How a Pearl Jam Post Turned a Stranger Into a Hotel Customer

I have a theory about cold outreach: It's not necessarily a messaging problem. It's a familiarity problem.

Think about it.

You're a meeting planner with a packed inbox, a dozen competing priorities, and another hotel salesperson asking for "just 15 minutes" of your time.

You don't recognize their name. You don't know anything about them. And you certainly weren't sitting around hoping another salesperson would reach out.

Delete.

Now imagine that same salesperson has been showing up in your LinkedIn feed for weeks. They've shared helpful insights, asked thoughtful questions, and maybe even made you laugh.

You recognize their name. You have a sense of their personality. You might even feel like you know them.

Suddenly, that message doesn't feel quite so cold.

That's the power of familiarity. And it's something my friend Don "Hoteleone" Barnett and I explored during a recent episode of the InnSync Show.

Don runs sales and marketing at LondonHouse Chicago and founded Aesop Creative, a hospitality social media agency. He's also one of the most memorable personalities I know in hospitality.

Our conversation reinforced something I've believed for years: The best prospecting doesn't start with a pitch. It starts with a relationship.

The Problem With Prospecting Like a Stranger

Don has a unique perspective because he spends his days on both sides of the sales conversation.

He sells. And he gets sold to. Constantly.

He told me he receives an average of six or seven cold pitches every day through email, phone calls, and LinkedIn messages.

Almost all of them want the same thing: 15 minutes of his time.

As Don put it, "They're all asking for 15 minutes. They all have some solution. And it all just sounds the same, and I don't know you."

That last part is what really matters.

I don't know you.

We're asking buyers to invest their time, attention, and potentially significant budgets in people they've never heard of.

And we're making them do all the work to figure out whether we're worth trusting.

I call this the trust tax.

When someone unfamiliar reaches out, the buyer immediately starts asking questions. Who is this person? Are they legitimate? Is this another automated message? What do they really want?

I've said before that everyone seems to have their "spidey fakery" guard up these days.

And with AI making it easier than ever to generate prospecting messages at scale, I think that skepticism is only growing.

That's why I believe hotel sellers need to rethink what happens before the outreach.

Familiarity Is a Competitive Advantage

There's actually some psychology behind this.

It's called the mere exposure effect, a concept popularized by psychologist Robert Zajonc in the 1960s.

The basic idea is that people tend to develop more positive feelings toward things they've encountered repeatedly.

Think about what that means for hotel prospecting.

A meeting planner who has seen your name pop up in thoughtful LinkedIn conversations over the past month is going to perceive you differently than a complete stranger.

You haven't asked for anything. You haven't pitched your property. You've simply become familiar.

And familiarity can create an opening for trust.

That's one reason I'm such a believer in what we call Warm Prospecting™ at Lure Agency.

Rather than relying exclusively on cold outreach and hoping the perfect subject line gets someone's attention, we help hotel sales teams build awareness and relationships with their target prospects over time.

LinkedIn is one of the best places to do it.

LinkedIn Is Like Texting in Business Casual

I loved Don's description of LinkedIn as "texting in business casual."

It's the perfect analogy.

LinkedIn is a professional environment, but that doesn't mean every interaction needs to sound like a corporate press release.

You can have conversations. Share opinions. Ask questions. Show some personality.

And here's the part I wish more hotel sellers understood: You don't have to create a bunch of original content to get started.

You can start by commenting.

Not the obligatory "Great post!" or "Congratulations!"

I'm talking about adding something meaningful to a conversation.

Don shared a great example.

When someone announces a new job, their feed fills with generic congratulations. Instead of adding another one, Don might ask:

"What's one of the first things you're going to do when you start this new job?"

That's a conversation starter.

I sometimes take a slightly different approach.

When everyone in a thread is agreeing with one another, I might offer a respectful alternative perspective.

Something like, "Hey, have you considered looking at it this way?"

I've had people send me private messages simply because one of my comments stood out.

And here's what really surprises me.

There are some fantastic meeting planner communities on LinkedIn. Planners are sharing ideas, asking questions, and talking about their challenges.

But where are the hotel salespeople?

Too often, they're nowhere to be found.

We'd never walk into an MPI networking event, stand silently in the corner, and expect to walk away with new relationships.

