From my experience, the saying "any publicity is great publicity" does not hold true. Unless you want your hotel to be at the mercy of the media, investing in strategic public relations is the best way to go.

We have elaborated on the subject of public relations quite extensively over the last three years, and discussed the best ways to tailor a plan that fits your property, how to protect against potential crises, how to host events, and of course we have talked about ways to choose the best professional to represent your hotel and company.

But what about broadcast PR? While I think that for long term branding purposes print placements may work better, depending on your property, there is quite a lot that can be accomplished with a television spot. Radio is not very effective with hotels, unless you are advertising a special promotion or hosting a contest of some sort, as it lacks the complete visual that TV can accomplish.

With television you also get the opportunity to reach a broad audience, and even tailor the placement to a specific demographic. For instance, if your hotel makes it in a morning show it can reach pretty much every type of ...