The Top 10 Hotels on Instagram, 2018 Edition

July 10, 2018

Instagram’s huge influence on consumer decision-making continues to grow. With 800 million monthly active users, it’s become an undeniably powerful platform for marketers, especially with the recent addition of its all new booking feature.

As well as building awareness and inspiring travelers, independent hotels and global chains can now use the platform to drive direct bookings.

We have updated our list of top 10 hotels on Instagram to highlight some of the most popular and creative accounts on the platform today. The following hotels are all going the extra mile to get the most marketing power out of this hugely influential social platform.

1. El Fenn Marrakech

@elfennmarrakech, 99.8k followers

Owned by Vanessa Branson (sister to Richard Branson), the boutique El Fenn Marrakech dazzles with its gorgeously styled rooms, matching contemporary flair with traditional Moroccan design. The hotel’s Instagram is pure visual eyecandy, showcasing the property’s beautiful indoor and outdoor spaces, from the nature-surrounded pool and color-splashed rooms, to antique furnishings and velvet sofas in communal sitting areas.

Pro Tip: More than ever, travelers want to stay somewhere unique and special. So if your hotel has lots of unique decor and interesting design elements, make sure they feature heavily to inspire your followers.

2. Urban Cowboy B&B

@urbancowboybnb, 88.9k followers

Quirky, playful and unashamedly cheeky, the Instagram account of this hip B&B in Brooklyn and Nashville grabs attention with its striking and sexy images. Along with shots of vintage leather sofas and exposed brick walls, Urban Cowboy’s guests often pose in intimate images, from frolicking in bubble-filled bathtubs to cuddling up to their pets in skin-revealing poses. All of which has earned this chic boutique a large following and plenty of brand awareness.

Pro Tip: Instead of following the crowd, think about how you can make your Instagram look bold and creative. What kind of images are going to generate talkability and buzz among your own specific audience? Creating a unique visual style that resonates with your target demographic can help you gain far more attention than trying to replicate what everyone else is doing.

3. Uxua Casa Hotel & Spa

@uxua, 24.3k followers

Beautiful images of luscious scenery and golden sands will leave you swooning over the location of this Brazilian beachside beauty. But it’s the natural and intimate feel of everyday life that really makes this Instagram account sparkle. Scenes of friendly fisherman, the neighborhood market, and fresh cacao plucked fresh from the hotel garden instantly make you want to hop on the plane and live like a local.

Pro Tip: By showing everyday scenes of local life in your neighborhood, you’ll help create a connection with your guests, making them feel part of your community before they even arrive.

4. Astarte Suites Hotel Santorini

@santorini_greece, 212k followers

Astarte Suites Hotel Santorini creates a distinctive visual style themed around this Greek island’s dazzling azure skies and seas. Shots of the hotel’s glittering blue infinity pool also feature prominently. The focus on soft blues as a visual theme creates a consistent color scheme, while reminding you about the serene lifestyle that awaits at this idyllic island retreat.

Pro Tip: Rather than posting a range of visual styles, why not go for a strong and cohesive visual theme? This will help give your property a distinct mood and personality. A visually inviting account as a whole also gives users a reason to follow your hotel instead of just liking single posts. A creative agency or photographer can help you plan your Instagram account’s color scheme and artistic style.

5. Levin Iglut

@leviniglut, 40.5k followers

Offering a magical location in unique glass igloos, the Instagram account of this resort in Finnish Lapland focuses on the pristine landscape and experiences that attract adventure-seeking travelers. Shots of husky sledding, snow-covered forests, and guests watching the northern lights from open-air hot tubs do a great job of selling the major attraction of this wilderness retreat.

Pro Tip: To see what captivates travelers about your hotel, look for your hotel on Instagram’s “Places” tab. Check out the selection of “Top Posts” featured under your location tag to discover what guests love about your hotel. You can then use this as a guide to post the kind of content that will most likely spark their imagination.

6. The Society Hotel

@societyhotel, 5,746 followers

This boutique hotel in Portland, Oregon maximizes engagement by using its posts to promote the destination. By mentioning noteworthy Portland sights and creating helpful neighborhood guides, The Society Hotel’s Instagram account goes beyond mere visuals to promote the kind of experiences that will inspire its audience.

Pro Tip: Eye-catching images alone aren’t enough to drive engagement. Think how your Instagram account can be used to inject a sense of wanderlust and make it easy for travelers to explore your destination.

7. Shangri-La, Maldives

@shangrilamaldives, 92.8k followers

A feast for the eyes, Shangri-La Maldives feed is full of pretty party people lounging in oceanside hammocks and enjoying sunset meals on the beach. Their account also features plenty of user-generated content, including perfectly framed shots from major Instagram influencers.

Pro Tip: If you’re reposting your guests’ photos, you’ll need to ask for their permission first. The vast majority of people will be happy for you to do this — especially popular social influencers looking to increase their own exposure. When you do re-post, credit the person’s Instagram handle to engage them in the post and widen its reach.

8. Rome Cavalieri

@romecavalieri, 12.1k followers

While The Rome Cavalieri Waldorf Astoria is all about high-end luxury, it’s Instagram account manages to balance super-slick photos with plenty of natural shots. Major tourist sights of the Eternal City feature prominently, and the hotel uses a good mix of popular travel hashtags and geotags to ensure their photos reach a large community of inspiration-seeking jetsetters.

Pro Tip: Geotags and hashtags are great for photo discovery. Just be sure to place them in the first comment of your post (rather than in the caption) to keeps things clean and less salesy. It’s also worth mixing things up by using less generic hashtags. While gaining less exposure, this tactic will help you become more ‘findable’ to your target audience.

9. The Ned

@thenedlondon, 91.5k followers

Since opening its doors back in May 2017, The Ned has already amassed over 91,000 followers. This luxury hotel’s Instagram feed generates a huge amount of engagement through a combination of glossy images and video content, which often gain thousands of likes. Leading up to the grand opening, The Ned also used Instagram to build buzz with behind-the-scenes photos and video.

Pro Tip: Posting behind-the-scenes content of your hotel and staff is a great way to stand out from the crowd, create a feeling of openness, and show off your hotel’s personality. In these instances, natural shots are often better than polished photographs to cement that day-in-the-life feeling of authenticity.

10. Virgin Hotels

@virginhotels, 21.7k followers

Virgin Hotels cleverly keeps a feeling of brand consistency to its Instagram account by posting images that include the company’s distinctive red color scheme. There’s also a fun, fashionable and youth-driven flavor throughout their content, which reflects Virgin’s overarching brand ethos.

Pro Tip: To really connect with your target audience, think about the kind of content and visual style that clicks with them. Just like any form of marketing, trying to appeal to everyone on Instagram can make you come off feeling bland and forgettable. It’s much better to hone in on a type of visual style that inspires your core market and celebrates your own unique persona.