Yet that's essentially what many hotel sellers are doing online.

The conversations are already happening. We just need to participate.

Your LinkedIn Profile Isn't a Resume. It's a Landing Page.

Here's what happens when you start leaving thoughtful comments.

People get curious. They click on your profile.

And when they do, what are they going to find?

A list of job titles and responsibilities? A headline that says "Director of Sales"? A generic description of your hotel's meeting space?

That's a missed opportunity.

I tell hotel sellers to think of their LinkedIn profile as a landing page designed for their ideal prospect.

You have a few seconds to communicate who you help and why someone should care.

I call the top of your profile your beachfront virtual real estate. It's the most valuable space you have because it's what visitors see before they scroll.

And I have a suggestion that sometimes makes salespeople uncomfortable.

Consider removing the word "sales" from your headline.

Instead, lead with the value you deliver.

Are you helping association planners create more engaging conferences? Helping corporate teams bring people together? Making complex meetings easier to execute?

Tell me that.

Your title can appear elsewhere.

Don also shared a couple of practical suggestions that are easy to overlook.

First, make sure people know where you work. A management company name alone doesn't tell a planner which hotel or market you represent.

Second, check the email address associated with your LinkedIn account. You'd be surprised how many professionals still have an old personal Gmail address listed.

One more idea I love: add a short welcome video.

I use a 30-second video on my own profile because I want people to hear my voice and get a feel for my personality before we ever have a conversation.

Your profile should make people feel like they're meeting a person, not reading a résumé.

The Pearl Jam Post That Turned Into Hotel Revenue

Now, here's my favorite story from our conversation.

And it has absolutely nothing to do with meeting space, room blocks, or hotel amenities.

Back in 1995, Don attended his first Pearl Jam concert.

For that tour, the band printed personalized tickets with fans' names on them. Don kept his ticket as a memento, tucked it away in a desk drawer, and eventually lost track of it.

Fast-forward about 20 years.

One Christmas, his sister handed him a framed gift.

It was that original Pearl Jam ticket.

She'd taken it years earlier because she wanted to keep little reminders of her brother. Don jokingly described the gesture as "sweet emotional theft."

Naturally, he shared the story on LinkedIn.

A C-level executive he'd never met commented on the post.

They started talking about Pearl Jam. Then about concerts. Then about music in general.

No pitch. No prospecting sequence. No request for a meeting.

Just two people connecting over something they had in common.

Eventually, that executive reached out to Don about securing a corporate hotel rate for colleagues traveling to Chicago.

And he did it without shopping around to other hotels.

A personal story about a concert ticket created a business opportunity.

That's not a traditional hotel sales strategy.

But it's a pretty powerful example of what happens when people get to know the person behind the job title.

I've Experienced the Same Thing With My Twin Daughters

Don's story reminded me of one of my own experiences.

For years, I'd been connected on LinkedIn with Nick Horgan, a fellow HSMAI San Diego board alum.

We knew of each other, but we hadn't developed much of a relationship.

Then I shared a post about my twin daughters. Turns out, Nick has twin daughters too.

That simple connection sparked a conversation, which eventually grew into a genuine friendship.

Over time, Nick has opened many doors for me and Lure Agency.

And it all started with something personal. Not a marketing case study. Not a pitch about our services.

Just two dads connecting over a shared experience.

I've seen similar results from other posts where I let my personality show.

One of my videos even reached nearly 600,000 views.

Now, I'm not suggesting every hotel salesperson needs to become a comedian or start chasing viral content.

But I do think we need to stop confusing professionalism with being boring.

I love something Spanx founder Sara Blakely has said about not needing to act serious to be taken seriously.

You can be knowledgeable, credible, and really good at your job while still having a personality.

And in a sea of identical sales messages, that personality might be exactly what makes someone remember you.

What Should Hotel Sellers Actually Post?

This is usually where I get the question:

"Okay, Cory. But what am I supposed to talk about?"

My answer is simple.

Share something only you know.

Every hotel salesperson can post a picture of a ballroom.

Every property can talk about square footage, breakout rooms, and audiovisual capabilities.

But only you can tell the story of the meeting that almost went sideways and how your team saved the day.

