A&O Hostels spent a little more than $40,000 on its "Where to Go 2025" TikTok marketing campaign -- a relatively modest outlay, it turns out.
The return on investment: about $705,000 in revenue, 30 million impressions and a 10% boost in direct website traffic.
The Berlin-based hospitality brand, a provider of affordable dorm-style and family-friendly accommodations across Europe, even won a TikTok Award for Greatest Performance. Thomas Hertkorn, A&O's head of online marketing, gave partial credit to the AI-generated song that drove the campaign's viral appeal (a catchy, electronic beat pulses as a woman's voice chant-sings "Where to go? A&O! Where to go? A&O!").
In one TikTok, the song plays over rapid-fire clips of two young women in Cologne, Germany, strolling along sunny sidewalks, the camera panning up to reveal the Cologne Cathedral before cutting to them trying on hats at a shop and then, seconds later, enjoying a meal alfresco.
The video is one of many in A&O's TikTok campaign. A&O initially paid 100 creators to make videos with the song. Then, approximately 400 more influencers organically adopted the tune for their own travel content.
"For those first 100 creators, we gave them an idea with our brand videos and explained how to use the song, but the rest was all organic," said Hertkorn, adding that the videos produced a spike in bookings generated through TikTok.
Those results stood in stark contrast to A&O's YouTube effort, which generated only one booking despite a comparable video format. In TikTok, users "really stay in the app and then book directly via the app," Hertkorn said.
He added that TikTok users tend to book faster than they do on Google and Meta platforms. And although TikTok is typically associated with Gen Z, the app's audience proved broader than expected. While A&O does skew toward younger travelers, they discovered teachers planning school trips using the platform.
Following the campaign's success, the company plans to significantly increase its TikTok investment in 2026.
"If Instagram is visual first, then TikTok is entertainment first; it's very personality-driven and short and snappy," said Hertkorn. Most importantly, A&O gets "real bookings out of it, and real revenue. And therefore, we'll invest more."
The A&O campaign illustrates a broader shift in how travel and hospitality brands approach social media, with marketers moving away from scattered approaches and toward more strategic, results-focused campaigns.
Tori Boos, director of marketing for luxury travel agency SmartFlyer, said video content has evolved dramatically.
"Videos have really turned into cinematography; it's all about interesting angles, how it's being edited, the music that's being used. And there is storytelling being pulled into play," said Boos, adding that many of today's creators have evolved from DIY content producers to professionals with sophisticated equipment.
Consequently, Boos said SmartFlyer plans to ramp up its focus on video in 2026. Standing out in the world of video content, however, is challenging.
"I think more and more people are trying to cut through the noise, because there is just so much content available these days," she said.
While SmartFlyer maintains a strong presence across mainstream platforms like Instagram, the company has diversified by joining more niche social communities like Substack, a platform specializing in longer-form content. SmartFlyer began using it in April and now has more than 12,000 followers.
"Substack is similar to how Instagram was when it started in that it was for individuals," said Boos. "Substack was for writers who had something to say and needed a place to publish. Now brands are becoming a part of it, because it allows them to have a voice and elaborate further on things. It's a storytelling platform."
According to Thomas McDermott, chief marketing officer at Tambourine, the path forward for many travel brands isn't about chasing trends but building more intentional campaigns. Tambourine is a marketing agency that works with about 200 hotels on social media.
"Specifically in the luxury space, people are much more discerning," said McDermott. He added that high-end properties and travel brands have moved away from working with any influencer who requests a free stay, instead favoring larger, more comprehensive efforts like the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism's collaboration with musician Lenny Kravitz.
What often works best, McDermott said, is "one really good piece of content with advertising dollars behind it."
He added that hotels "are tired of the rat race in social media and being unable to tie it to revenue. They're ready to go back to the basics of marketing: What's my problem, and how can I solve it through these media channels?"