Answer Engine Optimization for Hospitality SMEs: Get Recommended by ChatGPT, Perplexity and Claude

AI assistants are now trip planners, table hunters and concierge stand‑ins. Answer engine optimization (AEO) helps your restaurant or hotel earn trusted mentions in tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity and Claude—turning AI answers into visits and bookings.

What AEO Means for Restaurants and Hotels

Traditional SEO targets blue links. AEO targets direct answers. For hospitality, that means packaging your expertise—menus, dietary options, room types, amenities, policies, neighbourhood tips—so AI systems can confidently quote and recommend you.

46% of Google searches have local intent — Source: Think with Google

Because dining and stays are inherently local, the venues that surface in AI answers usually share three traits: consistently structured information, clear topical authority, and strong review signals.

Write in a conversational Q&A style. Use headings that mirror spoken queries (e.g., "Do you have vegan brunch?"). This increases your chances of being quoted verbatim in AI summaries.

Step‑by‑Step Playbook: From Questions to Bookings

1. Map the questions guests actually ask. Pull from phone/email logs, front‑of‑house notes, Google Business Profile (GBP) Q&A, and reviews. Group by intent: dietary/amenities, pricing, access/parking, booking policies, neighbourhood tips.
2. Draft concise, factual answers (50–120 words). Lead with the answer, then add specifics (times, prices, options). Include proximity cues: "3‑minute walk from Kings Cross."
3. Publish an AEO hub. Create an on‑site "Guest Questions" or "Plan Your Visit" hub with linked sections for Dining, Rooms, Policies, Accessibility, and Local Area.
4. Add schema markup. Use FAQPage, Menu, LocalBusiness, Hotel, and Restaurant schema. Keep data consistent with GBP and booking engines.
5. Earn quotable citations. Publish short, helpful guides (e.g., "48 hours in Galway without a car") that local AIs can cite. Reference authoritative sources and your own tips.
6. Synchronise data. Keep hours, menus, and room amenities synced across your site, GBP, Apple Business Connect, and booking platforms (e.g., SynXis, SiteMinder).
7. Measure AI mentions. Track referrals with UTM tags, monitor Perplexity citations, and log questions in your CRM to see what drives bookings.

What to Prioritise: AEO Tactics Compared

| Tactic | Best for | Time to lift | Tools |

|--------|----------|--------------|-------|

| FAQ hub + FAQPage schema | Answering high‑intent questions (parking, dietary, check‑in) | 2–4 weeks | CMS, schema generator, Rich Results Test |

| LocalBusiness/Hotel/Restaurant schema | Core facts (hours, amenities, payments) | Immediate indexing; full impact 2–6 weeks | Google Business Profile, Apple Business Connect |

| Menu/Offer schema | Menu discoverability, dietary filters | 4–8 weeks | Menu JSON‑LD, POS integration |

| Review response optimisation | Authority and trust cues for AI | Ongoing | Reputation tools |

Case Study: Boutique Hotel, Dublin

A 34‑room city‑centre hotel created a "Plan Your Stay" hub with FAQPage, LocalBusiness, and Hotel schema; synchronised GBP and their booking engine; and published three local guides. Within 8 weeks, Perplexity began citing their guide in "no‑car weekend in Dublin" answers, and direct bookings from UTM‑tagged guide links rose 18% quarter‑over‑quarter.