Content Marketing - Travel Companies

Content marketing is crucial for companies to ensure attraction, retention and action from customers, addressing customer needs through value proposition and unique selling proposition (USP). Ultimately, it must create an opportunity for a call to action (CTA) to create a better return on investment (ROI). Content must be evaluated based on its contribution towards sales as the most vital metric across all media formats involved in the content marketing strategy.

Fig. 4. (Airbnb, 2024)

Concerning travel companies, Airbnb has mastered its funnel, ensuring its success on an international scale. Their customer reviews act as the final stage within their funnel, easily accessible on listings, summarised into clear metrics based on category, alongside written feedback from previous customers. This allows Airbnb to collect and analyse data of their listings easily. Whilst leads are on this page, the CTA to make a booking remains visible, which is further enhanced by the overall visual clarity, aimed at both increasing user experience and ensuring that a sale is as actionable as possible. Additionally, positive reviews aid customer retention and increase the chances of returning customers. 

This example is powerful because it caters to any audience looking to utilise the company's services, allowing Airbnb to efficiently collect and analyse data within its site that can be used to promote listings in the future, whilst also acting as a crucial step within current buyers’ journeys and allowing the CTA to remain prominent on this page.

Fig. 2.(Emirates , n.d.)

Content on Emirates’ website showcases the various levels of travel that they offer customers. Video content covering their First Class options covers the experience in its entirety, allowing the viewer to gauge their offering, creating intrigue and contributing towards the buyer’s journey through providing value in exchange for viewing time. Videos perfectly address who, what, when, where, why & how, enabling potential customers to determine which service best suits their requirements.

Utilising this type of content at the evaluation stage conveys a thoroughness towards Emerites’ services not typically present across other airline services. It demonstrates their recognition of their audience and buyer identity as a premium service, where details throughout the customer experience are a vital aspect of their buyer’s journey.

Fig. 3. (Hilton, 2025)

Hilton utilises long-form video content on YouTube, the most popular platform for this type of media, showcasing an F1 driver using the company's services. Below are links to key sections of the video, accompanied by CTAs in the captions to drive traffic to the website. The video significantly contributes to building awareness of Hilton and ensuring a high probability of an actionable outcome for the audience.

Featuring a well-known figure attracts the audience towards the video, bringing attention to Hilton simultaneously. Efforts made to engage with viewers’ comments further improve the engagement metrics of the content, making this effort particularly strong for the company compared to others mentioned within the presentation document.

Fig. 4. (Hilton, 2019)

Hilton also use blog-style posts, here introducing their new podcast, featuring the team members responsible for delivering the exceptional service that the company takes such pride in. Acting as original content that showcases Hilton as more than just a workplace for its employees, but as a place that brings passion and interest into their lives. This creates the impression of a higher value service compared to its competitors, providing information and boosting transparency for potential customers, and ultimately helping them along the buyer journey.

Having a platform to showcase members of staff shows the value that individuals provide to the company. At the evaluation stage of the content marketing funnel, content such as this notes the confidence in the service that Hilton provide. Unlike Airbnb, Hilton owns and operates the entirety of their operation, allowing them to take confidence in those who represent them, which makes this content pivotal when customers are deciding upon their service.

Fig. 5. (Ryanair, 2025)

Ryanair’s social media posts use filters to create an iconic trend for the company, both entertaining and humorous. It is a way to convey informative content that is tailored towards its younger audience based on social media. As a budget airline, their strategy primarily contrasts with that seen from Emirates, previously discussed. 

Using this content highlights many aspects that might hinder the travel experience; however, the company's tone and efforts to engage with their audience in this manner have allowed them to gain viral traction across their social channels, through their USP. As a company, they recognise that their audience prioritises value for money over amenities, leveraging this insight to create a tremendous positive attraction by addressing the disadvantages of their audience's preferences through total transparency towards what many would perceive as inconvenience in their customer experience.  

Link to presentation: https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/content-marketing-used-by-travel-companies/282144731

Link to video: https://youtu.be/VvbaTdMRWD8

Reference List:

Airbnb (2024). Rental unit in Paris · ★4.67 · 5 bedrooms · 6 beds · 3 bathrooms. [online] Airbnb. Available at: https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/1337655308611133662?adults=8&check_in=2026-04-10&check_out=2026-04-14&guests=8&search_mode=regular_search&source_impression_id=p3_1753788884_P38Y6bgVGwoVCwgr&previous_page_section_name=1000&federated_search_id=8da33f27-7af3-4394-8872-a437c9928f96 [Accessed 31 Jul. 2025].

Emirates (n.d.). Emirates First Class cabin features | Cabin Features | Emirates United Kingdom. [online] United Kingdom. Available at: https://www.emirates.com/uk/english/experience/cabin-features/first-class/ [Accessed 31 Jul. 2025].

Hilton (2019). New podcast lets Hilton team members share their stories. [online] Stories From Hilton. Available at: https://stories.hilton.com/corporate-news/hilton-team-members-share-their-passion-in-engaging-podcast-series [Accessed 31 Jul. 2025].

Hilton (2025). Lando Norris: A Day in the Life with Hilton. [online] YouTube. Available at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCu6cnDpRrQ [Accessed 31 Jul. 2025].

Ryanair (2025). Ryanair_European_Airline on Instagram: ‘have you tried living in the moment? 🙄’. [online] Instagram. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/DMdPL_BvV6I/?hl=en&img_index=1 [Accessed 31 Jul. 2025].