Immerse yourself in whispered tales and timeless beats, as the ambiance transports you to a bygone era reserved for top shelf A-listers. An air of intrigue awaits those who dare to discover this hard-to-find haven.
There’s a phrase I’ve heard too many times in hospitality sales: “Trust me, we’re the best in the business.”
Here’s my take: that doesn’t work anymore.
I’ve spent years working with hospitality vendors through Lure Agency, and I’ve seen the same pattern play out:
Great conversations. Strong referrals. Solid first impressions.
Then… silence.
Deals stall. Momentum disappears.
Why? Because buyers don’t just listen anymore.
They verify.
That’s why my conversation with Robert Levine, CEO of ComOps stood out. He didn’t build a business by selling harder. He built it by becoming a trusted voice.
And right now, that’s what actually scales.
The Vendor Trap: Blending In Is the Fastest Way to Lose
For me, it’s a daily habit—showing up, contributing, adding perspective.
Not liking. Teaching. I call it “daily trust deposits.”
ComOps is doing the same. “This idea of always teaching and always learning is core to who we are.”
And it leads to a simple truth: When you act like a teacher, not a seller… the sales follow.
The Shift Every Hospitality Vendor Needs to Make
Here’s the bottom line: The industry doesn’t need more vendors. It needs more voices worth listening to.
ComOps didn’t win by being louder.
They won by being clearer. More consistent. More willing to say what others won’t.
They:
Show up with real expertise
Say the hard things
Invest in the right people
Build trust daily—online
Prove authority instead of claiming it
Because you’re not competing on features. You’re competing on trust. And when you do this right long enough, something shifts.
You stop being “another vendor.” You become the one they call before the decision is even made.
From Insight to Visibility
If there’s one final takeaway, it’s this: what ComOps built wasn’t luck, it was alignment.
Alignment between who they are, how they think, and how they show up in the market.
Our work at Lure Agency lives right in that intersection, helping companies translate real-world expertise into consistent visibility, so trust is built long before the first conversation.
Because in today’s market, the companies that win aren’t just the best, they’re the ones whose value is clear before they’re ever contacted.
Ready to turn your expertise into something your buyers can actually see and trust?
ComOps is a hospitality consulting firm focused on turning customer insight into real operational and revenue impact. They work with hotels, resorts, and casino properties to bridge the gap between data and day-to-day execution—helping teams improve guest experience, align operations, and drive measurable performance. Known for their operator-first approach, ComOps brings practical expertise to the table, guiding clients not just on what to do, but how to do it better.
If AI can’t find you… neither can your next $100K group booking.
AI overload is real.
Eye-watering data points, a plethora of shiny tools, and enough confusion to make any hotelier's head spin.
And yet, buried underneath all that noise is a signal most hotel marketers are flat-out missing.
Your guests aren't Googling anymore.
They're prompting.
And if your hotel isn't showing up in those answers, you don't have a visibility problem ... you have a revenue problem.
I recently sat down with Craig Carbonniere, a senior marketing strategist at Milestone Inc. and one of the sharpest minds in hospitality AI (the guy was presenting on AI to hoteliers back in 2016, before most of us even knew what a large language model was).
He shared some incredible data that should be stapled to every hotel marketer's wall.
AI Discoverability for Hotels
Here's what every hotel marketer and revenue manager needs to hear right now.
The Curve Nobody Saw Coming (Until It Was Already Here)
Milestone has been tracking AI-driven referral traffic across 3,500 hospitality websites since January 2024.
The growth curve Craig showed me didn't slope. It spiked. The kind of chart that makes you do a double-take and close your other browser tabs.
"The last time we saw this kind of pattern," Craig told me, "was really when smartphones were introduced."
We all know how that movie ended.
Today, more than half of all hotel website traffic comes from mobile.
Milestone's data projects that nearly half of all hotel website traffic will soon arrive via AI engines: ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, and whatever drops next month.
This isn't a forecast anymore. It's already happening.
At our agency, 20 to 30 percent of inbound group sales inquiries (when clients self-report the source) are coming directly from AI tools. ChatGPT leads the pack. And it's trending up every single month.
The habit loop is already locked in.
Recent research shows that 63% of AI users* rely on it for most or all of their trips.
Once someone uses AI to research travel, they almost never go back to the old way. It's that good.
I know because I've replaced my insurance comparisons, my financial planning research, and half my life admin with it.
It's addictive. And your future guests are already hooked.
Your Hotel Is Invisible and Doesn't Know It
Getting buried on page two of Google stings.
But at least you're still in the game.
Being invisible to an AI recommendation engine means there's no consolation prize. You simply don't exist.
And the segment driving this shift? It's not just seasoned meeting planners on Cvent.
It's the executive assistant who just got voluntold to plan the company off-site. The office manager booking a leadership retreat for the first time. The non-professional planner who has never heard of an RFP and has zero interest in calling a hotel sales rep.
They have a browser, a prompt bar, and absolutely no patience for friction.
They're typing things like: "I need a resort in San Diego for a 50-person corporate retreat with outdoor space and team-building options." And ChatGPT is handing them a curated shortlist in seconds.
If your hotel isn't on that list, you don't get a call. You don't get an email. You get nothing.
Craig said, "What previously took months of research, they're getting it now within minutes."
The toughest part of this for hotel marketing teams? They have no idea this is happening because they're watching Google Analytics — not monitoring what AI engines say about them.
The Cheapest Fix With the Highest Return
I know what you're thinking. There's a $500-a-month tool for this, right?
Wrong. The highest-leverage move you can make right now costs nothing but attention.
Here's the exercise Craig walked through in a workshop I heard about (and honestly, I've done this myself more times than I can count).
Open ChatGPT. Type: "I'm a wedding planner looking for a resort in San Diego. What would you recommend?"
See what comes back.
Odds are, your hotel isn't number one. Maybe it's not even on the list. So you follow up: "My resort has some great options. Why did you recommend those properties over mine?"
And ChatGPT will tell you. Exactly. Why.
"You'll find you had a prompt but never looked at it that way," Craig said. "You have these really cool, attractive offerings. You've never talked about them."
That's the insight. That's the gap. And it points directly to the fix.
Build the FAQ Page Your AI Overlords Actually Want
My number one recommendation — and Craig and I landed on this independently in real time — is to build a deep, detailed FAQ page for meetings and events.
Not surface-level fluff. Not "How do I get to your hotel?" Nobody is asking ChatGPT that.
I mean the questions that planners, professional and non-professional, are actually typing into these tools right now.
What is attrition and how do you handle it?
What AV is included vs. rented?
Can your spaces be reconfigured mid-event?
What does a team-building day actually look like on your property?
What are your food and beverage minimums?
What most hotels get completely wrong is the EEAT principle. Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness. These are the trust signals AI engines are hungry for. And no amenity list in the world will feed them.
They're built from humans.
That means putting your sales team front and center.
Your director of events explaining how your property handles a 200-person hybrid conference.
Your catering manager writing about managing complex dietary requirements for a board dinner.
That content isn't just good marketing. In the AI era, it's discoverability infrastructure.
