If you do a survey among people in the hospitality industry, the overwhelming answer to this question would be 'Nothing' or 'Very little'.
Yet, according to a June 2025 analysis by Semrush, based on over 150,000 citations on generative AI platforms like ChatGPT, these AI platforms go to Reddit (40.1% of citations), Wikipedia (26.3% of citations), YouTube (23.5% of citations) and Google (23.3% of citations) to source factual information.
The above shows how heavily generative AI platforms like ChatGPT rely on user-generated content, which provides hoteliers with opportunities to generate additional visibility and bookings for their properties.
Just as a reminder, Reddit is a social network for news aggregation, ratings and discussions, a collection of online communities, called "subreddits," where users can post links, text posts, images, and videos, which are then voted up or down by other users.
On Reddit people can ask questions about places to stay, read honest reviews and get recommendations from fellow travelers. It is a platform where opinions are formed, and purchase decisions are made.
Reddit has over 515 million active monthly users compared to Google’s 5 billion (August, 2025).
How do travelers use Reddit?
When searching on Reddit Answers, even using typical Googlesque queries like “Recommend Boutique hotels near Central Park NYC”, the social site provides a list of hotel options that match your query, based on recommendations from other Redditors. If yours is a boutique hotel near Central Park and people mention your hotel in their posts or discussions, this citation may entice travelers to book and stay at your hotel.
How can hoteliers create and increase their presence on Reddit?
Some of the obvious recommendations for hoteliers are:
- Create a subreddit. To begin with, unlike Facebook, Instagram, Google, etc., you cannot create a traditional business profile or business listing on Reddit. Instead, hoteliers should create a subreddit community for their hotel, and proactively participate in various other travel and destination-related communities.
- Advertise via Reddit Ads. You can significantly boost your visibility on Reddit by launching Reddit Ads. A number of hotels brands, OTAs already do that. Reddit advertising starts from as low as $5 per day. You can control your daily and lifetime budgets to stay within your desired spend.
- Invest in content marketing to "earn recognition" via citations about your property, services and amenities on social networks like Reddit, relevant websites, blogs, etc.
- Create video content on YouTube about your hotel, the destination, local activities, etc.
The moral of the story? Do not abandon your traditional search marketing - Google still generates more than half of hotel website bookings. Take advantage of the generative AI platforms like ChatGPT and invest in their sources of citations like Reddit.
Max Starkov
Hospitality & Online Travel Tech Consultant & Strategist
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