From SEO to AEO: How REYA Is Helping Boutique Travel Brands Stay Discoverable in an AI-Driven World
- Alexandra Avila
- Jul 23
- 7 min read
At REYA, we’ve always believed that great storytelling deserves to be heard, not just by algorithms, but by real people seeking inspiration, connection, and trust. As the media and search landscape evolves at warp speed, we know it can feel overwhelming, especially for boutique and independent travel brands trying to compete with legacy brands with larger marketing budgets.
The truth is: the way consumers discover brands is changing fast.
We’re not just seeing shifts in how people search, we’re seeing a full-on transformation in who is answering those questions. Thanks to AI-powered platforms like ChatGPT, Google’s Search Generative Experience, and voice assistants like Siri and Alexa, traditional SEO alone isn’t enough.
Welcome to the era of AEO: Answer Engine Optimization. And REYA is here to help you navigate it.
What’s Really Changing and Why It Matters
In the not-so-distant past, the journey from discovery to booking was relatively straightforward: a traveler Googled a destination, browsed a few websites, maybe clicked on a link to your beautifully crafted story, and voilà, you were in the running.
Today, the “click” has all but disappeared.
AI-driven search engines are no longer pointing users to your content, but instead they’re summarizing it, paraphrasing it, and sometimes citing it without ever sending traffic your way. This is what’s being called “zero-click search” and it’s real. It’s not just a glitch in your analytics. It's a systemic shift in how information is being consumed.
So what does that mean for boutique brands with limited marketing budgets, who rely on organic discovery and earned media?
It means that presence matters more than traffic. It means we need to think beyond clicks and optimize for visibility, credibility, and answerability, even when attribution is invisible.
SEO vs. AEO: What’s the Difference?
We still love SEO and it helps your brand get discovered in traditional search.
But AEO is where the future is heading. It’s about structuring your content and media presence so that AI assistants and answer engines like ChatGPT and Alexa can understand and cite your brand when users ask questions like:
“What are the best luxury boutique hotels in Costa Rica?”
“Where should I go for an off-the-radar honeymoon?”
“Who are the top sustainable travel brands?”
To show up in those answers, your brand needs to be seen as a trusted, authoritative source. That’s where PR comes in and why it’s more important than ever.
Here are some examples of recent coverage positioning our clients as trusted sources:
Kevin Jackson, Founder of EXP Journeys
Conde Nast Traveler | Unplugged Travel Is More Off-Grid and Transformative Than Ever Before
“I think travelers are trying to remember a time, not that long ago, when there was greater attention paid to self-reflection, slowing down to take in your surroundings, and finding moments of quiet and stillness,” shares Kevin Jackson, co-founder of EXP Journeys, which offers bespoke luxury tented mobile camps in remote corners of Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Vermejo, and Escalante. The camps are designed for comfort, with king-sized beds, en-suite bathrooms, and chef-curated meals, yet deliberately lack Wi-Fi and cell service.
“We are seeing more requests from travelers looking to disconnect completely,” reports Jackson. “In many cases, the driving force is coming from parents wanting their kids to be away from the distraction of screens.” EXP Journeys is responding to the demand in 2025 by creating three new off-grid camps in Paradise Valley, Moab, and Yosemite.
The California-based adventure travel firm EXP Journeys regularly stages White Lotus meets Punk’d-style trips. Kevin Jackson, the owner, says these are growing in popularity — this year he’ll run four of them, up from one or two five years ago.
Jackson’s speciality is less white knuckle than Shift + Alt’s nailbiters: he has thrown a Pirates of the Caribbean-themed trip for a family in the Bahamas, with a retrofitted pirate ship and a custom map for Blackbeard’s treasure, while he time-warped a trio of Hong Kong-based businessmen back to the cowboy era, buying out Wyoming’s Brush Creek Ranch as a backdrop and hiring hundreds of extras who were kitted out in period costumes.
"Any change in an animal’s natural behavior is a red flag. Wildlife should not act differently because of your presence," says Andrew Roberts, co-founder of EXP Journeys, a luxury travel company specializing in small, private guided tours. He emphasized that any little thing has an impact, from trampling on a wildflower to feeding a squirrel.
Praveen Moman, Founder of Volcanoes Safaris
National Geographic | Need to unwind? This new travel trend adds a twist.
Volcanoes Safaris has been at the forefront of gorilla ecotourism offering expertly curated wildlife safaris that incorporate sustainable conservation and community projects across five lodges. “Gorilla tracking encompasses a rollercoaster of intense emotions in a very short time period,” says Praveen Moman, founder of Volcanoes Safaris.
