3 Tips to get Hotel Collaborations as a Content Creator (2024)

I got my first hotel collaboration when I had around 760 followers. This just goes to show that no matter the size of your audience, with a few key tips and the right strategy, any creator or influencer can score hotel collaborations!

There are a few key tips & strategies I would recommend to any (smaller) content creators looking to get their feet wet in the Hotel Collaborations scene.

Nowadays, it seems that everyone is trying to do the ‘influencer hotel collaboration.’

That’s when creators are given a free stay in exchange for providing the accommodation with content including photos, videos, and sometimes even drone footage. Instagram has made it look so doable! And it can be.

Here is a breakdown of this Hotel Collaboration blog post:

I will outline the exact process I used to score my first airbnb collaboration at a huge discount, and how I got my second collab entirely free.

*DISCLAIMER- I am still fairly new to the game, and am by no means an expert on hotel collaborations. Iam simply sharing my experience, and what has worked for me in the past and recently. All opinions are my own.
This post includes affiliate links. I may make a small commission off items purchased through my links at no cost to you. Merci!

This post is all about how to get hotel collaborations as a content creator.

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1. Platforms to Reach out to- Hotels & Airbnbs

For my first ever collab, I was planning a trip to Paris and wanted to see if I could use my creator leverage to score an apartment free stay, or, at the very least, secure a nice discount in exchange for some high quality photos & videos.

With a little persistence, I was able to secure a LUXURY Paris apartment at a huge discount, all because I asked, and provided value. Keep in mind I did NOT have a large following at this time. My photography & videography skills were my selling point.

Now, with a larger following (still quite humble, but I have a high engagement rate), I position myself a little differently, and offer more value leveraging my followers rather than just my photo/video skills.

These 3 platforms below have worked well for me in terms of outreach, with Airbnb being the most successful.

Airbnb

• Look for Airbnbs that do not have a ton of listing photos
• Check the Airbnb’s calendar- stay AWAY from airbnbs that are booked out, only target ones that have many availabilities/openings
• See how many reviews they have, and prioritize ones with less than 10 reviews
• Check for a social media presence on IG- If they don’t have one, you could position yourself advantageously
  
  *You’ll want to find airbnbs that are either newer, or less popular. This gives you the best chance of receiving a reply and getting a collab offer.

Email

For hotel collaborations, I would use this approach. If you can find the email address of a hotel PR rep, always always go that route.

Spend a little time on Google, and see if you can find the hotel’s PR contact or marketing manager. The time spent on outreach gets cut in half when your pitch lands in the inbox of the right person!

You can even leverage LinkedIn to find the hotel, look at its employees, and pinpoint the exact contact you should be emailing.

Yes, I realize this is modern stalking at its finest.

Instagram DM

This is also a great approach for hotel collaborations There are many boutique hotels, especially in lesser known/less-traveled areas.

They are looking for exposure, and if you have an engaged community & proven ‘quality’ work, they are more likely to say yes.

IG recently released a new feature where you can only send one message to an account that does not follow you back, so make sure your first message is a hard-hitter.

This approach is a hit-or-miss. I’ve had one boutique hotel reach out to me via IG dms for a comped 2-night-stay in exchange for content & promotion, and I will be fulfilling that partnership in Feb 2024!

How to Find Hotels to Reach out to?

My favorite way to find hotels to reach out to hotels is by using this site here, and searching for a hotel. Now, under hotels, you can either “search nearby” or put in a specific hotel name/location if you want to plan strategically around an upcoming trip. I’m going to use this hotel as an example.

Once you’ve entered a Hotel or chose nearby, click on the big green ‘Find Hotels’ button.

Reasons why I picked this hotel (how you should do your outreach)

• The Palihouse (a gorgeous hotel in Santa Barbara), is within a 200 mile radius of me, so if they’re willing to collab in the next few weeks, it is accessible enough that I could get there.
  
• Their calendar shows a lot of availability (at the time of writing, March 5th, 2024), so that means I have a higher chance at scoring a successful collab.
  
• It fits within my audience demographic. Croissants and Cafes is all about promoting luxury & elegant places, so this hotel fits right within that sweet spot without being TOO over the top (most high end luxury places are harder to collab with, anyway. Especially if you have a smaller following).
  
• I also snuck at peek at their IG, and it seems they’ve done influencer collabs before! Which means, if I can get in touch with the right person and position my offerings well, I have a good chance of securing this collab.

