FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Hospitality Marketing FAQs
General Hospitality Marketing Questions
A hospitality marketing agency specialises in digital marketing for hotels, restaurants, bars, pubs, and event venues. Unlike general agencies, we understand the unique challenges of hospitality — seasonal demand, booking platform integrations, table management systems, and the customer journey from online search to in-venue experience. Our campaigns are built to drive measurable outcomes like direct bookings, table reservations, function enquiries, and event ticket sales.
General agencies spread their expertise across dozens of industries. A hospitality specialist already knows your booking systems (like ResDiary, SevenRooms, SiteMinder), understands your seasonal patterns, and has proven campaign templates for your exact business type. At Merge, we’ve delivered over 3,000 hospitality campaigns across 18 years — that means faster setup, fewer mistakes, and strategies that are proven to work in your industry.
It depends on the channel. Google Ads can drive enquiries within the first week of launching. Social media advertising typically shows strong results within 2–4 weeks as campaigns optimise. SEO is a longer-term investment — you’ll usually see meaningful ranking improvements within 3–6 months, with compounding returns over time.
We work with hospitality businesses of all sizes — from single-location restaurants and boutique hotels to national hotel groups and multi-venue operators like Solotel and Colonial Leisure Group. Our strategies are tailored to your budget and goals, whether you’re a neighbourhood pub looking to fill midweek covers or a resort driving direct bookings across multiple properties.
Services & Pricing
We offer a full suite of digital marketing services tailored for hospitality: Google Ads management, social media marketing (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn), search engine optimisation (SEO), website design and development, email marketing, photography and videography, and Google Hotel Ads management for accommodation providers.
Our management fees typically start from $1,500 per month, depending on the scope of services and number of platforms. Media spend (the budget that goes directly to Google or Meta for ads) is separate and varies by business type — restaurants may start from $1,500–3,000/month in ad spend, while hotels and large venues often invest $5,000–15,000/month. We’ll recommend a budget based on your goals and competitive landscape during our initial consultation.
We offer flexible engagement terms. While we recommend a minimum 3-month commitment to allow campaigns to properly optimise and deliver meaningful data, we don’t lock clients into 12-month contracts. Our retention rate speaks for itself — most clients stay with us for years because the results justify the investment.
Yes. We design and build high-converting, mobile-responsive websites specifically for hospitality businesses. Our websites are built to drive bookings — with integrated reservation systems, function enquiry forms, event calendars, and menu displays. We also handle ongoing website maintenance and updates.
Google Ads, SEO & Social Media
Google Ads places your venue at the top of search results when potential customers are actively searching for what you offer — “restaurants near me,” “wedding venues Brisbane,” or “hotels in Gold Coast.” You only pay when someone clicks your ad. We structure campaigns by intent type (brand protection, high-intent search, competitor targeting) and optimise for conversions like bookings and enquiries, not just clicks.
For most hospitality businesses, Instagram and Facebook deliver the strongest results. Instagram excels at visual storytelling — food photography, venue tours, event highlights — while Facebook’s targeting and lead generation tools are powerful for function venue enquiries and event promotion. For hotels targeting corporate travellers or MICE business, LinkedIn can also be highly effective.
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) improves your venue’s visibility in organic Google results for searches like “best restaurants in [suburb],” “function venues near me,” and “hotels in [city].” Unlike paid ads, organic rankings don’t cost per click — once you rank on page one, you receive ongoing free traffic. SEO also builds your venue’s authority in Google’s AI Overviews and other AI search platforms, which are increasingly how customers discover hospitality businesses.
If you’re an accommodation provider competing with OTAs (Booking.com, Expedia), Google Hotel Ads is one of the most effective ways to drive direct bookings. Your rates appear directly in Google Search and Maps alongside OTA prices, and guests can book directly with you — saving you the 15–25% OTA commission. We manage Google Hotel Ads as part of our hotel marketing service.
Campaign Performance & Benchmarks
Based on our benchmarks from 3,000+ Australian hospitality campaigns, top-performing hotel campaigns achieve a 5x ROAS or higher — meaning every $1 in ad spend generates $5+ in direct booking revenue. Industry data from Varos shows the median hotel ROAS on Google Ads reaches 15.19x for well-optimised accounts, while Meta Ads delivers a median of 4.83x. Campaigns between 2x–3x need audience and creative review, and anything below 2x requires a comprehensive audit of the entire booking funnel. Our 5x+ threshold works as a reliable floor across all property tiers.
