Why “Something for Everyone” Is Killing Your Destination Marketing
Ditch the generic ‘something for everyone’ approach that’s killing your destination marketing! 🔥 Discover how to highlight what makes your location uniquely irresistible with content that inspires people to explore.
Something for Everyone
I’ve traveled for a hundred reasons. Regional culinary specialties have beckoned, as have used bookstores. Once, I even booked a flight to Taiwan with just 48 hours’ notice to experience the legendary Lantern Festival. Yes, a last-minute promotion worked its magic.
But there’s one thing that has never motivated me to travel: a place that promises it has “something for everyone.”
This term—something for everyone—has become a hospitality industry go-to. Do a quick Google search for “something for everyone” + CVB and you’ll see just how many destinations use it—right there on the homepage.
Why? I’m not sure. What exactly is that phrase supposed to convey?
People Don’t Want Everything. They Want the Right Thing—for Them
Here’s the thing: When I travel (or buy art or visit museums), I don’t want something that appeals to everyone. I want something that feels like it is just right for me.
Travelers today are specific. We want what we want. We know how to find what we want. Those wants may shift by season, by city, by circumstance, but we never plan a trip based on vague generalities. “You’ll love it here” doesn’t move the needle. We want specifics. We want to be wowed.
If we want a one-size-fits-all experience, we’d just stay home.
Viva la difference.
Identify Your Destination’s True Differentiators
Hospitality marketers are demand creators.
Their roles are quite different from most other marketers. Most marketing advice says, “Start with a problem. Then solve the problem and the customers follow.” But hospitality isn’t like that.
Hospitality marketers must build emotional resonance. They must inspire people to dream. They need to make a place feel irresistible. Inevitable. Bucket-list worthy.
“That’s much harder than selling toothpaste.”
And when you’re building desire, sounding exactly the same as your next-door neighbor is never a winning move.
Sameness Is the Opposite of Demand
A strong brand doesn’t try to appeal to everyone. Similarly, a destination must create a clear, compelling reason to visit this place over any other.
Think of one of the biggest rivalries in hospitality: Universal Studios vs. Disney. At a glance, they’re both popular theme parks. Both offer thrill rides, iconic characters, and multi-day passes.
And yet—no one confuses the two. Both brands lean into what makes them unique. Neither one says, “We have something for everyone.” They are Jurassic Park vs. Star Wars. Hollywood Dreaming vs. the Magic Kingdom. Each has a distinct identity, and loyalists can immediately tell you why one is better than the other.
Consider also how Iceland built its tourism boom not on “something for everyone,” but on very specific experiences: otherworldly landscapes, the Northern Lights, and geothermal hot springs. Their “Inspired by Iceland” campaign focused squarely on what makes them different—not what makes them similar to other Northern destinations.
Inspire Travel FOMO
“This destination has amazing food, scenic views, beautiful beaches, quirky locals, and a long list of uniquely local attractions.”
Can you guess which city I’m talking about? Of course not—because that’s all the cities.
Modern travelers want to know: What makes you different? What makes you worth it?
Don’t rely on the generic, when you should be shouting about the best of the best. The tops. The only-in-this-place-can-you-do-this-thing experiences.
Don’t let fear of saying the wrong thing stop you from promoting the right things.
Build Your Marketing Around Visitor Journey Stages
At the core of any great marketing strategy is a plan. With a goal. Or multiple goals. What’s your goal for your messaging? Is it to generate awareness? Encourage longer stays? Bring people back for a second visit?
Most DMOs have two key goals: increase room nights and increase visitor spending. These goals are usually broken down into the following objectives:
Create Awareness → Build Demand → Generate Bookings → Offer a Great Experience → Solicit Glowing Reviews → Encourage Repeat Visits
In traditional marketing, this is called a sales funnel. And it matters. Because you need to give people information specific to their needs. If they aren’t familiar with your city, they need the wow. If they’re ready to book, they need a map of neighborhoods with the best hotels in each. If they’re ready to return, they need to know what else there is to do.
Re-engaging repeat visitors is a major opportunity. Try searching for “what to do on your second visit to [city].” Reddit and TripAdvisor threads abound—but few official DMOs offer this content. That’s a skipped section of the funnel.
If you’ve ever stared at an whole aisle full of shampoo options, trying to figure out the right one for you, you already know. People don’t want all the things. They don’t want to dig. They want their thing, the big thing, the next thing. That nuance matters.
Make Your Hero Section Truly Heroic
When people land on your homepage, they’re usually in the early (awareness/demand) phases of planning. They are looking for a reason to love you. Or, frankly, a reason not to visit. Travelers have options—and they know it. So if you don’t wow them, they’ll keep scrolling.
