How to Advertise in Hotels
Key Takeaways
Hotel advertising reaches guests, tourists, business travellers and event visitors in moments where they are already planning, spending or making local decisions.
The strongest campaigns match the hotel setting, guest profile and stage of the stay, from lobby screens and room media to concierge partnerships and nearby OOH.
One Day Agency can help brands plan hotel advertising across place-based OOH, digital screens, travel media, local campaigns and wider digital activity.
Hotel advertising gives brands access to people while they are staying, travelling, attending meetings or exploring a destination. To advertise in hotels effectively, you need to think about the guest journey, not just the media format. A person arriving at reception, waiting for a lift, relaxing in a room or asking for local recommendations will respond to different messages.
Hotels are useful advertising environments because they combine dwell time, intent and location. Guests may be looking for restaurants, events, transport, attractions, retail, wellness services or business solutions. A well-placed campaign can guide those decisions at the right moment.
At One Day Agency, hotel campaigns can be planned through place-based advertising, digital OOH, out-of-home advertising, local advertising, airport advertising, media buying and paid social.
Why Hotels Are Valuable Advertising Spaces
Hotels bring together audiences who are often away from their usual routine. That can make them more open to recommendations, offers and local experiences. A guest may need a restaurant that evening, a taxi to the airport, a retail destination, a theatre booking, a spa treatment or a business service during their stay.
The value of hotel advertising comes from context. A travel brand, luxury retailer, local attraction, food and drink business or business service can reach people in a setting where the message feels practical rather than random.
PwC’s UK Hotels Forecast 2025 to 2026 describes a hotel market facing selective resilience, with demand expected to be more cautious but still supported by travel patterns, corporate demand and visitor activity. For advertisers, that means hotel environments remain useful, but campaigns should be targeted carefully rather than planned as broad generic exposure.
Understand the Guest Journey
A hotel stay has several stages, and each one creates a different advertising opportunity. Arrival is often about orientation and reassurance. The lobby and reception area are useful for simple, high-visibility messages. Lift areas and corridors can create repeated exposure. In-room media can support longer dwell time, while concierge and local guide placements can influence what guests do next.
A campaign should be planned around where the guest is in their stay. A restaurant ad may work well near reception or in a room guide. A luxury retail message may suit a premium hotel lobby. A theatre, exhibition or attraction campaign may be most effective when guests are planning their day.
The key is to make the message feel helpful. Hotel guests are often making short-term decisions, so advertising should give them a reason to act while they are still nearby.
Choose the Right Hotel Type
Not every hotel audience is the same. A city business hotel, airport hotel, luxury resort, serviced apartment and budget property can all attract very different guests. The media choice should reflect the type of hotel and the reason people are staying there.
For example, an airport hotel may suit travel insurance, car hire, airport lounges, food delivery, taxi services and business travel brands. A luxury hotel may be better for premium retail, jewellery, watches, dining, culture and private services. A conference hotel can be useful for B2B, recruitment, software and professional services.
Useful hotel environments include city hotels, airport hotels, boutique hotels, luxury hotels, serviced apartments, resorts, conference hotels and aparthotels. The best choice depends on the audience, budget and campaign goal.
For travel-focused campaigns, transport advertising can help extend the message before and after the hotel stay, while this guide on international airport campaigns explains how brands can advertise in airports when targeting travellers at scale.
Pick Formats That Match the Setting
Hotel advertising can appear in several places, from high-impact lobby screens to more practical in-room and local guide placements. The right format depends on how much attention the message needs and what action the advertiser wants guests to take.
Common hotel advertising formats include:
Lobby digital screens
Reception displays
Lift screens
In-room TV advertising
Room key card branding
Printed room guides
Concierge desk materials
Leaflet racks
WiFi landing pages
Event and conference signage
Sampling and brand partnerships
Digital screens are useful when the campaign needs movement, premium visuals or flexible messaging. Printed materials can still work when guests are actively looking for local recommendations. In-room media can create longer engagement, especially for entertainment, travel, food delivery and destination-based services.
Culture Calling reported a 2025 digital display opportunity across foyers of 4 and 5-star London hotels, designed to reach high-spending visitors and tourists as they plan their itinerary. That is a good example of why the hotel environment can work for brands connected to local discovery and visitor spending.
How to Advertise in Hotels
Make the Message Fit the Stay
Hotel guests are often in a practical mindset. They may be tired from travel, preparing for a meeting, planning an evening out or deciding how to spend a free afternoon. The creative should respect that moment.
A strong hotel ad should be clear, polished and easy to act on. It should not feel disruptive. Short copy, strong branding, a useful benefit and a simple next step will usually work better than a crowded message.
