How One Hospitality Strategist Is Helping Small Operators Show Up in ChatGPT and Google AI
Miami Beach, United States – June 3, 2026 / StayStrategy /
Miami, FL – June 2026 – Chris LaColla, a hospitality marketing strategist and Harvard MBA, has announced the launch of StayStrategy, a search visibility and performance marketing firm built exclusively for independent hospitality operators, including boutique hotels, short-term rental operators, tour companies, and attractions.
LaColla founded StayStrategy around a specific gap he identified in the travel industry: AI is changing how guests discover and choose where to stay, and independent operators are among the last to benefit from that shift.
“AI search is the biggest shift in travel discovery since Google Maps,” said LaColla. “ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews are now recommending hotels, tours, and rentals by name – before a guest ever visits a website. The businesses showing up aren’t necessarily the best ones. They’re the ones that are clearly positioned and consistently described across the web. Most independent operators aren’t there yet.”
LaColla has spent his career at the intersection of hospitality and digital marketing, and views AI search visibility as the defining marketing challenge for travel businesses over the next decade. StayStrategy is structured to translate AI search strategy into practical execution for operators who do not have a corporate marketing team supporting them.
The firm’s methodology begins with two questions every hospitality business needs to answer: who are the guests this business is actually built for, and when do those guests search, book, and travel? Those answers inform every element of marketing StayStrategy develops – from Google Business Profile and local SEO to paid campaigns on Meta and Google, AI-optimized content, and direct booking websites.
“Independent operators have always had a better product story than the chains,” LaColla said. “They just haven’t had the infrastructure to tell it in the places that matter now. That’s what we build.”
StayStrategy is based in Miami Beach and serves operators across South Florida and nationally. LaColla is available for advisory engagements, speaking, and consulting with hospitality brands, travel technology companies, and investors focused on AI’s impact on travel marketing and distribution.
Contact: Chris LaColla, Founder, StayStrategy – chris@staystrategy.co
Contact Information:
StayStrategy
407 Lincoln Road, Suite 6H PMB 1277, Miami Beach, FL, 33139
Miami Beach, FL 33139
United States
Chris LaColla
+1-773-313-9155
https://www.staystrategy.co
