Top Hotel Ads of Q4 2024: Great Wolf Lodge Scores Highest Engagement, and Baltimore Residents Are Looking for a Getaway

Q4 is a crucial time for Hotels & Resorts advertisers, with consumers looking for an escape as the weather gets colder and the holiday season approaches. In order to capture this demand, travel marketers need effective, engaging TV ad campaigns that entice consumers to learn more about their brands and their offerings.

But who really moved the needle during this key period? And how might marketers adapt their creative and strategies for the equally important spring travel season? We measured the effectiveness of linear and streaming hotel and resort ads from October through December 2024, based on their ability to generate consumer engagements like online searches and website visits that are highly predictive of future sales.

Overall the hotel sector was up 18% in average TV ad engagement year-over-year, but there were a few standouts. Here’s a look at what we found.

Great Wolf Lodge leads the pack

The quarter’s most engaging ads came from Great Wolf Lodge, a brand that was 400% more effective than the average Hotels & Resorts advertiser during Q4. Great Wolf’s creative focused on family fun and traditional summertime activities, framing its water parks as fun for the entire “pack.” The :15 and :30 spots also promoted a 40% discount on bookings, which likely contributed to the high engagement rate.

Sandals Resorts also had a strong Q4, outperforming the category average by 44%.  The brand’s ads highlighted couples and friends rather than families, positioning Sandals as a place for relaxation and romance. The ads also promoted discounted rates aligned with key shopping moments, such as Black Friday and general “winter escapes”.

Beaches Resorts, Luxury Escapes, IHG Hotels & Resorts, and Hilton rounded out the top six most effective category advertisers during Q4.

Baltimore residents were highly engaged with hotel ads

When advertising on streaming platforms, advertisers can measure and target their ads at the Designated Market Area (DMA) level. As a result, marketers can optimize their return on investment by shifting spend to the cities where their ads are most effective.

In Q4, Baltimore viewers were most likely to engage with Hotels & Resorts ads, with ads served to Charm City residents generating 119% greater engagement than the average category ad across linear and streaming TV. Some of this engagement could be connected to the high engagement with ads for Great Wolf Lodge, which has a location within driving distance of the city.

The other most engaged DMAs were West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce (101% greater engagement than the category average), Kansas City (+75%),  Houston (+33%), and Denver (+33%).

Here are the DMAs with the least-engaged audience for hotel TV ads:

Tampa-St. Pete (Sarasota): -22%

Austin: -26

San Antonio: -27

Columbus, OH: -32

Milwaukee:  -40%

It’s never too early to start planning for the spring season

Though a new year has just started, now is the time to start thinking about Q3, the busiest period of the year for travel advertising. Using data from EDO can help you make the most informed decision about how, when, and where to spend ad dollars.

For more insight into how EDO can help you drive consumer engagement during this essential period, book a custom consultation with us today.