| Most hotels think of hotel public relations and | | | | network). |
| marketing as afterthoughts. Advertising a hotel is a | | | | Hotel public relations starts by determining your PR |
| great first step, but in these days of both out-of-the | | | | strategies and allocating a budget. This will include |
| box thinking and remarkable new ways to approach | | | | distribution of traditional media releases (which these |
| media, advertising alone won't do it. A strong, | | | | days include multimedia elements such as |
| strategic message that encompasses everything | | | | photography), developing special events, and creating |
| from social media to event planning, along with more | | | | opportunities to interact with and entertain reporters |
| traditional marketing/advertising such as direct mail, | | | | and travel writers. Skip the clipping service in favor of |
| ensures that your hotel or chain will stand out from | | | | having your PR rep set up Google Alerts, and know |
| the crowd. | | | | that everything in this area of your business is |
| What is Hotel PR? | | | | changing faster than you can keep up. That's where |
| Hotel public relations includes a diverse set of | | | | your PR expert will really earn their money. |
| activities, such as newsletters and traditional press | | | | Hire Right! |
| relations, planning special events, creating trips for | | | | Allocate staff to act as spokespersons to each hotel |
| travel writers (so they will favorably cover your | | | | - a media rep - and start by outsourcing your PR. |
| hotel), and online marketing including developing a | | | | Hotel public relations must be done properly, by |
| social media presence, as well as some unexpected | | | | experts and not as an afterthought; you can always |
| choices, such as community philanthropy. | | | | change your mind later and bring the position |
| PR is the unsung hero in the sales/marketing/branding | | | | in-house, but the job will require someone who can |
| world. Done right, it can establish your credibility with | | | | speak to the media, write a strong well-worded |
| potential new clients, raise awareness of your brand, | | | | press release with a headline that will make the |
| and cost you much less than traditional advertising. In | | | | phone ring, and who will bring existing media |
| fact, probably the most cost-effective method | | | | relationships to the table, thereby jump-starting your |
| available to you is hotel public relations. Creating story | | | | PR with no ramp-up time, which translates into dollars |
| seeds, or even full-blown stories, with the modern | | | | saved for you. |
| media means being featured in blogs, on web sites, | | | | If you can give yourself a year's window to see the |
| and with aggregators, as well as in traditional print | | | | results of your hotel public relations campaign, you'll |
| and online magazines, trade journals, and newspapers. | | | | note an uptick in awareness and an ongoing strategic |
| Think Vegas... | | | | base you can draw your customers from, which |
| You've seen the hotels on the Vegas strip, each | | | | should also translate into increased sales and perhaps |
| more gaudy than the last, or more elegant, or both. | | | | also a welcome reduction in your advertising budget. |
| How do they stand out in a marketplace so crowded | | | | Stick with hotel PR and you will notice the long-term |
| there is literally nothing else? They learn to | | | | benefits of continued awareness and loyalty among |
| differentiate themselves (the hook), to tell a story | | | | customers who demand that they are not just |
| unlike the others (the theme) and to build | | | | advertised to, and appreciate the more subtle |
| relationships with the media and their clients (the | | | | marketing of good PR. |