Social media for hotels, B&Bs and holiday lets: a practical guide

Guests book on a feeling, then check the facts. Social media is where you create the feeling; Google and review sites are where they check.

For a hotel, Google Business Profile shows your details, photos and reviews. Google's hotel help page says a verified hotel profile can edit services and amenities in the 'Hotel details' section, that hotels cannot edit business hours because they are open around the clock, and that prices and booking links on the profile come from Google Hotel Ads and free booking links.

Holiday lets are different. Google's eligibility guidelines list rental properties such as vacation homes as not eligible for a Business Profile, because a business must make in-person contact with customers during its stated hours; a staffed sales or leasing office can be eligible. If you run self-catering homes, put your effort into Instagram, Facebook and your booking platform listings instead.

Sources: Google Business Profile Help: Get started with a Business Profile for your hotel, checked 15 October 2026; Google Business Profile Help: Business eligibility and ownership guidelines, checked 15 October 2026

Three or four posts a week plus stories on busy days works for most small hotels and B&Bs. Holiday let owners can post less often, as long as the posts show each property clearly.

• Monday: a room or property tour, filmed in one slow take.
• Tuesday: the area. A walk, a café, a view, a local event this month.
• Wednesday: food and small touches, such as breakfast, the welcome tray or the fire lit in the lounge.
• Thursday: people. The owner, the housekeeper, the chef, with their permission.
• Friday: availability or an offer, with the full price.
• Weekend: a guest's photo or review, shared with permission.

A beautiful but misleading photo turns into a disappointed guest and a bad review. Make the room look its best, but make sure it is the room people will get.

1. Shoot in daylight with every light on and the curtains open.
2. Stand in a corner at chest height so the room looks the size it really is.
3. Show the real bathroom, the real view and the real size of the bed.
4. Name the room type in the caption, so nobody expects the suite and books the standard room.
5. Film a slow walkthrough from the door to the window for Reels and stories.
6. Update photos after any refurbishment, and remove ones that no longer match.
7. For holiday lets, show the kitchen, the parking and the stairs as well as the view.

If you post a rate, post the real one. In the US, the FTC's Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees has applied since 12 May 2025 to any business that offers, displays or advertises short-term lodging, including hotels and vacation rentals, online or anywhere else. It requires the total price, including all mandatory fees, to be disclosed whenever a price is shown, with limited exceptions such as government charges.

In the UK, the CMA's guidance says traders must give the total price up front and that hiding additional mandatory fees until later in the booking (drip pricing) is illegal. A 'from' price is allowed if it includes all mandatory charges and does not mislead people about what it covers. This is general information, not legal advice.

• Include resort, cleaning or service fees that every guest pays in the price you post.
• If you post a 'from' price, make sure rooms are genuinely available at it.
• Say which nights or room type the price applies to.
• Keep optional extras, like breakfast or late check-out, clearly separate.

Sources: FTC: The Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees, frequently asked questions, checked 15 October 2026; GOV.UK (CMA): Providing clear and accurate information about prices, summary, checked 15 October 2026

Reply to every review on Google and Tripadvisor, good and bad. Tripadvisor's guidelines say management responses are posted under the review for anyone to see, must not include promotional content or offers of gifts, must not threaten the reviewer or speculate about who they are, and must not accuse them of review fraud.

Never offer a discount, upgrade or free drink for a review. Google's policy bans incentives and selectively asking for positive reviews, the FTC's rule bans incentives conditioned on a review's sentiment, and the CMA lists fake and concealed incentivised reviews among banned practices in the UK.

Guests often post beautiful photos of your place. Ask before you share one, credit them, and keep their reply. For complaints in comments, thank them, apologise for the experience, and move the detail to a message. Never mention booking details, room numbers or anything private about the guest in public.

Sources: Tripadvisor Trust and Safety: Management Responses Guidelines, checked 15 October 2026; Google Maps user-generated content policy: fake engagement, checked 15 October 2026; FTC final rule banning fake reviews and testimonials (August 2024), checked 15 October 2026; GOV.UK (CMA): Unfair commercial practices guidance (CMA207), checked 15 October 2026

Plan around your quiet periods, not the weeks that sell themselves. Post about midweek breaks, shoulder seasons and local events a month or two before them.

Disclosure: Zolyp, which publishes this guide, makes an AI social media manager. It plans a balanced week across your content pillars, writes the captions and designs the visuals in your brand voice, and schedules them to Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Business, X, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and Threads. You can add your own photos to any post, and you start by approving every post. Everything in this guide works just as well done by hand.

• Week 1: check Google details, amenities and photos, and list the month's local events.
• Week 2: film room tours and two area clips in one session.
• Week 3: post an offer for your quietest dates, with the full price.
• Week 4: reply to every review and note which posts brought direct bookings or enquiries.