AI Marketing vs. $17.8B OTA budgets

📰 In This Issue

✔️ Google’s big hat in the AI ring
✔️ Smarter people’s thoughts on AI Search
✔️ RevTech 2025 - 13th August, Durbanville🎉
✔️ LOL!
✔️ Hotellab - big impact on revenue.

🌟 Spotlight: Innovative Tech of the Week

🔍 Pmax for travel goals – Yes, some of you already know about this, if that is you, skip😉

💡 Alex told me, Keep on feeding Google, and you will get results. Then came AI, and I thought, nah, this is where we get away from the big G! Some thoughts on how that is true for search here. However, when it comes to views, Google remains the behemoth that needs to be fed.

🚀 Lana Cook at Cloudbeds explains as follows:

“PMax uses AI to continuously optimize keywords, ad copy, channels, audience segments, budget allocations, bid placements, and make more accurate predictions about what elements perform best. 

This specialized version of PMax includes several features designed for hotels:

• Hotels can optimize for either return on ad spend or target CPA (cost per acquisition)

• Google’s AI applies travel-specific audience hints based on hotel attributes-such as location, amenities, and star rating-as well as guest data

• The system supports campaigns for up to 100 properties, providing performance metrics at both the hotel and campaign levels

• Ads display real-time room rates and availability

• The system continuously optimizes ads, bids, promotions, and audience segments based on performance data and user signals.”

There are a few agencies in South Africa that can help you set this up and run it for you on a Percentage split. I would recommend that the hotel marketing and revenue team take control of this, as it will force attention to detail on existing hotel content. Overall marketing strategy and how Revenue teams balance this with OTA commissions, STO rates, corporate rates, etc.

Luckily, we have an amazing solution to track all this information in a comprehensive dashboard for you😉 Hello Juyo.

📢 Industry Insights: Tourism & Tech News

📰 Last week, I wrote about AI search. I thought it might be a good idea for you to read from an experienced marketer with further detailed insights.

Rachel from Adcoto specializes in Marketing for hotels. Read her thoughts here

📊 Revtech 2025 on August 13th in Durbanville.
Register here for an insightful day on AI and Revenue

😂 Meme of the Week

🎯 Sponsored Ad

The impressive thing about Hotellab is that most of the team comes from hotel industry with hands-on experience.

I’ve known Niko, the commercial director and co-founder, for 5 years, and whenever we speak, it’s about direct bookings, balancing out OTAs, increasing revenue, and building great technology for hotels.

He’s a revenue manager who turned into a technology salesperson who is now a hotel owner. There are very few people in the world who understand revenue management as well as Niko.

📌 Final Thoughts & What’s Coming Next

✨ This will not be the last newsletter on AI.
🔮 Next week I’m at Revtech, will write all about it.
📩 Share with a hospitality friend.