The top section of your homepage is called the “hero” section, and it has one job:
OMG!! I can’t wait to visit
Make your hero section heroic. Lead with your greatest hits—your once-in-a-lifetime festivals, scenic wonders, I-can’t-believe-it’s-real sites. Be specific. Be irresistible.
The hero section isn’t the place for winter buffets and average rainfall. It’s the place for picnics at sunset. The tallest trees in the world. The Northern Lights. Cliff jumping.
See where I’m going? Not at all “something for everyone.”
Visit New Orleans does this brilliantly with their focus on the city’s unique music scene, distinctive cuisine, and vibrant festivals. They don’t try to be everything—they lean hard into what makes them uniquely NOLA.
Capture Interest When It’s Fresh
Here’s the hard truth about hospitality marketing: Your epic adventures have a limited shelf life. Even more limited when they aren’t epic. People have short attention spans, with too many things competing for that attention.
Avid travelers don’t really need new reasons to visit a place. They may be enticed by White Lotus film sites or viral “Coolest Thing Ever” posts. But most of those ideas go on a Pinterest board or a mental list—and are forgotten.
It’s unrealistic to assume a person will see a blog post or Instagram slideshow one time, and immediately click book now.
So what should you do instead? Capture interest.
Instead of using advertising to encourage a “book now” action, instead use it to encourage potential travelers to “keep in touch.” Create a way to nurture the interest that already exists. And to stay in touch over time.
Create Lead Magnets That Inspire Your Ideal Visitors
Lead magnets are a standard industry practice for capturing email addresses. The premise behind a lead magnet is to create something SO valuable that people don’t mind handing over their email to get it.
Remember Sports Illustrated and its famed football phone? That was the pre-internet-era lead magnet.
Today, most DMOs still use their visitor guide as their main way to capture emails addresses. And while I get it (I started my DMO career writing visitor guides), it’s time to modernize. Visitor guides are just another form of same old, same old.
What’s more, unless they are offering content that is substantially different than what’s on the website, their perceived value is low.
Instead, try capturing email with content potential visitors can’t find on your website:
- A regional recipe guide
- A guide to epic road trips
- A destination personality quiz
- An insider’s list of best-kept secrets
- A photographer’s best-places-to-snap-an-Insta-photo
The trick is to be a little different and to create content so irresistible that people can only get it if they give you their email.
No time or budget for a custom lead magnet? Try low-lift exclusivity. Visit Scotland, for example, leans into their famed Highland culture by encouraging visitors to join their Newsletter Clan. It’s simple and smart.
Want help creating a uniquely local lead magnet (or evaluating your current one)? I offer short-term marketing services for cultural and destination marketers. From content strategy to funnel optimization, I’ll help you make your marketing work harder. Let’s talk → Book a Free Vision Call
Optimize Your SEO Strategy For Different Funnel Stages
After your hero section and your lead magnet, the rest of your homepage should support your SEO goals. (You have SEO goals, right?) Top ten holiday art markets. Best places for a romantic date. Here’s where the locals eat.
While your hero and email sections should build awareness and emotional connection, your SEO content addresses questions people already know to ask.
That’s why SEO is a better tool for visitors further down the funnel (those already familiar with your destination.) If people don’t even know to look for you in the first place, SEO is less helpful for you.
If you’re an off-the-beaten-path cultural center or rural destination, SEO must be paired with demand-generating content.
Prepare For AI-Powered Travel Planning
Travelers are already asking AI, not just Google for travel suggestions. And, as the paradigm shifts, many official DMOs are getting left out.
Case in point: I recently asked ChatGPT, “Why should I visit San Francisco?” I requested the AI tool provide me with links for each reason it delivered. None of the links pointed back to the official CVB. (Most were from Forbes.)
Why?
- ChatGPT is a little lazy. But also,
- Media outlets rank higher than CVBs
- CVB content focuses on events, not big-picture travel questions
- Without SEO-optimized content like “Why Visit SF?”, CVBs are excluded from early-stage research
That’s a missed opportunity. And a solvable one.
Bottom Line: Be Specific. Be Bold. Be Different.
Hospitality marketers have the power—and the responsibility—to stop giving off generic vibes.
The future belongs to destinations that are willing to Claim Their Wow.
Skip the bland. Write a love letter to your best customers. And instead of trying to please everyone, resonate deeply with the people who will love you most.
Four Actions You Can Take Today:
- Audit your current messaging: Highlight anywhere you use generic phrases like “something for everyone” and replace them with specific, unique experiences
- Identify your true differentiators: What can visitors experience in your destination that they literally cannot experience anywhere else?
- Create one piece of content that identifies your ideal visitor and speaks directly to them about the experience they’re most like t love and rave about.
- Put a lid on “something for everyone.” Forever.
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