In the past few weeks, the Ryder Cup was announced for Ireland in 2026, a record-breaking 8.6 billion Brits stayed in the UK for their bank holiday break, and most notably the Tipperary Hurling Team snagged an all Ireland win in Croke Park.
And of course, digital marketing has continued to evolve for the hospitality industry. Take a look at our round-up of the most notable changes.
1. Schedule posts in Facebook Creator Studio
Facebook is now allowing both Instagram and Facebook posts to be scheduled in their Creator Studio. This update is slowly being rolled out to all accounts, and unlike many third-party tools allows multiple images per post.
2. Customise Hotel Amenities in Google my Business
Hotels can now add custom amenities to their Google listing, instead of having this pulled directly from their website. This is part of a wider move on Google’s part, to give hotels more control over the information listed for their brands.
3. Find even more ads in the Google Search Results
Google added even more ads to their search results (again). They’re now testing out text ads in the local pack. The three-pack of local Google my Business listings used to provide hotels with much needed organic visibility, and now features adverts throughout. This stresses the need to have an adequate Google Ads budget to remain visible in the SERPs.
4. Save your hotel reservations to Google Maps
Google now allows users to save and access their flight and hotel reservations to Google Maps. They’ve made multiple changes to this tool in 2019, centering it in the user journey. Make the most of this by ensuring your Google my Business listing has accurate location and contact info, with up to date photos and review responses.
Browse Google’s launch notes here.
5. Retire average position with Google Ads
The average position metric currently shows where ads rank in the Google Search Results. However, Google is sunsetting this metric, in favour of concentrating on ad impression share – i.e how many times adverts shown for potential searches. This will disappear from digital marketing reports in September.
6. Create Bumper ads with Google
6-second bumper ads are the best video format for many hotel advertisers. These unskippable clips are great for brand awareness and are about to become more accessible to the travel industry. Google is launching a ‘Bumper Machine’ to allow hotels to cut down their longer video assets.
7. Write shorter ads for Facebook
Starting in late August, Facebook is displaying shorter ad formats on mobile. The update is designed to make it easier to quickly scroll through news feeds, making short, snappy ads essential. Only 3 lines of text will be displayed, with users required to click ‘See More’ to continue reading.
Read more info from Facebook here.
If you’d like further information on any of the changes mentioned above or if you’d like help with your hotel’s digital strategy please contact a member of the team.
