There’s nothing more frustrating than a failed influencer campaign.

You go through all the effort to get them to your property, give them a free night stay and sometimes even pay them thousands of dollars.

A few weeks later, they drop their post and…

You get some pretty content and impressions, but no bookings.

That's valuable money, time and energy for nothing.

Here's the thing:

You can fix this with a real model for vetting influencers.

A real model is not focused on vanity metrics like followers and view count.

Instead, it's focused on:

• Engagement rate
• Brand and niche fit
• Audience analytics

These are the foundation of every influencer program we run.

But there's one more layer almost everyone overlooks.

And it's part of the system that's driven millions in direct bookings across our properties and our clients'.

Let's dig in:

THE WRONG WAY

Most operators get stuck on one of two layers.

Layer 1: Shallow signals

These are metrics like follower count, view count, comment volume.

What these miss:

• Fake follower bots inflating the influencer’s follower counts
• Views pumped by paid distribution or bot loops
• A few viral reels carrying a profile while the rest of the content flatlines

Layer 2: Baseline signals

The next layer of metrics are better:

• Engagement rate
• Brand and niche fit
• Audience analytics through Modash

We use all of these. They're necessary.

But each one answers a side question:

• Engagement rate: are these followers actually paying attention? (5%+ is what we look for; anything under 2% rarely moves bookings)
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• Niche fit: would this audience even consider a stay like yours? (foodies and local travel accounts translate well to Onera, but match your niche to why people visit your property and market.)
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• Analytics: do the followers, views, and comments hold up? (we cut anything over 35% fake followers, and we check whether views are concentrated in one viral reel instead of consistent across the feed)

None of that answers the booking question.

There's one source that does...

THE PLAY

Step 1: Connect with other operators in your category

(yes, including the ones you nominally compete with)

The operators running properties like yours are sitting on something no analytics tool can give you:

Reservation-level data on the influencers you're considering.

They already know which influencers:

• Drove bookings
• Drove views, but no bookings

Yet no one asks (which is exactly why it works).

Here’s why this is so effective:

Hospitality is a small world (especially in the unique stay & boutique hotel space). Most operators in your category are 1-2 connections away, and they’d love to connect with you. So while most think the “competition” would never share this, you’re thinking with an abundance mindset.

And it works.

So go connect with operators in your category, not just your market.

That means boutique hotel owners, glamping operators, landscape resort owners, and design-forward unique stays with the same guest profile.

Step 2: Ask these two questions

Once you connect with your fellow operator, ask these two simple questions:

1. "Which influencers have you paid that actually drove direct bookings?"
2. "How did you measure/track the collab's success?"

The second question matters more than the first because it separates real attribution from gut feel.

Step 3: Listen for real and gut attribution

Real attribution sounds like:

• A promo code to track redemptions
• A Bitly or Dub link that measures link clicks
• A‘how did you hear about us’ question in the booking flow

But if they aren't tracking those metrics, you can listen for “gut feel” comments like:

• "We saw a booking bump after the post."
• "Our website traffic spiked after the post."

Prioritize the real attribution, but gut feel attribution is valuable too!

Pro tip: The same strategy works with the influencers you already have relationships with. Their referrals will help you avoid wasting time on “bad fit” partnerships.

Now, it’s important to note:

This play doesn't replace engagement rate, niche fit, or analytics.

It sits on top of these metrics. The other signals tell you an influencer is solid. The network tells you a specific influencer drove specific reservations at a property like yours.

That's how you get the most juice out of every partnership.

THE PROOF

We've leaned on this peer network as a vetting layer for years across Onera and our Oasi clients.

It’s played a big part in producing 130M+ views across managed accounts, and it’s created winning collabs like this:

THE TAKEAWAY

Happy connecting,

Ben Wolff

Founder, Oasi & Modern Hospitality Accelerator