The shift I keep pushing our hotels on is moving away from product-centric selling, you know, the empty ballroom with chairs and an AV setup, toward people-centric selling. The team member using the space to help a planner pull off something extraordinary.
That's the trust signal. That's what gets you recommended.
Being Found Is Table Stakes. Being Recommended Is the Win.
There's a real difference between appearing somewhere on an AI-generated list and being recommended with conviction.
"When you're getting recommended," I told Craig, "there's a sense of wow. It's almost like curated reviews. There's a perception that the AI recommends these properties based on something."
And that perception is powerful.
When ChatGPT tells a planner, "Here are five properties for your executive retreat and here's why each one fits your criteria," it has collapsed the entire consideration phase. The planner isn't just browsing options. They're receiving a trusted recommendation, complete with pros, cons, and context.
No banner ad has ever done that. No third-party listing has ever done that.
This is also why being recommended matters more than simply being found in the traditional RFP sense.
Planners used to submit an RFP and wait. Days. Sometimes weeks. Amazon killed that patience. Nobody waits anymore. AI gives them the answer now, and the hotels with the strongest trust signals get served up first.
One technical note worth flagging: structured data and schema markup.
Craig touched on it briefly, and I won't drag you into the weeds here, but making sure your content is tagged and organized in a way that AI engines can actually read and retrieve is the difference between existing on the web and being discoverable on it. It's a conversation worth having with your tech team or agency.
One More Thing: Clear Your Chat History Before You Spy On Yourself
Before you go run that ChatGPT exercise on your own property (and you should, today) clear your memory first.
AI models personalize responses based on your prior conversations, preferences, and behavior. If you've been using ChatGPT regularly, it already knows your vibe. Ask it to recommend a hotel without clearing that context, and you'll get a flattering, personalized answer that tells you nothing useful about how a cold prospect experiences the same query.
"Chat loves to placate you," I said on the show.
And I meant it. It'll tell you you're brilliant, your hotel is incredible, and your meeting spaces are world-class. Great for the ego. Useless for strategy.
Start fresh. Use an incognito window. Ask as a stranger would ask. That's the signal worth paying attention to.
The Hotels That Move Now Win the Decade
The smartphone parallel isn't rhetorical. It's a warning.
Hotels that ignored mobile optimization in 2010 spent five years playing catch-up while competitors locked in the traffic. The ones that moved early built advantages that compounded.
This is that moment. Compressed into months, not years.
The ask isn't overwhelming: run the ChatGPT audit on your property today, build a deep FAQ page, surface the humans behind your hotel's expertise, and make sure the technical foundations are doing their job. Repeat next quarter.
The hotels showing up in AI recommendations right now aren't necessarily the biggest brands or the biggest spenders. They're the ones whose content is specific, human, and structured enough for an AI engine to trust.
That can be you. But only if you stop watching the wave and start paddling.
Want to Actually Win This? There's a Method for That.
Everything I've laid out in this post: the website as a revenue engine, the intel on who's actually searching, the nurture content that builds trust, the sales approach that doesn't make planners cringe, that's not a checklist. That's a system.
It's called the WINS Method™. And it's exactly how we help hospitality teams show up, get recommended, and close more group business without throwing spaghetti at the wall.
Website. Intel. Nurture. Sell.
Built for hotel marketers and sales teams who are done guessing and ready to execute with a strategy that actually holds up in the AI era.
What is AI discoverability, and why does it matter for hotels?
AI discoverability refers to how well your hotel surfaces as a recommendation inside large language model platforms like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Perplexity, and Claude.
It matters because a growing segment of travelers and event planners (including non-professional planners like executive assistants and office managers) are using these tools to build shortlists instead of searching Google or logging into third-party platforms. If your hotel isn't showing up in those answers, you're being cut out of the consideration phase entirely.
How do I find out if my hotel is being recommended by AI tools like ChatGPT?
Start with a simple prompt: "I'm a [planner type] looking for a [venue type] in [your market]. What would you recommend?"
If your property doesn't appear, follow up with: "My hotel has strong options in this category. Why did you recommend those properties over mine?" The AI will tell you exactly what content signals it found, or didn't find, about your property.
Just make sure you clear your chat history or use a private window first to remove any personal bias from the results.
What type of content helps hotels rank in AI recommendations?
AI engines prioritize content that is specific, structured, and trustworthy.
That means detailed FAQ pages covering meetings and events logistics, blog content authored by your team members, clear descriptions of amenities and services with real context, and trust signals that demonstrate expertise, not just a list of features.
The EEAT framework (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) is a useful lens: AI models are looking for evidence that real, experienced humans stand behind your property's claims.
Where traditional SEO focuses on ranking in search engine results pages, GEO focuses on ensuring your content is structured, credible, and specific enough to be retrieved and recommended by AI-powered engines. Both matter, but they require different strategies.
GEO places a higher premium on human-authored expertise, structured data, consistent information across platforms, and content that directly answers the questions your ideal guests and planners are asking.
How does AI discovery affect hotel group sales specifically?
The impact on group sales is significant and accelerating.
Planners, especially non-professional ones, are bypassing traditional RFP platforms entirely and using AI tools to build their shortlists. This means hotels that show up in AI recommendations are getting into conversations earlier, with warmer prospects, and without waiting on an RFP to come through. At Lure Agency, we're already seeing 20 to 30 percent of inbound group inquiries self-attributed to AI tools, with ChatGPT leading the pack. That number is only going up.
*Source: TakeUp
How Most Hospitality Vendors Miss the Real Decision-Maker, the Real Problem, and the Real Risk
I’ve been in hospitality since 1995. I’ve seen fax machines, floppy disks, Delphi conversions, brand overhauls, OTA wars, and now AI eating the marketing funnel for breakfast.
And yet, despite all that change, vendors are still making the same mistake when selling into hotels.
They’re doing it wrong.
On a recent episode of the InnSync Show, I sat down with Celeste Berke Knisely, former on-property and above-property hotel leader turned hospitality sales strategist, to unpack why so many vendors struggle.
Celeste didn’t hold back. She says, “The bar is so low for vendors to be able to get the attention of those in hospitality.”
And still… most can’t close.
Let me explain why.
How to Sell to Hotels in 2026
You’re Talking to People Who Can’t Actually Say Yes
One of the biggest misconceptions I see is this: vendors believe the property can approve their product.
In most branded hotels, the general manager doesn’t have final authority. The executive housekeeper doesn’t either. Decisions roll up to a management company. That management company answers to ownership. Ownership protects the asset.
If you don’t understand that hierarchy, you’re wasting cycles.
Celeste says, “When you don’t understand the inner workings and the outer workings of a hotel, you are wasting your time.”
I’ve watched vendors show up at properties, dropping samples, pitching software, and pushing services, even though they're not in the preferred vendor program. If you’re not approved at the management or ownership layer, you’re not selling. You’re interrupting.
Titles in hospitality don’t always translate to purchasing power. Influence? Yes. Authority? Often no.
If you don’t know where the decision actually lives, you’re not in the room … you’re in the lobby.
“We Save You Time” Is Not a Buying Strategy
Here’s another one that makes me wince. “We help you save time and improve efficiencies.”
