How honest should hotels be in their marketing? Does it pay to overpromise on views, pools, and amenities?
By Kathleen Kubota
Sr. Director of Integrated Marketing, Screenfire
Every hotel wants to put its best foot forward. Beautiful photography, compelling copy, and polished branding are all part of effective marketing. But the most expensive mistake a hotel can make isn’t having an outdated website or a small advertising budget. It’s creating expectations the guest experience can’t consistently deliver.
Every photo, room description, and social media post makes a promise. When guests arrive and that promise matches or exceeds reality, you’ve earned their trust. When it falls short, the hotel pays the price through disappointed guests, negative reviews, fewer repeat visits, and a damaged reputation.
The goal of great hotel marketing isn’t to convince everyone to book. It’s to help the right guests choose your property with confidence, knowing exactly what to expect.
1. Don’t Make Average Amenities the Star
Every hotel has amenities. Not every amenity deserves to be the hero of your marketing.
I’ve seen hotels devote prime real estate on their homepage to a swimming pool that was perfectly pleasant but hardly the reason guests chose the property. Meanwhile, the spacious rooms, exceptional service, walkable location, or historic character, the very things guests consistently loved, were buried several scrolls down the page.
Lead with what truly sets your hotel apart. Guests will appreciate an honest portrayal of your property’s greatest strengths.
2. Don’t Oversell the View
Room descriptions matter because they shape expectations long before a guest arrives.
If your “ocean view” room requires guests to lean over the balcony and look between two buildings to catch a glimpse of water, call it a partial ocean view. If your rooms overlook a peaceful courtyard, celebrate that instead.
3. Don’t Hide Fees
Truth-telling extends beyond photography and copy. It includes every part of the booking experience.
Unexpected parking fees, resort fees, pet fees, or mandatory charges discovered late in the reservation process immediately erode trust. The same is true when room descriptions leave out important details about size, layout, bed configuration, or accessibility.
Clear expectations create confident guests. Transparency builds trust before they ever arrive.
4. Don’t Use Photos From Ten Years Ago
Professional photography should present your hotel in its best light, but it should also reflect the experience guests will have today.
If your property is beginning to show its age, don’t rely on old images that no longer represent what guests will find when they arrive. Instead, invest in fresh photography that honestly showcases your hotel’s best features. Beautiful lighting, thoughtful staging, and professional composition can present an older property attractively without creating unrealistic expectations.
In my experience, guests are usually forgiving of an older property. What disappoints them isn’t its age. It’s feeling misled.
5. Don’t Promise a Luxury Experience if You’re Selling Value
Not every hotel is a luxury resort, and that’s perfectly okay.
A boutique hotel should celebrate its personality. A historic property should embrace its character. A limited-service hotel can stand out by emphasizing value, cleanliness, convenience, or location.
Trying to be something you’re not rarely attracts the right guests. Showcasing what makes your property genuinely special does.
6. Honesty Matters Most During Renovations
One lesson I’ve learned from marketing hotels is that guests are surprisingly understanding when they know what to expect.
I’ve worked with several hotels undergoing major renovations, and guests were generally very forgiving when we communicated openly. If there would be construction noise from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., we said so. If parking was temporarily limited, we explained the alternatives. If the restaurant was closed, we recommended nearby dining options.
Guests are far more forgiving of an inconvenience than they are of an unpleasant surprise.
The Bottom Line
Take a fresh look at your website and marketing through the eyes of a first-time guest. Are you highlighting your property’s genuine strengths? Are you setting realistic expectations? Will the experience guests have match the promise your marketing is making?
Great hotel marketing doesn’t exaggerate. It creates confidence. When your marketing accurately reflects the experience you consistently deliver, guests arrive with realistic expectations and often leave even more impressed than they anticipated.
The strongest hotel brands aren’t built on clever advertising. They’re built on promises kept.
Need help evaluating your hotel’s marketing? Learn more about our hotel marketing experts, and contact Screenfire for a complimentary review of your website and online presence.
All the best, Kathleen
About the author: Kathleen Kubota is a strategic leader with deep expertise in directing integrated marketing and digital ecosystems. Prior to joining Screenfire, Kathleen spent more than a decade with the San Diego Tourism Authority. She has also held senior marketing leadership roles at Town and Country Resort, the historic Hotel del Coronado in San Diego, and Miramonte Resort and Spa. She is a graduate of the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business.