Only you can share what you learned from a particularly challenging site visit.

Only you can explain why a small detail made a planner's event unforgettable.

And only you can share the experiences, interests, and perspectives that make you, well, you.

The goal isn't to turn your LinkedIn feed into a personal diary.

It's to help people understand what it's like to work with you.

I like to think of it as a mix of professional value and personal connection.

Teach me something. Make me think. Show me how you solve problems.

And every once in a while, make me smile.

As Don and I discussed, some of our most successful posts have been lighthearted.

That doesn't mean abandoning your professional expertise.

It means giving people a reason to notice it.

A Simple LinkedIn Prospecting Routine You Can Actually Maintain

One of the biggest objections I hear from hotel sellers is that they don't have time for LinkedIn.

I get it.

Between RFPs, site visits, proposals, client calls, and internal meetings, prospecting often gets pushed to the bottom of the list.

But Don shared a routine that doesn't require spending hours scrolling.

Here's how I'd adapt his advice for a hotel salesperson who wants to start building familiarity with target planners.

1. Identify 10 to 15 people you'd love to work with.

These might be meeting planners, corporate travel managers, association executives, or other decision-makers who fit your hotel's ideal customer profile.

2. Connect without pitching.

Send a simple, genuine invitation. You don't need to explain every feature of your property or ask for an appointment.

3. Pay attention to what they're talking about.

Turn on post notifications for your priority contacts. Look for opportunities to participate in conversations where you can add value.

4. Spend 15 to 30 minutes a day engaging.

Leave thoughtful comments. Ask good questions. Share useful perspectives.

5. Publish one original post each week.

Tell a story. Share a lesson. Highlight a creative solution. Give people a glimpse of your personality.

And here's my favorite rule:

Don't make every interaction about getting something.

If you're commenting solely because you hope someone will send you an RFP tomorrow, people can sense that.

Focus on being helpful, interesting, and memorable.

The business conversations can come later.

The Biggest Risk Isn't Looking Silly. It's Being Forgotten.

Toward the end of our conversation, I asked Don for his single best piece of advice.

His answer was differentiation.

If you've followed Don for any length of time, you know he practices what he preaches.

He's known for creative ideas like his bingo contests and showing up with silly gifts on obscure holidays.

He's not afraid to do things differently.

And that's exactly why people remember him.

Too many salespeople spend their time worrying about what others might think if they post something personal, share an unusual opinion, or try something creative.

But I think we're worrying about the wrong thing.

The bigger risk isn't that someone thinks your post is a little silly. The bigger risk is that nobody remembers you at all.

Don told me he can directly attribute well over six figures in hotel revenue to LinkedIn.

Not because he perfected a cold email template.

Because he invested in relationships, showed up consistently, and gave people reasons to remember him.

That's the kind of prospecting I want more hotel sellers to embrace.

Stop Prospecting Like a Stranger

Here's what I hope hotel sales teams take away from my conversation with Don.

You don't need a bigger list of strangers.

You need more of the right people to recognize your name, understand your value, and feel comfortable starting a conversation.

That doesn't happen overnight.

It happens through consistent, small interactions.

A thoughtful comment. A useful post. A shared experience. A genuine conversation about something that has nothing to do with business.

Over time, those moments add up.

And when the opportunity finally comes to talk about meeting space, room blocks, or corporate rates, you're no longer starting from zero.

You're starting with familiarity.

So here's my challenge to you.

Pick 10 people you'd love to do business with.

Spend 15 minutes a day getting to know them.

And this week, share one story that nobody else could tell.

Who knows?

Your version of a Pearl Jam ticket might be the thing that opens your next big account.

Ready to Make Your Hotel Prospecting a Little Warmer?

At Lure Agency, we believe the most effective prospecting starts long before the first sales pitch.

That's why we developed our Warm Prospecting™ Execution Plan, built on our WINS Method™.

We help hotel sales teams identify the right prospects, optimize their LinkedIn presence, and develop consistent engagement habits that build familiarity and trust over time.

Because the goal isn't just to get more people to open your emails.

It's to make sure they already know who you are when those emails arrive.

Let's talk about how Warm Prospecting™ can help your team build stronger relationships and a healthier pipeline >>