Celeste adds this: “Newsflash, most businesses deal with inefficiencies. It doesn’t mean that they’re going to spend money… when all you’re doing is talking about a surface-level problem.”
Exactly.
Time savings are table stakes. Efficiency claims are noise.
Hotels buy when something impacts:
Guest satisfaction
QA scores and brand compliance
RevPAR and GOP
Productivity metrics
Asset value
This industry is risk-averse. I learned that early in my career. My mentor once told me, “in this industry of hospitality, you want to fly under the radar.”
At the time, I didn’t understand what he meant. Now I do.
There’s little upside for a GM if your product works perfectly. But there’s a lot of finger-pointing if it fails.
So when vendors show up with “revolutionizing hospitality” banners and feature-packed demos, I often think: you’re not factoring in onboarding risk, operational disruption, or political capital.
You’re not selling features.
You’re selling risk reduction.
Your Outbound Strategy Is Hurting You
I still see vendors pouring their entire budget into trade shows and outbound sales teams.
And I’m here to tell you: that’s not enough anymore.
So many vendors out there still think a pure outbound strategy will get them where they want to go.
It won’t.
Today’s buyers vet everything. Before they sign a five- or six-figure contract, they’re Googling you. They’re asking AI. They’re reading reviews. They’re looking for case studies.
I’ve seen deals stall because when the prospect went online, there was nothing that gave them a reason to pause and trust.
When they go to sign that five, six figure contract… they are going to vet you online.
If they find thin content, no testimonials, no proof, you lose.
Even word of mouth isn’t bulletproof anymore. I shared a personal example during the episode: I was referred to someone by a trusted friend. Before moving forward, I vetted them online. What I found changed my decision.
Referrals open doors. Digital proof closes deals.
If you’re not building credibility in a digital-first world, you’re invisible.
Do You Actually Understand Your Buyer’s Day?
Celeste shared something that stuck with me.
Her husband is a hotel GM. One day, he texted her during his “break.” What was he doing? He was stripping rooms because they had a call off for a houseman.
That’s hospitality.
Not dashboards. Not buzzwords. Not “cutting down silos.”
If you’ve never spent a day shadowing a GM, director of sales, or executive housekeeper, you should.
Celeste says, “You have to understand the day in the life.”
If your email sounds like a polished pitch deck while your buyer is flipping rooms to meet check-in times, you’re out of sync with reality.
And in hospitality, reality wins.
Hospitality Vendors … Stop Leading With Demos
This one is big.
Celeste said something every vendor needs to write on their whiteboard: “Do not pass go… until you unequivocally know what it is that you solve for at the business level.”
Not features.
Not integrations.
Not product updates.
Business problems.
Declining guest satisfaction. Sales pace gaps. Productivity issues. Brand penalties.
I’ve heard vendors say, “We have such a great product—if only more people knew about it.”
That’s a product-centric mindset.
Hotels don’t buy products. They buy solutions to business problems that keep executives up at night.
Celeste shared this stat, “Many companies are having below a 20% win rate, many below a 10% win rate. They are burning through leads.”
Why?
“We go right to a demo. Nobody cares about your product. We skip discovery.”
Discovery is where trust is built. Skip it, and you’re just another vendor talking about yourself.
Trust Is Built Before You Ever Get the Call
I talk a lot about content strategy because I see what works.
If you consistently deliver value—answering real questions, publishing relevant insights, sharing case studies—you build authority over time.
When prospects read something and think, “They get us,” that’s when momentum builds.
I’ve seen inbound leads literally quote something we wrote and say, “We’re struggling with that exact issue. Can you help?”
That’s not magic. That’s alignment.
“Nobody cares about your product,” Celeste says.
What they care about is whether you understand their world.
Selling to Hotels Is Different. Respect That.
Hospitality isn’t SaaS in Silicon Valley. It isn’t manufacturing. It isn’t retail.
Hotels churn customers every one to two days. Operational pressure is constant. QA standards matter. Guest satisfaction drives everything.
And procurement? It’s layered.
As Celeste explained: “The job titles do not translate to what the rest of the world thinks.”
If you’re not speaking the language of RevPAR, productivity per room, brand standards, and asset protection, you’re missing the mark.
Change is hard in this industry. System conversions are remembered for years. Risk lingers.
If you want long-term wins, you have to play the long game.
Nurture. Educate. Reduce perceived risk. Build credibility before you ever ask for a demo.
The Bottom Line When You’re Trying to Sell to Hotels
If you’re relying on:
Trade shows alone
Feature-heavy pitches
“We save you time” messaging
One-call closes
Hope as a strategy
You’re probably doing it wrong.
Hotels don’t buy products.
They buy clarity.
They buy confidence.
They buy reduced risk.
They buy partners who understand their business at a deeper level.
Everything else?
That’s just noise.
And in hospitality, noise gets ignored.
Ready to Sell Smarter Into Hospitality?
If this post felt a little too familiar, that’s a good thing.
Because the issue isn’t that you need more leads.
It’s that you need a better system.
At Lure Agency, we teach hospitality vendors how to align their sales and marketing around the way hotels actually buy. Not the way you wish they did. Through our WINS Method™ (Website. Intel. Nurture. Sell.), we help you:
Clarify the real business problem you solve
Identify where decision-making authority truly lives
Build digital proof that reduces perceived risk
Nurture long-cycle buyers before the demo ever happens
Close with confidence instead of chasing
Hotels don’t reward noise. They reward clarity and trust.
If you’re serious about increasing win rates, shortening sales cycles, and earning credibility in a risk-averse industry, it’s time to put structure behind your strategy.
Explore the WINS Method™ and see how to turn hospitality complexity into competitive advantage.
1. Why is selling to hotels different from selling to other industries?
Hotels operate in a layered decision structure. Property leaders often influence decisions, but authority usually lives at the management company or ownership level. Add brand standards, asset protection, and operational risk, and the buying process becomes more complex than a typical SaaS sale. If you don’t understand how hospitality decision-making works, your sales strategy will stall.
2. Who is the real decision-maker in a hotel purchase?
It depends on the brand and ownership structure. In many branded properties, general managers and department heads provide input, but approvals roll up to management companies or ownership groups. The key is identifying where budget authority and risk tolerance actually live before you start pitching.
3. Why doesn’t “we save you time” resonate with hotel buyers?
Efficiency claims are common and expected. Hotels invest when there’s a measurable impact on guest satisfaction, RevPAR, GOP, brand compliance, productivity metrics, or asset value. Time savings alone rarely justifies operational disruption or perceived risk.
4. Why do so many hospitality vendors struggle with low win rates?
Many vendors skip discovery and move straight to demos. When you lead with features instead of business problems, you sound like everyone else. Without understanding the hotel’s real risk exposure or performance gaps, your solution feels optional instead of essential.
5. What role does digital credibility play in closing hotel deals?
A major one. Hotel buyers research vendors before signing large contracts. They look for relevant content, case studies, testimonials, and evidence that you understand hospitality. Referrals may open the door, but digital proof builds the confidence needed to move forward.
Build Trust, Not Templates: Selling to Hotels in the Age of AI
I was knee-deep in my spam folder … again.
