Offering Up The Industry 5* With A Hospitality PR Agency
In terms of what we like to spend our disposable income on rather than what we have to spend our money on; unnecessary extras if you like, we’d wager holidays come pretty high up on the list. Whether it be staycations or jet setting across the globe; there’s a special, intangible feeling you get when you purposely make a trip of something. It’s an industry worth capitalising on, then. By the same token, however, many people realise just how lucrative a sector it is; and with the advent of companies like AirBnB, there’s more competition than ever in what was already a saturated market. It’s essential that you make your hospitality business stand out from all the others then. The team here at VerriBerri, a leading hospitality PR agency in Essex, wants to explain just why getting ahead of the rest is so important, now more than ever.
Make A Point Of Accessing Trade Publications
The hospitality and travel sector is one where the voices of a few, very high-profile names, count. Whatever section of hospitality you’re in, whether you’re a hotel, restaurant or something else, securing articles or editorials in certain industry publications will prove essential in the coming months and years. It is still very much an industry based on renown and reputation. The magazines you’d want to be targeting are those like Hotel News Now and Hotel Executive. The team at a hospitality PR agency will be able to access the journalists of these trade magazines and pitch on your hospitality company’s behalf, utilising all their creative prowess as they do so.
Hospitality Trends
Whether you can fully incorporate the following trends into your business or not doesn’t really matter, the point is that you’re seen to be being part of the trends in some way. Those who can get by simply on tradition and reputation in the hospitality industry are a minority indeed. Most hospitality brands need to keep evolving and changing with the times. More importantly, they need to change with the demand. So, without further ado; take a minute to think how you could go about implementing them into your business model:
- Sustainability and the environment. Forgive us if this seems like an obvious one, but it has never been as critical to act upon the current global climate crisis as it is now. Working within an industry that is undeniably part of the issue; (flights across the globe are hardly environmentally friendly, after all.) There’s an increased onus on your company to try to adopt greener practices in whatever way you can. Surveys have shown that around 70% of travellers would be more inclined to book environmentally conscious accommodation. If not in altruistic terms; then purely in fiscal ones you can see that this is not a swathe of potential customers you want to be missing out on.
- Business mixed with leisure. Business travellers are increasingly looking to add ‘me’ time onto the end of their work trips rather than the traditional grab and dash. Gone are the days of whistle-stop tours of convention centres and conference rooms. Hotels can capitalise upon this by offering special packages and rates. Offer discounted spa packages to those coming for business purposes, extended stay offers and anything else that will tip those businesspeople already looking for an excuse to stay longer, into doing exactly that.
Summary
Whatever you do, make sure you’re always staying abreast of the latest hospitality trends so that you don’t fall behind. If you’re unsure where to find this information, a scour of the internet is a good place to start, as are the magazines mentioned before. To access the really breaking insights, however, then utilising a hospitality PR agency is almost certainly your best bet.
Looking Good Has Never Mattered So Much
Holiday ‘window-shopping’ has never been as prominent as it is now thanks to the increased popularity of social media platforms such as Instagram. For many people, especially the younger generations, their first point of contact with your brand will be through your social channels. Therefore. if you’re not coming across as slick and professional as a bare minimum, then you’re going to struggle in today’s world.
Ideally, you want to be posting better than the bare minimum, however. With that in mind; you’ll want to be posting high-quality images that show off the entirety of your hotel, for example. This would include your services – typical food porn pictures from your restaurant, for example. It should also include your staff – showing them off at their most helpful and smiley! Include photographs of your rooms and make a point of demonstrating their comfort and luxury. Finally, (and we acknowledge not every hotel has this), show off your location. If you’re situated in the verdant Bali rainforest, then use it to your advantage!
It may be the case that managing social media accounts isn’t really your bag, so to speak. You find that you much prefer looking after guests when they’re there rather than hooking them in in the first place. Never fear! It’s commonplace that a hospitality PR agency will have its own team of in-house social media managers and experts ready to look after all things social media focused for you.
Contact Us
In good times and bad; there’ll always be people wanting holidays to offer that little bit of escapism in their lives. There are most definitely good and bad ways of going about getting exposure however; in today’s competitive market you can’t afford anything less than fantastic for your hotel or hospitality business. So, if you’d like to find out more about our hospitality PR agency, then get in touch! Contact VerriBerri today on 01376 386 850. We’d love to talk about where we can help take your business going forward. The best businesses are those with allies besides them, and a PR agency is certainly one of those.