"Recommend a quiet hotel near the beach in Rimini, suitable for a family with two kids, with parking." More and more travellers ask questions like this not to Google, but to ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity or Claude. And they get an answer naming three or four hotels.
Is your hotel one of them? That's what GEO for hotels is about: Generative Engine Optimization — the work of getting your hotel understood, cited and recommended by generative AI systems.
Why it matters now
The use of AI for travel planning has grown rapidly. Several 2025–2026 surveys suggest a significant share of travellers — around 40% globally, and more among younger people — already use AI tools at some stage of planning. At the same time, trust in letting AI book autonomously is still low: most people use AI for recommendations and then book themselves.
That means AI is becoming a new discovery point, much as Google and OTAs once were. Hotels that get recommended have an advantage.
SEO vs GEO: what changes
| SEO | GEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Appear in Google results | Be cited or recommended in AI answers |
| What users see | A list of links | A written answer with a few names |
| Sources | Indexed pages | Web pages, profiles, reviews, OTAs, structured data |
| Measurement | Fairly established | Still partial |
The good news: the foundations are the same. Google itself explains that to appear in its AI features (AI Overviews and AI Mode) the usual SEO best practices apply, with no special technical requirements. A clear website, useful content and consistent information help both SEO and GEO.
How AI systems "know" a hotel
Put simply, AI assistants build their answers using:
- what they learned during training (public text on the web);
- real-time web searches, when that feature is on;
- structured sources: profiles like Google's, OTAs, maps, reviews.
To be recommended, your hotel must be present, clearly described and consistent across these sources.
What you can do right now
- A website that clearly explains who you are: location, hotel type, who it's for, amenities, distances. Explicit sentences, not just slogans. See what information to publish to help AI assistants understand your hotel.
- Real FAQs: the questions guests actually ask, with precise answers. See FAQs on your hotel website: which guest questions deserve an answer.
- Consistency everywhere: the same data on your website, Google, OTAs and Tripadvisor. See how to keep hotel information consistent across website, OTAs and maps.
- Detail-rich reviews: guests mentioning "perfect for families", "easy parking", "near the beach" help AI understand who you're right for.
- Structured data on your website (schema.org for hotels), consistent with visible content.
- Don't block the crawlers you care about: check your robots.txt file.
- Useful destination content that can be cited as a source.
What not to do
- create keyword-stuffed content "for AI": it doesn't work and makes your site worse;
- trust a supplier who "guarantees" you'll appear in ChatGPT: nobody can guarantee it;
- neglect SEO and your Google profile: they're still the foundation of everything.
How to tell if AI knows you
You can run simple tests: ask AI assistants to describe your hotel or recommend hotels in your area for different guest types. See how to check whether ChatGPT and other AI assistants know your hotel.
Frequently asked questions
Does GEO replace SEO?
No. GEO builds on SEO: without a clear, indexed, authoritative website, it's hard to be cited by AI. They're two sides of the same work.
Do I need special markup to appear in Google's AI Overviews?
Google states no special markup is needed. SEO best practices apply: useful content, indexable pages, structured data consistent with visible text.
How long until I see results?
It's hard to say, and measurement is still partial. But work on your website, profiles and information consistency is useful straight away for SEO and for guests too.
Want AI to know and recommend your hotel?
GEO is one of AI Hotel Agency's services. With our free marketing audit we check how AI assistants describe your hotel and what to improve on your website, profiles and content.
Sources: Google Search Central – AI features and your website; 2025–2026 surveys on AI use in travel planning.
