For several years, hotels have found themselves in awkward situations with social media influencers who contact them for free rooms in exchange for posts that promote their properties. Some interactions between ornery hotel owners and thirsty Instagram personalities have even gone viral.

Instead of rolling his eyes, Michael Keriakos saw an opportunity to prove to the hotels that the bargain was worth it. Last fall, during the doldrums of the pandemic, his company Curacity launched a hotel booking site for vetted influencers to get discounted rates in exchange for promoting the properties to their followers.