How to Execute a Full-Funnel Marketing Campaign for Hospitality & Travel

Only 72.3% of travel executives say digital transformation is “very important” to their businesses, a sharp increase from 51.6% in 2021, yet many still struggle to link strategy to seamless guest journeys (AWS Industry Blog, Aug 2022).

That means most hospitality brands are missing key moments to connect with potential guests, drive direct bookings, and build customer loyalty. When your advertising campaigns only focus on the top or bottom of the marketing funnel, you leave massive gaps in the guest experience, and likely waste valuable marketing dollars.

To truly move potential customers from first impression to repeat stay, your marketing efforts need to reflect the entire customer journey, not just isolated tactics.

Here are the core ideas to guide a better full-funnel marketing strategy for travel brands:

• Your brand is built across touchpoints
  Guest expectations are shaped across every interaction, from search engines to confirmation emails. Each channel should reflect your brand values and elevate the guest experience.
  
  

• Neglecting the mid-funnel means losing guests
  Many hospitality industry marketers focus on awareness or conversion but overlook the critical decision-making phase. That’s where thoughtful messaging, contextual targeting, and helpful content creation pay off.
  
  

• Consistency builds trust and clarity
  Whether you're running digital advertising on social media platforms or sending an email marketing campaign, your voice, visuals, and offers should feel unified.
  
  

• A happy customer is your most powerful asset
  Exceptional guest experiences don't end at check-out. With the right marketing tactics, those guests can become loyal customers and brand advocates.

In this blog post, we’ll walk you through 8 actionable steps to build a full-funnel marketing campaign that attracts, engages, and converts potential guests, all while giving your brand a competitive edge.

What is Full-Funnel Marketing?

A full-funnel marketing approach involves aligning your messaging, content, and channels across every stage of the customer journey, from initial contact to final conversion and beyond.

Instead of running one-off campaigns or isolated lead-gen tactics, full-funnel marketing treats the entire customer journey as a connected experience. That means your potential customers get the right message, at the right time, with the right nudge to move forward.

The funnel typically breaks down into three stages:

Top of Funnel (TOFU): Initial Awareness

Your target audience is just learning about you. They might not even be aware that they have a problem yet.

Tactics:

• Search engine ads

• Educational blog content

• Paid social (LinkedIn, YouTube)

• Industry podcasts or reports

Middle of Funnel (MOFU): Consideration Stage

Now they’re evaluating options, comparing solutions, and doing research. You need to build credibility and trust.

Tactics:

• Webinars

• Case studies

• Email marketing

• Interactive tools (ROI calculators, assessments)

Bottom of Funnel (BOFU): Decision Stage

Your prospective clients are ready to make a purchase decision. This is where strong CTAs and sales alignment count.

Tactics:

• Product demos

• Free consultations

• Personalized outreach

• Customer testimonials

A full-funnel marketing strategy ensures your marketing efforts support the entire sales process, not just lead generation or last-click conversions.

Why Hospitality & Travel Require a Unique Full-Funnel Approach

Marketing in the hospitality industry isn’t about viral campaigns or trendy posts alone. It’s about delivering trust, evoking emotion, and guiding potential guests through a personal and highly visual booking journey.

You’re not just trying to fill rooms. You’re creating meaningful travel experiences and long-term customer relationships.

Here’s what makes full-funnel marketing different for travel brands:

You're selling experiences, not just services.
Potential guests aren’t just buying a place to sleep, they’re buying memories. Your marketing tactics must appeal to emotion, imagination, and trust from the very first ad or post.

The customer journey is visual and multi-channel.
From search engines and social media platforms to review sites and confirmation emails, travelers engage with dozens of touchpoints before booking. Each one must reflect consistent branding and a seamless user experience.

Every booking is a decision with multiple influences.
Whether it's a family vacation, solo trip, or business stay, decisions are shaped by price, availability, past experiences, and peer reviews. Your marketing strategy must be responsive and contextual at every step.

Loyalty can’t be taken for granted.
Unlike other industries, travel loyalty can be fleeting. A happy customer one year might book elsewhere the next. You need to nurture customer relationships continually with tailored offers and standout guest experiences.

Timing is everything.
Seasonality, promotions, and market trends play a massive role in conversion rates. A smart full-funnel strategy knows when to go broad with awareness and when to double down with retargeting or email list segmentation.

Step 1: Capture Attention with Eye-Catching Awareness Campaigns

Start strong by building brand recognition across digital platforms

Every successful full-funnel marketing campaign starts at the top: sparking curiosity and putting your travel brand on the radar of potential guests.

