why Visibility Matters More Than Ever

There's no escaping the conversation around AI at the moment.

Every week there's another announcement, another prediction or another headline telling us how it's going to change the way we work. If you're a hotelier, it's easy to feel like you should be doing something, but not always know what that something is.

That's exactly why we recently invited Adam Hamadache, Founder of Formula Digital, to be our guest on the Right Revenue podcast. Adam works with independent hotels to improve their digital visibility and drive more direct bookings, so it was the perfect opportunity to cut through the hype and explore what AI really means for hotels.

One thing became clear very quickly. While AI dominates the headlines, the bigger issue for hotels is how guests are finding them in the first place.

Search is evolving

Guests have never all booked in the same way.

Some discover hotels through social media, others start with Google, while many compare options on OTAs before eventually visiting a hotel's own website. Every booking journey is different.

What's changing is that Google itself is evolving.

As Adam explained, AI is becoming part of the search experience. Rather than simply presenting a list of websites, Google is getting much better at answering questions, summarising information and recommending businesses directly.

Even guests who have never used ChatGPT are already experiencing AI when they search online.

For hotels, that's an important shift. Success is no longer just about ranking well in Google. Increasingly, it's about making sure your hotel is one of the businesses that search engines understand well enough to recommend.

Why this matters commercially

It's easy to think of this as purely a marketing issue, but it has much wider commercial implications.

Revenue management can only optimise the demand that's available. If potential guests aren't discovering your hotel, or don't immediately understand why they should choose it, every pricing and distribution decision becomes more challenging.

For independent hotels in particular, visibility has always been important because it drives direct bookings, reduces reliance on third-party channels and supports long-term profitability.

As search evolves, that principle doesn't change. If anything, it becomes even more important.

The fundamentals still matter

Perhaps the most reassuring part of the conversation was that hotels don't need to reinvent their marketing strategy.

The fundamentals still matter.

• A website that's easy to use.

• Clear positioning.

• Strong guest reviews.

• Consistent information across your website, Google Business Profile and OTAs.

• Useful, original content that helps potential guests make informed decisions.

These have always been signs of a well-managed hotel online. Increasingly, they're also the signals that help AI understand your business and recommend it to the right audience.

So what should hotels focus on?

Adam's advice was refreshingly practical. Rather than chasing every new AI tool, focus on getting the basics right.

• Understand how your guests search and where they discover your hotel.

• Make sure your website is technically strong and clearly communicates your proposition.

• Keep your information accurate and consistent across every online touchpoint.

• Encourage detailed guest reviews that build trust and describe the guest experience.

• Ask your marketing agency how they're preparing for AI-powered search, not just traditional SEO.

None of these actions are new.

What's changing is the role they play in helping hotels remain visible.

The biggest takeaway

The conversation with Adam reinforced something that's easy to lose sight of amongst all the excitement surrounding AI.

Hotels don't need to become AI experts overnight.

They do, however, need to make sure they're easy to find, easy to understand and easy to trust.

The hotels that perform best over the next few years won't necessarily be those using the newest technology…they'll be the ones that communicate their value clearly, wherever guests begin their booking journey.

And as AI becomes an increasingly important part of search, that visibility is likely to become one of hospitality's strongest commercial advantages.

If you'd like to hear the full discussion, listen to the latest episode of the Revenue RocksPodcast, where Adam shares practical advice on how hotels can improve their visibility, adapt to changing search behaviour and prepare for the next generation of online discovery.