A dozen “Just circling back” emails, a handful of “quick check-ins,” and one masterpiece that started with “Dear {FirstName}.”
All I could think was: Are we still doing this?
So when I sat down with Kimberly Hensley from TripleSeat for our latest episode of the InnSync Show, I didn’t ease into it. I asked the question I’ve been dying to ask anyone in hospitality tech:
Why are traditional outbound tactics still the go-to… when they clearly don’t work anymore?
Kimberly offered this, “The hospitality space is experience-driven. Every hotel is its own little ecosystem,” she said. “You can’t template that.”
That’s a great way to look at it.
Selling a shoe or a phone? That’s fixed.
Selling a hotel experience? That’s a cocktail of variables—room size, view, staff, vibe, amenities, location, you name it.
Which is why blasting generic emails and hammering out cold calls feels more like throwing darts blindfolded than modern sales.
Hotel Vendor Prospecting Tips
Personalization Isn’t a First Name
Kimberly said, “Personalization has become transactional. Putting a name on an email isn’t enough. The real personalization is emotional resonance.”
Let that marinate for a second. Emotional. Resonance.
We’re so used to personalization as a line item. We “insert name”, mention the hotel, and hit send.
But Kimberly challenges that mindset. Hotels today are expected to deliver unforgettable experiences.
Tech vendors? We'd better show up with the same energy.
And that means storytelling. Not just about your product, but about how you fit into their world. “Your tech should adopt to their version of hospitality,” she said.
She brought up Mews and its CEO, who’s on camera nearly every day, showing up in the feed with opinions, ideas, and real stories. “He’s telling the story of Mews and the industry,” she said. “That’s what makes it stick.”
Why Showing Up at Trade Shows Isn’t Enough
Kimberly and I see it all the time: vendors throw everything into trade shows. Booths, banners, branded socks.
But once the show’s over? Radio silence.
“No one’s closing deals at the booth,” I told her. “They go back, do their research, and if you’re not showing up online, you’re out.”
She agrees. “Trade shows are one layer of a complex buying journey. The real connection often happens afterward. It’s over drinks, in side conversations, on LinkedIn.”
If you don’t have a solid content strategy, no one’s going to remember you.
Visibility matters. And not just any visibility. It’s trust-building, authority-proving, problem-solving visibility.
That means being searchable. That means case studies, customer stories, helpful posts, and, yes, showing your face once in a while.
Because, as Kimberly said, “Deals aren’t done on the golf course anymore. They’re done after someone gets to know you.”
I told Kimberly about my CRM hunt. I didn’t get on a call with a sales rep. I didn’t walk an expo floor. I ran a prompt. I vetted the options. I short-listed three. I demoed one. A decision made in 30 minutes, done.
She laughed when I called it “warm prospecting.” But she was all in. “Yes! If we can notice where the interest is, it makes the job so much easier,” she said.
This is why we’ve been coaching our vendors to shift their strategy:
Stop cold blasting inboxes.
Start sending value-based touchpoints.
Track engagement.
Then follow up with purpose.
We use EngageBay—a CRM that gives us lead scoring, workflows, and intent data at a fraction of the cost of HubSpot. It tells us who’s poking around, what they’re interested in, and when they’re ready for a real conversation. No more guessing.
Timing Is Everything (And Gen Z Is Watching)
One of Kimberly’s best reminders? Rejection isn’t always rejection. Sometimes it’s just “not right now.”
“I always think, ‘Is this a no, or a not-yet?’” she said. And when tech evolves as fast as it is now, that “not yet” window might open sooner than you think.
Gen Z buyers are coming. Fast.
And they’re fluent in content, allergic to fakes, and attuned to brands that don’t feel human.
“They want authentic experiences,” Kimberly says. “They’re storytellers themselves. Hotels and vendors need to match that energy.”
And that doesn’t mean dropping a TikTok and calling it a day. It means getting your customer care dialed in. Kimberly joined TripleSeat because of their support team. “If we’re going to hold hotels to high service standards, tech companies need to match that,” she said.
So, Are You on the Hotel's Shortlist?
Hate to say it, but if you’re not showing up where buyers are searching, you don’t exist.
Your story has to be searchable. Your brand needs a heartbeat. Your prospecting system should attract, not chase.
Kimberly helped drive that point home. "We’re not selling tech. We’re not selling features. We’re selling trust."
And trust? That starts long before the demo. It often starts with a post, a DM, or a quiet signal of interest you never would’ve seen without the right tools and mindset.
Forget the golf course.
The real deals? They’re happening in the feed, in your CRM, and—yes—in the DMs.
Trust me, she’s not just posting. She’s telling stories that make people stop scrolling and start thinking.
Top Questions about Hotel Vendor Prospecting
How do I stand out when selling to hotels in 2026?
Start by ditching generic cold outreach.
Hotels expect tech vendors to understand their unique challenges. Think personalized experiences, not one-size-fits-all features. Build visibility through storytelling, helpful content, social proof, and modern CRM tools that help you identify warm leads.
Are trade shows still worth it for hospitality tech vendors?
Trade shows are useful for networking and visibility, but they shouldn’t be your entire sales strategy. Deals aren’t typically closed on the floor, unless you're aggressive about follow up, they’re closed afterward by prospects who find your content, case studies, and social presence.
Make sure your digital footprint supports your offline presence.
What’s warm prospecting, and how does it work?
Warm prospecting targets leads who’ve already shown some interest, through website visits, email clicks, or content engagement.
With the right CRM (like EngageBay), you can score those leads, trigger smart workflows, and reach out at the perfect time with relevant, high-value messaging.
What kind of content builds trust with hotel buyers?
Stories that show how you solve real problems.
Think customer success videos, behind-the-scenes demos, thought leadership on emerging trends, and clear explanations of how your tech improves the guest experience or operational efficiency. Bonus points for emotional resonance, not just features.
Why is visibility so important in hospitality sales now?
Because modern buyers are doing their homework without you. Thanks to AI and agentic search, prospects can shortlist vendors before you even know they’re looking. If your brand doesn’t show up with clear, helpful content and trust signals, you’re out of the running—no matter how good your product is.
Here’s How to Be the Hero of Hotel Marketing Budgets
When Q4 hits, hotel marketers and sales teams everywhere brace themselves for what can only be described as the “Game of Thrones” of the hospitality world: Budget Season.
Everyone’s tightening belts, cutting fat, and trying to squeeze ROI from every line item like it owes them rent.
Christine’s known for her laser-focused, guest-first strategies on the leisure side, while I wanted to bring firepower from the group side.
Together, we dropped six smart, scrappy, and sanity-saving tips to help hotel marketers become the heroes of budget season — not the scapegoats.
1. Stop Marketing to AI – Start Marketing for Humans Using AI
Let’s start with a hot one: AI is everywhere. But that doesn’t mean you’re suddenly marketing to robots.
Christine says: “You’re still doing marketing for guests. For humans who happen to be using AI tools.”
So no, you don’t need to rewrite your entire strategy for ChatGPT.
But yes, you do need to think about how your content appears in AI-powered search results. Google’s diving headfirst into AI search, and if your hotel’s marketing content isn’t feeding the “visibility engine,” you’re toast.
