How Identity Marketing Helps Hotels Reclaim Direct Bookings

This sponsored content was created in collaboration with a Skift partner.

Hotels invest heavily in digital marketing, yet most travelers who visit their websites leave without booking — only to be captured later by online travel agencies (OTAs). This missed opportunity not only increases reliance on third-party platforms but also inflates acquisition costs and erodes guest relationships. The good news? Identity marketing offers a game-changing solution.

Traditional marketing methods, such as CRM-driven email campaigns and retargeting ads, often fail to engage travelers at the right moment. With privacy changes limiting third-party tracking and AI-driven booking assistants reshaping consumer behavior, hotels must adapt to a new reality. 

Identity marketing bridges this gap by recognizing high-intent visitors in real time, enabling hotels to deliver timely, personalized interactions that drive conversions before potential guests turn to competitors.

“Our new guide explores how hotels can transform anonymous website visitors into recognized, engaged travelers,” said Ronen Kadosh, head of travel and ticketing at Wunderkind, a performance marketing platform. “By leveraging real-time data and personalized outreach, hotels can increase direct bookings, reduce OTA dependence, and create a seamless guest experience.”

Wunderkind’s guide, “The Future of Hotel Marketing: Unlocking Direct Bookings With Identity Marketing,” highlights how identity marketing enables hotels to maintain visibility and stay competitive amid the growing influence of AI platforms, OTAs, and evolving consumer behaviors. 

“Without real-time recognition and engagement, even the best marketing efforts fall short, leaving potential guests to book elsewhere,” Kadosh said. “In a landscape where OTAs and AI-driven platforms dominate, hotels need to take back control of their guest relationships.”

Discover how leading hotels are using identity marketing to drive revenue and secure guest loyalty. Download the full guide to learn actionable strategies that will redefine your approach to digital engagement.

What’s Inside

• The Problem: Why most hotel website visitors remain anonymous and unconverted, leading to lost booking opportunities.
• OTA Dependence: How third-party platforms capitalize on hotel website abandonment, increasing commission costs and diminishing guest relationships.
• Identity Marketing Explained: Turning anonymous website visitors into recognized, engaged travelers through real-time identification and personalized outreach.
• Real-Time Engagement: How hotels can boost conversions by acting on traveler intent at the right moment, rather than relying on delayed CRM campaigns or outdated retargeting.
• Maximizing First-Party Data: Why leveraging identity resolution allows hotels to engage past guests, loyalty members, and high-intent visitors without relying on third-party tracking.
• AI and Privacy Challenges: How the decline of third-party cookies and the rise of AI-powered travel assistants make real-time guest recognition more critical than ever.
• The Financial Impact: How identity marketing reduces guest acquisition costs, increases direct revenue, and minimizes reliance on costly third-party platforms.
• Competitive Advantage: Why hotels that integrate identity marketing will secure more direct bookings, retain customer loyalty, and future-proof their business against digital disruption.
• Actionable Strategies: Steps hotels can take today to implement identity marketing, optimize engagement, and reclaim control over their guest relationships.

Download Wunderkind’s "2025 Hotel Identity Guide" to learn more.

This content was created collaboratively by Wunderkind and Skift’s branded content studio, SkiftX.