Best Practices for Content Creators in Hospitality

🎬 The best communication masterclass in hospitality right now isn’t coming from a branding agency — it’s coming from a chef. And his name is Eloi Spinnler. While most restaurants still treat social media like a digital menu board, Eloi is building something entirely different: A storytelling universe, a culture, a community — with YouTube-level ambition and Netflix-level narrative. 1️⃣ — He doesn’t “post content” - he creates episodes Behind-the-scenes documentaries about his new address Envie – Le Banquet BONALOI. Real emotional arcs. Failures, wins, budgets, rebuilds. It’s not PR. It’s transparency as entertainment — and as brand asset. This is what hospitality rarely understands: people don’t fall in love with restaurants; they fall in love with the people building them. 2️⃣ — He flips the influencer model entirely Most restaurants → invite influencers to come eat, hope for a reel. Eloi → brings influencers into his world. 🔥 Challenges à la Mr Beast (“I’m not leaving my buffet until I’ve eaten EVERYTHING”), collabs with big YouTubers, co-created formats, humour, self-derision. Not a one-way invitation. A two-way storyline. 3️⃣ — He’s fun, human, unpolished — and that’s the point While everyone else in F&B polishes perfect aesthetic videos, Eloi goes the opposite way: high energy humor with teeth mistakes and problem-solving behind-the-scenes chaos a signature tone that feels unmistakably his Authenticity is not a strategy. It’s a style. And he owns it fully. That’s brand culture. 4️⃣ — He invests like a creator, not like a restaurant ✔️Great editing. ✔️Great storytelling. ✔️Real production value. ✔️Weekly presence. ✔️Episodes people wait for. And that’s what creates desire, community and longevity. 💡 Why this matters for hospitality brands Because communication in F&B is stuck in a loop: aesthetic reels, food porn, a few behind-the-scenes shots, done. Meanwhile: people crave narrative, emotion, identity, humour, and culture. Eloi shows what’s possible when a restaurant decides to behave like: a media brand, a creative studio, a living universe to enter, not just a place to eat. ------------------ 🔪 What brands can learn (and where my work comes in) If you want this level of impact, you need more than visuals. You need: ✨ A clear narrative (what’s your story?) ✨ A culture (your tone, your world, your values) ✨ A system (editorial structure → not random posting) ✨ Community-building (reciprocity, emotion, belonging) ✨ A creator mindset (quality > quantity, coherence > noise) It’s exactly what I build for F&B brands: → From pretty-but-forgettable to recognisable & desirable → From random posts to a structured narrative → From last-minute chaos to long-term clarity → From “content” to culture Because the future of hospitality will belong to those who can: show their soul, shape emotion, and make people want to be part of the story. Just like Eloi does. Brilliantly.

The next billion-dollar brands won’t start with a product. They’ll start with content. They’ll build community, trust, and conversation before they ever build inventory. Because attention is the new supply chain. If you’ve got the trust, you can sell anything. This is not a theory. This is the reality of modern business, and if you’re in hospitality, tourism, or any experience-driven industry, it should be your obsession. So let’s talk about what that actually means for your brand today: 1. Build in public: Stop waiting until something is perfect to share it. Show your process. Let your audience see the behind-the-scenes, the people, the small wins, and even the missteps. You’re not just selling a hotel room or a destination. You’re selling a story people want to be part of. 2. Become the media company: You’re not a resort. You’re not a cruise line. You’re not a tourism board. You are a media company that happens to sell those things. That means you need to post every day like your survival depends on it, because it does. One video can change your quarter. One story can land a new partner. One post can fill rooms. This isn’t theory. I’ve seen it happen. 3. Educate or entertain. Every piece of content must do one or both: No one cares about your room upgrades or the plated dinner shot unless there’s a human hook behind it. Share staff stories. Show local culture. Tell me why your destination matters right now. Give me a reason to stop scrolling. If you don’t interrupt the pattern, you’ll never earn the attention. 4. Engage like a person, not a brand: Reply to every comment. Start conversations in the DMs. Reshare user content and tag them. The future belongs to brands that act like people. If you show up like a billboard, it will bury you. 5. Leverage borrowed trust: Partner with people who already have the audience you want. Influencers, creators, advisors, guests who love your brand. If they trust them, and they recommend you, you win. But don’t micromanage the message. Collaborate, don’t control. 6. Stop measuring vanity, start tracking velocity: Likes are not currency. But how fast your story spreads, how fast people comment, save, and share, that’s your new KPI. Speed is signal. If your content is good, it’ll move. If it’s not, it dies fast. 7. Start now. Not next month. Not next quarter: There will always be a reason to wait. But every day you’re silent, someone else is taking the attention you’re too slow to claim. And once someone else owns the conversation, it’s hard to get it back. Because again, and I’ll repeat it… The next billion-dollar brands, they won’t start with products. They’ll start with content. Audience first, physical products second. Because attention is the new supply chain. If you’ve got the trust, you can sell anything. So, are you building trust, or are you still just pushing product? The game has changed. And if you’re not adapting, you’re invisible.