Fix:
Make guest reviews SEO gold: “Double down in review responses,” Christine says. Don’t just thank guests — repeat key benefits about your property. AI scrapes those twice.
Update FAQs, blog content, and landing pages to match natural, conversational search terms.
2. Your Long RFP Form is a Lead Repellent
Over on the group side, I’m just going to tell you like it is… Your website is probably losing leads.
Why?
Because it’s hiding behind a bloated RFP form.
Even professional planners don’t want to fill out a 20-field form just to ask a question.
Amazon, Netflix, Venmo and Uber have trained us to expect instant gratification. That’s why the “submit a form and wait” model is dead.
Fix:
Keep the RFP, but add a short form too — First Name, Email, and “How can we help?” Create an autoresponse that immediately answers the most common questions.
It’s cheap, fast, and effective. “Some properties saw 50% more direct inquiries just from this one change,” Cory reported.
3. Stop Letting OTAs Own Your Guests
Christine says that if your CRM is full of Booking.com or Expedia email aliases, you’ve already lost the guest.
She calls it the ABCs of hotel marketing, but not the old-school “Always Be Closing.”
It’s: “Always Be Converting.”
Meaning: convert OTA guests into direct guests. Own the relationship. Own the data.
Fix:
Prioritize CRM quality in your budget. Christine said she’s seen hotel CRMs where “40% of the emails are dead,” and Cory upped the ante: “60% of sales and catering data is useless.”
So before you chase new leads, clean up your own backyard.
4. Don’t Let Your Gold Rot in the Sales & Catering System
Legacy sales systems are filled with ghosts of groups past. Those definites, turndowns, and lost business contacts? They’re just sitting there.
They already know you. Why wouldn’t you re-engage them?
It’s not even about blasting cold sales emails. This is about warming the relationship.
Fix:
Export the data.
Clean it.
Reimport it into a basic marketing platform (We recommend EngageBay, a super affordable, easy-to-use platform.)
Send warm, helpful content. Not salesy spam.
Cost? Practically nothing. Impact? Big.
5. Stop Spreading Your Budget Like Peanut Butter
Christine dropped this gem: “A lot of hotel marketing budgets are just checking boxes. What you’re doing is peanut-buttering your dollars … spreading too thin.”
The result? Campaigns that are everywhere and nowhere at once.
If Google Ads isn’t working like it used to? Kill it. If Meta search is gaining traction? Shift budget. Don’t stay married to the past.
Fix:
Be nimble. Audit performance regularly.
Focus budget on what’s working now, not what “used to work.”
Meta search is worth considering if you haven’t already — especially now that Google’s Hotel Booking Links are easier to tap into.
6. Traditional Prospecting is Dead. Long Live Turbo Prospecting.
It’s no secret, cold calling sucks.
I don’t like cold prospecting. I don’t like dialing for dollars. I don’t like circling back or checking in.
Only follow up with people who show interest — those breadcrumbs matter.
Connect on LinkedIn if the intent is there. This a much less painful and more effective way to sell.
This isn’t just smart; it’s sales for the 2025 era.
Before You Finalize That Hotel Marketing Budget…
Christine says, “Just because you’ve done it in the past doesn’t mean we should continue.”
Especially in a year where AI is reshaping search, consumers are changing behaviors, and cost-cutting is a top-line directive from ownership.
Rethink what “must-haves” really are.
If you’re looking to trim fat?
Christine’s top cut: paid media that’s not converting. Wasted Google Ads and Meta spend with high bounce rates can tank your KPIs.
My top cut: third-party commissions. Add a short form. Own the guest. Stop paying for what you could have captured directly.
The Bottom Line
This year, marketing doesn’t need a bigger budget — it needs a smarter one.
Cut what’s not working. Own the guest relationship. Clean up your data. And please, for the love of conversions, stop hiding behind 20-field forms.
Budget season isn’t a curse — it’s your chance to be the revenue MVP.
Hotel Marketing Budget FAQs
1. What are the best hotel marketing strategies during budget season?
The smartest hotel marketing strategies during budget season focus on doing more with less. That means cleaning up your CRM, shifting ad dollars to high-performing channels like metasearch, making RFP forms more user-friendly, and using AI tools to streamline content creation without sacrificing personalization.
2. How can hotels get more direct bookings and reduce OTA commissions?
Hotels can boost direct bookings by adding simple inquiry forms to group and event pages, enhancing review responses for SEO, and prioritizing CRM data quality. The key is converting OTA guests into loyal direct bookers by owning the relationship from the first interaction.
3. Why should hotels stop relying only on long RFP forms on their website?
Long RFP forms are a major friction point, especially for event planners who just have a quick question. Hotels that add a short, easy-to-fill contact form alongside the RFP have seen up to 50% more inquiries — a simple fix with huge payoff.
4. What’s the best way for hotel sales teams to warm up cold leads?
Use “turbo prospecting” — send out light, value-packed emails using a CRM or marketing platform, then follow up only with contacts who open, click, or visit your site. Focus your outreach on people showing interest, not just a cold list.
5. How should hotels reallocate their marketing budgets for better ROI?
Instead of spreading your budget across every channel, double down on what’s actually working. If Google Ads are slipping, consider investing in metasearch or CRM-driven campaigns. A flexible, agile budget delivers stronger ROI than a “check-the-box” approach.
Stop Chasing the Wrong Leads. Start Closing the Right Ones.
Hotel salespeople are drowning in leads: RFPs, inbound requests, third-party submissions, referrals.
It’s a firehose that feels more like survival than selling.
I joke it’s like being stuck on a hamster wheel. Lots of motion, zero momentum.
So, I sat down with my buddy Mike Medsker, co-founder of SIV, at Paradise Point Resort to talk about something we call lead literacy, so we can have a better understanding of which leads actually matter.
Spoiler: not all of them do.
Hotel Sales Strategies Start with Knowing Which Leads Deserve Your Time
Mike says: “We generally like to break down group leads by type, by source, and by planner.”
Translation? A lead isn’t just a name in the inbox; it’s a category that carries context. Understanding the difference is one of the most important hotel sales strategies you can master.
Inbound leads are the traditional bread and butter—planners with dates, rates, and space requirements.
Outbound leads come from hustle—sales teams pounding the pavement at conferences like IMEX or MPI. They may not convert instantly, but they’re seeds that can grow.
Direct leads (website, email, phone) often carry stronger intent.
Third-party leads (Cvent, HelmsBriscoe, ConferenceDirect) mean you’re competing against a dozen hotels in multiple markets.
And don’t forget the planner variable: professional vs. DIY.
As I pointed out to Mike, rookie planners are often the best prospects. They don’t know the lingo, they’re not blasting 20 hotels, and they’re wide open to a bit of hand-holding.
Build that relationship early, and you’ll win them for life.
👉 Pro Tip: Don’t ignore the rookies. Teach them the ropes and you’ll be their go-to forever. Nurturing DIY planners isn’t just smart, it’s a long-term hotel sales strategy that builds loyalty
The Waiting Game is Costing You Business
Here’s where most hotels blow it: timing.
