Turn Down: 2 December 2025

While many people are relaxing and unwinding before the festive season, the world of hospitality marketing is busier than ever with last-minute Christmas trips and celebration drinks with friends. 

We’re helping save you time and wrapping up the top news in the worlds of AI, marketing, and hospitality – all in a nice little Turn Down bow. 

When we’re not crafting attention grabbing campaigns or visiting our favourite local hospitality spots, we’re keeping up to date with all the latest news in the worlds of restaurant marketing, hotel marketing, and the travel industry.

Today, we’re discussing investment in influencer marketing, incredible new AI image creation tools, and paid ads over Black Friday. Wondering how you can use these insights to take your hospitality marketing to the next level? Drop us a message now or call at 0113 255 7285.

AI

• A leak has confirmed that OpenAI is preparing ads on ChatGPT. While it does seem that these ads will initially only be rolled out to the search experience, there are concerns about this, as ChatGPT may have more information on its users than Google has, meaning it could create hyper-personalised ads with higher conversion, reaching 800 million people every week.
• Both OpenAI and Perplexity have unveiled new AI shopping features. 
• New research has shown that AI can already take over the work of 12% of America’s workforce. 
• Google’s Nano Banana Pro is creating incredibly realistic images, raising public concern over whether people will be able to identify fake images. It’s been so popular since its release that they’re restricting free users to two image generations a day.
• Google’s John Mueller has advised sites with low-quality AI content, ‘rethink their site’s purpose’ and start afresh rather than trying to manually rewrite and recover pages. This is because domains with a history that has put them in a ‘bad state’ with Google may take longer to recover.

Marketing

• New social trends for December that are dominating TikTok include ‘winter wishlists’.
• Pinterest continues to back search as ⅔ of all interactions on the platform involve search, which are highly commercial. While it currently only holds 2.8% of US social network ad revenue, its CEO feels it’s the perfect fit for the platform, especially with a high percentage of Gen Z users. 
• You can now add links to your Reels – if you pay for Meta verified. They’ve shared a tired pricing list, including 2 reels with links per month for $49.99 a month. 
• A new Billboard campaign by London agency Insiders has tried to take aim at meta. The campaign, #IgnoredByInsta, targets Meta’s scams, account hacking, and privacy issues, but was stopped before it hit the streets as outdoor media buyers refused to showcase it. 
• You can now schedule posts on your Google Business profile, helping you update customers and guests.
• Many retailers suffered this Black Friday, as 97% of retailers continued to pay for Google Shopping ad clicks after their products went out of stock. It’s a warning for retailers to divert wasted spend, maintain visibility on their ads and stock, and demand more from Google.

Hospitality

• Radisson Hotel Group has launched a Creator Hub. The new program allows nano influencers to apply for partnerships and access a three-night stay at participating hotels with Radisson Rewards benefits and support. It’s another step towards reaching travellers where they’re at, through utilising authentic and unique voices across the globe. 
• Short-Term-Rental hosts are turning to AI, but only 14% said it was actually helpful. 
• Looking back at 2025, the top restaurant trends were:
  • Protein 
  • Shareable desserts
  • Thai, Caribbean, and Turkish cuisines
  • Premium seafood
  • Non-Neapolitan pizzas
  • Posh sandwiches 
• The 2026 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast also shared that protein add-ons will continue to trend next year, but has predicted a shift in other behaviours, with comfort being key. They’re suggesting we’ll see an increase in global comfort food, seeing a rise in interest, alongside a continued importance on allergies, with consumers looking for clear menu labelling and cleaner recipes. 
• Emirates is working with OpenAI to support business requirements. They’re looking at applications for the tech but are deploying ChatGPT Enterprise alongside training in the company. 
• TripAdvisor has released the 2026 Winter Travel Index, revealing that travel and trip planning are actually rising compared to the previous year, with 60% of travellers planning trips this winter. 86% reported that they consider seasonal factors in their trip planning, showcasing the way the holiday season impacts decisions. 

That’s Turn Down wrapped for this week. If you’d like to know more about our approach to hospitality marketing and how we use these insights to turn lookers into bookers, we’re just a message away. Get in touch with Punch today.