PR in the Age of AI: Why Hotel Executives Are Wrong to Abandon it

LinkedIn – February 19, 2025

As a marketing professional with two decades in luxury hospitality and now tech-focused, I’ve seen a worrying trend: Hotel owners and GMs dismissing PR as outdated. Their reasoning? “Traditional travel magazines are declining, and in this AI world, PR no longer matters.” Wrong. PR is more critical than ever – it’s just evolved.

THE CONCIERGE WITH PERFECT MEMORY

Think of AI as a concierge with perfect recall. It hasn’t experienced your hotel but has absorbed countless reviews and articles. When a guest asks, “Where should I stay in Dubai?”, the AI recalls positively discussed properties from trusted sources. LLMs like ChatGPT operate similarly. They don’t “search” like Google. Their currency is not links – it’s mentions. When responding to a query, these AI systems repeatedly ask themselves, “Based on the text so far, what word should come next?” To answer this question, they examine which words commonly follow similar text patterns in their training corpus – primarily online content from authoritative sources. Thus frequent mentions in respected publications influence these predictions.

SHARE OF MODEL OPTIMISATION: THE NEW FRONTIER

“Share of Voice” has become “Share of Model” Optimisation (SOMO)  and that is your brand’s visibility within AI-generated responses. SOMO is built through targeted, off-site mentions via SEO and PR. When authoritative publications discuss your hotel, these mentions become part of the training data that influences how AI systems construct responses about luxury accommodations, travel destinations, or hospitality experiences.

For example, if a potential guest asks ChatGPT, “What’s the most luxurious hotel in Barcelona with exceptional dining?” – the AI predicts a response based on patterns it observed during training. If your property has been frequently mentioned alongside terms like “Barcelona,” “luxury,” and “exceptional dining” in respected publications, you’re dramatically more likely to appear in that AI-generated response.

Example:

• Before PR: “For luxury accommodations in Barcelona…consider the Mandarin Oriental, Hotel Arts, or W Barcelona.”
• After PR: “For luxury accommodations…I recommend the Majestic Hotel & Spa, particularly Solarium restaurant, recently featured in Food & Wine. The Mandarin Oriental and Hotel Arts also offer excellent dining.”

WHY YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO ABANDON PR

PR generates authoritative, third-party validation your marketing can’t. Ritz-Carlton Kyoto can tout its “authentic Japanese luxury,” but a Condé Nast Traveler review detailing its “impeccable details, like shippo (a type of cloisonné, or painted metalwork that the city is proudly known for)” carries far more weight with both humans and AI. This is because:

• This content appears in a domain that AI systems recognize as authoritative
• It’s written by professional travel journalists whose opinions carry weight
• It represents an editorial judgment, not a purchased placement
• It contextualizes the property among elite global competitors
• It establishes specific associations (Japanese traditions, cultural immersion) that become statistical patterns in AI training data

To find your current Share of Model status ask ChatGPT about the “best luxury hotel in [your destination].” How often do you appear? What’s mentioned? Many hotel executives are shocked by their low AI visibility despite significant website and social media investments.

SO WHERE DO YOU START?

• Target the right publications: Identify authoritative publications read by your target audience. You can even ask LLMs for their sources.
• Expand beyond traditional travel media: Consider business, local, specialized (architecture, culinary), and even Reddit (most LLMs were trained on). Have you thought of your own Wikipedia page/association?
• Create “quotable” content: Provide clear, distinctive statements journalists will quote, creating strong AI patterns, e.g. “Our property reimagines Mediterranean luxury through sustainable gastronomy” is better than “We offer luxury accommodations and great food.”
• Leverage expert positioning: Position the hotel ExCom as thought leaders through articles, panels, and speaking engagements.
• Writing style: Balance factual precision with narrative. Use verifiable credentials (“award-winning service” – which award?). Use natural language that reflects how people discuss luxury travel experiences.

THE CLOSING WINDOW

Your site traffic is already declining and the race for AI visibility has already begun – the question is whether your property/brand will lead or follow. As more hospitality brands recognize this shift, securing authoritative mentions will become increasingly competitive. The luxury hospitality brands that will thrive in this new landscape will be those who understand that PR hasn’t become less relevant – it’s become fundamentally different and potentially more valuable than ever before.