Mike told me, “30 to 40% of leads now come outside of business hours.” Translation: that Friday 4 p.m. request? If you don’t reply until Monday afternoon, you might as well not reply at all.
And yet … most hotels are still stuck in the “lead catcher” model, sending a sad little auto-response from [email protected].
That’s not just slow. It’s impersonal.
Mike adds, “Your hotel’s not gonna be the right fit for every lead.” If you’re spending time on mismatched inquiries while ignoring hot prospects, you’re losing revenue and credibility.
Pro Tip: Planners don’t care about your “business hours.” To them, Friday-to-Monday isn’t 12 hours—it’s 72.
Winning with Speed, Personalization, and Focus
The smartest hotels are learning to prioritize.
Step one? Stop pretending every lead is equal.
Step two? Add personalization and speed where it matters most.
Here’s how:
Humanize the response. “You want that initial response back when somebody expresses interest in coming from your hotel,” Mike explained. Better yet, have it come from the actual seller. Bonus points if you follow up with a text within minutes.
Don’t ghost non-professional planners. These folks aren’t reaching out to 20 hotels. They want guidance, and if you’re the one holding their hand, you win their loyalty (and often at a premium).
Personalize the nurture. Forget e-blasts. No one wants to be blasted! Drip valuable, personalized insights that keep your hotel top-of-mind without feeling like spam.
Reframe the conversation. Instead of hammering “need dates” and minimums, make the planner the hero. “If you can position your hotel as the best property for their needs,” Mike said, “they’ll often pay 10 to 15% more.”
Cvent’s Meeting Planner Survey found that planners often pay 10–15% more for hotels they trust over cheaper alternatives.
By flipping the script—fast responses, direct seller connections, and focus on quality over quantity—the sales team started closing more business before competitors even hit “send.”
Fast follow-up isn’t just good service ... it’s a proven hotel sales strategy that directly impacts conversion rates
Direct leads—those that come through your hotel’s website, phone, or email—usually convert at higher rates than third-party leads because the planner has already shown interest in your property. Non-professional planners can also be strong opportunities since they typically reach out to fewer hotels.
2. How fast should hotels respond to group sales leads?
Within five minutes of receiving an inquiry, if possible. Research shows conversion rates are up to 8x higher when responses happen in that window versus an hour later.
3. Are third-party RFPs from platforms like Cvent worth the time?
Yes, but they’re competitive. To stand out, hotels need to sell not just their property but their destination. Prioritizing fit—quickly identifying which RFPs align with your space, dates, and services—prevents wasted effort.
4. How can hotels handle leads that come in outside of business hours?
Automation helps. Auto-responses branded to the hotel and tied to a real seller’s name (not just [email protected]) create instant trust. A follow-up text or personalized email can bridge the gap until a sales manager connects in person.
5. What’s the best way to nurture leads that aren’t ready to book?
Avoid “e-blasts.” Instead, send personalized, value-driven touches—like event planning tips, local destination content, or case studies. No one wants to be blasted. Everything in personalization.
Why your hotel tech sales strategy is annoying buyers and what to do instead
Look, I love this industry. I’ve spent decades helping hotel tech companies break through the noise. But there’s one thing we have to talk about: the pitch slap epidemic.
You know what I’m talking about.
Cold DMs. “Circling back” emails. Random calls asking for “just 15 minutes.”
It’s exhausting. And worse, it’s ineffective.
That’s why I brought in my friend Don Barnett, Director of Sales and Marketing at LondonHouse Chicago, to talk shop on The InnSync Show. Don’s in a unique position, because he’s both the pitcher and the target. And he didn’t hold back.
“If I got a hundred bucks for every cold pitch I get in a day, I could probably retire by year’s end.”
How to Modernize Your Hotel Tech Sales Strategy
The Old Playbook Is Ineffective and, Quite Frankly, Annoying
Hotels are running lean. Teams are smaller, roles are stretched, and time is the most precious commodity in the building. Yet somehow, vendors are still opening with “Got a sec?”
Spoiler: we don’t.
And those generic, AI-generated pitches? They’re landing like a wet towel. No context. No relationship. No chance.
Today’s Hotel Buyers Want to Discover, Not Be Sold
“We’re doing the research ahead of time,” Don says. “I’m on LinkedIn checking for mutual contacts, reading reviews, asking around. I don’t need someone to sell me. I need someone I can trust when the time’s right.”
Sound familiar?
This is the shift: hoteliers are now in control of the buyer’s journey. If you’re trying to insert yourself too early — or too aggressively — you’re not just being ignored, you’re being remembered (for all the wrong reasons).
So What’s Working for Hotel Tech Sales Strategy in 2025?
Be Found. Be Helpful. Be Human.
Let’s break this down. Here’s Don’s 3-pillar playbook for hotel tech vendors that actually want to get noticed:
1. Your LinkedIn Is Your Landing Page
If your profile looks like it’s from 2017, we’re not taking you seriously. Update your headline. Add testimonials. Share wins. Show your face. And above all, speak directly to the problems you solve.
2. Stop Pitching. Start Teaching.
Nobody wants another feature list. Give me content that educates. Show me use cases. Share insights. Answer the questions I haven’t asked yet.
“Thought leadership doesn’t mean being loud,” Don said. “It means being useful.”
AI is changing the way people discover solutions. LinkedIn posts, Google searches, and even ChatGPT prompts are all indexing your content. If you’re not creating keyword-rich, question-based content, you’re invisible when buyers go hunting.
And Please, Don’t Be “That Guy”
Don shared this gem: “Someone tried to get to me by calling our housekeeping manager. Now, that person is on my do-not-call list. Forever.”
Don’t be slick.
Don’t spam contact forms.
And for the love of hospitality, don’t trick your way into a conversation.
Play the Hotel Tech Sales Long Game Like a Pro
You want to know how we ended up working together?
“Cory never cold-pitched me,” Don said. “We dialogued for years. Then one day, it clicked. And here we are.”
Because no one ever said “yes” to the guy who wouldn’t stop calling.
Booked, Busy, and AI-Ready: The New Playbook for Hotel Group Sales Success
If you’ve noticed a slowdown in inbound RFPs lately, you’re not imagining things. In fact, you’re likely in the middle of what I call the Great Lead Drought of Hospitality.
I recently sat down with hotel sales trainer and certified Gap Seller, Celeste Berke Knisely, on the InnSync Show, and she confirmed what so many of us are seeing: inbound leads are drying up in some markets by as much as 30%.
That’s not a seasonal slump. That’s a crisis.
And what’s worse? Many hotel sellers are doubling down on hope as a strategy.
Hope isn’t a strategy. It’s a symptom.
Let’s unpack what’s really going on … and more importantly, how we turn this around.
What’s Drying Up the Pipeline?
Celeste and I uncovered four major culprits:
Vanishing International Travel
Hotels that relied heavily on overseas business are still feeling the sting.
In some U.S. cities, travel from abroad hasn’t bounced back, creating huge revenue gaps, especially for properties near convention centers and major tourist destinations.
The Work-From-Home Hangover
The pivot to remote work wasn’t temporary; it’s a cultural shift.
Companies slashed travel budgets, killed in-person meetings, and many never looked back. The result? Fewer conferences. Fewer corporate off-sites. Fewer inbound leads.
