[AUTHOR: Digital Marketing Strategist] [DATE: November 23, 2025] [CATEGORY: Hospitality Marketing | AI Search Optimization]
AI-powered search visibility refers to how prominently your property appears in Google’s AI Overview recommendations—the 3-5 properties Google suggests before traditional search results. For independent lodges and resorts, this visibility means the difference between direct bookings and paying 15-25% OTA commissions on every reservation.
When potential guests search for properties like yours, they’re booking from AI recommendations before ever scrolling to find your website. Your beautiful site, competitive rates, and five-star reviews? They never see them because you’re not in the conversation.
How Bad Is Your Search Visibility Problem?
Here’s a simple test that reveals whether you’re losing bookings right now:
- Open Google in incognito mode
- Search for your property type and location (e.g., “romantic cabin near Orillia Ontario”)
- Look at what appears before traditional results
What you’ll see:
- Sponsored listings at the top
- AI Overview recommending 3-5 specific properties by name
- Video results mixed in
- More sponsored listings
- Directory websites
The critical question: Is your property one of those AI recommendations?
If not, hundreds—possibly thousands—of potential guests searching for properties exactly like yours every month are booking your competitors before they ever see your website.
What Direct Booking Loss Actually Costs You
Let’s do the math on what invisibility means for your bottom line.
The Commission Trap: A 5-Year Comparison
| Booking Source | Year 1 | Year 5 | 5-Year Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| OTA Commissions (15-25%) | $25,000 | $35,000 | $150,000+ |
| PPC Marketing Costs | $15,000 | $20,000 | $85,000+ |
| Total Paid for Visibility | $40,000 | $55,000 | $235,000+ |
When travelers can’t find you through direct search, where do they find you?
Destination Marketing Organizations.
Airbnb.
Booking.com.
Boosted Facebook posts.
Google Ads.
Expedia.
Here’s the question that matters:
What percentage of your bookings are you currently paying commission on? 30%? 50%? 70%?
Over five years, that’s $100K-$235K+ in commission costs—all because travelers searching for properties like yours can’t find you directly.
Why Most Lodge Owners Don’t Realize This Is Happening
The real problem isn’t your website design, your photos, or your booking system. The real problem is search visibility in AI-powered results that now dominate how travelers under 40 discover properties.
Why you don’t see the crisis:
- Your business still feels stable
- Bookings are coming in through OTAs
- Repeat guests are still returning
- Revenue might even be up from last year
There’s no obvious alarm bell ringing. No crisis demanding immediate attention.
But underneath that stability, something fundamental has shifted. You’re competing with one hand tied behind your back, paying 15-25% more for each booking than you need to—and you don’t even know it.
What Changed in the Last 18 Months
For years, the SEO playbook was straightforward: Build a decent website. Get listed in directories. Collect reviews. Maybe run some Google Ads. Show up on page one of search results.
That still works… sort of.
But here’s what’s different now:
In the last 12-18 months, Google rolled out AI-powered search overviews across millions of queries, including virtually all travel-related searches. Before anyone sees traditional search results, they see AI recommendations.
Those recommendations aren’t based purely on who has the best SEO or who’s paying for ads. They’re based on how AI interprets the quality, relevance, and authority of your property based on dozens of factors most property owners have never optimized for.
The result? Some lodges show up in AI recommendations intentionally. Many did it accidentally because they happened to have the right signals in place. The ones not showing up? They’re invisible to the next generation of travelers—and worse, they have no idea it’s happening.
AI search ranking factors → Complete Guide to AI Search Optimization for Hospitality
The Two Futures: Which Path Are You On?
Scenario A: The Commission Spiral
You continue as you are. Bookings stay relatively stable, though you notice an increasing percentage coming through OTAs. Commission costs creep up year over year.
You occasionally wonder why you’re not getting as many direct bookings as you used to, but you chalk it up to “that’s just how the market is now.”
In five years: You’re paying $40-50K annually in OTA commissions and wondering where your profit margins went.
Scenario B: The Direct Booking Future
You get positioned correctly in AI search results. Travelers searching for properties like yours start seeing your name recommended by Google before they see OTA listings.
Your direct booking percentage increases from 30% to 60%. You’re paying commission on a shrinking percentage of bookings.
In five years: You’ve saved $100K+ in commission costs and built a pipeline of younger guests who discovered you directly and will become your repeat customers for decades.
The difference between these scenarios isn’t your property quality, your service, or your pricing. It’s visibility.
Direct booking strategies → The Demographic Trends Shaping Travel Planning
Is Your Website Really the Problem?
Let me guess what you’re thinking about your website: It’s a few years old. The design feels dated. Maybe it’s not mobile-optimized. The photos could be better. You’ve been meaning to update it.
And you’re probably thinking: “That’s why we’re not getting enough direct bookings. We need a new website.”
Here’s the truth: Your website is probably fine.
The Real Test of Your Website
The only question that matters: When someone actually lands on your site, do they book?
If you’ve got good photos, clear information about your property, accurate availability, and easy booking—and people who visit your site convert into guests at a reasonable rate—then your website is doing its job.
The problem isn’t your website. The problem is almost nobody is finding your website.
Website Content Optimization → Website Audit Checklist for Lodges and Resorts]
What You Need to See Right Now
If you own a lodge or resort and you’re paying more than $20,000 per year in PPC costs and OTA commissions, you need to see something.
I’ve put together a 90-second video showing:
- Exactly what happens when travelers search for properties like yours
- What they see first (and why you’re not in it)
- Which properties get recommended by AI
- Why most independent lodges are invisible
Watch it below. If what you see concerns you—if you realize you’re in Scenario A and want to move toward Scenario B—join my email list.
I’ll send you a quick series showing you how to check where your property actually appears in AI search results, who’s getting the visibility you should have, and what it means for your booking costs.
I’m also offering complimentary visibility assessments this month. We’ll spend 20 minutes looking at your specific situation. No cost, no pitch—just clarity on where you stand and what it’s costing you.
AI Cisibility assessment → Request Your Free AI Search Visibility Assessment
Key Takeaway: AI overviews and AI-generated snippets can become a significant advantage for tourism businesses that adapt to AI Search. The next generation of travelers is discovering properties through AI-powered search recommendations. If you’re not appearing in those recommendations, you’re paying thousands in unnecessary commissions while your competitors capture direct bookings. The solution isn’t a new website—it’s strategic visibility optimization.
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