When it comes to digital visibility, the rules have changed—and most glamping operators haven’t gotten the memo.
I recently had the privilege of speaking to members of the American Glamping Association about what’s coming (and fast): a future dominated by agentic search. This isn’t some niche SEO update—it’s a full-scale transformation in how your guests find you online.
Forget what you know about old Google, because they just announced their biggest update, yet!
Gone are the days when ranking meant stuffing keywords and hoping for clicks. Agentic search—the AI-driven systems now powering discovery across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and even Google—doesn’t rely on traditional web browsing. It scrapes the entire internet for trusted, cited, helpful information and then simply answers the guest’s question directly.
No clicks. No scrolls. No second chances.
Agentic search uses generative AI to replace the blue links we grew up with. It doesn’t just index your website—it interprets reputation across blogs, social media, Reddit, PR articles, reviews, and more.
Ask ChatGPT a real-world travel question like:
“What’s the best pet-friendly glamping resort with EV charging within 2 hours of Nashville?”
If your property doesn’t show up in that response, you don’t exist. Period.
According to internal data and industry analysts, AI-generated summaries are already responsible for 20–70% drops in organic traffic across many sectors And for boutique hospitality businesses like yours, the risk of being erased is even higher.
But here’s the good news: This is your moment to finally compete without having to outspend OTAs or massive hotel brands.
Let me break down the system I used to help ReTreet Resort—a startup glamping resort in rural Alabama—go from totally unknown to being one of the top AI-recommended glamping destinations in the Southeast.
We didn’t start with flashy design. We started with questions:
Can I bring my dog?
Is this good for a romantic getaway?
What’s worth visiting nearby?
We answered these plainly on blog posts, landing pages, FAQs, and even social captions. No jargon. No fluff. Just value.
This is the kind of content agentic search favors—because it sounds like the way people actually talk.
📌 Action Tip: Go audit your website. Is it answering the top 10 questions a first-time guest might ask? If not, you’re feeding Google and ChatGPT a big bowl of silence.
You don’t need a $10K/month PR agency. We wrote our own pitches—stories that mattered. ReTreet got covered in 20+ publications just by leaning into what made us unique: luxury off-grid stays with a mission.
Why does this matter?
Because agentic search doesn’t just check your site. It scours the entire web for authority. And backlinks from reputable media = authority.
📌 Action Tip: Pitch 3 stories this month to local tourism boards, lifestyle blogs, or national glamping roundups. Aim for quality over quantity. Five backlinks from niche travel publications beat 500 generic directories.
ReTreet hosted one creator every single week. Not big influencers—just people with real voices and real audiences. Every reel, post, blog, and review added to our brand footprint online.
This did three things:
Built content at scale across every platform
Created trust transfer from the influencer to us
Delivered trackable ROI through custom codes
It trained the AI to see us as loved, known, and shareworthy. And it worked.
📌 Action Tip: Instead of paying one influencer $5,000 for one video, host five micro-creators in exchange for authentic content and diversify your digital footprint.
Here’s the kicker most businesses are missing—agentic search is trained. That means you can feed it. You can help it learn what your brand is, who it serves, and why you’re worth mentioning in future searches.
And the best way to do that?
Regular content updates on your site
Mentions on third-party sites
Launching your own custom GPT app guests can interact with directly
You read that right: Create a GPT that answers guest FAQs, suggests itineraries, or recommends stays based on their needs. Not only does this enhance UX—it feeds the LLMs even more structured knowledge about your business.
You’ve got six months—maybe less—before agentic search becomes the dominant way people discover your property.
This isn’t about SEO hacks or chasing clicks. This is about showing up everywhere your ideal guest is looking—and earning trust from both humans and machines.
If you want help figuring out how you currently show up in AI search, I’m offering a vacation rental visibility audit for $290.
🔍 Click To Scheduled Your Visiblity audit: I’ll walk through your brand’s guest journey on AI—from search to scroll to stay.
No fluff. Just real insights into why you’re visible—or not.
Because in the age of agentic search, it’s not just about being found.
It’s about being chosen.