Hospitality Copywriting

Hospitality begins before anybody walks through the door

A hotel can have beautiful rooms, a restaurant can serve extraordinary food and a wedding venue can look magnificent in photographs. But somebody still has to decide whether to book.

Will the hotel feel comfortable or rather too pleased with itself? Is the restaurant right for a quiet dinner or a lively Friday night? Does the wedding venue accommodate 120 guests or merely photograph well from a particular angle?

Good hospitality copywriting helps people imagine the experience while giving them the information they need to make a decision.

I’ve been writing professionally for 30 years, including work for Marriott International, Hilton, Clarion Hotels, CitySuites and Travelodge.

I help hotels, restaurants, resorts and venues explain what makes them worth visiting, staying in or returning to.

Without promising that every visit will be unforgettable.

There’s more to a hotel than somewhere to sleep

There’s a bed. Usually a bathroom. Perhaps a view, a decent breakfast and somebody at reception who knows what they’re doing. But guests choose hotels for different reasons.

A couple planning a weekend away may want character and atmosphere. A business traveller may care more about reliable Wi-Fi, transport connections and whether breakfast starts before their first meeting.

Families, conference delegates and guests celebrating special occasions have other priorities.

I’ll look at the property, its facilities, location, personality and likely guests, then establish what deserves attention.

Sometimes the strongest selling point isn’t the marble bathroom or Egyptian cotton. It’s that the station is five minutes away.

Luxury doesn’t need announcing quite so loudly

Luxury hotels and boutique properties seem particularly fond of exceptional accommodation, exquisite surroundings and unparalleled experiences. Which makes distinguishing one from another rather difficult.

Good luxury hospitality copywriting relies on specifics: architecture, design, setting, food, service and thoughtful details.

An independent country house hotel shouldn’t sound like an international resort. A contemporary city hotel doesn’t need to borrow its language from a stately home.

The words should reflect the character of the place.

If everything is exceptional, nothing really is.

Restaurants need to sound as good as the food

A restaurant’s personality comes from more than its menu. There’s the cooking, certainly, but also the atmosphere, the people and the sort of evening somebody can expect.

A neighbourhood bistro, hotel dining room and lively bar have different things to offer.

I’ll help communicate what makes yours distinctive, whether that’s the chef’s approach, the ingredients, the setting or simply the pleasure of a very good meal.

Menus need particular care. Descriptions should make dishes appealing while telling customers what they’re ordering. Ingredients and dietary information must be accurate.

And not everything requires a little drizzle of something.

Give people a reason to book directly

Potential guests compare properties across websites, search results, booking platforms and review sites.

Your own website needs to do more than repeat what’s available elsewhere.

It should describe rooms, facilities and location clearly, answer practical questions and make booking straightforward.

I’ll develop search-friendly copy around the things guests actually look for, including relevant locations, amenities and experiences.

The aim is to build confidence and encourage direct enquiries or bookings.

Not to cram luxury hotel near somewhere into every other sentence.

Special occasions need practical information too

Weddings, conferences and celebrations come with considerable expectations.

They also involve guest numbers, catering, accessibility, accommodation, budgets and plenty of decisions.

A wedding couple wants to imagine their day. A conference organiser wants to know whether the venue can accommodate 200 delegates and provide a functioning projector.

Good venue copy combines atmosphere with the details people need to compare options and enquire.

There’s quite enough complication already.

Hospitality copywriting services

I write for hotels, boutique properties, resorts, restaurants, bars, spas, hospitality groups, wedding venues and conference centres. Projects include:

Hotel and hospitality website copy
Room, suite and accommodation descriptions
Restaurant websites and menu copy
Luxury hotel and resort brochures
Wedding, conference and events marketing
Hospitality brand messaging and tone of voice
Guest information and welcome materials
Direct-booking and promotional landing pages
Destination and local area guides
Hospitality blogs and editorial articles
Email campaigns and seasonal promotions
Corporate communications and annual reports

I can work directly with you or alongside your marketing team, agency, designer or hotel management company.

Thirty years of finding what makes somewhere different

Journalism, government speechwriting and commercial copywriting have taught me to research unfamiliar subjects, ask useful questions and find the details worth sharing.

In hospitality, those details don’t always appear on a facilities list.

They’re in the atmosphere, the people and the small things that make somewhere distinctive.

I’ll find out what matters to your guests and give it the words it deserves.

Without making a perfectly pleasant hotel sound like the gateway to paradise.