Advertising for restaurants and hotels: what actually brings guests

I ran advertising for a restaurant and hotel complex for two years. I joined a project that already had two media buyers working on it, and within a few months I was the only one left.

The main finding: split, do not consolidate

Instinct says to pool the budget into one strong campaign. In this category the opposite works. A smaller budget per campaign, across more campaigns with different creatives, produces cheaper leads and more revenue than one large budget on a single setup.

The reason is simple: a restaurant does not have one audience, it has several, and each has its own reason to come. Someone looking for a wedding venue and someone deciding where to eat on Friday are different people. Full case.

What must be separated

Stream	Who they are	How the advertising differs
Events and weddings	Planning months ahead	High value, long decision, venue viewing needed
Corporate bookings	Seasonal, decided by a company	Launch early, not in December
Weekday covers	Local, deciding within the hour	Tight radius, menu and atmosphere
Rooms	Travelling in	Different geography, season and price
Special dates	One-off occasion	Short window, launch a week or two ahead

What to measure when bookings come by phone

• Taps on the phone number as an event: imperfect, but the cheapest way to see anything at all.
• Messages instead of calls: both the enquiry and the conversation stay visible.
• «How did you hear about us» at reception, logged daily in one sheet. Crude, better than nothing.
• Bookings from a site form with tracking: the most accurate, if the form is genuinely easy to use.

FAQ

Is advertising worth it if weekends are already full?

Yes, but not in the way people assume. Full weekends mean you should be advertising weekdays, events and the off-season, not the part that already works.

How far ahead should corporate bookings be advertised?

Not in December. Companies decide and book well in advance, so advertising in peak season competes for leftovers.