The Future of Search Isn’t About Clicks, It’s About Signals We’re witnessing a fundamental shift in how travelers discover, evaluate, and trust brands online. Here are five powerful truths shaping today’s search landscape and what hotel marketers must do to stay ahead: 1. Search is no longer about driving traffic, it’s about being discovered AI tools, voice assistants, and social platforms now answer traveler questions directly, often before they ever visit your site. ➡️ What to do: Focus on visibility across multiple platforms. Your website is just one touchpoint, build a presence on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube Shorts, and review sites where AI and travelers look first. 2. Trust is built through digital signals, not just rankings AI prioritizes brands it sees consistently engaged across channels with useful, credible content. ➡️ What to do: Publish short-form videos showcasing your property, respond to traveler reviews, share local tips on LinkedIn, and post behind-the-scenes content. Show you’re active, authentic, and guest-focused. 3. Social platforms are now search engines Travelers are skipping Google and searching TikTok or Instagram for real experiences, quick insights, and visual storytelling. ➡️ What to do: Make your hotel discoverable with visually compelling, searchable posts. Use hashtags strategically, answer common questions in video format, and turn guest experiences into content. 4. AI rewards brands with original thinking Unique insights, coined terms, and frameworks stand out in a sea of generic content. ➡️ What to do: Define your brand’s unique angle, whether it’s “eco-luxury near the city” or “quiet retreats for remote workers.” Create content that positions your hotel as a thought leader in your niche. 5. Local presence is critical in AI-driven recommendations AI relies on signals like Google Business listings, local content, and customer reviews to recommend nearby options. ➡️ What to do: Optimize your GMB profile. Post updates, answer FAQs, upload videos, and actively request and respond to reviews. Build content around nearby attractions and seasonal events. Hotel marketers: the era of clicks is over. You win today by showing up where travelers search, even if they never land on your site. Own your niche. Be present across platforms. Make your brand impossible to overlook. If you’re not sure how to position your hotel in this next era of discovery, I’m here to help, whether as an advisor during your pivot or to instill the AI mindset across your entire team. Let’s make sure you’re not just keeping up but setting the pace.

