No news? No problem.
Everyone loves a new hotel – travel PRs most of all. The exclusive first-look reviews, the opening party, the influencer trips, the media queuing for a first in. Newness sells itself.
But what happens two, five, or twenty years later, once the fanfare of opening coverage has dwindled? How do you keep a hotel in the headlines when there’s no launch to lean on?
That’s exactly what we’re unpacking in our second edition of Conversations: why having no news is no barrier to great press coverage, and what we actually do about it. Some of our clients have been with us for more than two decades, so over the years we’ve had to get properly creative to keep a steady stream of quality coverage. We want to share some of the tips and tricks we use to create genuine, quality media stories: even when there’s nothing obvious to shout about. Storytelling and creative thinking are always our first instinct, and we’re constantly on the lookout for new trends to feed our clients fresh ideas. We also have team members who’ve worked in hotels themselves, so we understand the operational and budgetary realities and how restricting these can be. While we’d love to bring big-picture, big-budget ideas to life every time, it’s usually the cleverer, more concise ideas that keep our clients in the news.
Here are a few ideas we’ve had success with:
Seasonal and calendar-led hooks: certain annual events will always be covered in the media, from Valentine’s Day to Christmas and the school summer holidays. Be prepared for these and pitch in good time with creative packages and ideas that stand out. Each year our client Val d’Isère gets its winter media kit ready in the summer months and comes over to London for a September party to tell key journalists about the season ahead ensuring we hit those all-important early season ski specials.
Reactive and newsjacking opportunities: we need to stay on top of what’s trending, both in the industry and in pop culture: reacting fast can pay real dividends. When The Traitors took off, we launched murder mystery dinners with our Scottish client, Wyndham Duchally Estate, giving media a timely hook to feature them. Knowing where viral TV shows, like White Lotus, and blockbuster films, like The Odyssey, are being filmed and when they air allows you to time and theme pitches, so they are relevant for press.
Anniversaries and milestones: dig into destination history to find relevant hooks, like Jane Austen’s 250th anniversary last year. The author lived and set her works in Bath, so our client The Gainsborough Bath Spa was perfectly placed to make the most of this. Bringing this to our client’s attention early allowed them to plan in advance and together we came up with two week-long itineraries for true Austen aficionados that media and guests loved.
Curated and personal trips: rather than focusing on the hotel or destination, why not flip the lens to the writer or publication instead? Our close relationships with media mean we know them well, meet with them often, and they trust us with their interests, personal circumstances, and even family histories. From first family holidays with writers returning from maternity leave to bucket-list honeymoons and nostalgic trips back to generational family favourite destinations, we’ve arranged milestone journeys for media that consistently drive hero coverage, thanks to the personal stories and backstories behind them.
Data and insight-led stories: Hillside Beach Club has a return guest rate of 74%, a figure so high that Harvard Business School studied it. We also represent Opodo, one of the largest online travel agents, and the search data we can pull to show spikes in interest in sports events, cooler destinations, and where to see the lunar eclipse – just a few examples – are fodder for a hungry digital media machine. Facts, figures and trending data give journalists real-time insights, offer fresh angles, and strong hooks for their own wider pieces.
We’d love to know if you’ve tried any of these tactics yourself, or have others worth swapping notes on, so do get in touch!
If this resonated with you and you’d like to receive future editions of Conversations you can sign up here; we’d be delighted to have you with us.
