At Simplotel we have built websites for over 2,000 hotels, and every single time we have been asked about how we drive traffic to a website. We have been asked by those who are usually suspicious of SEO because they paid for such services in past and may or may not have seen results. And we have been asked by our customers who see a 3x plus growth in their website traffic after coming to our platform – as to how we do it. While SEO can be a deep subject, today we will attempt to outline how one must think about SEO in this post.

At a high level SEO depends on three things –

  1. Technology and layout of the website 

  2. The content on the website

  3. Things happening outside your website
     

Technology and layout of the website

In order to determine the relevance of a website for a search term (also known as a keyword) search engines have a piece of software called a Bot (derived from the word Robot) that crawls (think of it as reads) content on your website. The Bot then stores the keywords that a website is most relevant for. This is known as indexing of a website.

Unlike users, bots see the code of the website and not what users see on a website (you can view the code of most websites by right clicking on a webpage and selecting view page source). The easier this code is for the search engines to understand, the better chance you have of conveying your content to the search engines and making sure that your content gets indexed correctly. Here again there are hundreds of things that matter. These include the load time of a website, the structure of website code, mobile friendliness, proper tags and sitemaps. Detailing these is a topic for a future blog.

The layout of your website also plays an important role in search engine optimization. Clean and simple navigation, easily readable content – they all add up towards SEO friendliness. 
To get these things right a website must be built for SEO from the ground up – retrofitting these things can often mean redoing the website. The good news is that Simplotel, out of the box, takes care of all this for your hotel website.
 

The content on your website

Now that we have gotten the technical aspects covered, the next most obvious thing about SEO is the content of the website. If your website’s content is about ice cream cones then your site will be indexed for ice cream cone searches and not for hotels. If your content is about a luxury hotel, then you won’t be indexed for budget hotels and consequently it is unlikely that you will show up for searches related to budget hotels.

Content also comes in many shapes. It includes the text on the website, the images that you put, the links you provide and the various tags (page titles page descriptions etc.). Each one of these have a significance and how and where you place them also matters. Content that is higher up on a page matters more than the content that is below. On things like page titles, the content that is to the left matters more than the content that is to the right. How you structure your content with various Headers (much like a word document) matters. How you name your images, how you name the links – they all matter.

All content on your website should be original content – copying of content from another website hurts your traffic – as the search engines and users skip past you believing you have nothing new to say. Adding fresh and relevant content has also shown to impact the SEO of a website.

There is also data about your hotel (meta data) that you can provide on your website, it is not visible to your customers but tells the bots the location, name, etc. of your hotel. Once again, Simplotel does this out of the box for your site.  Our experts write the content for your hotel website so that it is all set up well. This is another reason why our customers see a 3x plus growth in traffic.
 

Things happening outside your website

After the technology and the content on the website, there are things that happen outside your website that impact search engine optimization. These include your guest reviews, your listing on Google Maps and local listing sites, your mention in travel blogs, etc. – they all matter. Here are some suggestions,

  • Verify and own your Google My Business (GMB) page and make sure that the map marker is accurate.

  • Ensure that your hotel’s name, address and contact info is exactly the same on all online channels – your social media pages, local listings and classified listings. 

  • Get good reviews by taking care of customers and encouraging customers to write a glowing review. Also, respond to your reviews on various review channels time to time.

There are few silver bullets in SEO – so you must skin it with a thousand paper cuts. Please let us know your comments, questions and feedback at hello@simplotel.com.

From Check-In Counters to Chill Zones: The Epic Evolution of Hotel Lobbies

Picture this: You step off a red-eye flight, bleary-eyed and craving calm. The old-school hotel lobby? A stark fortress of fluorescent lights, a towering front desk, and a line snaking like a bad dream. Fast-forward to today, and that same space feels like your coolest friend's luxe living room - plush sofas, bold art, maybe even a welcome cocktail. The hotel industry has flipped the script, transforming "no-frills shelters" into "fully tailored lifestyle experiences." At the heart of this revolution? The hotel lobby redesign.

No longer just a pit stop, the modern hotel lobby is a social hub buzzing with relaxation, community, and those "must-post" moments. Let's dive into how this shift is reshaping hotels and why it's a game-changer for guest loyalty and revenue.