A restaurant might use a nearby offer with a booking QR code. A theatre campaign might highlight tonight’s availability. A retail brand might point guests to a flagship store. A business service might promote a short consultation or event registration.
Connect Hotel Advertising With Local Digital Activity
Hotel advertising becomes more effective when it is supported by digital channels. A guest may see a lobby screen, search the brand later, scan a QR code, click a paid social ad or visit the website before making a decision.
This is especially useful for attractions, restaurants, luxury retail, travel services and business events. The hotel placement creates awareness at the right location, while digital media makes it easier to act.
Useful digital support can include PPC, paid social, local search, programmatic display, QR-led landing pages, retargeting and location-specific offers. For measurement and campaign planning, One Day’s guide on how to measure OOH advertising can help connect place-based exposure with search, traffic and conversions.
Plan Around Seasonality and Guest Demand
Hotel advertising should be timed around travel demand, local events and guest behaviour. A campaign linked to summer tourism, Christmas shopping, a conference, a sports event or a theatre season may need very different planning windows.
VisitBritain forecasts 45.5 million inbound visits to the UK in 2026, with international visitors expected to spend £35.7 billion. That projected growth gives advertisers a clear reason to think about hotels as part of travel, retail, leisure and destination campaigns.
Hotel performance also changes by region and event calendar. CoStar data showed UK hotel RevPAR increased by 1.2% in the first quarter of 2026, with occupancy flat and regional markets supported by events in cities such as Glasgow, Manchester, Cardiff and Birmingham. For advertisers, this points to the value of planning hotel media around specific cities, dates and demand drivers.
Check Permissions and Brand Fit
Hotels are brand-sensitive environments. Any advertising needs to match the quality, guest profile and rules of the property. A luxury hotel may have stricter creative standards than a budget hotel. A conference hotel may prioritise professional or business-friendly messaging.
Before booking hotel media, check the creative requirements, category restrictions, approval process, artwork deadlines, placement locations, screen specifications and any guest data or privacy rules. If the campaign uses QR codes, WiFi pages or digital tracking, the experience should be transparent and compliant.
The guest experience should come first. A hotel ad should add value, point guests towards something useful or support the atmosphere of the property. If it feels intrusive, it is unlikely to help the brand.
Measure the Campaign
Measurement depends on the format and campaign goal. A local attraction may track QR scans and ticket sales. A restaurant may measure bookings from a hotel-specific code. A travel brand may track search uplift and website visits. A B2B event campaign may focus on registrations and lead quality.
Useful measurement methods include QR scans, unique landing pages, promo codes, booking codes, website visits, branded search uplift, footfall, sales by location, enquiry forms, app downloads and post-campaign reporting.
For broader context on outdoor and place-based media, this guide explains what OOH advertising means and how location-based formats support different campaign goals.
“Hotel advertising works when the message feels like part of the guest journey. The strongest campaigns understand why people are staying there, what they need next and how to make the action simple.” - Shelby Davis, Senior Growth Manager, One Day Agency
How One Day Agency Can Help
At One Day Agency, we plan hotel advertising as part of wider place-based, travel and local media campaigns. We help brands choose the right hotel environments, formats, creative approach and digital support based on the audience and objective.
For travel, retail, leisure, hospitality, culture and B2B brands, hotel media can create useful visibility at a moment when people are actively making decisions. Our team can also connect hotel advertising with search, paid social, programmatic and local OOH so the campaign does not rely on one touchpoint alone.
References
PwC: UK Hotels Forecast 2025 to 2026
VisitBritain: 2026 Inbound Tourism Forecast
CoStar: UK Hotel RevPAR Performance in Q1 2026
Culture Calling: London Hotels Digital Display Advertising Opportunity
FAQs
How do you advertise in hotels?
To advertise in hotels, define the target guest, choose suitable hotel types, select formats such as lobby screens, in-room media or concierge materials, prepare approved creative, book the media and measure performance through scans, bookings, traffic or sales.
What advertising formats are available in hotels?
Formats can include lobby screens, reception displays, lift screens, in-room TV, room key cards, printed guides, WiFi landing pages, leaflet racks, event signage and sampling opportunities.
What brands should advertise in hotels?
Hotel advertising can work for restaurants, attractions, theatres, luxury retail, travel brands, airport services, car hire, business services, events, wellness brands and local experiences.
Is hotel advertising useful for tourists?
Yes. Hotel advertising can be effective for tourists because guests are often looking for places to visit, eat, shop and explore during their stay.
How can hotel advertising be measured?
It can be measured through QR scans, booking codes, promo codes, landing page visits, branded search uplift, ticket sales, enquiries, app downloads and location-based reporting.
