Choosing a marketing agency is a big decision for a small hotel, restaurant, or spa. A good one can fill quiet nights and cut your reliance on booking sites. A poor fit can cost you a year, a budget, and, at worst, control of your own website and ad accounts. The 10 questions below help you tell the difference before you sign. We are an agency ourselves, so we have an obvious interest here. We have written them as questions any good agency, us included, should be able to answer clearly.
Quick answer
Speak to three agencies, send them the same brief and ask each the same 10 questions. Judge them on hospitality experience, how they will measure bookings, who does the work, who owns your accounts, and how easily you can leave. Then start with a 90-day trial, not a 12-month contract.
1. Before you speak to any agency
Agencies give better answers to a clear brief. Spend an hour on these four points first, and you will compare like with like.
- Your goal. Pick one or two outcomes for the next six months, such as more direct room bookings, fuller midweek tables or more treatment bookings. “More marketing” is not a goal.
- Your budget. Decide a monthly fee and a separate ad budget before anyone quotes. Our guide to hospitality marketing budgets shows how to work out what you can afford.
How to compare hospitality marketing agencies and choose one you will not regret. |
- Who owns the relationship. Name one person in the venue who briefs the agency, approves work, and reads the reports. Without that person, even a good agency drifts.
- What you already have. List your website, booking engine, Google Business Profile, ad accounts, email list and social accounts, and who holds the logins today.
If you are still deciding whether an agency is right for you at all, read In-house vs agency marketing for hospitality SMEs first.
2. The 10 questions to ask
For each question, here is why it matters, what a good answer sounds like, what should make you cautious, and how to check the answer.
a. Which hospitality businesses like ours have you worked with, and can we speak to one?
Marketing a hotel, restaurant, or spa is different from marketing a shop. Booking engines, OTAs, seasonality, and reviews all change what works.
- Good answer: they name venues of a similar size and type, share results in bookings or revenue, and offer a client you can call.
- Weak answer: only big brands or unrelated sectors, case studies with no numbers, or no client willing to talk to you.
- How to check: call the reference yourself and ask what went wrong and how the agency handled it.
b. Who will do the work, and how often will we hear from them?
The people in the pitch aren’t always the ones who do the work. Small accounts can end up with a junior team or an unnamed freelancer.
- Good answer: they name the people, their roles, and roughly how many hours a month you get, with one main contact and a regular rhythm, such as a monthly review.
- Weak answer: “our team will handle it”, with no names and no idea of time.
- How to check: ask to meet your account lead before signing, and ask whether any work is subcontracted.
c. How will you measure success?
If you do not agree on this at the start, you will end up judging the agency on activity rather than results.
- Good answer: bookings, enquiries, revenue and cost per booking, measured against a baseline you agree at the start.
- Weak answer: reach, impressions, followers or rankings for searches that nobody books from.
- How to check: ask for a sample monthly report from a similar client, with the names removed.
d. How will you track bookings made through our booking engine or reservation system?
Many booking engines and reservation systems run on a separate website. If tracking is not set up across both, your analytics can lose the source of a booking, and nobody can tell which marketing worked.
- Good answer: they explain how they would check your tracking first, what your booking engine supports, and where the limits are.
- Weak answer: they assume clicks to the booking page equal bookings, or cannot explain how they would know.
- How to check: ask them to look at your current set-up and tell you what is missing. Our guide to tracking and automation tools explains the basics.
e. Do you work with any of our competitors nearby?
A venue down the road targets the same searches and bids in the same ad auctions. Working with similar venues is how agencies build experience, so it is not automatically a problem, but you should know.
- Good answer: they tell you openly and explain how they handle it, or they do not take direct competitors in the same area.
- Weak answer: a vague or evasive answer.
- How to check: ask the question directly and note the answer in writing.
Want to test us with these questions?
ThisRapt works only with UK hospitality SMEs on search, AI visibility and direct bookings. Book a free consultation, bring this list and judge our answers for yourself.
f. What is included, what costs extra, and do you mark anything up?
Retainers often look similar until you compare what is in them. Ad spend, software, photography and content can all be extra.
- Good answer: a written scope, ad spend paid directly to Google and Meta from your own card, a list of likely extra costs, and a clear answer on whether the fee is a percentage of ad spend.
- Weak answer: an “all-in” price with no breakdown, or ad spend billed through the agency with no detail.
- How to check: ask for a sample invoice and see who the ad platforms will bill.
g. Who will own our website, ad accounts, Google Business Profile and data?
If the agency owns your accounts, leaving becomes slow and expensive, and you can lose years of history.
- Good answer: you own every account and the website, in your business name with your billing, and the agency is added as a user with the access it needs.
- Weak answer: accounts created in the agency’s name, or a website on a platform you cannot move away from.
- How to check: before signing, list every account and write down who the owner is.
h. What would you do in our first 90 days, and what do you need from us?
A plan shows whether they have looked at your venue. The second half matters too: agencies need photos, offers, logins and quick approvals, and owners often underestimate this.
- Good answer: a specific plan that starts with fixing the basics, plus a clear list of what they need from you and how much of your time it takes each week.
- Weak answer: a standard package that could be for any business, and nothing asked of you.