That means crafting upper funnel campaigns that prioritize visibility, storytelling, and emotion over immediate bookings.

To stand out in a crowded market, your awareness tactics should be:

• Visually immersive, with aspirational imagery and video

• Targeted by traveler interests and demographics using digital advertising

• Built around current trends in travel behavior and preferences

Whether you’re launching a new property or promoting seasonal packages, your goal is to introduce the destination and your brand promise, not close the deal.

Lean into social media marketing, especially platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest, where travel content thrives. Supplement that with contextual targeting on search engines and travel blogs to meet your audience where they’re already dreaming.

And don’t forget to diversify your creativity. A single static image won’t do the job. Try short-form video, carousel ads, influencer collaborations, and even interactive ads to tell your story.

Pro-Tip: Utilize lookalike audiences created from your email list to broaden your reach to high-intent travelers who closely resemble your past satisfied customers.

Step 2: Educate and Inspire During the Consideration Phase

Build desire with content that answers questions and sparks imagination

Once you’ve captured a potential guest’s attention, your next job is to keep them curious, and get them to picture themselves in your space.

This is the middle of the marketing funnel, where travel brands often fall short. But it’s the phase where browsing turns into serious planning.

Your goal here?
Make your brand the most helpful, inspiring, and trustworthy option on their list.

Use content to:

• Answer their questions

• Fuel their imagination

• Ease their decision-making

Effective formats include:

• Destination guides and insider tips

• Sample itineraries or travel experiences

• Guest stories, reviews, and user-generated content

• FAQ pages about your amenities, pricing, or policies

Distribute across your email marketing campaigns, social media platforms, and paid retargeting channels. Use storytelling to bring the experience to life, while removing friction from the booking process.

Pro-Tip: Create a themed content hub (like “family beach escapes” or “solo wellness retreats”) and guide each type of potential guest through a tailored path to booking.

Step 3: Turn Interest into Action with Smart Conversion Tactics

Make it easy and irresistible for potential guests to book

Now that you’ve educated and inspired your audience, it’s time to nudge them into action.

The conversion rate depends heavily on how seamless and persuasive your booking journey is. From your homepage to your checkout screen, each detail matters.

Here are 5 proven tactics to drive conversions:

1. Optimize for mobile bookings
   Over 70% of travelers research trips on mobile (Think with Google). Your booking process must be fast, intuitive, and mobile-first.
   
   

2. Simplify the user experience
   Eliminate extra clicks. Use clear CTAs like “Book Now” or “Check Availability,” and display pricing transparently. Confusion kills momentum.
   
   

3. Add urgency and trust signals
   Incorporate real-time inventory updates, guest reviews, or a “limited availability” message to boost FOMO. Use verified badges and SSL security markers at checkout.
   
   

4. Offer exclusive perks for direct bookings
   Think complimentary breakfast, room upgrades, or flexible cancellations. Highlight the value guests get by booking directly vs. OTAs (Expedia Partner Central).
   
   

5. A/B test your landing pages
   Run experiments on imagery, copy, and CTA placement to see what drives higher click-through rates. Small tweaks can lead to big gains.

Pro-Tip: Don’t treat your confirmation email as the end of the transaction. Use it to upsell add-ons, offer local tips, or invite guests to join your email list for future travel deals.

Step 4: Nurture Leads and Build Relationships Through Email

Use automation and segmentation to guide the full customer journey

Don’t underestimate the power of a well-timed email. Whether you’re welcoming a new subscriber, re-engaging a lapsed traveler, or thanking a guest post-stay, email marketing is one of the most effective full-funnel marketing tools in your arsenal.

Why? Because it's:

📩 Direct - You control the message and timing.
📊 Trackable - You can test and optimize for performance.
🎯 Personal - With segmentation, you can speak directly to a guest’s interests or behavior.

What to Send (and When):

• Welcome series after sign-up

• Pre-stay checklists with what to expect

• Post-stay thank yous with review requests

• Re-engagement campaigns offering a return guest discount

• Seasonal promotions based on location or booking history

Use tools like Klaviyo or Mailchimp to automate and personalize your outreach. Don’t blast the same message to everyone. Travelers want relevant content, not noise.

Pro-Tip: Include a guest survey or satisfaction rating in your post-stay email. Happy customers are more likely to become repeat guests, and their feedback can improve your next advertising strategy.

