Content Score
Content Score is a metric used by OTAs (most prominently Expedia, where it's called the "Content Score" or property score) to grade how complete and high-quality a hotel's listing content is. Listings with higher content scores are typically rewarded with better search ranking and higher conversion.
What goes into a content score
- Photos — quantity, resolution, variety (rooms, exterior, amenities, food)
- Descriptions — completeness of property and room descriptions
- Amenities — fully tagged amenity lists
- Room information — bed types, sizes, occupancy, accessibility details
- Policies — cancellation, check-in/out, pet rules
- Translations — content available in multiple languages
- Map and location — accurate coordinates and neighborhood info
Why it matters
OTAs treat content score as a proxy for guest satisfaction risk. Listings with poor content tend to underperform on conversion and produce more guest complaints — so the OTA's algorithm down-ranks them. A poor content score can cost a property meaningful visibility and bookings, regardless of how competitive its rates are.
How hotels improve it
- Refresh imagery regularly with high-resolution, well-lit photos
- Fully complete every field in the OTA extranet (including ones that seem optional)
- Translate content into the OTA's priority languages
- Maintain accurate amenity tagging as the property evolves
Many channel managers and content management tools specialize in pushing rich, consistent content out to all OTAs from a single source.