The Hospitality State of the Nation 2025 report shows one thing loud and clear: Competition is heating up even though customer wallets haven’t grown. Marketing is now the decisive factor in who survives.
In my article “How a hospo business in NZ can save on marketing during a recession” , I touched on the most important marketing strategies. I offered practical ideas on what hospitality businesses should do with their marketing.
I have read Hospitality NZ’s recent industry report.
In this blog, I have summarised my quick takeaways from this report for hospo owners in relation to marketing. You will find the link to the original industry report attached. Just visit the page and download it yourself.
Here: https://www.hospitality.org.nz/industry-insights
Marketing implications quick summary based on the report (NZ Hospitality 2025)
Know who’s spending
• Families spend the most. Half of the domestic spending within hospitality comes from them. Market to them with family-friendly offers, group dining, and family deals.
• 76% of households buy from restaurants/takeaways; only 20% buy accommodation – focus marketing energy where “your” demand actually is.
• Corporate (business + government) = ~12% of demand – emphasise convenience, reliability, and value-adds.
Watch consumer confidence
• Confidence is still low – push value, affordable luxuries, and loyalty rewards.
• Short term: highlight “worth it” experiences.
Medium term: Prepare to scale as confidence and disposable incomes increase in 2026.
Tourism unevenness
• Tourism is patchy – locals and visiting friends/relatives drive demand, while holiday and business travel still lag.
• Adjust campaigns: prioritise locals and domestic visitors now; prepare offers for corporate recovery later, or if already a target audience of the business.
Competition & oversupply
• More competitors are opening despite closures – the same pie is being sliced thinner. Winning isn’t about being present; it’s about standing out.
• Differentiate with clear positioning (“why choose us”), strong branding, storytelling, and consistent exposure.
• Short-term rentals compete with hotels. Market your unique experiences, service levels, and trust factors that Airbnbs can’t match.
Leverage professional services
Advertising and publishing are already core suppliers to the hospitality sector. Those who learn how to do it or invest in professional marketing will outlast the rest.
Want to learn hospitality-specific marketing?
I have started a group for that: Hospo Marketing Skool
Plan for the recovery
2025: Stay lean, focus on loyalty and retention.
2026–27: Be ready to expand and increase ad budgets. Growth is coming.
My two cents – priorities
1. Work out who our customers are?
Let's make a list, segment and focus on the biggest spenders within our target audiences (families, couples, locals, corporates etc.)
2. How can I get my customers to spend more at my business?
Build loyalty mechanics - cards, memberships, personalised offers. Repeat customers lower your marketing costs and increase life-time value for each customer.
3. How to stand out among the competition?
Invest in differentiated positioning (tell your unique story, use strong visuals, and create distinct offers).
4. Push your best offer first - the one that brings the most revenue with the least effort, quickly.
5. Whatever we do, keep it super simple and repeat it often across paid ads and free social content.
Stay top of mind. Stay ready for the upturn.
Branding, remarketing, and loyalty programmes are more critical than ever. General marketing efforts should focus on highlighting the unique experiences, amenities, service levels, or trust factors that a hospitality business offers its customers.
Competition is up, spending is flat, but marketing will decide who survives.
And let me close with the words of Economist Shamubeel Eaqub:
“…invest significantly in marketing. In a recession, it is absolutely critical that we market, we market, we market. Because market share is the only source of growth.
Cautious optimism. Things will get better. In every cycle term”.
Follow this blog as I share hands-on marketing tips with readers that I find helpful.
Thank you for reading my post.
I am Shopi.
I provide no B.S. marketing & design for Hospitality Businesses.