Tips to get you Hotel Collaborations faster

Once you’re on the page of your selected hotel, you’re then going to scroll down and choose your travel dates. Click on the ‘Check-in’ section or hit the ‘Check Availability’ button, and browse the hotel’s booking calendar. You want to look for days/weeks that are consistently green.

These are the ‘cheaper than usual’ nights, because they typically get less bookings around those times, and they want to fill those rooms. If the calendar has several blocked out ‘green’ dates, choose the timeframe that has the MOST, if possible, and shoot your shot for that slot.

Do not go farther than 6 calendar months out, as most PR/managers do not have permission to book out comped stays that far in advance.

You WILL have more luck if you choose something that is coming up either in the next few weeks, or month. Hotels typically have a better idea what their room inventory will look like a few weeks out, rather than a few months out.

I’ve included my exact pitch template that has scored me collabs as a content creator at the end of this post, so make sure to put your email in below and I will send it to you!

2. Checking for the “right” dates

You’ll have the highest pitch success if you reach out to Hotels or Airbnbs on the right dates.

What does this mean? Pitch to hotels that aren’t fully or almost-fully booked.

Hotels & Stays are not going to want to give up one of their rooms when they can get paid for it.

However, in low-tourist seasons, checking the airbnb’s calendar for gaps (such a good one!), or simply checking the hotel’s availability, you have a much higher chance of getting a ‘YES’, because what hotel would want to turn down the opportunity for free promotion and just let an unsold room sit there?

3. Using your Creator Leverage (huge!!!)

This is arguably the most important step and how you’ll really secure that hotel collaboration.

You need to know how to position yourself before you pitch to a hotel/airbnb.

This means, knowing WHO your audience is, WHAT type of content resonates with them, and WHY the hotel or stay would find you as a mutually beneficial partner.

And what’s the best way to do this? Through your MEDIA KIT. I cannot stress this enough, your Media Kit is basically your resume, only for Creators & Brand Partners!

It is so important that you spend time thoughtfully putting together your Media Kit, so that you can impress brands right off the bat by showing them what you’re capable of, who your audience is, and whether or not you’re a good fit for them.

I’ll link my Media Kit here in case you’re keen to see what I use & have success with!

My Media Kit has gotten me tons of success when it comes to Brand collaborations. It works NOT ONLY for Hotels, I’ve also scored collabs with some of my dream companies, just by having a great Media kit.

What do you have to offer the hotel / accommodation?

This really doesn’t rely hugely on followers.

I pitched to my first Airbnb in Paris when I only had 760 followers, and even though my stay wasn’t completely free (at that point), I got a huge discount ($500+) in exchange for some photos that the host could use as promotional material.

Give the hotel/stay a clear reason why they should hire you. Here are a few below:

• You can generate Social Media content for them to use on their own platforms
• You have a niche audience that aligns with their brand and can give them access to that audience
• You have mastered affiliate marketing & can guarantee them bookings
• You have a high-traffic blog and can feature them in a dedicated post
• …and the list goes on, you get the point

**The most important thing is figure out what makes you stand out, and position that in a valuable way to the hotel or airbnb you’re pitching.

My Most Recent Collab- I have used the above approach to secure a fully comped 2-night stay at a beautiful cabin in Big Bear, which I fulfilled in December 2023.

Want to see one of the videos I provided as content exchange for 2 comped nights?

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sabrina | Travel Blogger (@croissantsandcafes)

For my exact pitch template that I used to secure this collab, add your email below and I will send it to you for FREE.

Ready for that Pitch Template?

So, there you have it! My top 3, tried-and-true tips on how to get Hotel Collaborations as a Content Creator. If you give these a try and they work for you, I’d love to know! Leave a comment under this blog and let me know what you think of these tips, and if you’ve tried any of them yourself.

As with most creators, I’m hoping to secure some paid Hotel/Airbnb collaborations in the near future! I will write another post when I’ve successfully locked that process down.

Grab my FREE PITCH TEMPLATE here! ⬇

Psst! If you’re reading this, you’re probably a travel creator! Did I get that right? Well, I’ve got just the thing for you. Check out this list of 70+ Travel Reel & Hook Ideas to inspire your next Instagram post. And hey, who knows, maybe the next reel you post will be a hotel collab!

70+ Instagram Reel Ideas for Travel Creators

Pin these Ideas!