What a Trip to Valencia Reinforced About Hospitality Marketing (and How UK Venues Can Apply It)
Travelling as a first-time visitor is one of the clearest ways to understand how hospitality marketing actually works. When you are unfamiliar with a place and have limited time, you do not “browse”. You make quick decisions based on trust signals.
A recent trip to Valencia reinforced what we consistently advise our hospitality clients: your online presence is not just “marketing”. It is part of the guest experience. It reduces doubt, helps people choose confidently, and directly influences bookings.
This article breaks down the real-world decision journey we followed as visitors, what we relied on most, and the specific takeaways that UK hospitality businesses can apply to drive more direct bookings and footfall.
The Real Purpose of Hospitality Marketing: Reducing Doubt
When someone is choosing where to eat, drink, stay or spend their time, the core question is simple: “Will this be worth it?”
That question is particularly intense when:
the guest is visiting from outside the area
they have a limited window of time
they want to avoid disappointment or tourist traps
they are comparing multiple venues quickly
In those moments, the brands that win are not the ones with the “prettiest” marketing. They are the ones that feel easiest to trust online.
How Travellers Actually Choose Venues in 2026
Before spending any money in Valencia, we relied on four channels to narrow down our options:
1) Google Reviews and Customer Photos
Google reviews remain one of the strongest decision drivers for hospitality businesses. Not just star ratings, but the written detail and (crucially) customer photos.
Customer photos provide two things paid imagery cannot:
proof of consistency (portion size, presentation, atmosphere)
reassurance that the venue matches expectations
If the Google Business Profile had recent reviews and an active stream of customer images, it immediately moved up our shortlist.
2) Instagram Search as a Discovery Engine
Instagram is increasingly a search platform, not just a social platform. We used Instagram search like Google: looking up venue names, neighbourhood terms and dish keywords.
This is important for UK hospitality businesses because it shifts what “good social media” means. Content needs to be:
searchable (clear wording, recognisable dishes, accurate location cues)
specific (menus, specialities, signature items)
current (recent posts, not last summer’s best shots)
A polished feed without clarity does not help a user decide.
3) TripAdvisor as Secondary Validation
TripAdvisor still plays a role, particularly for visitors who want broader consensus. We did not use it to “discover”, but rather to confirm where we were going was the right choice.
The key is that TripAdvisor often becomes the tie-breaker between two options. If the photos were outdated, overly staged, or lacked food detail, it created uncertainty.
4) TikTok for Authentic Recommendations and Guides
Even as non-regular TikTok users, we found TikTok exceptionally useful for honest, real-world recommendations. The platform is increasingly where travellers look for:
short, practical guides
“what it’s actually like” reviews
venue walk-throughs
expectations setting (price, portion size, atmosphere)
For hospitality brands, this does not mean “you must be on TikTok”. It means the style of content people trust is changing: less polished promo, more real experience.
Three Key Learnings for Hospitality Brands
1) Your Content Should Reassure, Not Just Impress
The strongest hospitality content answers practical questions quickly:
What does it feel like to be there?
What does the food actually look like?
What is the vibe at the time I would visit?
Is it worth the price?
Marketing that reassures converts. Marketing that only “looks nice” often fails to drive action.
2) Real Visuals Beat Polished Promos
One behaviour was consistent: if we could not find real food photos on Instagram or in review platforms, we rarely took the risk.
This is not about perfection. It is about transparency and credibility.
For UK venues, this has a clear implication:
prioritise real plates, real lighting, real moments
encourage customers to tag you and share
regularly capture updated menu content, not just seasonal launches
This is why we often recommend iPhone-first content capture for hospitality brands. It is fast, flexible, cost-effective, and fits the “authentic” style that audiences respond to.
3) Reduce Friction on Your Website to Increase Bookings
A standout feature across Valencia hospitality websites was accessibility: the majority offered multi-language options (typically Spanish, English, Italian and German).
For tourism-heavy areas in the UK, including Oxfordshire, this is a conversion opportunity. If a user cannot confidently understand key information (menus, booking instructions, opening hours, location), they will exit and choose a competitor.
Simple improvements that reduce friction:
multi-language site options for key visitor languages
clear menu pages with prices
easy-to-find opening hours and booking links
strong internal linking from social to booking pages
Hospitality marketing is not only social content. It is the full journey from discovery to decision.
What This Means for Oxfordshire and UK Hospitality Businesses
Oxfordshire attracts a high volume of visitors. Many will make decisions exactly as we did in Valencia: quickly, based on trust signals, and often through social search rather than traditional browsing.
For venues, hotels and experience-led businesses, this means:
Google Business Profile optimisation is non-negotiable
social media content must be searchable and specific, not vague
real imagery and user-generated content drive decision-making
your website must remove friction and support direct bookings
How Ninety8 Media Supports Hospitality Brands
At Ninety8 Media, we help hospitality and experience-led brands build marketing systems that reduce doubt and drive action.
That includes:
social media strategy designed for discoverability and decision-making
content capture plans that prioritise real visuals and consistency
Google Business Profile and local SEO improvements
website messaging and user journey optimisation
campaigns that connect content, search and conversion
If you want your online presence to turn “maybe” into bookings, get in touch and we can map out the quickest, highest-impact improvements for your venue.
