How to sell to hotels: independent hotels and motels, the GM, and the right department

To sell to hotels, list every hotel and motel in your area, separate the independents (who decide locally) from branded and managed properties (who follow brand standards or a management company's vendor list), and contact the general manager or the department head who owns your product. Lead with one result in hotel terms: rooms back in service faster, lower cost per occupied room, more direct bookings or better review scores. Reach them mid-morning on a weekday, after checkouts and before check-ins.

What do hotels buy, and who decides?#

Hotels buy linens and guest amenities, furniture and renovation, maintenance and repairs, technology, marketing, food and beverage, cleaning and laundry, staffing and insurance. Each department head usually controls a budget; the general manager approves anything large; owners and management companies set the frame.

Independents, brands and management companies. Independent hotels and motels decide locally, and at a small property the owner may also be the GM. Branded (franchised) hotels must meet brand standards for many purchases, from bedding to software, so check whether your product is approved for the brand. Many hotels are operated by third-party management companies that run purchasing across several properties; if you sell something they buy centrally, the management company is the account. The hotel's website footer often names the brand or the operator.

Hotels sell events too. Many hotels have meeting rooms and ballrooms and compete with event venues for weddings and conferences. If you sell event services (AV, rentals, florals, photography), list hotels and event venues together.

For a sense of scale, the American Hotel & Lodging Association projects direct hotel operations employment of about 2.2 million in 2026.

How do I build a list of hotels?#

Search Google Maps by lodging type across your area, split into pieces, then segment the export.

1. Search each lodging type. "Hotel", "motel", "inn", "resort hotel", "extended stay hotel", "bed & breakfast", "lodge", "guest house" and "hostel" are all Maps categories. Add "boutique hotel" as a search term.
2. Search in pieces. One Maps search returns about 120 results. Split a metro by neighborhood or ZIP code, and cover highway exits and airport areas where motels cluster. See why Google Maps stops at 120 results.
3. Remove duplicates.
4. Separate brands from independents. Sort by business name: brand names repeat. There's no brand flag on Maps, so this is a spreadsheet step.
5. Segment:
   • category: hotel vs motel vs B&B vs extended stay. Amenity and linen needs differ.
   • reviews: the best size proxy. A hotel with 3,000 reviews has many more rooms or guests than one with 80.
   • rating: a low rating with complaints about cleanliness or maintenance is a pitch for housekeeping, laundry and repair services; a high one is a hotel that protects its standards.
   • website: independents with weak sites lose bookings to online travel agencies, which is a web and booking-engine pitch.
   • emails with role and source: hotels publish sales@, events@, reservations@ and gm@ addresses. Use the role to reach the right department.

The hotel lead list page has the search terms and fields in one place.

What should I pitch to a hotel?#

Pitch in the numbers hotel managers report on: occupancy, average daily rate, cost per occupied room, review scores and rooms out of order.

• Linens and amenities: cost per occupied room and how long items last. Offer samples for one floor.
• Maintenance trades: a room out of order is lost revenue every night. Lead with response time and after-hours coverage.
• Booking and website: independents pay commission on bookings through online travel agencies. Pitch more direct bookings, with numbers you can document.
• Marketing and reviews: compare their review score with nearby hotels in the same category.
• Renovation and furniture: schedule work in the slow season and floor by floor to keep rooms selling.
• Event services: go to the director of sales with a package for weddings and meetings they already host.

When is the best time to contact hotels?#

Mid-morning to early afternoon on weekdays, between checkouts and check-ins, and in the slow season for anything big.

These are common patterns, not measured results. Beach, ski, business and highway hotels have different seasons, so set timing by market.

Gatekeepers. The front desk serves guests first. Ask for the department by role: "Could you connect me with your executive housekeeper?" or "What's the best email for your chief engineer?" Hotels are used to vendor calls and usually route them.

What should my email to a hotel say?#

Name the department, give one specific result, and offer a small trial. Double-brace fields are columns from the export.

