What AI recommends when buyers ask about hotels
20 brand-free buyer questions, each asked to 5 AI assistants with Miami, Florida as the sample city. 129 providers were named across 99 answers. Every number below traces back to an original answer.
The hotels AI assistants name most often
Counted per answer: a provider named twice in one answer counts once. "Recommended" means the answer explicitly told the buyer to pick it.
| # | Provider | Answers | Share | Recommended | ChatGPT | Perplexity | Gemini | Claude | Grok |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club | 10 | 10% | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Faena Hotel Miami Beach | 10 | 10% | 1 | 2 | — | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Fontainebleau Miami Beach | 9 | 9% | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | — | 1 |
| 4 | InterContinental Miami | 8 | 8% | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | — |
| 5 | Loews Miami Beach Hotel | 7 | 7% | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 6 | 1 Hotel South Beach | 7 | 7% | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 7 | The Setai, Miami Beach | 7 | 7% | 0 | 2 | — | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 8 | Four Seasons Hotel Miami | 5 | 5% | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 9 | Holiday Inn Express | 5 | 5% | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 10 | Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Miami Brickell Downtown | 5 | 5% | 0 | — | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 11 | Acqualina Resort & Residences | 4 | 4% | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | — |
| 12 | citizenM Miami Worldcenter | 4 | 4% | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | 1 |
Each assistant answers differently
| Model | Answers | Name ≥1 provider | Providers / answer | With citations | Citations / answer | Points to directories |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT openai/gpt-5-mini | 20 / 20 | 50% | 2.75 | 100% | 8.65 | 40% |
| Perplexity sonar | 20 / 20 | 40% | 2 | 100% | 18.15 | 20% |
| Gemini google/gemini-3.5-flash | 19 / 20 | 84% | 3.58 | 100% | 5.74 | 16% |
| Claude anthropic/claude-haiku-4-5 | 20 / 20 | 35% | 2 | 75% | 4.95 | 35% |
| Grok xai/grok-4.20-non-reasoning | 20 / 20 | 60% | 1.85 | 100% | 9.55 | 50% |
What buyers ask AI about hotels
Generated without any brand name so the assistants had to name providers on their own. "Providers" is the number of distinct names across all models for that question.
Purchase
| Question | Providers | Named by most models |
|---|---|---|
| I'm traveling to Miami next month with my family and need a place that's kid-friendly with a pool. Which hotels would you recommend? | 11 | Loews Miami Beach Hotel (5) · Fontainebleau Miami Beach (4) · Acqualina Resort & Residences (3) |
| I have a $150 per night budget for a Miami hotel. What are my best options in that price range? | 28 | Holiday Inn Express (4) · Riviera South Beach (3) · Days Hotel by Wyndham (2) |
| I need a hotel near downtown Miami that's good for business travel. What would you suggest? | 12 | Four Seasons Hotel Miami (4) · InterContinental Miami (4) · citizenM Miami Worldcenter (3) |
| I'm looking for a luxury hotel in Miami with ocean views. What would you recommend? | 15 | 1 Hotel South Beach (5) · Faena Hotel Miami Beach (4) · Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club (3) |
| Which hotels in Miami have the best reputation for customer service based on guest feedback? | 22 | Faena Hotel Miami Beach (3) · Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Miami Brickell Downtown (3) · Albion Hotel (2) |
| I'm coming to Miami for a weekend getaway with my partner and want somewhere romantic. What do you suggest? | 7 | Faena Hotel Miami Beach (2) · The Setai Miami Beach (2) · Casa Tua (1) |
| Can you recommend a pet-friendly hotel in Miami where I can bring my dog? | 19 | Kimpton Epic Hotel (3) · InterContinental Miami (2) · Loews Miami Beach (2) |
Research
| Question | Providers | Named by most models |
|---|---|---|
| What should I look for when comparing hotel options in Miami to make sure I'm getting good value? | 8 | Cadillac (1) · citizenM Miami Worldcenter (1) · Hilton (1) |
| How far in advance should I book a hotel in Miami to get the best rates? | 5 | Hopper (2) · Afar (1) · Faena Hotel Miami Beach (1) |
| What amenities matter most when choosing a hotel, and which ones are usually just marketing? | 2 | Beach Terrace (1) · citizenM (1) |
| What should I ask the hotel when I call to verify information before booking? | 0 | none named |
| How do cancellation policies typically work, and which ones should I avoid? | 9 | American Airlines (1) · Delta Air Lines (1) · Frontier (1) |
Evaluation
| Question | Providers | Named by most models |
|---|---|---|
| What's the difference between booking directly with a hotel versus using third-party booking sites? | 5 | IHG One Rewards (2) · Marriott Bonvoy (2) · Hilton Honors (1) |
| Is it worth paying extra for a hotel with concierge service? | 3 | Les Clefs d'Or (2) · JW Marriott Nara (1) · The St. Regis New York (1) |
| Should I book a hotel room or consider an alternative like an apartment rental for my stay in Miami? | 13 | 1 Hotel South Beach (2) · Atrium Hotel (1) · Biltmore Hotel (1) |
| Are boutique hotels better than chain hotels, or does it depend on the situation? | 6 | Four Seasons (1) · Hampton (1) · Holiday Inn Express (1) |
Trust
| Question | Providers | Named by most models |
|---|---|---|
| How can I tell if a hotel review is fake or trustworthy? | 0 | none named |
| Are there red flags I should watch out for when reading hotel descriptions? | 0 | none named |
| How do I know if hidden fees will be added to my hotel bill? | 4 | Hilton Honors (1) · IHG One Rewards (1) · Marriott Bonvoy (1) |
| What's the best way to verify that photos on hotel websites actually match the rooms? | 1 | Oyster.com (1) |
Sources AI cites for hotels questions
935 citations from 367 domains. Only sources marked inside the answer text are counted; the retrieval pool is not.
