Paid and free channels
Instagram Ads for Independent Hotels: Formats, Creative and What to Film
Build Instagram ads in Meta Ads Manager, not by boosting a post. They can run in the Instagram Feed, Stories, Reels, Explore and search results. Make vertical 9:16 video for Stories and Reels and square or 4:5 for the Feed, send every tap to your own booking page, and leave Facebook placements on, which Meta says lowers cost.
Instagram is where many travelers look at hotels before they ever search for one. For an independent hotel, it is a way to show rooms, views and the neighborhood to people planning a trip, and send them to book on your own website. This guide covers the Instagram side: where the ads appear, which sizes to make, how to set them up and what to film. Budget, the Meta pixel and the learning phase are in our guide to Facebook and Instagram ads for hotels. Facts come from Meta's and Instagram's help centers, read on October 12, 2026.
Where do Instagram ads appear?
In six places on Instagram, according to Meta's page on ad placements. Each one suits a different shape of photo or video:
| Placement | Where the guest sees it | Shape Meta recommends |
|---|---|---|
| Feed | Between posts in the home feed | Square 1:1 for a single image; 1:1 or 4:5 supported |
| Profile feed | In the feed view of public profiles of people 18 and over | Feed shapes |
| Explore home | As a tile in the Explore grid | Feed shapes |
| Stories | Between people's Stories | Vertical 9:16 |
| Reels | In the Reels tab | Vertical 9:16 |
| Search results | When someone types a keyword in Instagram search | Feed shapes |
Source: Meta Business Help Centre, placements and Meta's best practices for aspect ratios, read October 12, 2026. Meta's aspect ratio table lists the exact sizes for each placement.
Meta says most people hold their phones vertically, so 9:16 fills the whole screen in Stories and Reels. If you upload only one shape, Ads Manager adjusts it for other placements by padding, expanding or cropping, so check the crops before publishing.
Should a hotel run ads on Instagram only?
Usually not. Meta recommends leaving all placements on, across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Threads and its Audience Network, and says that in an experiment, ad sets using Advantage+ placements had an 11.7% lower cost per action on average than ad sets with placements chosen by hand (Meta's page on Advantage+ placements). Meta also says adding placements does not raise the cost of your ad.
Meta's own example shows why switching a placement off can cost more. With a $27 budget across Facebook, Instagram and Audience Network, the ad got nine results at $3 each, even though Instagram's results cost $5 each. With Instagram turned off, the same budget bought eight results at $3.25 each (Meta's explanation). A placement that looks expensive on its own can still lower the overall cost.
So make creative that looks right on Instagram, because that is where it will be seen most closely, and let Meta decide where to show it. Judge the result by cost per booking across all placements.
Should a hotel boost Instagram posts or use Ads Manager?
Use Ads Manager for anything meant to bring bookings. Meta's guide to boosted posts and Meta ads sets out the differences:
- Goals. A boosted post can aim for website clicks, engagement or local promotion. Ads Manager adds objectives such as sales, which is where a booking is counted.
- Targeting. Boosting lets you choose interests, age and gender. Ads Manager adds tools such as Lookalike Audiences.
- Control and reports. Meta says campaign creation, budget settings and performance metrics are only available in Ads Manager.
- A fee to avoid. Meta says an Apple service fee of 30% of your ad payment may apply in most regions when you add funds to your ad account in the Instagram app on an iPhone. Pay from Ads Manager on a computer instead.
Boosting has a place: a post that already does well with your followers can be boosted to reach more people. Just do not count it as your booking campaign.
What should a hotel film for Instagram ads?
Meta's own best practices to make your ad more engaging are short: use vertical or square video, keep text short because people scan quickly, add movement, use the carousel format to show several images at the same cost, and add a call-to-action button. For a hotel, that becomes a shot list. These are our suggestions:
- The room from the door. Walk in as a guest would, in one slow shot, in daylight.
- The view from the bed or the window. Often the single best reason to book.
