Mastering Destination Marketing: 4 Keys to Crafting Hotel Narratives That Engage Through the Lens of Place

During a recent business trip, I found myself in the heart of downtown Nashville, staying at the stunning Renaissance Nashville Hotel. As I soaked in the vibrant energy at one of the city's many roof-top bars, I couldn't help but consider the contrast between this bustling, music-filled metropolis and the tranquil, breathtaking hotels along the New England coast back home.

It got me thinking—about the vastly different approaches it would take to market these two destinations, each with its own unique story to tell.  

I think the key to successful, engaging hospitality marketing truly lies in capturing the setting around your location—and using it to paint vivid, attractive pictures for your potential guests. Here are 4 key considerations for hotels seeking to integrate their surroundings as part of their brand to engage guests and create memorable experiences.

1. Capture the Essence of Place

Picture a hotel nestled on the rugged coast of Maine, where the Atlantic Ocean’s waves crash against rocky shores. The air is filled with the scent of pine and salt. Along the coast and within the lush woods further inland await new adventures.  

Here, the hotel’s marketing narrative should reflect those key facets that make its surroundings memorable. The destination is marked by tranquility, nature, and an escape to the outdoors. It’s a location that calls to mind serene sunsets seen from the sand, lighthouses surrounded by crashing waves, and cozy fireplaces providing a reprieve from the outdoors. Those are the kind of images and experiences that should be represented in the hotel’s marketing, to resonate with travelers who would make the most of this destination.  

This strategy, of course, would be remarkably different from the one used for the downtown Nashville hotel—a destination that pulses with the energy of a vibrant city. It evokes music, rich history, and iconic nightlife. As opposed to the marketing for tranquil, outdoorsy coastal Maine, this hotel’s marketing should be as energetic as the vibrant community around it—bold, attention-grabbing, and inspired by the culture of a diverse city.  

There’s no one right way to implement a location-centric hotel marketing strategy, but here are a few ways to get started:  

Update your website content

‍Does your hotel’s website tell the kinds of stories that are evocative of its location? Consider representing those key experiences throughout your site.  ‍

Create opportunities on your social media calendar

‍Imbue your content calendar with posts that celebrate the beauty of your location and what makes it unique.  

Reevaluate your visual strategy

‍Does your media library showcase your hotel’s surroundings? Update your visual galleries on your website, on your social media channels, and in your display advertising that helps place your hotel exactly where it is.

2. Tailor Campaigns to Your Location’s Target Audience

The target audience for a coastal Maine hotel often includes couples seeking romantic getaways, families looking for a quiet vacation, and nature lovers eager to explore the great outdoors.  

Nashville, however, might attract a different sort of community: young professionals looking for a weekend of fun, music aficionados, and business travelers attending conferences or events.

Marketing messages for each location should speak to these groups, offering packages that cater to their desires. For Maine, think romantic dinners with ocean views, family-friendly activities like kayaking, and guided nature tours. In Nashville, place the emphasis on vibrant city experiences like rooftop bars, live music, comedy nights, and more.  

In other words: whatever might attract travelers to your specific destination, make it a part of your brand’s marketing strategy. Find opportunities to speak to these specific personas. Show them what they’d love about your destination—and how your hotel can be a part of it.

3. Keep Your Messaging Fresh with Seasonal Strategies

There’s no denying the power of evergreen marketing. But seasonal marketing provides lucrative opportunities to freshen your messaging with timely updates based on the goings-on in your hotel’s destination.  

For example, Maine’s coastal hotels should lean heavily into seasonal marketing during the summer months, when tourists flock to beaches and lakeside vacation homes. However, the fall is also a prime time for a New England based hotel—with all the allure of leaf-peeping and off-season tranquility. Special promotions should change along with the key activities for each season.  

Nashville, with more consistent weather year-round, is a different beast entirely—but there are still opportunities to adjust marketing to the seasons. The summer might focus on outdoor concerts and festivals, while the fall can highlight events like the Country Music Awards and holidays like Halloween. Winter marketing might emphasize the city’s festive holiday events and the cozy atmosphere of local restaurants and bars. Spring, with its milder weather, could be the time to promote outdoor activities and the blooming cityscape.

Use these shifts in weather and events as a nudge to switch up your strategy and give your audience something new to look forward to with every time of year!

4. Leverage Local Culture as an Extension of Your Amenities

A hotel that truly embraces a sense of place should position itself as a gateway to local culture.  

For an area like coastal Maine, this could mean promoting local artisans, offering tours of nearby historical sites, or hosting events like clam bakes or lobster feasts. The hotel’s blog and social media channels could feature stories about the area’s maritime history, interviews with local fishermen, or spotlights on Maine’s unique culinary traditions. By aligning the hotel with the area’s local culture, it can attract guests who are interested in both the most iconic New England experiences as well as those looking for authentic, off-the-beaten-path recommendations.

In Nashville, a downtown hotel could find opportunities to immerse guests in the city’s music heritage: partnering with local musicians for in-house performances, curating a Nashville-themed playlist for the hotel, or even offering music lessons could be unique selling points. The hotel’s blog could feature stories about the history of country music, profiles of up-and-coming artists, or guides to the best live music spots in town.

5. Reveal the Authentic Charm of your Destination to Attract Guests  

Whether it’s the soothing sounds of the Atlantic waves in Maine or the electric hum of live music in Nashville, the key to successful marketing lies in capturing that essence and sharing it with the world.  

For me, that’s the magic of what we do as marketers. It’s a skill to communicate the value of a room in a distant city—but it’s an art to tell the story of a place and inspire people to go where they haven’t been before. After all, the best stories are the ones that transport us, even if just for a moment, to a place we’ve never been to before.  

To learn more about the hotel stories we’ve told with our digital craftsmanship, check out our work with Hotel ICON and The Loren Hotels. If you’d like to talk strategy, get started here.