TL;DR:
New research shows that when AI-generated summaries appear in Google search results, click-through rates to websites drop by nearly 50%. That means fewer travelers are landing on your hotel’s website, even if you rank high. If your SEO strategy hasn’t been updated to reflect how people search in 2025, you could be losing direct bookings to Google itself without realizing it.
Google Just Changed the Game – Quietly, But Drastically
A July 2025 study from Pew Research confirmed what savvy marketers have been noticing for months: Google’s AI Overviews are making it harder for users to find and click on actual websites. These AI summaries, automated answer boxes shown at the top of search results, are increasingly becoming the final destination for travel-related queries.
According to Pew’s findings:
- Click-through rates drop by almost 50% when an AI Overview appears
- Only 8% of users click on any link at all when these summaries are present
- Less than 1% click on a source cited in the AI box
- Over 25% of users abandon the search completely after reading the AI summary
So even if your boutique hotel appears on page one of Google, it might not matter, because users are getting their answers before they ever scroll.
Why Your Old SEO Strategy Won’t Cut It Anymore
For years, boutique hotels have invested in SEO strategies designed to rank for high-intent keywords like “boutique hotel in [City]” or “romantic weekend getaway near [Attraction].” That strategy used to work. But in 2025, the landscape has shifted.
Today, Google uses its AI models to generate answers to user queries at the top of the page, often before a single organic listing is shown. These AI Overviews pull information from large travel aggregators, booking platforms, government tourism sites, and major publishers. Unless your hotel’s website meets strict content and trust criteria, you’re unlikely to be featured in the summary, and often pushed far below it.
That means being “ranked” doesn’t guarantee visibility, and visibility no longer guarantees traffic. It’s a silent squeeze on your direct bookings that most hotel marketers haven’t accounted for yet.
How Boutique Hotels Can Adapt and Win
You don’t need to throw out your entire SEO plan, but you do need to evolve it. Here are four ways to reclaim visibility and reach travelers where they’re actually looking:
1. Reevaluate Your Content Strategy
Focus on content that offers a perspective or value AI can’t replicate. That includes:
- Thoughtful comparisons between your rooms and nearby alternatives
- Guest experiences, behind-the-scenes stories, and local insider tips
- Content with emotion, narrative, and personality that sets your brand apart
AI can summarize facts, but it can’t capture the charm or story of your property.
2. Target Prompts, Not Just Keywords
Think like a traveler: “What would someone Google while planning a stay?”
Structure your content around those real questions using:
- On-page FAQs tailored to your destination and property
- Long-tail queries like “best boutique hotels near Zion with private balconies”
- Related questions that show up in Google’s People Also Ask box
3. Optimize for AI Overviews and Search Features
If you want to be featured, or at least remain visible, you need to help Google’s AI understand and trust your content. That means:
- Using FAQ schema and structured data on your site
- Citing and linking to authoritative local sources (tourism boards, attractions)
- Interlinking relevant blog content to demonstrate depth and topical authority
4. Refresh and Reposition Legacy Content
Look at your existing content and ask:
- Does it answer today’s traveler’s questions in 2025?
- Is it specific, helpful, and formatted for how Google now reads content?
- Would it qualify as a source for a summary if you weren’t the author?
If not, it’s time for a modern content refresh.
Your Direct Bookings Depend on Search – But Search Has Changed
In the hospitality space, most guests start their journey on Google. And in 2025, Google is increasingly answering their questions directly. If your hotel’s website isn’t showing up in AI Overviews or being strategically positioned to complement them, you’re losing ground to aggregators, review sites, and AI-generated summaries.
But this shift also presents a massive opportunity. Most independent hotels and resorts are still running outdated strategies. If you move now to modernize your SEO and content, you can outrank the competition not just in search position, but in search experience.
- Reevaluate your current SEO plan through the lens of AI Overviews
- Build content around traveler prompts, trust, and narrative
- Optimize for how Google structures answers, not just for rankings
We help boutique hotels future-proof their marketing strategies by creating content that gets found, gets featured, and gets booked. Want a fresh set of eyes on your site or content strategy?
Let’s talk before your next booking season slips by.
