Essex Basted hotel PR agency working across the UK
It’s no secret that us Brits love to travel, especially during the summer. According to BDO, UK hotels experienced their ninth consecutive year of rooms yield growth in 2018 which rose by 1.1%. With a growing customer demand; it’s safe to say that the hotel industry is a competitive one, and there are new hospitality trends appearing out of nowhere!
With Airbnb becoming a popular go-to for domestic tourists, the hotel industry truly is the most competitive it’s ever been. This is why some are seeking out to hotel PR agencies, and rightfully so!
Here at VerriBerri, a specialist hotel PR agency; we wanted to help you understand why those in the hotel industry are seeking out the help of PR, and what it can do for your business.
Awards
Awards can go a very long way. Have you ever seen ‘Four in a Bed’ on Channel 4? Safe to say that’s the best publicity a small BnB can receive; (as long as you don’t embarrass yourself and come last!). They win an award at the end of the week if their B&B was voted best by its contestants.
An award is symbolic of the service that you offer. If you were granted an award for having the best hotel in London; you would display that and make sure people are aware of it! A PR agency can help you to apply for these types of awards. Like anything, applying for rewards on a small-scale is best, then slowly working your way up to more national prizes. They often bring free publicity (that’s what you like to hear) to your hotel and brand! A PR team can search for locally sponsored prizes within your area and slowly build your portfolio up of awards from there. There’s no harm in applying; but a PR team can help you to find the best awards suited to you and give that better chance of winning.
What Is PR?
In its simplest form, public relations is a way of connecting your business to your intended audience. This could include working with influencers, or appearing in news, magazines, or trade press articles. Effective PR is likely the best way of building up a positive reputation for your business in the public eye. Now more than ever, customer perceptions of a business is massively impacted by the media’s representation of it. As the leading hotel PR agency in Essex, we understand the importance of portraying your business as the best in your field. However, going about this can be an extremely confusing and time-consuming process. That’s why by passing us the reins, we can help you in finding the best direction to take your hotel.
Types Of PR
Influencers And Bloggers
With more and more people consulting social media instead of travel agents, digital perceptions are becoming increasingly popular. With progressively more young people spending highly on staycations, influencers help to reach a wide audience quickly. As implied by the term, these individuals can massively influence their followers to purchase or experience services that they recommend. Whilst this technique commonly consists of gifting products, it also provides endless opportunities for those in the hospitality industry. There are endless individuals available who specialise in increasing the awareness of certain target audiences. Therefore, once you have identified who you want to attract, we collaborate with the right one to make it happen. Simply gifting a short stay in your hotel can massively increase your reach and awareness for a minimal cost. Not a bad trade, right?
Travel blogs are also effective tools to help you get people through your door. Featuring your hotel on the top travel blogs can be a significant turning point for your hotel. These blogs provide potential customers with an unbiased view of your hotel, and positive reviews in them can do wonders. This can target those more interested in travel who are specifically looking for a hotel like yours. If done effectively, this can create positive word-of-mouth from respected individuals in the community, greatly increasing your interested audience. This may seem like a lot to take on. Our award-winning PR team has over a decade of experience in this, so whatever the circumstances, we have you covered.
Newspaper / Magazine Articles
This is probably the most traditional form of PR and is still as important as ever. Due to the growth in demand for digital services, people believe that this technique is outdated. But this couldn’t be further from the truth! By portraying your hotel well in the media, be it in magazines, newspapers, or the trade press, you can reach the largest possible audience specific to you. This can help get the most possible people onto your website, social media, through your lobby and into your rooms. This type of PR is an excellent way of building up the relationship between your business and your audience. You could include articles about yourself, the hotel’s history, or what makes your hotel stand out from the rest. Whatever direction you choose to take, we have the sufficient capabilities to portray your business in the best possible way.
Get your hotel in the media
Perhaps your hotel has just opened. Or maybe you’ve just finished a years-long renovation project. Whatever the situation, a hotel PR agency can help to get you into the press! PR experts have key connections which can lead your business into the media and can attract a large number of people. They can write a press release to their local paper or a more national paper (dependent on your business) which outlines the development of your hotel and why people should visit it.
It’s a great way to display what your business has to offer. As we’ve mentioned, the hotel industry is hugely competitive, so any type of publicity would go down an absolute treat. Try to emphasise to your hotel PR agency on things that you offer which have a human interest. Every Brit loves a good drink, so send over pictures of your newly refurbished or award-winning bar for them to include. It’s tactics like this which will ultimately lead your hotel to seeing a higher turnover and headcount. Positive, newsworthy stories will help your brand connect with your target audience.
Another point to remember is that PR agencies can help advertise your hotel for bookings. Contacting the media and discussing the idea of using your hotel for a particular local event coming up will not only put your hotel in the papers, but also physically bring them to the hotel for the occasion. This alone will lead to publicity through word-of-mouth and positive reviews (hopefully!).
Social Media
You should by now have your hotel on social media platforms, such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Depending on your target audience, you should be posting frequently on each site to engage with potential clients. A hotel PR agency can massively help with this, as agencies know exactly what will link your businesses to a wider community. They can show off the grounds to your hotel through an Instagram video or post, which highlights all of its best features (hint, the king-size bed and en-suite bathroom).
We say to bear in mind what platform you’re targeting your posts to depending on your audience for a number of reasons. For example:
- If your hotel targets a younger generation as you’re situated in the heart of a city centre; the best port-of-call platform would be Instagram. According to Statista, more than half of the global Instagram user population is younger than 34 years old.
- If your hotel is located on grounds surrounded by a vineyard or in the countryside, you might want to target Facebook which is = predominantly used by those 30+.
Social media is a very powerful tool to businesses; with hash tagging allowing you to reach almost double the audience than without them. PR agencies know exactly what hashtags to use and at what time of the day to use them; this ensures your business will reach the highest level of interaction.
Contact Us
Being able to post on social media and engage with them is one thing but having key connections to the press and the media is another. That’s why having a hotel PR agency is essential to growing and having your business seen. Competition has never been higher in the hotel industry which is a cause for concern! Choosing the right PR agency for you is challenging enough, but we can make this a little easier! Check out our portfolio of work here! If you’d like to find out more about how our hotel PR agency can help you, then get in touch today! Call VerriBerri on 01376 386 850 for a bit more information or send us an email here.