Frictionless Arrivals

The Residential Revolution

Lobbies as Social Powerhouses

Instagrammable Overload

Seamless Shift: From Airport Stress to Pure Bliss

Bank vs. Bestie's Pad

Bye-Bye, Big Front Desk: Hello, Frictionless Arrivals

Remember queuing up at that monolithic check-in counter, handing over your ID like it was a top-secret exchange? Those days are fading fast, especially as tech-savvy Millennials and Gen Z demand speed.
Data backs it up: 70% of U.S. travelers want to ditch the desk for app or kiosk check-ins, jumping to 82% among Gen Z (Hospitality Net, 2024). Mobile keys and contactless tech free up prime real estate, turning transactional turf into revenue goldmines like bars or lounges.

Even when staff steps in, it's no queue-fest. Think "simplified check-in spaces" with plush seating and perks, a chilled towel or local coffee to ease you from travel chaos to vacation vibe. This evolution of hotel lobbies kills friction, letting guests melt into relaxation mode ASAP.

Lounges That Feel Like Home: The Residential Revolution


Ever walked into a hotel and instantly felt... cozy? That's the magic of residential-like hotel lounge design. Designers are ditching sterile vibes for lived-in luxury, making you feel "at home" from the first step.
Comfort rules: Think dimmable lights, acoustic panels, muffling chatter, and signature scents (like citrus-wood blends) that drop your stress levels. Bold colors, vibrant teal walls clashing with earthy aures grab the eye, especially for younger crowds in a sea of sameness.

Furniture? Forget rigid hotel chairs. Plush modular sofas, communal tables at varying heights, and "soft-contract" pieces (durable yet domestic-looking) mimic a high-end pad. Research from Hotel Dive shows these setups boost dwell time by 40%, meaning more bar tabs and F&B spends. Who wouldn't linger in a space screaming "stay awhile"?

Multifunctional Magic: Lobbies as Social Powerhouses

The modern hotel lobby isn't a waiting room, it's a destination. Blurring lines between hotel, café, and co-working spot, these spaces cater to digital nomads craving mingle-over-work vibes.
Integrate bars, eateries, terraces, or pop-up gardens, and you've got a community magnet. Hotels like Ace and citizenM nail this, hosting happy hours, cooking demos, or trivia nights that spark connections. One guest bonds over craft cocktails; another seals a deal at a communal desk.

It's the "whole city experience" too, local art, regional brews, or cultural nods right in the lobby. No need to venture out; the world comes to you. This hotel lobby evolution turns transients into regulars, fostering that "I'm part of something" feeling.

Instagrammable Overload: Hooking the Scroll Generation

In the TikTok era, bookings start with a swipe. Instagrammable hotel lobbies are non-negotiable for Millennials and Gen Z, who prize "extra charm" 1.6x more than boomers (Skift Research, 2024).

Bold aesthetics, neon signs, mural walls, swing chairs, aren't just pretty; they're marketing machines. Guests snap, share, and boom: free UGC (user-generated content) floods feeds, acting as hype for your brand.
Visual storytelling seals it. Stunning lobby shots on Instagram make properties feel personal, approachable. Hotels ignoring this? They're invisible in search results for "unique stays in [city]."

Seamless Shift: From Airport Stress to Pure Bliss

The killer concept in modern hotel lobby design? Frictionless flow from arrival grind to relax mode. Tech handles grunt work (check-ins, keys), while design delivers the human spark.
Engage all senses: Warm lighting mimics golden hour, soft tunes set the mood, scents signal "vacay starts now." Staff evolve from clerks to hosts, greeting with a smile, a snack, genuine chit-chat. No paperwork walls; just sincere hospitality.

It's emotional alchemy: Heart rates slow, shoulders drop, and suddenly, you're not "checking in", you're checking into an experience.

The Modern Lobby Analogy: Bank vs. Bestie's Pad

Traditional lobby = bank. Line up, transact, bounce. Modern hotel lobby = friend's high-end living room. Drink in hand, sink into the sofa, paperwork vanishes backstage. You relax first.
This shift, from form-follows-function to form-follows-emotion, redefines hospitality. Hoteliers embracing it create gateways to unforgettable stays, starting at the door.

Ready to lobby-level-up your property? What's one tweak you're eyeing for your next redesign?