The Dark Side of Word-of-Mouth. The invisible conversations shaping your brand’s future. Most hospitality brand wants to go viral and be recognised globally. But the most powerful stories about your brand don’t live online. They happen in the dark: - in WhatsApp groups between friends, - in quiet DMs, - in the whispered “you have to stay there next time.” That’s dark social, the invisible layer of influence shaping most guest decisions. And here’s the truth: You can’t buy it, measure it, or fake it. We track visibility, impressions, and reach, but what drives loyalty is credibility. And credibility lives in private spaces where trust, not targeting, decides who wins. A single message, “they really looked after us”, can outperform a six-figure campaign. Because it’s emotional. It’s personal. It’s real. If we believe hospitality is about human connection, why do we only measure the connections we can see? — Dark social is hospitality’s invisible ROI. Every act of care: - the unscripted conversation, - the team member who anticipates without asking, - the 'surprise & delight' moment that was made just for them. They become a story guests carry home. Not to post, but to share, privately, with the people who trust them most. You can’t track it in analytics. But you’ll see it in repeat guests, silent advocates, and bookings that say “a friend told me.” — So how do we design for invisible influence? 1. Engineer emotional triggers, not marketing moments: Build shareability into the experience, not the ad. A beautifully plated dish, a scent at check-in, or a quiet act of service can spark more private advocacy than any post. 2. Capture stories, not content. After every stay, ask: “What’s a moment you’d tell a friend about?” Those raw answers are your most valuable marketing insight, a mirror of what people actually remember. 3. Reward the whisperers. Not influencers, but informers, the regular who keeps bringing friends, the corporate traveler who quietly books ten more rooms. Find subtle ways to acknowledge and surprise them. 4. Design for frictionless sharing. Make it easy for guests to privately share what they love, a digital postcard, a QR-driven “wish you were here” moment, or an invitation link to a friend. 5. Measure emotional velocity. Not just how far your campaign travels, but how deeply it lands. Ask guests not “how did you hear about us?” but “who told you about us?” — Closing Thoughts: The next wave of hospitality growth won’t come from who shouts the loudest. It’ll come from who’s talked about quietly, in the places data can’t see, or reach. Because invisible stories create visible growth. You just have to start listening in the dark. #LuxuryHospitality #HospitalityLeadership #BrandStrategy #GuestExperience #DarkSocial #InvisibleInfluence

The biggest opportunity we’ll see in our hospitality careers is here. And forward-thinking operators are already building their moats with 100K+ follower audiences and driving 80%+ direct bookings. Maybe we weren't around for the online booking or mobile revolutions, but we're here early for this one… Social media is transforming from a branding tool into a hotel’s most powerful booking engine. The good news is we’re still in the early adopter phase. Geoffrey Moore's "Crossing the Chasm" framework explains exactly where we are: Innovators:  The remote, Instagram-famous properties who pioneered social-first marketing years ago. Early Adopters (Where We Are Now):  Forward-thinking operators recognizing the opportunity before the masses. Early Majority:  The approaching wave–mainstream properties that will adopt these strategies once they're undoubtedly proven. Late Majority:  Traditional operators who will reluctantly follow when they have no choice. Laggards:  Those who may never adapt and will likely struggle to survive. The chasm between early adopters and the early majority represents your greatest opportunity. This early adopter advantage creates compounding results: - Content that builds value over time, unlike ads that stop working when you stop paying - Audiences that become increasingly loyal to your property - Dramatically decreased customer acquisition costs - 70-80%+ Direct booking percentages, saving 15%+ on OTA fees So what's holding most properties back? Attribution blindness. At Onera, our analytics initially showed social driving less than 2% of bookings. But when we asked guests directly? Over 60% found us through Instagram. Without reliable tracking, most hotels refuse to go all-in on social. They remain stuck in outdated approaches: - Posting staged photos nobody engages with - Using social channels for occasional announcements - Treating content as a branding exercise rather than a booking engine And that’s our biggest moat. But it won’t last forever… Once legacy operators see the true ROI of investing in social media: - High quality, engaging content will be table stakes - Content will require an even larger investment to achieve the same results The only question is: Will you be among the 1% who seize this opportunity now?  Or will you join the 99% playing catch-up once the revolution becomes obvious to everyone?

Our guests aren’t just watching, they’re engaging. In the past year, Alila Ventana Big Sur generated 35M organic impressions, 95K saves, and 51K shares. That’s not just reach, that’s relevance. Those numbers show that when you build content that feels authentic and aspirational, people don’t just scroll past, they choose to keep it, send it, and make it part of their own story. The strategy isn’t complicated, but it is intentional: -Consistency over campaigns: Social isn’t something we “turn on” when we need a booking bump. It’s woven into our guest journey. -Storytelling over sales: We resist the urge to push rates and packages, and instead spotlight experiences, perspectives, and moments that people actually want to connect with. -Community over clout: Having the largest social media audience in Hyatt is flattering, but the real value is in building a community that drives commercial results. Social media is not “top-of-funnel fluff.” It’s one of the strongest commercial levers a hotel can have when it’s done with intention. (Link in comments👇🏼) J/PR Hyatt Alila Hotels