The Hotel Follow-Up Email That Actually Gets Replies
Most hotel collaborations are won on the second email, not the first. Here is when to follow up, what to write, and how many times before you stop.
You sent the pitch. It was good. You checked it twice, attached your best work, picked the right dates.
Nothing came back.
Most creators treat that silence as a no and move on. It usually is not. A hotel marketing manager receives a large volume of email, and yours arrived on a day when something else was on fire. It was not rejected. It was not read.
The second email is where most collaborations are actually won, and almost nobody sends one.
Why hotels do not reply the first time
Understanding this changes how the follow-up reads, so it is worth a moment.
The person was busy. Marketing at a hotel is not one job. It is social media, the website, press, events, photography, occasionally the restaurant. Your email arrived between two other things.
It needed a decision they could not make alone. Comping a room usually involves revenue management or the GM. That takes a conversation, and conversations get postponed.
The timing was wrong for the property, not for you. High season, a refurbishment, a busy events week. Your dates might be fine in three months.
It went to the wrong person. If you pitched a general address, it may have been forwarded once and then stalled. Before trying again, check whether you can find the hotel's marketing contact directly.
None of those are rejections. All of them are solved by asking again.
When to send it
Five days is the sweet spot. Long enough that you are not chasing, short enough that they still recognise your name.
Two days is too soon and reads as impatient. Two weeks is too late, because the original email is buried and the context is gone.
If your dates are close, tighten it to three days and say so.
What a good follow-up contains
Short. Four or five lines. The whole point is to be easy to answer.
Reference the original without repeating it. They do not need the pitch again. One line reminding them what it was about is enough.
Add something new. This is the part people skip. A follow-up that only says "just checking in" gives them nothing to respond to. Add a detail: a recent piece of work, a flexible date, a specific reason you want this property.
Make the ask smaller. Instead of asking again for the whole collaboration, ask for one thing. Is this something you would consider? Is there a better person for this? Are those dates workable?
A smaller question is easier to answer, and an answer of any kind restarts the conversation.
Give them an exit. Saying "if it is not the right fit, no problem at all" sounds counterintuitive, but it lowers the pressure and increases replies. People respond to messages that do not corner them.
A template you can adapt
Subject: Re: [your original subject]
Hi [name],
Just following up on my note from last week about creating content at [hotel name] during my stay in [month].
Since writing, I have finished a shoot at [property or location], which is a similar style to what I had in mind for you. Happy to send it over if useful.
Would this be something worth exploring, or is there someone else I should speak to?
Either way, thank you for your time.
[your name]
Replying in the same thread matters. It keeps the original email attached, so they have the context without you restating it. If the original needs work, start with the complete guide to pitching a hotel for a collaboration.
What kills a follow-up
Guilt. "I know you're busy but I haven't heard back" puts them on the defensive before they have read a word.
Repetition. Sending the same pitch again with a new subject line is worse than sending nothing.
Urgency you invented. "I need an answer by Friday" is fine if it is true and you explain why. If it is a tactic, it reads as one.
Length. A follow-up longer than the original pitch signals that you are more invested than they are.
How many times
Two follow-ups. Three at the very most, and only if something genuinely changed.
The rhythm that works:
- Day 0, the pitch
- Day 5, first follow-up, short, adds something new
- Day 14, second follow-up, shorter still, offers an exit
After that, stop. Not because the hotel said no, but because you have made your case and further emails cost you more than they gain.
The exit email can be genuinely useful:
Hi [name],
I will stop here so I am not filling your inbox. If the timing is wrong for now, I would love to be considered for a future season. I am usually in [region] a few times a year.
Thanks for reading, and all the best.
That reads as professional rather than persistent, and it leaves the door open. Some of the best collaborations come from a property that said no in March and yes in September.
Track what you sent
This is the unglamorous part that decides whether any of it works.
If you are pitching twenty hotels, you will not remember who you contacted on which day, who replied, and who is due a follow-up. Within a fortnight it turns into guesswork, and guesswork means you either forget to follow up or you follow up twice.
Write it down. A spreadsheet is enough: property, date sent, status, date to follow up. What matters is that the reminder exists somewhere other than your memory.
Creators who follow up consistently land more collaborations than creators who write better pitches. It is not close. The reason is clearer in our analysis of 33,540 hotel contacts, which found that seven in ten addresses are generic or non-personal. This is one of the practical habits covered in the guide to becoming a hotel content creator.
Common questions
Should I follow up if they opened the email but did not reply?
Yes. An open without a reply usually means they read it, meant to respond, and did not. That is the ideal follow-up candidate.
What if I pitched a general inbox?
Use the follow-up to ask for a redirect rather than an answer. "Is there someone in marketing I should send this to?" is often more productive than repeating the pitch.
Is it worth following up months later?
Yes, if something has changed. A new season, new work in your portfolio, or a different set of dates all justify a fresh email. Reference the previous one briefly so it does not read as a cold pitch.
How long should I wait after a maybe?
If they said they would come back to you, give it ten days. Then follow up referencing what they said rather than what you asked.
Does this work for paid UGC as well as free stays?
It works better. Paid work involves a budget conversation, which almost never happens on the first email.
Hotel Creators includes an outreach tracker that reminds you when a follow-up is due, and generates it for you. 33,986 properties across 85 countries, €19 a month.
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