The Rise of Agentic Search
Planners—especially non-professionals like executive assistants and even sports moms—are using AI tools like ChatGPT to bypass the traditional RFP process entirely.
Celeste planned a 30-person hotel block in minutes using a prompt. No RFP. No brand website rabbit hole. No delay.
“Once you get a taste of this,” she said, “why would you go back?”
She’s right. I’ve done it myself. I was able to source hotels, compare pricing, and get recommendations in under five minutes using AI.
We’re Not Talking to the Right Buyers
According to Cvent, up to 80% of smaller meetings (under 75 attendees) are now planned by non-professional planners.
Most branded hotels? They aren’t even speaking their language. These buyers need hand-holding and clear, simple answers, not a maze of RFP forms and PDFs.
If lead volume is down and pipeline isn’t being proactively built, it starts a chain reaction of lower RevPAR, slashed GOP, and, let’s be honest, headcount cuts.
If you’re a seller making $60K/year, leadership is expecting you to carry at least a $250–300K pipeline.
That doesn’t happen by waiting around.
How We Turn the Faucet Back On
1. Make the Mental Shift: From Farmer to Hunter
We’ve gotten soft. Hospitality has been spoiled by a steady stream of inbound leads.
But now? It’s time to hunt. Not with desperation but with relevance, confidence, and intention.
2. Get Uncomfortable (and Stay There)
Cold calling might not be your jam, but outbound doesn’t mean just calls. It can be:
These aren’t just SEO tactics, they’re trust signals.
5. Use Your Hidden Gold
Got an old CRM? A dusty list of lapsed clients? Mine it. Add value.
Send monthly check-ins with tips, resources, and examples of recent wins. Not everyone is ready to buy, but you’ll be top-of-mind when they are.
The Big Shift: Sales Is Now 80% Marketing
Here’s the truth: by the time a planner reaches out, they’ve already shortlisted you, or they haven’t.
That means your visibility online, your thought leadership, your LinkedIn activity, and your response speed are the new front desk.
Sellers who don’t embrace this new ecosystem will get replaced, either by tech or by competitors who do.
A Better Way Is Coming
That’s why Celeste, Susan, and I are building something different.
We’re developing a community-driven, AI-enabled, snackable training program to help hotel sellers build pipeline, stay visible, and grow in a rapidly shifting market.
It’s not a one-time workshop. It’s a mindset. A motion. A movement.
If you’re a hospitality seller who wants more control, more confidence, and more commission, we’re building this for you.
Because no one should be stuck waiting on leads that never come.
Let’s refill the pipeline—together.
How to Stop Getting Ghosted and Start Getting Respect
“Happy Monday,” Celeste Berke-Knisely says, smiling through the chaos. It sounds like a casual greeting—except it’s not.
Not in hospitality.
Not when you’re trying to sell to hotel general managers.
If you’re still sending cold emails like it’s 2015, I’ve got news for you: they’re not ignoring you because they’re rude. They’re ignoring you because you’re irrelevant.
I recently sat down with Celeste—former Regional Director of Sales with 19 hotels under her belt, and married to a current General Manager—and let’s just say, she didn’t hold back.
“General managers are completely inundated,” Celeste told me. “Most sellers don’t have a clue what a GM’s day actually looks like.”
Let me translate: if you’re pitching tech, spa robes, or scented candles without realizing your prospect is mid-crisis with an overbooked wedding and a broken HVAC… you’re just adding to their problems.
Every “just checking in” email? That’s one more reason your name’s headed for the block sender list.
And Celeste’s real talk hit hard:“If your product doesn’t improve guest satisfaction, and it actually distracts from it—you’re stealing their time.”
Oof. You’re not just selling at the wrong time. You’re selling the wrong way.
Common Hotel GM Complaints About Vendor Emails
Above: A word cloud visualizing common complaints from hotel General Managers about vendor emails. It reflects themes from hospitality forums, expert interviews, and survey data.
Hospitality Vendors are Not Listening — And It’s Costing You
Hotel GMs? They talk. Especially about bad vendors.
Celeste shared a story about her husband—also a GM—telling a persistent vendor that unless they’re Hilton-approved, the convo’s over.
Guess what the vendor did?
Kept emailing.
“Even if they become Hilton-approved,” Celeste said, “my husband still won’t use them. They didn’t listen.”
Take note: if you’re not learning the procurement path or understanding who can actually say yes—you might already be blacklisted. You just don’t know it yet.
Don’t “Break Through.” Be Useful.
Forget the PDFs, promo codes, and “AI-powered” fluff.
What actually works? “I gave them something that helped,” Celeste said. “No strings attached.”
Imagine that. No ask. Just value.
If your product truly solves a problem, prove it … without pitching it like a buzzword salad. And if you’re still not clear on the actual problem you solve? Ask your team. If you get 20 different answers, that’s your red flag.
Reframe or Flame Out
Buyers don’t care about your features. They care about their lives.
Celeste gave me a killer example, “I used to spend every Sunday night making a report. The product that saved me that time? That changed my life with a newborn.”
The real value? Isn’t saving time. It’s giving someone their Sunday nights back.
If you’re not connecting to outcomes that matter personally, you’re selling a tool not a solution.
Can’t Get in the Inbox? Get in the Inner Circle
Let’s be honest. Your email might not even land.
So what did Celeste do?
She built a referral army.
“Who do I know that can get me an in?”
Referrals always beat cold emails. Always.
And if you’re not active on LinkedIn or YouTube? You’re not even in the game. Celeste racked up over 2 million impressions on LinkedIn in a year, solo. No social media team. Just consistent presence.
Outbound Is Not Optional
Hotel sales teams still living off inbound RFPs? Enjoy it while it lasts.
Because vendors? We’re in the outbound trenches now. And it’s tough.
“Hospitality sellers have been so well fed,” I said to Celeste. “But the buffet’s closing. And people are going to get let go.”
Build your pipeline. Or get left behind.
Your Personal Brand = Your 401(k)
Posting isn’t about going viral. It’s about being findable.
“If you’re not investing in your personal brand, don’t expect anything back,” Celeste said.
Buyers will Google you before responding. And if your digital footprint is empty? That five-figure deal might walk.
Hospitality GMs are short on time, short on patience, and drowning in bad pitches.
If you’re trying to reach them with the same tired tactics, you’re not persistent … you’re a pest.
Celeste says, “You can’t take a deposit out of a bank you’ve never invested in.”
So stop pitching. Start helping. Learn what matters to GMs. Build your credibility before you ever ask for 15 minutes because you may not get a second chance.
Here are 7 Action Items to Earn Respect (Not the Black List)
If you’re serious about selling to hotel GMs, it’s time to back up the vibe with real action.
Start here:
Audit Your Outreach: Pull your last 10 emails. Be honest … are they about you, or about them? Rewrite with empathy, not ego.
Research the Property First: Check TripAdvisor reviews, social posts, and recent news. Know if the hotel just had a renovation, bad PR, or a sold-out wedding weekend before you hit send.
Find the Procurement Path: Not every GM can say yes, but most can say no. Map the org chart and tailor your message to the true decision maker.
