How Is AI Changing the Way Guests Find Your Venue?

AI tools like Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini are changing how members and guests find, research and book hospitality venues, often skipping a club's homepage entirely. Michelle Pascoe, Certified Speaking Professional and 30-year hospitality training expert, explains why clubs need AI-ready websites, faster enquiry responses and new weekly metrics to stay visible in this shift. So how exactly is AI rerouting the path your members and guests take to find and book your club, and what should you fix first? In this episode, Michelle Pascoe sits down with Kenny Ridgell, founder of Ridge Media, to unpack what the AI shift actually means for clubs and hospitality venues right now, not in some distant future. Kenny built his business by treating marketing like a science experiment, testing one variable at a time instead of guessing. That approach works because it isolates what's actually driving results, rather than crediting the last click before a booking. The conversation moves from there into the practical detail every club leader needs: why AI platforms are now sending prospective members straight to a booking or room page, bypassing the homepage story a club has spent years building. Yes, this matters, because if that page doesn't answer the visitor's question in seconds, the enquiry is lost to a competitor with a better-prepared page. KEY TAKEAWAYS Why AI platforms increasingly send prospective members straight to a booking page, skipping a club's homepage story entirely. How the hub and spoke landing page model helps clubs get cited by AI search tools and match content to different member and guest avatars. Why branded search and direct traffic are two of the clearest early warning signs of a marketing problem. Why form enquiries and email response speed matter more than call volume when judging genuine interest. How combining AI drafting with a real human response builds the trust that turns an enquiry into a booking. NEXT STEPS - Subscribe to The Michelle Pascoe Hospitality Podcast on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify: michellepascoe.com/The-Michelle-Pascoe-Hospitality-Podcast- Join Michelle's newsletter for leadership, culture, and service excellence: michellepascoe.com/blog- Book customer service workshops and middle management programs tailored to clubs, hotels, and hospitality venues: michellepascoe.com/traininganddevelopmentprograms ABOUT MICHELLE Michelle Pascoe helps hospitality leaders build multigenerational teams, lift service standards, and embed values-led culture. A Certified Speaking Professional with over 30 years in the hospitality industry, Michelle delivers bespoke keynotes, workshops, and leadership programs for clubs, hotels, and hospitality venues across Australia and internationally. Book customer service workshops and middle management programs: michellepascoe.com/traininganddevelopmentprograms ABOUT KENNY Kenny Ridgell is the founder of Ridge Media, a marketing agency he built while still a student at the College of Charleston. He applies the scientific method to marketing, treating every campaign as a testable hypothesis, and works with hospitality clients including hotels and club memberships on data-driven, AI-ready growth strategies. Website: https://ridgemediallc.com/