Digital Presence Review
A review of what a prospective guest finds, understands and can act on before booking.
Website, booking journey, social content, listings and search, assessed together rather than by the team that owns each one. The review identifies where a prospective guest is left uncertain, where channels contradict each other, and what to change first.
When an outside perspective is useful
A property may have strong photography, an active social presence and a functioning website, and still leave guests with unanswered questions. What makes this hotel the right choice? How do the rooms differ? What is included? Can the experiences shown actually be booked?
The review is useful before a website redesign, following an opening or repositioning, or when management wants an independent view of how its offer appears online. It also helps a marketing team set priorities when the website, social channels and third-party listings tell different versions of the same story.
What the review considers
Search and AI discovery
How the property is presented in selected search results, public listings and AI-assisted discovery queries. Whether the information is accurate, consistent and useful to someone considering a stay.
Website and the offer
How clearly the website communicates positioning, room differences, dining, wellness and other experiences. Whether its words, imagery and navigation help a guest understand the offer on mobile and desktop.
Booking and enquiry
The visible route from interest to a room booking or enquiry, including selected room and rate choices, inclusions, policies and points of uncertainty. Dining or experience booking routes are included where agreed.
Social presence and public reputation
Whether recent social content gives prospective guests a real understanding of the property, and whether selected public reviews and management responses reinforce or complicate that impression.
Throughout, the question is whether the channels tell the same story, and whether a guest can act on it.
The perspective behind the review
I conduct each review personally, drawing on senior experience across luxury hospitality brand, marketing, sales and business development, and I look at the property's digital presence from the guest's side of the screen.
A beautiful room image may leave the room categories unexplained.
A restaurant promoted on social media may be difficult to book.
These gaps between presentation and decision are central to the review.
About Gretel →The standard scope
- Review of the primary website's key guest-facing pages on mobile and desktop, including the main room-booking journey.
- Review of up to two social channels, focusing on a selected sample of recent content and the routes into the property's offer.
- Selected public listings, guest reviews and management responses, with sources agreed in the brief.
- A defined sample of search and AI-assisted discovery queries relevant to the property and intended guest.
- A written report with findings and prioritised recommendations.
- An optional online management briefing of up to 60 minutes, included in the fee.
Coverage is agreed before commencement. Additional properties, languages, target markets or separately operated booking journeys are scoped and quoted in advance.
What you receive
A concise written assessment identifies what is working well, where information is missing or inconsistent, and where the route from discovery to booking creates unnecessary uncertainty. Specific examples and screenshots, where useful, make the findings clear.
Recommendations distinguish immediate improvements from work that needs your agency, developer or further investigation.
How it works
Questions about the review
How does this differ from a technical website audit?
The focus is how clearly the property communicates its offer and how a guest experiences the path to booking. Visible usability problems are flagged. Technical SEO, code and accessibility compliance are separate disciplines and are not part of this review.
We already have a marketing team or agency. What does this add?
An independent view across channels that usually have different owners. Your team receives specific observations and priorities to act on, without a change of agency or a website rebuild.
Can this explain why visitors are not booking?
It identifies visible friction, unclear information and likely barriers to booking. Measuring their effect on conversion needs analytics or testing, which sit outside a public-facing review.
What does the AI visibility assessment cover?
A defined sample of queries in the agreed AI-assisted discovery services, checking whether the property appears and whether what is returned is accurate and useful. The report records the services, queries and date. Results are a snapshot and vary by time, location and system.
Do you need access to our accounts?
No. The standard review uses publicly available information. A short briefing and a nominated contact are enough to set the scope. Any test enquiries or bookings involving payment are agreed in advance.
How does this relate to the Guest Experience Review?
This review covers the online journey. The Guest Experience Review adds a two-night on-property stay to assess how the experience is delivered in practice. The two can be commissioned separately or together.
Is the review confidential, and does it require ongoing support?
The report is confidential and engagements are not published as case studies. The review is a standalone service; your team can act on the recommendations independently. Where useful, it can be extended with a competitor comparison or a follow-up check after implementation, both scoped separately.
How long does the review take?
Normally 10 to 14 days from the agreed brief to the written report, depending on scope.
Discuss a review
To discuss a review, send the property website, the main question you would like it to help you answer, and your preferred timing.
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