Give, Don’t Grab: Share something that helps their day (a staffing tip, revenue stat, or relevant trend). No ask. Just value.
Personalize Your Presence: Update your LinkedIn profile. Post weekly. Be someone buyers recognize before you pitch.
Build a Referral Pipeline: Ask current clients, “Who else do you think would benefit from this?” Warm intros beat cold emails. Every time.
Stop Hiding Behind Features: Translate your product into real-life outcomes: saved hours, fewer headaches, better guest reviews. That’s what gets you meetings.
We are at a time when hotel GMs are dodging pitches like dodgeballs, the ones who win aren’t louder … they’re smarter. They show up informed, helpful, and human.
So if you’re tired of being ghosted, blacklisted, or politely ignored, remember this:
You don’t earn respect by demanding time; you earn it by delivering value.
Start there. Stay consistent. And the next time you hit send, make sure it’s something worth opening.
Why Your Best Leads are Coming from the Places You Can’t Track
Attribution used to be simple.
A prospect clicked an ad, landed on a website, and converted. Marketers could draw a straight line from lead to sale.
But today?
That line has turned into a messy, untrackable web of interactions across dark social channels, AI-driven search, and private conversations.
After getting tagged in posts, receiving LinkedIn DMs, and seeing the rise of ‘privatized’ groups, I started wondering—how are we supposed to track leads that never leave a digital breadcrumb?
That’s why I invited Connor DeLaney, Lead Sales Consultant at IMPACT onto the InnSync Show, to see if he could shed some light on this growing challenge and help us navigate the murky waters of dark attribution.
The Hidden Sales Pipeline: Dark Social is Winning Deals Behind Closed Doors
“Companies struggle with where leads come from because it’s harder than ever to know where they’re actually coming from,” says Connor. “Fifteen years ago, tracking was easy. Now, so much of the buying experience happens behind closed doors, aka dark social, before the customer ever reaches out.”
Let’s break down what’s happening, why it’s a problem, and how you can adapt.
Why Traditional Analytics Tools Can’t Track Your Best Leads Anymore
Buyers are researching in places you can’t see. They’re DMing industry peers on LinkedIn. They’re getting product recommendations in Slack communities. They’re running AI-powered searches that don’t require clicking through to a website.
“Buyers control more of the journey than ever,” DeLaney explains. “They want to avoid the pushy salesperson. They want to research in peace and only talk to you when they’re ready.”
The kicker?
By the time they do reach out, they’re often 80% through their decision-making process—and you have no idea what influenced them.
By the time they reach out, they’re not looking for a pitch—they’re looking for validation.
Even when dark social tracking tools try to assign credit, they get it wrong.
I’ll see leads come in, and our CRM will say they came from Google Ads… but we don’t even run Google Ads.
Point is, all this focus on attribution could be hindering more than helping.
So what’s the move? Keep chasing attribution ghosts—or adapt to the new reality of buyer behavior?
The Trust Deficit: Why Buyers Avoid Your Sales Team
There’s a bigger issue at play: buyers don’t trust brands like they used to.
“They either want to interact with individuals instead of companies, or they want to get as far as possible in their research before talking to anyone,” says DeLaney.
This is why dark social (LinkedIn DMs, private channels, organic discussions) has become such a powerful driver of sales—it feels more authentic.
A LinkedIn post from a real person? Trustworthy.
A chatbot message from a corporate account? Not so much.
And yet, companies still hoard information behind gated content and vague pricing pages.
DeLaney calls this “ostrich marketing”—burying your head in the sand and hoping buyers will still come to you.
Spoiler: they won’t.
The Friction Factor: Are You Making It Harder to Buy?
“Friction is the F-word of the internet,” says DeLaney. “As soon as you create friction, buyers leave.”
Consider these common mistakes:
No pricing transparency. If buyers can’t find at least a ballpark figure, they’ll assume it’s out of their range.
Requiring a sales call for basic info. If someone has to “book a demo” just to understand what your product does, they’ll go elsewhere.
Instead of forcing buyers to jump through hoops, give them what they need upfront. If they’re well-informed before reaching out, they’ll close faster—and on their terms.
How to Adapt: Controlling the Conversation (Even When You Can’t Track It)
How do you still win business if you can’t track every touchpoint?
The answer isn’t to double down on outdated attribution models—it’s to rethink how you engage with buyers in the spaces where decisions are actually happening via dark social.
DeLaney offers three key strategies:
1. Ask buyers directly—because your CRM won’t tell the full story.
When a prospect finally books a call, they’ve already done the research. The simple act of asking, “How did you find us?” can reveal more about their journey than any tracking software ever could.
“I’ve had prospects tell me they saw a LinkedIn post, then heard my name on a podcast, then got a DM from a colleague before finally reaching out,” DeLaney says. “None of that shows up in attribution reports—but it’s the real path to conversion.”
While responses won’t be perfect (buyers might only recall their last touchpoint), collecting these insights consistently will help you spot patterns over time.
2. Invest in creating demand, not just capturing it.
Most companies focus on capturing leads already in buying mode—those searching on Google or filling out forms. But the biggest growth opportunities come from creating demand before buyers even know they need you.
Here’s how:
Be where the conversations are happening. Engage in discussions on social media channels, contribute to industry groups, and join live Q&A sessions.
Share insights freely. Post thought leadership content, answer FAQs publicly, and let buyers self-educate. If you’re the one helping them learn, you’ll be top-of-mind when they’re ready to buy.
Think beyond immediate ROI.Content that builds credibility today might not turn into a lead tomorrow—but it will when buyers hit that decision-making stage.
“When you create demand, you become the company buyers already trust before they even start looking,” says DeLaney.
3. Make it ridiculously easy to buy.
Want to lose a lead fast? Make them jump through hoops just to get basic information.
Many companies still hide pricing, require a call just to access product details, or bury FAQs behind a gated form—all in an effort to force engagement and track direct traffic. But today’s buyers don’t play that game.
“Friction is the F-word of the internet,” DeLaney says. “The harder you make it to get answers, the faster buyers will move on.”
Instead, remove unnecessary barriers:
Publish transparent pricing (or at least a pricing range).
Clearly answer common questions so prospects don’t have to email you for details.
Streamline the buying process with easy demo scheduling and self-service options.
When buyers can research freely, they come to you already confident in their decision—making the sales process faster, smoother, and far more effective.
“Most businesses don’t think like their buyers,” DeLaney points out. “But the ones who do? They win.”
The Bottom Line: It’s Not About Attribution—It’s About Trust
Attribution will never be perfect again.
And that’s okay.
The real goal isn’t to track web traffic and every step of the buyer’s journey—it’s to be so visible, so helpful, and so easy to buy from that attribution doesn’t even matter.
And as DeLaney puts it: “If you show buyers the way instead of making them figure it out themselves, they’ll choose you—whether you can track it or not.”
At the end of the day, buyers aren’t looking for another marketing campaign to funnel them through. They’re looking for credibility, clarity, and confidence in their decision. The brands that meet them where they are—without forcing them down a rigid, outdated path—will be the ones that win.
So the question isn’t how you track every touchpoint. The question is: Are you showing up where it matters most?
