Scroll LinkedIn for five minutes and you’ll think SEO’s on its last legs. Everyone’s talking about AI search, answer engines, and the “death” of clicks. But here’s what’s quietly true for hotels in 2025: Local SEO is still one of the strongest, highest-intent digital channels you can invest in.

AI might be changing how people discover information, but when it comes to choosing a hotel, travellers still turn to maps, local listings, and search results to make their decision. Whether it’s scrolling Google Maps, comparing reviews, or checking how close a property is to a restaurant or attraction, guests rely on local visibility. Local SEO continues to drive those moments of connecting real people to real places.

Local SEO thrives because it captures people at the moment of intent. When someone searches “boutique hotel near Circular Quay” or “best family resort in Ubud,” they’re not looking for inspiration, they’re ready to act.

Google’s own data backs this up: 76% of users who search for something nearby visit a business within a day, and almost one in three make a purchase. For hotels, that’s not a casual scroll, that’s a potential booking within hours.

What gives Local SEO its resilience is how tangible it is. You’re optimising for geography, proximity, and experience. It’s about how your property fits into its local ecosystem. The reviews you collect, the accuracy of your Google Business Profile (GBP), your photos, and your local content, they all feed a living, breathing digital footprint that’s hard to fake and even harder to automate.

Yes, the search landscape has changed. Google’s AI Overviews (AIOs) now summarise results directly in the search feed, and AI-driven engines are rewriting how information is surfaced. But research shows these AI summaries appear mostly on broad, informational queries, not on brand or location-specific searches.

That means when someone looks for “hotel near me,” “romantic stay in Noosa,” or “spa hotel in Seminyak,” they still see the familiar local results, the Map Pack, reviews, and the top organic listings. AI isn’t displacing local visibility; it’s enhancing how users refine it.

In other words: Local SEO hasn’t been replaced by AI, it’s just become a foundation AI now reads from.

Here’s where the opportunity really comes into focus. Local SEO already ensures your hotel is visible to guests ready to book on Maps, in search results, and across review platforms. What’s changing is how that local visibility gets interpreted by AI-driven systems like Google’s AI Overviews and travel assistants.

This is where AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) adds value, as a smart enhancement to your existing Local SEO efforts. When your content is structured clearly and consistently, AI systems can easily recognise and surface it in their summaries.

In practice, that means:

• Keeping your local pages and listings clear, consistent, and rich with factual information.
• Using structured data (schema markup) so AI and search engines understand your amenities, offers, and location context.
• Writing content that sounds natural but answers specific questions travellers ask like “Does it have a rooftop bar?” or “Is late checkout available?”
• Encouraging detailed reviews that naturally mention your features “rooftop bar,” “free breakfast,” “close to the theatre.”

It’s about clarity, credibility, and structure.

If you want your hotel to show up (and stay up), here’s what to prioritise this year:

1. Keep Your Google Business Profile (GBP) Immaculate
   Update categories, amenities, and attributes. Add new photos every month. Post about upcoming events or offers. Treat your GBP like your digital lobby, it’s often the first impression guests see.
2. Optimise for Reviews, Not Just Ratings
   Encourage guests to describe specific experiences. “Loved the rooftop cocktails and ocean view” does more for you than five stars and “great stay.” Descriptive reviews strengthen your search presence and your AI visibility.
3. Create Locally Anchored Content
   Don’t just list your amenities, talk about your place. Write about nearby attractions, walking routes, restaurants, and hidden gems. Become part of your area’s story online.
4. Track Map and Discovery Metrics
   Don’t fixate on website traffic alone. Monitor calls, direction requests, and bookings from your GBP insights. Local visibility often converts faster and more directly than organic traffic ever did.
5. Save Time: Let Zone Do the Heavy Lifting, and Pair it with AI Source
   If you’re short on hours, automation and smart tools are your best allies. That’s exactly why we built Zone and AI Source.
   • Zone keeps your Local SEO engine running quietly in the background. It monitors, optimises, and updates your local listings, making sure your hotel is consistently visible across Google, Maps, and key directories without needing constant manual tweaks. Think of it as your digital concierge, ensuring your local presence is always polished, accurate, and performing.
   • AI Source takes care of the next layer: Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO). It helps your content speak the same language as AI search systems, ensuring your property is not only found in traditional search but also understood and surfaced by AI-driven platforms. The result? You show up in more discovery moments, whether it’s a Google Overview, voice assistant, or AI travel recommendation.

Together, they save time while sharpening your edge. You focus on guest experience, Zone, and AI Source handle discoverability.

 

AI may be the headline act, but Local SEO is still the steady performer filling the rooms. The smartest hotels aren’t choosing one over the other, they’re pairing them.

Local SEO secures your foundation. AEO extends your reach into AI-driven spaces. Together, they ensure your hotel is discoverable, trustworthy, and bookable, whether someone’s searching on Google Maps, talking to their phone, or asking ChatGPT where to stay.

The result? You’re visible in every layer of discovery, human and machine alike.

With 20+ years in hospitality of all facets, including F&B, hotels, to a refined focus on hospitality digital marketing.