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How Travel Marketing Needs to Change Post-Pandemic

Travel was altered significantly by the COVID-19 pandemic and, even with far-away locales opening their doors to travelers once again, the industry is going to have to adapt to cater to a new brand of consumer. But how? Marilee Kostadimas, CMP, DMCP, Founder & Creative Director of Spotlight Sojourns, shared some front-line insights about how…

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Travel was altered significantly by the COVID-19 pandemic and, even with far-away locales opening their doors to travelers once again, the industry is going to have to adapt to cater to a new brand of consumer.

But how?

Marilee Kostadimas, CMP, DMCP, Founder & Creative Director of Spotlight Sojourns, shared some front-line insights about how travel marketing needs to change post-pandemic and the role of storytelling in the future of travel marketing.

“Well, through these unprecedented times, we’ve come to know what matters and what doesn’t. And, now, we want meaningful travel, because we’ve changed.

And so has travel. Travel marketing needs to change from less transactional mass messaging to get maximum heads in beds to emotional, personal engagement to build relationships.

What is the role of storytelling in the future of travel marketing? Well, studies show that consumers and, therefore, travelers buy on emotion, and storytelling stirs emotion.

It sparks inspiration, motivates action, and creates connection. So, storytelling holds profound power for the future of travel marketing in engaging the audience who can connect personally to the story and picture themselves in your destination, on your property, [interacting with] your brand.

Ultimately, storytelling enhances your messaging, and stories enrich the meaning.”

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More Hospitality Insights

More than half of hotels are still short-staffed despite 70% raising pay

More than half of hotels are still short-staffed despite 70% raising pay

AHLA's March 2026 survey of 246 hotel owners found more than half understaffed even though 70% are offering higher wages. Cost of goods and supplies (71%) outranked labor costs (65%) as the most cited financial pressure.

  • 01Cost of goods and supplies (71%) outranked labor costs (65%) among hotel owners' most frequently cited financial pressures in AHLA's 2026 survey.
  • 02Higher wages are offered by 70% of surveyed hotels; a separate AHLA and Hireology survey fielded between Dec. 6, 2024, and Jan. 3, 2025, put that figure at 47%.
  • 03Some 39% of owners expect 2026 demand to remain relatively stable compared with 2025, 29% expect it to be somewhat stronger and only 6% expect it to be much stronger.

Sep 14, 2026

65% of North American hotels reported staffing shortages in 2025 as AI moves into ops

65% of North American hotels reported staffing shortages in 2025 as AI moves into ops

A BCG and NYU SPS analysis says 65% of North American hotels reported staffing shortages in 2025. Labor costs rose 11.2% year over year. The report says hotel discovery is shifting to AI assistants, pushing operators to build machine-readable content and integrated data.

  • 01If AI assistants surface only a short list of hotels, content and rate shopping shifts from “best page” SEO to “best answer” data hygiene across channels.
  • 02The biggest blocker to scaling AI in hotels is still plumbing: nearly half of hoteliers report difficulty accessing critical business information, according to Hotel Management.
  • 03Operational AI claims can be tested quickly: housekeeping cycle time and food waste are already instrumented at many brands, so baselines and reporting cadence can be set in the statement of work before deploying.

Sep 13, 2026

Hotels Face Branded-Search Interception as Google Reshapes Booking

Hotels Face Branded-Search Interception as Google Reshapes Booking

Hospitality Technology reported that third-party sites bidding on hotel brand names can intercept guests before they reach a hotel's own checkout, citing Operto research. The outlet also reported that Choice Hotels enabled native checkout inside Google AI Mode while Hilton routes AI-driven searches back to Hilton.com to complete bookings.

  • 01Hospitality Technology cited Operto research finding that a competing third-party ad appears on roughly three-quarters of branded hotel searches, with an average of nine such sites bidding on a given hotel's name
  • 02The same report attributed roughly 8% of direct-booking loss to this interception, noting these bookings can be misclassified as ordinary OTA business in PMS reports
  • 03Choice Hotels announced a Google AI Mode integration allowing guests to complete bookings via Google Pay without leaving Google, according to Choice Hotels' own announcement

Sep 11, 2026

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