GEO for Hotels: What’s Changing and What We’re Doing
By Euan Campbell, AI Specialist at Huckleberry
Generative Engines and LLMS are now part of search. Guests get straight answers on the results page. Assistants decide which facts to show. We’ve been on this for months, and hotels currently have a bit more runway. AI Overviews show up less here than in other sectors. For hotels that move first, there’s a real advantage: being the AI assistant's preferred source when guests are deciding.
What we’ve noticed
Across clients, organic traffic was ~30% down in the first months of 2025, even when rankings looked stable.
The first places to feel lighter were FAQs and practical info, then discovery queries (e.g., “spa hotel near…”, “best boutique hotel in…”). Branded held up.
Assistant referrals are rising. One property moved from ~70 ChatGPT referrals a month pre‑GEO to 144 and 259 in the next two months after we tightened facts and structure.
What this tells us: the simple, factual questions are being answered before a click. The visits that arrive tend to be deeper funnel.
The wider picture
Independent studies line up with what we’re seeing: search impressions up, CTR down since AI Overviews rolled out. Visibility is shifting from “rank to win a click” to “be present in the answer”. AI panels take a lot of screen space and appear more often; hospitality is lower than the global average for now, but trending up.
Zero-click is real: when a panel appears, a noticeable share of users finish there and only a small fraction click links inside. That’s why “obvious answers” pages feel lighter even when positions haven’t moved. Models also cite a wider pool of sources, including useful pages that aren’t top-ranked. Especially if these pages answer sub-questions cleanly and match trusted profiles.
Where GEO fits
If SEO helps people find and click your pages, GEO helps assistants pick and quote your facts. This means your hotel is the source inside the answer, not just another link beneath it. They work together: SEO is the base; GEO is the layer that gets you mentioned.
What’s happening to “zero-click” pages
Short, factual pages (check-in/out, parking, breakfast, spa hours) are exactly what AI summaries lift. That traffic hasn’t vanished; many of those queries are simply resolved earlier.
The upside: the visits that do come through skew warmer (dates, rates, stays). The job now is to keep those facts unambiguous, current and consistent wherever they’re read, so the answer people see is yours.
How AI is reshaping the upper funnel
Generative results expand discovery. Longer, messier queries such as:
“best for…”, “with a spa near…”, “family-friendly in…”
- are showing in AI Overviews more often. Assistants are building shortlists on the page. If your facts are neat and corroborated, you’re more likely to feature there, earlier in the journey. Not just your name, but the right details: room setups that actually sleep a family of four, real walking times, pool hours that matter after a late check-in. When those details line up across your site and trusted profiles, you get introduced sooner.
What we’re doing about it
We’re making a hotel’s facts unmistakable and easy to cite.
Tighten how policies and practical details are written and surfaced so they’re unambiguous and current.
Line up the same truths across the site, Google Business Profile, key listings and reputable profiles.
Add the quiet structure behind the scenes so assistants can lift the right detail at the right moment.
If SEO helps people find and click your pages, GEO helps assistants pick and quote your facts. We treat SEO as the base; GEO is the layer that makes you the source.
What this means for hoteliers
Expect less traffic to pages that settle simple questions; that’s normal now.
Keep public facts tight, current and matching across your site and profiles. That’s what turns information into bookings.
Let’s talk
We’re happy to sit down and go through this for your property. If you’d like to chat, drop me a line and we’ll set up a time.
