Mr. Luciani

Social Media & PR

Getting Media Coverage Beyond the Travel Pages

By Doug Luciani, Chief Associate, PRofit from PR - Public Relations & Marketing

For hotels, as with any business, getting positive coverage in the news media is a great marketing tool. Getting this coverage is not easy and takes regular on-going media relations efforts. Information abounds on how to go about doing this. However, the perception is often these tactics and strategies only work with media that cover travel, such as travel writers and travel magazines. But, if your media relations efforts start and end with travel writers you are missing countless opportunities to generate positive exposure and publicity for your property.

For the hospitality industry, it makes sense to target and seek media coverage in the travel section of newspapers and magazines of all sorts, including family magazines, women's magazines, sports magazines, and more. This certainly should be a priority for any hospitality media campaign. With this type of diversity, hotels can reach many target audiences.

There are more ways to generate exposure for your property than just the travel pages. The key is to understand the media and look for new story ideas and then pitch the appropriate publications. To come up with new story ideas for your hotel or resort, just step back and take a look at everything you have to offer. Your property offers more than beds and packages. Consider restaurants, kids programs, spas, and recreation programs as the basis for a story other than travel. When looking at newspapers and magazines, consider how your property might be appropriate for the food section, lifestyles section, even the sports pages.

Let's start with the food and beverage angle. If your property has a restaurant, it's an easy story to develop and pitch to the press. There is, of course, the local angle by pitching your restaurant to the food writer at the local newspaper or regional magazine. Invite them to experience your restaurant and meet with the chef. The F&B angle has more reach than just the local coverage. There are numerous culinary magazines across the country, and the world for that matter. Pitch story ideas about unique menu items or unique ingredients that your chef may use because they are specific to the region. In fact, many chefs make a great feature story because of their skills and experiences. Finally, submitting a unique recipe from your hotel's kitchen and chef presents an excellent opportunity for exposure.

The many amenities and recreation programs offered by a property can also be culled for story ideas and publicity opportunities. Do you have a kids or teen program? If so, you've probably pitched the travel writer at family magazines about your program. But, there is more to the story, so to speak. What kind of activities does your program offer and can these be replicated by families at home? For example, pitch an art project that the magazine can publish as something parents can do with their kids while home for summer vacation. The exposure of the activity, coming straight from the kids program at your resort, opens up a new avenue of exposure. It might even lead to the travel writer returning to you for another travel story, getting you back into the travel section.

This doesn't just apply to family magazines. Newspaper's have lifestyle and feature sections or parenting sections where this information can be of value to the writer and their readers.

A spa is another great resource for story ideas. Sure, unique spa treatments or treatments inspired by local resources make a great pitch, but a spa offers a plethora of lifestyle story pitches. In today's hectic world, a story featuring relaxation tips from a spa can be pitched to newspapers and magazines alike. Beauty magazines make an excellent target to pitch skin care tips. Fitness tips and healthy lifestyle suggestions also make for potential stories that can be pitched to a wide assortment of publications. The key is think of the spa as more than just an add on amenity at your resort and see it as a separate entity filled with publicity generating possibilities.

The condo-hotel concept is booming. In many instances, because the units are individually owned the d'ecor can vary from unit to unit. Perhaps an owner with a unique style and touch for interior design has decorated their unit in way that it could be in the pages of a lifestyle magazine. With photos in hand, and background about the owners and their d'ecor, pitch those magazines or even the real estate section of the newspaper. This can apply to any property, not just condo-hotels. If your hotel, resort or B&B has a unique style it may be of interest to writers.

Story ideas don't have to come from something your property offers in way of amenities or programs. Perhaps there is a great history to the building or the hotel owners. Don't forget the business angle either. By integrating your messages into business stories, industry trends, and economic impact stories, you can reach out to business editors.

Of course, coming up with new story ideas and pitching magazines and writers who do not write about travel specifically, does not mean we just throw anything out to see what sticks. Just as you would with travel writers, be sure to determine if what you are pitching is really news. Just because it is important to you, doesn't mean it is news. Once you've gotten the story and pitch together, be sure to get it to the right person at a publication. Send it to the wrong person and you might as well throw it in the trash. Remember, if it's not a travel story, the travel writer is probably not the appropriate person to pitch.

Working with media can be a tremendous benefit to the marketing of your hotel or travel business. Your media relations efforts don't have to start and end with the travel writers and the travel section. Many publicity opportunities abound by simply coming up with story ideas and story angles that are not travel specific, but can still generate exposure for your property and its many amenities.

Doug Luciani leads PRofit from PR, focusing on media relations, marketing communications, e-marketing strategies and media training. PRofit from PR's clients span the U.S. and feature technology, healthcare, security, real estate and corporate training. Mr.Luciani also serves as VP of PR for Dickinson & Associates, and Chief Communications Officer for Florida Vacation Auction. A graduate of the University of Florida, he is a member of the Florida Public Relations Association, the Public Relations Society of America and several regional business development organizations. Mr. Luciani can be contacted at 407-719-6102 or doug@profitfrompr.com Extended Bio...

HotelExecutive.com retains the copyright to the articles published in the Hotel Business Review. Articles cannot be republished without prior written consent by HotelExecutive.com.