A new travel technology platform is launching to help hotels, villas and unique stays connect with vetted travel creators.
Founded by South Wales marketing strategist Rachel Haines, Hotel Collab has been created to solve a growing challenge in hospitality marketing: how hotels manage creator interest, influencer requests and content partnerships in a more structured and professional way.
Travel discovery is changing rapidly. Expedia Group’s 2025 Traveller Value Index found that more than 60% of consumers now use social media for travel inspiration, while 73% say influencer recommendations have influenced their booking decisions.
TUI Musement research also found that 39% of travellers have visited a tourist site mainly to take a photo or record a video, and more than 43% have booked a trip or activity after seeing a viral post or video.
At the same time, influencer marketing is becoming a recognised business function. LinkedIn currently lists more than 1,000 UK roles for ‘Influencer Marketing Manager’, while major brands including Coca-Cola and Hilton have advertised dedicated influencer and creator marketing roles.
Coca-Cola’s recent director of influencer marketing Europe role described influencer and creator marketing as a core driver of brand relevance, advocacy and growth, while Hilton’s influencer marketing manager role focused on creator, influencer and celebrity partnerships across corporate, hotel, agency and partner teams.
Hotel Collab sits at the intersection of these shifts, helping hospitality brands move creator collaborations out of messy DMs, email threads and screenshots, and into a clearer platform-led process.
Through Hotel Collab, hotels and hosts will be able to share collaboration opportunities, promote stays, quiet dates, spa experiences, dining, weddings, events, seasonal packages and unique property moments. Creators will be able to join The Creator Check-In, Hotel Collab’s creator community, where they can access curated opportunities, creator resources, discounted travel and future platform access.
The platform is launching with hosts first, before opening creator applications through the Hotel Collab portal.
There is already strong demand from the creator community, Haines says. One of Hotel Collab’s first host spotlight posts, featuring a luxury stay in Vermont, generated more than 13,000 views, 300 comments, 464 likes and 200+ new followers before the creator portal had even opened.
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“Hotel and creator collaborations are growing up,” said the founder. “This is no longer just about a gifted stay and a few social posts. For hotels, there are now questions around creator fit, audience trust, deliverables, dates, usage rights, approvals and content value.
“For creators, there is a need for clearer access to genuine opportunities without cold-DMing hundreds of properties.
“Hotel Collab has been created to bring structure to that process. Our mission is to help remarkable stays become seen, remembered and chosen by connecting them with creators who know how to turn places into stories.”
Industry research also points to influencer marketing becoming more lifecycle-led. As creator marketing matures, hotels need a more structured way to manage partnerships from first interest through to final content.
Creator collaborations now require clear processes around discovery, vetting, brand fit, briefs, deliverables, usage rights, communication and follow-up. Hotel Collab has been created to bring that structure to the hotel and hospitality sector, helping hosts turn creator interest into content-led partnerships that are easier to manage and more valuable from the start.
Haines added: “Hotels are no longer only being searched. They are being discovered through content, creators and the stories people save. Hotel Collab gives hosts a more thoughtful way to work with creators and gives creators a more professional route into hotel collaborations.”