Step 5: Leverage Social Proof to Drive Trust and Bookings

Let your guests do the marketing for you

User-generated content boosts engagement 5x for travel brands, and people trust travelers more than branded ads That makes your former guests, especially the happy ones, your best marketing asset.

Social proof is valuable at all funnel stages:

• Awareness: Share guest photos and videos on social media platforms. Authentic visuals of real experiences invite emotional connection.

• Consideration: Highlight video testimonials or quote graphics in nurture campaigns to validate quality and build confidence.

• Conversion: Add live reviews or ratings next to CTAs to ease booking decisions.

• Loyalty: Feature guest stories in your email marketing to reinforce relationships and keep guests engaged.

Don’t be shy about asking. A dedicated callout in your confirmation email or follow-up message can encourage guests to share their photos, reviews, or favorite moments.

Pro-Tip: Create and promote a unique branded hashtag. Curate user photos into an online gallery, turning social content into inspiration for potential guests.

Step 6: Retarget to Re-Engage High-Intent Travelers

Make your marketing dollars work smarter, not harder

Not every guest books the first time they visit your site. That’s why retargeting is essential. It helps you stay top-of-mind for travelers who showed interest but didn’t complete their booking journey.

The goal here isn’t to overwhelm, it’s to re-engage at the right moment with the right message.

Here’s how to build an effective retargeting and advertising strategy:

Segment based on behavior
Did they view a specific room or date? Abandon a booking? Engage with a piece of content? Use that behavior to trigger tailored ads across digital platforms like Google, Meta, or The Trade Desk.

Use contextual targeting
Place ads in relevant environments, like travel blogs or trip planning tools, where your brand feels helpful, not intrusive. This increases click-through rate and brand favorability. Learn more about contextual advertising here.

Rotate the creative to avoid fatigue
Don’t show the same image or message over and over. Refresh your copy, highlight different benefits, or switch up calls-to-action every 1–2 weeks.

Offer added value
Retargeting isn’t just about reminding, it’s about converting. Sweeten the offer with a limited-time perk, such as free parking or early check-in.

Pro-Tip: Retarget people who visited your FAQ page or pricing page; these are high-intent signals that they’re close to booking.

Step 7: Drive Repeat Stays Through Post-Trip Engagement

Loyalty isn’t a program; it’s an ongoing relationship

Your job isn’t done when the guest checks out. The post-stay window is a prime opportunity to turn a happy customer into a loyal customer, and eventually, a brand advocate.

This is where your full-funnel strategy shifts from converting once to converting again and again.

Here’s how to keep the relationship alive:

✔️ Send a thank-you message
A genuine post-stay email goes a long way. Include a thank-you, a review request, and a sneak peek at upcoming promotions or events.

✔️ Personalize future offers
Use stay data (location, length, preferences) to suggest similar destinations or exclusive upgrades. Tools like Revinate make it easy to personalize outreach at scale.

✔️ Invite them into a loyalty ecosystem
Whether it’s points, perks, or early access, reward returning guests with more than just a “book again” message. Even simple recognition works; people love to feel like VIPs.

✔️ Keep them inspired year-round
Use your email marketing to send travel tips, event guides, or seasonal suggestions based on their past stay. You’re not just selling, you’re staying relevant.

✔️ Encourage referrals
A post-stay CTA to “refer a friend” with a small incentive can turn potential guests into actual bookings and expand your network of brand believers.

Pro-Tip: Build a segmented list of past guests who rated their stay highly. These travelers are your best audience for upsells, re-booking campaigns, and test-driving new marketing strategies.

Step 8: Optimize and Scale with AI-Powered Tools

Automate smarter, personalize faster, and maximize every marketing dollar

Once your full-funnel strategy is in motion, it’s time to level up.

AI can help you streamline your marketing efforts, analyze performance, personalize campaigns, and uncover what’s working (and what’s not) at every stage of the customer journey. From content generation to email optimization to dynamic pricing, the possibilities are massive.

Here are four tools to help you do it better and faster:

• ✅ Averi: The #1 choice for hospitality & travel brands looking to manage, automate, and optimize their full-funnel strategy. Averi blends industry-specific data with campaign-level insights, helping teams maximize return on every tactic, from digital advertising to guest retention.
  
  

• ✅ Seventh Sense: Ideal for AI-powered email send-time optimization, so your email marketing campaigns land when people are most likely to open and click.
  
  

• ✅ Persado: Uses AI to generate emotionally targeted copy across ads, emails, and web. Great for improving conversion rates and testing emotional resonance with your target audience.
  