- Other sites79%
- Directories & review sites10%
- Communities (Reddit, Quora…)3%
- Named providers' own sites3%
- News & media2%
- Video1%
- Research, government & universities1%
- Encyclopedias0%
| Domain | Type | Citations | Questions | ChatGPT | Perplexity | Gemini | Claude | Grok |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| tripadvisor.com | Directories & review sites | 49 | 9 | 4 | 28 | 5 | 2 | 10 |
| reddit.com | Communities (Reddit, Quora…) | 28 | 13 | — | 19 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| alibaba.com | Other sites | 22 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| miamiandbeaches.com | Other sites | 20 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| expedia.com | Directories & review sites | 19 | 8 | 1 | 12 | — | 3 | 3 |
| kayak.com | Other sites | 18 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| miamitourism.org | Other sites | 17 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| smartertravel.com | Other sites | 13 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 |
| hotels.com | Directories & review sites | 12 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| skyscanner.com | Other sites | 11 | 3 | 2 | 4 | — | 2 | 3 |
| youtube.com | Video | 11 | 1 | — | 6 | — | — | 5 |
| covertrip.com | Other sites | 9 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
GEO takeaways for hotels
- 54% of 99 answers named at least one specific provider; 129 distinct names came up across 20 questions.
- No single provider dominates: the most-named one, Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club, appears in only 10% of answers (named by 5 of 5 models). The category is still open — consistent evidence on the sources below can move a brand into these answers.
- 32% of answers sent the buyer to a directory or review site instead of, or alongside, naming providers. For hotels, being listed and well-reviewed there is a precondition for being named at all.
- Of 935 citations, 10% pointed to directories & review sites, 3% pointed to communities (reddit, quora…). Those source types are what the models actually read before answering, so that is where the evidence has to live.
- Gemini names the most providers per answer (3.58), Grok the fewest (1.85). Share of voice is engine-specific; one number across models hides this.
- Local questions only produced named providers when a place was given, so the recommendation questions here use Miami, Florida as the sample city. Results for another city will differ.
Questions teams ask before they start
Which hotels does ChatGPT recommend?
In 20 answers collected on 2026-09-07, ChatGPT named Fontainebleau Miami Beach (4), Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club (2), Faena Hotel Miami Beach (2), Loews Miami Beach Hotel (2), 1 Hotel South Beach (2) most often for Miami, Florida. Names change between runs; this is a dated snapshot, not a ranking.
Which hotels does Perplexity recommend?
In 20 answers collected on 2026-09-07, Perplexity named InterContinental Miami (3), Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club (2), Fontainebleau Miami Beach (2), Kimpton EPIC Hotel (2), Loews Miami Beach Hotel (1) most often for Miami, Florida. Names change between runs; this is a dated snapshot, not a ranking.
Which hotels does Gemini recommend?
In 19 answers collected on 2026-09-07, Gemini named Faena Hotel Miami Beach (4), The Setai, Miami Beach (3), Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club (2), Fontainebleau Miami Beach (2), InterContinental Miami (2) most often for Miami, Florida. Names change between runs; this is a dated snapshot, not a ranking.
Which sources do AI assistants cite when answering hotels questions?
Across 935 citations from 367 domains: Other sites 79%, Directories & review sites 10%, Communities (Reddit, Quora…) 3%. The most-cited domains were tripadvisor.com, reddit.com, alibaba.com, miamiandbeaches.com, expedia.com. Only sources marked inside the answer text are counted, never the retrieval pool.
How were these numbers produced?
20 brand-free buyer questions were generated for the Hotels category in the United States market, then each was asked to ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, Grok on 2026-09-07 (99 of 100 answers completed). A separate parser extracted every provider each answer named; directories and review sites are recorded separately and never counted as providers. Failed answers are excluded from every percentage rather than treated as zero.
How can a hotel business get recommended by AI?
Start from the questions above: for each one your business should be an answer to, check whether the sources the models cite (directories, review sites, communities, media) describe you with the facts the question needs. Then measure the same questions for your own brand — InsightWonder runs this exact loop per site, with citations traced to URLs, and turns missed questions into content and placements.
How this page was built
- Market: United States; sample city for local questions: Miami, Florida.
- Collected 2026-09-07. Models: ChatGPT (openai/gpt-5-mini), Perplexity (sonar), Gemini (google/gemini-3.5-flash), Claude (anthropic/claude-haiku-4-5), Grok (xai/grok-4.20-non-reasoning).
- 99 of 100 question × model answers completed; 1 failed and are excluded from every percentage, not counted as zero.
- Providers are extracted by a separate parser from the full answer text; directories, marketplaces and review sites are recorded as "points to directories" and never counted as providers. AI answers change between runs, so this is a dated snapshot.
- Same method as the product's visibility engine, run for the whole category instead of one brand. Log in to run it for yours: https://app.insightwonder.com
Other industries: Dentists · Electric bikes · Furniture brands · Gyms & fitness studios · HVAC & plumbing services · Law firms · Pet supplies · Project management software · Real estate agents · Restaurants · Skincare brands
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