Loyalty and First-Party Data: Ground Zero for Generative Engine Optimization

Ellis Connolly, CRO at Laasie

Everyone’s talking about AI search, GEO, GenAI discovery, and how “SEO is dead.” But let’s be real... SEO isn’t dead. It’s just evolving into something way smarter.

In the age of generative engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and the hundreds of embedded AI assistants sitting in travel apps... the algorithm isn’t crawling your content anymore... it’s learning from your data.

And that’s why, for hotels, loyalty and first-party data aren’t side projects. They’re ground zero for Generative Engine Optimization.

The New Algorithm Doesn’t Want Keywords. It Wants Signals

When someone asks an AI assistant, “Where should I stay in Miami with a rooftop pool and late check-out?”, the engine isn’t scanning random SEO blogs.

It’s surfacing what it knows.

That means:

  • Properties with consistent, structured first-party data

  • Brands with proven guest engagement patterns

  • Hotels with clean, connected identity graphs built through loyalty

The hotels that have turned their loyalty programs into data machines are about to become the favorites of every generative engine on the planet.

GEO > SEO

Old-school SEO was about visibility. Generative Engine Optimization is about credibility.

And credibility comes from owning the data that proves who you are, who you serve, and what your guests actually love.

Every time a guest joins your rewards program, redeems an instant offer, or clicks on a member rate that’s first-party intent data. It tells algorithms, “This brand matters. People engage here.”

That’s how you win GEO.

Loyalty Is the New Data Layer

Let’s call it what it is: OTAs own the top of funnel because they own the data.

They know your guests better than you do.

Every independent hotel that installs a Laasie-powered loyalty or recognition layer is flipping that equation. You’re not just giving guests a perk... you’re building your own proprietary dataset.

You’re feeding your own algorithm.

And in the generative era, that’s worth more than any keyword bid or meta description ever will.

Generative Engines Reward Ownership

Here’s what matters most in this new world:

  1. Own your booking experience.

  2. Own your loyalty layer.

  3. Own your data.

Because if you don’t, someone else’s AI will and you’ll be paying commission to rent back the very audience you once had.

The Takeaway

Generative Engine Optimization isn’t about tricking an algorithm; it’s about teaching it who you are.

Hotels that connect loyalty and first-party data aren’t just future-proofing... they’re training the next generation of AI travel search to recognize their brand as relevant, trusted, and bookable.

At Laasie, we’ve been saying it for years: Loyalty isn’t a downstream perk. It’s an upstream engine.

And now, it’s the single best way to future-proof your visibility in an AI-driven world.

The next time someone asks an AI, “Where should I stay?”, make sure your hotel is part of the answer... not the afterthought.

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