Subject: rooms back in service faster at {{business}}

Hi there,

We handle [HVAC / plumbing / PTAC] repairs for hotels around {{city}}
with same-day response, so out-of-order rooms are back on sale
quickly. We work around occupancy and invoice per work order.

Could I send our rate sheet and certificate of insurance to your
chief engineer?

[Name] · [Company] · [Postal address]
Not interested? Reply "no" and I won't write again.

For linens or amenities:

Subject: towels and linens for {{business}}

Hi there,

I supply linens and guest amenities to {{category}} properties
around {{city}}. I'd like to send samples for one floor so your
housekeeping team can compare quality and cost per room.

Who's the best person to send them to?

[Name] · [Company] · [Postal address] · Reply "no" to opt out.

How often should I follow up with hotels?#

Three follow-ups over three weeks, then quarterly. Hotel department heads change jobs often, so check the contact before each new campaign.

1. Day 1: first email.
2. Day 4: "Did this reach the right department, or should I write to someone else?"
3. Day 10: something useful: samples, a rate sheet, a short comparison.
4. Day 21: a polite close, and a note in your CRM for the slow season.

What rules apply to cold outreach to hotels?#

US commercial email falls under CAN-SPAM: accurate sender and subject lines, a physical postal address and a working opt-out honored within 10 business days. Calls to businesses are mostly exempt from the National Do Not Call Registry, but the FTC's ban on misrepresentations covers business-to-business calls, and under the TCPA autodialed or prerecorded calls and texts to cell phones need consent. Google's Maps Platform terms restrict scraping and building lists from Maps content, a contract issue separate from these laws. See cold email laws and get legal advice for your situation.

Worked example: every hotel and motel in Texas#

Texas has 5,643 hotel and motel establishments with paid employees, excluding casino hotels (Census County Business Patterns 2023, NAICS 721110), second only to California.

For one metro of about 800 hotels and 400 checked emails, the Starter plan at $19 a month (25,000 businesses, 1,000 checked emails) covers it. Each hotel is charged once ever, hotels outside your area or off topic are shown free, and unused credits roll over while your plan is active. See pricing.

If you'd rather not build hotel lists by hand, Leadraft finds every hotel inside the area you choose and checks the emails it finds against the live mailbox. Try it on your market on the free plan, or see the fields on the hotel lead list page.

FAQ#

How do I sell to hotels?#

List every hotel and motel in your area, separate independents from branded and managed properties, and contact the general manager or the department head who owns what you sell: housekeeping, maintenance, sales, or food and beverage. Lead with one result in hotel terms, such as rooms back in service faster, lower cost per occupied room, more direct bookings or better guest reviews.

Who makes purchasing decisions at a hotel?#

At a small independent hotel or motel, the owner or general manager decides. At larger hotels, department heads choose within their budget: the executive housekeeper for linens and amenities, the chief engineer or director of maintenance for repairs and equipment, the director of sales for group and marketing tools, and the F&B director for kitchen and bar. Branded hotels follow brand standards, and hotels run by a management company may buy through it.

When is the best time to contact a hotel?#

Mid-morning to early afternoon on weekdays, after the checkout rush and before afternoon check-ins. Avoid the peak season for that market. The slower season is when hotels plan renovations, budgets and vendor changes. These are common patterns, not measured results.

How do I find a list of hotels in my area?#

Search Google Maps for hotel, motel, inn, extended stay hotel, resort hotel and bed and breakfast in each part of your area, since one search returns about 120 results. Export with phone, website, rating, reviews and emails from each hotel's own website, then sort by name to separate brands from independents.

How many hotels are there in the US?#

County Business Patterns 2023 counts 55,895 hotel and motel establishments with paid employees, excluding casino hotels (NAICS 721110). California, Texas and Florida have the most.

Sources#

1. U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023 (NAICS 721110 establishments by state).
2. American Hotel & Lodging Association, State of the Industry (projected direct hotel operations employment, 2026).
3. Federal Trade Commission, CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business and Complying with the Telemarketing Sales Rule.
4. Federal Communications Commission, Stop Unwanted Robocalls and Texts.
5. Google, Google Maps Platform Terms of Service.