The experience starts with some fear and trepidation, and as you set off on the journey into the forest it all goes by very quickly, like a meditative green blur, until you are finally crouching in the undergrowth sensing the gorillas nearby. “The adrenaline is pumping as you take in the many sights, sounds, and smells of the gorillas. It’s exhilarating and overpowering, and before you know it, the hour with the gorillas is up,” says Moman.
Emma-Mai Roche, Equine Concierge at Cashel Palace
"Horse riding offers a unique blend of health benefits and cultural immersion, making it a fantastic addition to any vacation," said Emma-Mai Roche, Cashel Palace's Equine Concierge.
A longtime horse lover who started taking English riding lessons in my 30s, I have ridden a polo pony through vineyards in Argentina, taken jumping lessons in the English countryside, done a dressage class in Italy, and gone on a cattle drive in Montana. I've found that horseback riding is a wonderful way to learn about local culture while also recharging.
Katrin Kirchhoff, Founder of Travel Pioneers
"Nicaragua has made significant strides to ensure the safety and security of tourists. The country actively promotes tourism, and efforts have been made to enhance safety measures in popular tourist areas," said Katrin Kirchhoff, founder of Travel Pioneers and Travel + Leisure A-List Specialist for Nicaragua, in an email interview.
She recommends starting in Granada, the oldest city in Nicaragua, where travelers can experience Nicaragua’s culture with style and authenticity along its cobblestone streets lined with well-preserved colonial buildings.
PR Is No Longer Just About Press, It’s About Presence
For boutique and independent travel brands, earned media is one of your most powerful tools. But its role has evolved:
Media coverage fuels AEO by building authority, structured citations, and trustworthy mentions.
Expert quotes and thought leadership help AI recognize your brand as “answer-worthy.”
Backlinks from reputable publications continue to support your SEO, but now they also signal trust to AI models.
At REYA, we’re already baking this thinking into our strategies. Whether it’s crafting PR releases in AEO-friendly formats or helping your spokespeople get quoted in the right outlets, we’re not just chasing coverage, we’re helping you show up in conversations, search queries, and AI answers.
The Independent Brand Advantage, If You’re Prepared
Let’s be honest: big brands have big budgets. They can buy visibility.
But boutique brands have something far more powerful, authenticity.
You just need the right support to make sure your voice is heard.
At REYA, we’ve made it our mission to help small but mighty brands punch above their weight. That means helping you:
Design PR content that can be picked up by both journalists and AI
Structure storytelling to answer real traveler questions directly
Optimize your owned content (like blogs, bios, and “About” pages) with AEO in mind
Build visibility across every type of media from traditional outlets to AI search to private “dark social” sharing spaces like Slack, Reddit, and group chats
It’s Not About Reinventing. It’s About Reframing.
We know how disorienting it can feel to see your engagement metrics drop even when you’re doing “all the right things.” But this isn’t a time to throw out what works. It’s time to adapt with intention.
That’s why we’re reimagining how we use the PESO Model® — Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned media, as a strategic system that amplifies your visibility across platforms, even in this fractured media landscape.
You don’t need to be everywhere. You need to be remembered in the right places.
What You Can Do Right Now
Here are a few ways you can start positioning your brand for discoverability in the age of AI:
Answer a clear question on every blog or PR piece.
Think: “What is sustainable luxury travel?” or “Why travel to Patagonia in the off-season?”
Use structured content.
Bullet points, numbered lists, tables, all of these help AI parse your content better.
Mention entities.
Use specific names: your hotel, your founder, your destination. This helps AI recognize your brand.
Link to earned media.
Show the AI (and your audience) that trusted sources are talking about you. So build the press page and start amplifying your media coverage wins.
Make it human.
Use expert quotes, founder stories, and team voices to build trust. In a world flooded with content, people trust people.
Final Word: Stay Nimble. Stay You.
Change is hard. But it’s also full of opportunity especially for brands that are willing to evolve before they’re forced to.
At REYA, we’re not just watching the changes happen. We’re leading the charge for our clients, helping them adapt, thrive, and stay visible in a world where discoverability is no longer guaranteed. It’s earned.
If you’re feeling behind or unsure of where to start? You’re not alone.
Let’s navigate it together.
Want to future-proof your brand’s PR strategy for the age of AI?
Reach out! We’d love to help you stay ahead of the curve.
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