A cost per booking under $10 represents strong restaurant campaign performance, according to our dining campaign benchmarks. The $10–$20 range is acceptable but worth optimising. Above $20 per booking typically signals friction in the reservation process — complex forms, poor mobile experience, or tracking issues. These benchmarks apply when you have booking engine tracking through platforms like SevenRooms, NowBookit, ResDiary, or OpenTable. When booking tracking isn’t available, we use Link CTR as a proxy, targeting 1.6%+ as strong performance.
Strong function venue campaigns generate enquiries at under $30 per lead, whether for weddings, corporate events, conferences, or private functions. The $30–$40 range needs creative and targeting attention, while above $40 requires a full-funnel audit. 42.6% of event planners say timely proposals are their biggest venue sourcing challenge (Cvent, 2026), so speed of follow-up matters as much as lead cost. See our full hospitality marketing benchmarks for the complete breakdown by campaign type.
We use specific benchmarks for each campaign type rather than generic industry averages. Hotels should target 5x+ ROAS, restaurants under $10 per booking, and function venues under $30 per lead. The travel industry averages an 8.73% Google Ads CTR — the highest of any sector (WordStream, 2025) — but these broad numbers don’t tell you if your specific campaign is working. Our detailed benchmarks guide breaks down performance thresholds by venue type, with green/orange/red flags for every metric.
86% of travellers have used AI to find or book accommodation, and 84% say they’re more likely to book a property recommended by an AI assistant (TakeUp AI, 2025). AI Overviews now appear in 13% of Google searches, and voice queries like “hotels near me” have grown 500% in two years. For hospitality businesses, this means your website content needs to be structured so AI systems can find and cite it. We cover the full impact in our hospitality marketing benchmarks article, including what you should do about it.
Which Marketing Channel Is Right for Your Venue?
Different hospitality businesses need different channel mixes. This comparison uses data from our hospitality marketing benchmarks and sourced industry statistics to help you decide where to invest.
| Channel | Best For | Typical ROAS / ROI | Time to Results | Key Cost Metric |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Ads (Search) | Hotels, function venues, high-intent searches | 5x–15x for hotels (Varos); 8.73% CTR — highest of any industry (WordStream, 2025) | 1–2 weeks | Avg CPC $2.12, 5.75% conversion rate (WordStream) |
| Meta Ads (Facebook & Instagram) | Restaurants, events, visual venues, lifestyle content | 4.83x median for hotels (Varos); 2.79x all-industry median (Triple Whale, 2025) | 2–4 weeks | Restaurant CPC $0.85, CPM $8.75 (Mesha/CUFinder, 2025) |
| SEO | All venues — long-term compounding returns | 10–20x+ over time; “near me” searches drive ~50% of restaurant organic traffic | 3–6 months | Fixed monthly management fee; no per-click cost |
| Google Hotel Ads | Accommodation providers competing with OTAs | 8–15x; saves 15–25% vs OTA commission (HotelsSEO, 2026) | 1–2 weeks | Commission-based; hotels retain 94.87% of direct revenue (Punch Hospitality) |
| Email Marketing | Repeat guests, loyalty, upselling | $36 return per $1 spent (Siteminder); loyal guests spend 22.4% more per stay | Ongoing | Low — platform fee only; highest ROI channel for retention |
Sources: Varos (April 2025), WordStream (Apr 2024–Mar 2025), Triple Whale (2025), Mesha/CUFinder (2025), HotelsSEO (2026), Punch Hospitality/Revinate, Siteminder.
For full benchmark tables with green/orange/red performance thresholds by venue type, see our complete hospitality marketing benchmarks guide.
Getting Started
Simply complete the enquiry form below or call us on 1300 814 200. We’ll schedule a discovery call to understand your business, goals, and current marketing activity. From there, we’ll prepare a tailored proposal with recommended strategies, channels, and pricing.
To get started, we’ll need access to your existing ad accounts (Google Ads, Meta Business Suite), Google Analytics, and your website CMS. We’ll also want to understand your target audience, average booking values, seasonal patterns, and any past marketing data. Don’t worry if you don’t have everything — we’ll guide you through the onboarding process.
We track the metrics that matter to your business: bookings, reservations, function enquiries, phone calls, and revenue. You’ll receive monthly performance reports with clear data on campaign performance, cost per acquisition, return on ad spend (ROAS), and actionable recommendations. We also set up proper conversion tracking so every lead and booking is attributed to the right channel.
We service hospitality businesses across all of Australia. While our head office is in Brisbane, we have team members in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, and the Gold Coast. We work with clients in every state and territory — from capital city venues to regional resorts and coastal destinations. All our services are delivered digitally, so location is never a barrier.
Still Have Questions?
Get in touch and we'll answer any questions about your hospitality marketing.