  

• ✅ Pathmatics: Offers competitive intelligence by tracking ad spend, creative trends, and advertising strategy insights from other travel brands.

Let AI take on the heavy lifting, so your team can focus on what really matters: building unforgettable travel experiences.

Pro-Tip: AI tools are most powerful when paired with human insight. Use Averi to identify patterns, but let your team’s creativity, empathy, and understanding of your target audience guide the final call.

Common Full-Funnel Marketing Mistakes in Hospitality & Travel

Even with a solid strategy, it’s easy to slip into patterns that waste marketing dollars, confuse your message, or lose potential guests along the way. Here are five frequent missteps, and how to avoid them.

• Focusing only on direct bookings
  Yes, bookings matter. But if your marketing strategies only target bottom-funnel conversions, you miss the awareness and loyalty phases that build long-term customer relationships. A full-funnel approach keeps your brand relevant throughout the entire customer journey, from before the stay to after.

• Forgetting the mid-funnel
  The upper funnel gets attention. The bottom receives the budget. But the middle, where most guests compare, research, and second-guess, is where decisions are made. Don’t skip content, retargeting, or email flows that nurture trust during this phase.

• Using the same message across platforms
  A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work. What you post on social media platforms shouldn’t be copied and pasted into an email marketing campaign. Match your message to the guest mindset at each stage of the marketing funnel.

• Overlooking post-stay engagement
  The journey doesn’t end at checkout. Many brands drop off after the confirmation email, missing the chance to turn a happy customer into a returning one. Loyalty starts with thoughtful follow-up.

• Tracking clicks instead of actions
  High open rates and click-through rates look great, but they don’t always translate to bookings. Focus on KPIs that tie back to the full booking journey, like revenue per email, retargeting ROI, or lifetime value.

How Averi Helps You Execute Full-Funnel Marketing

A strong strategy means nothing without execution. That’s where Averi comes in.

We combine AI-powered tools with expert guidance to help travel and hospitality brands turn complex plans into real results, fast. Whether you're building multi-channel campaigns, generating content for every stage of the funnel, or optimizing performance across touchpoints, Averi makes it easier to execute with precision.

You don’t need a massive marketing team to run a full-funnel strategy. You need the right support system:

• Smart automation where it counts

• Content tailored to your target audience

• Insights that improve conversion at every stage

It’s like adding a full-scale marketing team, without adding overhead or operational drag.

FAQs: Full-Funnel Marketing for Hospitality & Travel

What is full-funnel marketing in the hospitality industry?

Full-funnel marketing means targeting every stage of the customer journey, from first exposure to post-stay loyalty. For travel brands, it’s about connecting the dots between your awareness campaigns, booking process, and guest follow-up to create a seamless, repeatable experience.

Why is it important to focus beyond direct bookings?

While direct bookings are key, focusing only on conversions means missing opportunities to build brand awareness and long-term customer loyalty. A full-funnel strategy ensures you’re also nurturing leads, earning trust, and creating loyal customers who return and refer.

How can I improve my conversion rate?

Simplify your booking journey. Reduce friction on your site, highlight social proof, test different CTAs, and add incentives for booking direct. Don’t forget to optimize for mobile, most travelers research and book on their phones.

What are the best channels for travel marketing?

It depends on the funnel stage. Use social media platforms and digital ads for awareness, email marketing and blogs for consideration, and retargeting or SMS for conversions. For loyalty, lean on post-stay emails, referral programs, and personalized offers.

How can I make my campaigns more effective with a limited budget?

Prioritize where your marketing dollars go. Focus on high-performing channels, repurpose top content across formats, and use automation tools to scale. AI-powered platforms like Averi can help you optimize without increasing headcount.

What metrics should I track for full-funnel success?

Look beyond clicks. Track KPIs tied to your actual business goals: conversion rates, direct bookings, email engagement, repeat stay rate, and ROI on advertising campaigns.

When should I start using AI in my strategy?

Now. AI can help you personalize outreach, predict traveler behavior, and automate your marketing efforts. Start with small use cases, like subject line testing or send-time optimization, and scale from there.

Ready to Stop Planning and Start Executing?

Most hospitality companies don't fail because of bad strategy. They fail because of poor execution.

While others are still perfecting slide decks and debating which hashtag to use, you could be launching campaigns, testing messaging, and driving real growth, all within days, not months.

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1. Book a 15-Minute Demo — See how Averi's AI-powered platform works specifically for your business

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Don't waste another month on marketing that never leaves the planning phase.

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