- The bathroom and the details. Towels, shower, coffee, the things guests check in reviews.
- Breakfast, the pool or the bar, if you have them, with people in the frame.
- The neighborhood within walking distance. The street, a landmark, the beach, a favorite restaurant.
Film on a phone, held vertically, a few seconds per shot. Put your hotel's name and town in the first seconds, and keep the caption to one line. If an ad shows a price, show the total: under the FTC's fee rule, in force since May 12, 2025, mandatory fees such as resort fees must be included (FTC).
Which format suits which campaign?
Our guide to Facebook and Instagram ads for hotels covers the three campaigns to start with. On Instagram, each one fits a format:
| Campaign | Who sees it | Format that fits |
|---|---|---|
| Retargeting | People who visited your website or started a booking | Carousel of rooms, with prices from your catalog |
| New travelers | People likely to travel to your area | A short Reels video of the stay |
| Seasonal offer | People in nearby cities, for your quiet dates | Stories, with the offer and dates in one line |
Our suggestions. Test two versions of each and keep the one with the lower cost per booking.
What about your Instagram profile and tracking?
Instagram's profile action buttons will not take hotel bookings. Instagram's Help Centre lists three: Book now for appointments, Reserve for restaurant reservations, and Order food. Only one can show at a time, and each needs an account with a partner. So put a direct link to your own booking page in your profile, and point every ad there, not to your home page.
Then make sure each booking is linked to the ad that brought it. Add UTM tags to every ad link and set up the Meta pixel on your booking engine. Our guide to tracking which ad brought a booking explains how. Without it, Instagram ads often look as if they brought nothing, and the wrong ads get switched off.
A booking site usually costs 20% to 30% of a booking once add-ons are counted. If your Instagram ads bring bookings for less, they are worth running. See what moving bookings to direct could save your hotel.
MarginStay runs Meta and Instagram ads for independent hotels, so we have a stake in this topic. Facts about placements, sizes, boosting and action buttons come from Meta's Business Help Centre and the Instagram Help Centre, read on October 12, 2026. The shot list and format suggestions are our own.
Instagram ads: quick answers
What size should hotel Instagram ads be?
Meta recommends vertical 9:16 for Stories and Reels, because most people hold their phones upright, and square 1:1 for single-image ads in the Instagram Feed, where 1:1 and 4:5 are supported. If you upload one shape only, Ads Manager adjusts it for other placements, so check the crops before you publish.
Is it better to boost an Instagram post or use Ads Manager?
For bookings, Ads Manager. Boosted posts can aim for website clicks, engagement or local promotion, while Ads Manager adds objectives such as sales, more targeting and full reporting. Meta also says a 30% Apple service fee may apply when you add funds in the Instagram iPhone app, so pay from a computer.
Should hotel ads run only on Instagram?
Usually not. Meta recommends keeping all placements on and says that in an experiment, Advantage+ placements gave an 11.7% lower cost per action on average than placements chosen by hand. Make creative that suits Instagram, let Meta place it, and judge the result by cost per booking.
Can a hotel add a Book button to its Instagram profile?
Not for room bookings. Instagram's action buttons are Book now for appointments, Reserve for restaurant reservations and Order food, each through a partner, and only one shows at a time. Add a link to your own booking page in your profile instead, and send every ad there.
Want Instagram to bring guests to your own booking page?
Talk to us about Instagram and Facebook ads for your hotel, what to film, and what each booking would cost.
Sources
- Meta Business Help Centre: About ad placements across Meta technologies
- Meta Business Help Centre: Best practices for aspect ratios
- Meta Business Help Centre: About Advantage+ placements
- Meta Business Help Centre: How the Meta delivery system works using Advantage+ placements
- Meta Business Help Centre: The difference between boosted posts and Meta ads
- Meta Business Help Centre: Best practices to make your ad more engaging
- Instagram Help Centre: About action buttons for Instagram business profiles
- FTC: Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees takes effect May 12, 2025