Marketing for hospitality businesses
This is the index for food, drink and accommodation owners. Pick your sector below for the full guide. Across all of them the same leaks repeat: platform commission of 14% to 30% on delivery, an unfinished Google Business Profile, and menus or prices that search engines cannot read.
Run a restaurant, cafe, pub, takeaway or hotel? This page is for you. Looking for somewhere to eat or stay? We have no checked hospitality listings yet. Browse the directory.
14% to 30%
platform commission on delivery orders (Whito, May 2026)
£200 to £800
a month marketing for a single-site cafe (Whito, May 2026)
£200 to £600
a month marketing for a typical pub (Whito, May 2026)
41,691
pubs still trading, down from 46,000 in 2019 (Whito data report, May 2026)
Finding
UK delivery platform commissions range from 14% on Just Eat basic to 30% on Deliveroo and Uber Eats with delivery, £2.80 to £6.00 on a £20 order, while a direct ordering website costs £30 to £150 a month, according to Whito's May 2026 cost guide.
Source: Whito, whito.co.uk/research/uk-takeaway-marketing-costs, May 2026. Free to quote with a link to that page.
Start, Build, Scale
The right order for hospitality businesses
Do the stages in order. Nothing in Build works while Start is missing.
Start, Build, Scale for hospitality businesses: the free foundations first, then systems and proof, then measurement. The three stages are listed in full in this figure.Start
- Google Business Profile complete
- Menu or prices in text
- Hygiene rating easy to find
Build
- A direct booking or ordering route
- A contact list with consent
- Confirmation texts
Scale
- Move repeat custom direct
- Measure the commission you saved
- Offers to your own list
The library
Every guide for hospitality businesses
6 guides. All specific to hospitality businesses, every figure dated.
GuideTop 5 UK Food & Hospitality Marketing Breakdown (2026): Social Media, Email, SEO, Reviews and More
GuideThe UK Hospitality and Food Service Growth Playbook: From Quiet Tables to a Full House
GuideHow small UK restaurants and pubs market themselves on a tight budget
GuideTop 5 UK Pub, Cafe & Takeaway Marketing Breakdown (2026): Social Media, Email, SEO & More Compared
GuideTop 5 UK Wedding & Events Marketing Breakdown (2026): WED2B, Hitched & Add to Event Compared
Browse as pages: Guides
Whito need-to-know
- Delivery apps take 14% to 30% of an order, £2.80 to £6.00 on a £20 order (Whito, May 2026).
- Diners and guests check reviews before they visit. Your review score directly affects footfall.
- Google Maps and your Google Business Profile drive more walk-in trade than any other marketing channel. A complete profile with 100+ reviews dominates local searches.
- Social media is essential for hospitality. Customers share dining and travel experiences online, which is free word of mouth for businesses that get it right.
Why most UK hospitality businesses struggle to grow
Feast or famine footfall
Weekday lunches are quiet, then Saturday is overbooked. Seasonal swings, weather, and events create unpredictable revenue. Without a system for driving consistent bookings, you are always at the mercy of external factors.
Review vulnerability
One bad review can undo months of hard work. Guests read reviews before they book.
Delivery app dependency
Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats take 14% to 30% commission on every order (Whito, May 2026). You are building their customer base, not yours. The customer belongs to the platform, not to you.
What actually works for UK hospitality businesses
Practical marketing that fills tables, builds loyalty and reduces dependency on third-party platforms.
Google Business Profile
Complete every field. Upload professional photos of your food, interior and team weekly. Respond to every review within 24 hours. Post weekly updates with specials, events and seasonal menus.
Professional food photography
Invest in one professional photo shoot per season. Use these images across your website, Google profile, social media and menus. Good food photography is the highest-ROI investment in hospitality marketing.
Email and SMS marketing
Build a customer database from bookings and WiFi logins. Send monthly newsletters with events, seasonal menus and exclusive offers. Automated birthday and anniversary messages drive repeat visits.
Instagram and TikTok
Post daily. Behind-the-scenes kitchen content, plating videos, customer reactions and seasonal specials. Tag your location every time. User-generated content from customers is your most authentic marketing.
Local SEO and landing pages
Create pages for every service: private dining, corporate events, Sunday lunch, afternoon tea. Target searches like "best Sunday roast [town]" and "private dining [area]".
Direct online ordering
Build your own ordering system for takeaway and delivery. Promote it with in-venue signage, receipt inserts and social media. Offer a discount for direct orders versus third-party apps.
Quick wins you can do this week
Update your Google photos
Upload 5 new photos of your best dishes and your venue this week.
Set up a review request system
Print table cards with a QR code linking to your Google review page. Train staff to mention it when clearing plates. Aim for 5 new reviews per week.
Post one reel or TikTok
Film a 15-second video of your chef plating a signature dish. Post it on Instagram Reels and TikTok with your location tagged. This takes 5 minutes and can reach thousands.
Common mistakes hospitality businesses make with marketing
Only marketing when quiet
Marketing should be consistent, not reactive. By the time you start promoting, competitors have already captured the search traffic. Plan campaigns 6 weeks ahead of seasonal peaks.
Poor quality photos
Dark, blurry phone photos of food do more harm than good. One professional photo shoot provides months of content.
Ignoring direct ordering
Every order through Deliveroo or Just Eat costs you 14% to 30% in commission. Build your own online ordering and actively promote it. Even a 20% shift to direct orders significantly improves margins.
Hospitality marketing guides
The register that matters
Food hygiene rating and premises licence
Both public record. Put them on your site in text, with your company number.
Ready to fill more tables?
Start with the free visibility check: Seventeen checks, about twenty seconds, no email, no sales call. It tells you what AI search and Google can actually read about your hospitality business, and what to fix first.
Check your site free