- How to check: compare the plans side by side. The one that asks sensible questions about your venue is usually the stronger agency.
i. Can we start with a short trial or a fixed project?
A long contract before you have seen the agency work is the most expensive way to find out it is the wrong fit.
- Good answer: a 90-day trial or a defined project with a review at the end, then a rolling monthly agreement.
- Weak answer: a 12-month minimum from day one, with no review point.
- How to check: some work, such as SEO, takes longer to show results, so agree early signs to check at 90 days, such as enquiries and calls.
j. What happens if we part ways?
You find out how good an agency is when you leave. A clean exit protects your bookings and your data.
- Good answer: a clear notice period, such as a month, a full handover of access, files and reports, and no fee to release your domain or accounts.
- Weak answer: no exit terms, transfer fees, or “we will sort that out if it happens”.
- How to check: ask to see the exit and handover clause in the contract before you sign.
3. Red flags to walk away from
Guaranteed rankings, or “page one in 30 days”. No one controls Google’s results.
Answers you cannot follow. A good agency can explain its plan in plain English.
Reports full of reach and impressions, with no bookings or enquiries.
Accounts set up in the agency’s name, or reluctance to give you admin access.
Pressure to sign quickly, such as a discount that expires today.
The same package for every venue, before they have looked at yours.
Offers to buy or write reviews, or to ask only happy guests. Fake reviews are banned under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, and platforms remove them. Our reputation management guide covers honest ways to get more.
4. Score agencies side by side
After the meetings, score each agency from 1 to 5 on each row, multiply by the weight, and add up the totals. Agree the weights before the meetings, so a polished pitch does not change your priorities.
| Criterion | What a 5 looks like | Weight |
| Hospitality experience | Similar venues, references you have called, results shown in bookings | 20% |
| Measurement and tracking | A clear plan to track bookings and cost per booking from day one | 20% |
| People and communication | A named team, realistic time, and a rhythm that suits you | 15% |
| Ownership and exit | You own every account, a short notice period, and a clear handover | 15% |
| First 90 days | A specific plan for your venue and clear asks of you | 15% |
| Price and transparency | A written scope, no hidden mark-ups, ad spend paid directly | 15% |
Price carries only 15% on purpose. The cheapest agency is rarely the best value if it cannot show what it delivered. If two agencies score within a few points, choose the one whose people you would rather work with.
5. A six-step selection process
- Write a one-page brief. Your goal, budget, venue type, what has and has not worked, and when you want to start.
- Shortlist three agencies. Look for hospitality work you can see for yourself, and ask other owners who they use.
- Send the same brief to each. Ask them to answer the 10 questions, in writing or in a meeting.
- Score and check references. Use the table above, and call at least one client of each finalist.
- Start with 90 days. Agree the targets, the reports, and what happens at the review.
- Review honestly at day 90. Continue, change the scope, or stop. Decide on bookings and cost per booking, not activity.
6. What to check in the contract
Before you sign, make sure the contract sets out in writing:
- what is included each month, and what costs extra
- how fees work, including any percentage of ad spend or mark-up on software
- that Google and Meta bill ad spend to you directly
- that you own the website, content, photos, designs and every account once they are paid for
- the minimum term, the notice period and what a handover includes
- how often you get reports, and what they contain
- how the agency handles guest data, under a data processing agreement that meets UK GDPR
This is general guidance, not legal advice. For a larger contract, ask a solicitor to read it.
7. Key takeaways
- Write a short brief, and name one person in the venue who owns the agency relationship.
- Ask three agencies the same 10 questions, and score them on the same table.
- Judge them on bookings and cost per booking, not posts or impressions.
- Keep ownership of your website, ad accounts, Google Business Profile and data.
- Start with a 90-day trial and a clear exit, then decide on results.
Next, read our guide to hospitality marketing budgets to set the fee and ad spend before you ask for quotes, or go back to the hospitality marketing guide for small businesses.
8. Frequently asked questions
Three is usually enough. Fewer gives you little to compare, and more takes time a small team rarely has. Send all three the same brief and questions so the answers are comparable.
Not always, but it helps. A specialist already knows booking engines, OTAs, seasonality and reviews, so you spend less time explaining. A generalist can work if it shows relevant results and takes time to learn your business.
Not on its own. It is a common way to charge for managing paid ads. The risk is that the agency earns more when you spend more, so ask for a cap or a flat fee, and judge results on cost per booking.
Paid ads can show bookings within weeks. SEO and content usually take several months. Agree early signs to check at 90 days, such as enquiries, calls and visibility for booking searches, so you can judge progress fairly.
Usually, yes, if you own your website, Google Business Profile, analytics and ad accounts. Rankings belong to your website, not the agency. Problems start when accounts sit in the agency’s name, so check ownership before you sign.
Bookings or enquiries from marketing, cost per booking, revenue where it can be tracked, and what the agency did and plans next. Reach and impressions can be included, but they should not be the headline.
It varies widely with scope, from small monthly retainers for one channel to larger fees for full-service work, plus your ad spend. Our guides to marketing budgets and to in-house vs agency costs show how to work out what makes sense for your venue.
