In an increasingly digital world, the hospitality industry faces heightened competition, evolving guest expectations, and the need to stay relevant across a broad spectrum of online channels. Hotel and travel public relations has long been a cornerstone of successful marketing strategies, but the way PR is executed today is vastly different than it was a decade ago. With the advent of social media, content marketing, influencer partnerships, and data analytics, hotel brands must adapt their PR strategies to resonate with modern travelers while building trust, engagement, and brand loyalty.
Digital PR requires hotels to leverage the right tools, channels, and strategies to connect with their audience, manage their reputation, and stand out from the competition. When executed effectively, digital PR not only amplifies a hotel’s message but also drives direct bookings, cultivates positive reviews, and enhances guest experiences. This op-ed examines how hotels can execute a PR strategy digitally and highlights several successful real-world examples of hotel brands that have embraced digital PR to elevate their brand presence.
The Evolution of Hotel PR in the Digital Age
Traditionally, hotel PR involved a blend of press releases, media outreach, and relationship building with journalists and influencers to garner exposure for the brand. While these methods remain important, they have been supplemented by digital marketing tools that allow hotels to reach wider audiences, respond to feedback in real-time, and create authentic conversations with potential guests. The rise of digital platforms has drastically transformed PR into a more interactive and dynamic process.
Digital PR is not merely about promoting a hotel’s amenities, but about shaping its story, managing its reputation, and influencing consumer perceptions. At its core, effective digital PR is about building relationships with the audience through content, communication, and transparency. Successful hotel PR strategies today rely heavily on a combination of social media engagement, search engine optimization (SEO), influencer partnerships, online reputation management, and content creation.
Key Strategies for Digital Hotel PR Success
To achieve PR success in the digital age, hotel brands must integrate several strategies that align with consumer behavior, leveraging technology to their advantage. Below are the key strategies that hotels should implement to ensure their PR campaigns stand out and yield measurable results.
1) Building a Robust Social Media Presence
Social media has become a powerful tool for hotel brands to engage with potential guests, share their story, and foster a sense of community. Platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube are essential for hotels to stay relevant and build strong connections with their target audience. By using social media strategically, hotels can increase brand awareness, drive traffic to their websites, and boost customer loyalty.
Visual Storytelling through Instagram and Pinterest
The travel and hospitality industry is highly visual, and platforms like Instagram and Pinterest allow hotels to showcase their properties in a way that resonates with potential guests. Photos and videos of stunning interiors, breathtaking views, exceptional amenities, and unique experiences can captivate travelers and spark interest in booking a stay. The use of well-curated, aesthetically appealing content is crucial in inspiring wanderlust and conveying the brand’s identity.
Hotel brands like Four Seasons and Marriott have excelled at leveraging Instagram’s visual format to create aspirational content that aligns with their luxury and lifestyle offerings. Four Seasons uses Instagram to highlight not only its stunning properties but also the experiences and emotions that come with traveling to those destinations. Marriott, on the other hand, has adopted a strategy of user-generated content by encouraging guests to post photos and tag the brand, ensuring authenticity in their marketing and creating a community around their brand.
Real-Time Engagement on Twitter and Facebook
Platforms like Twitter and Facebook offer an opportunity for immediate, real-time engagement with customers. Through these channels, hotels can respond to inquiries, address complaints, share relevant content, and interact with followers. Successful hotel brands maintain active social media management by engaging with users regularly and ensuring prompt responses to comments and messages.
The Ritz-Carlton Twitter account is an excellent example of real-time engagement, as it often posts timely promotions and answers guest questions directly, helping build trust and rapport. The Ritz-Carlton also uses its social media platforms to share customer experiences, which strengthens the emotional connection between the brand and its audience.
Interactive Campaigns on TikTok
TikTok, the fastest-growing social media platform, is a newer channel for hotel PR but has quickly become essential for reaching younger audiences. TikTok encourages creativity through short-form videos, which allow brands to showcase their properties and services in unique ways. Hotels can use TikTok to offer behind-the-scenes content, introduce staff members, share local experiences, and showcase fun or unexpected aspects of their properties.
Hotel Indigo, a boutique hotel brand under the IHG umbrella, has embraced TikTok as part of its PR strategy, producing engaging, quirky content that highlights local attractions, unique hotel features, and cultural experiences. The brand’s ability to tap into TikTok’s younger demographic has helped it establish a fresh, approachable identity.
2) Collaborating with Influencers and Content Creators
Influencer marketing has become a central component of hotel PR strategies. Collaborating with influencers who have a strong following in the travel, lifestyle, and hospitality spaces can help amplify a hotel’s message, increase visibility, and enhance credibility. Influencers have the power to create authentic connections with their followers, and their recommendations can significantly influence booking decisions.
Micro-Influencers for Authenticity and Niche Audiences
While large influencers with millions of followers can reach a vast audience, micro-influencers (those with smaller but highly engaged followings) offer authenticity and credibility. Micro-influencers are often seen as more relatable, and their content tends to be more targeted, allowing hotels to reach niche audiences that align with their brand identity.
The Standard Hotels, known for their trendy, design-forward properties, frequently partner with travel bloggers and influencers who fit the brand’s young, urban, and creative vibe. By engaging micro-influencers with dedicated followings in design, fashion, and travel, the brand has successfully cultivated a strong community of fans who share their experiences, helping to create buzz and excitement around new hotel openings or offerings.
Long-Term Partnerships for Consistency and Loyalty
Building long-term relationships with influencers can result in more consistent and lasting PR exposure. Rather than relying on one-time collaborations, hotels can partner with influencers over extended periods, ensuring that the content feels organic and consistent. Long-term relationships also allow influencers to become more deeply integrated into the hotel’s brand narrative.
For instance, Hyatt Hotels has partnered with influencers to curate “local experiences” content, encouraging guests to explore destinations through the eyes of influencers who offer insights and recommendations on nearby restaurants, activities, and cultural experiences. This not only promotes the hotel’s accommodations but also positions Hyatt as an expert in local travel experiences.
3) Online Reputation Management (ORM)
The digital age has empowered consumers to voice their opinions widely, and online reviews and feedback can make or break a hotel’s reputation. A well-executed online reputation management (ORM) strategy allows hotels to monitor and respond to guest reviews, manage negative feedback, and maintain positive relationships with customers.
Monitoring and Responding to Reviews
Hotel brands must actively monitor review sites like TripAdvisor, Google Reviews, Yelp, and social media platforms to track guest sentiment. When managing reviews, it’s essential to respond promptly, respectfully, and transparently. Addressing complaints can help mitigate negative feedback and even turn an unhappy guest into a loyal advocate.
Aloft Hotels, part of the Marriott family, is known for its strong ORM strategy, responding to both positive and negative reviews with personalized messages. Their approach shows guests that their feedback is valued and that the brand is committed to making improvements based on customer input.
Proactive PR to Manage Negative Stories
Hotels should also employ proactive PR strategies to address potential crises or negative stories before they escalate. By using crisis management tools, hotels can issue timely statements, clarify misunderstandings, and engage the media to present their side of the story.
For example, if a hotel faces an incident that could potentially damage its reputation, responding swiftly with a press release, social media statements, and direct communication with affected guests can help manage the situation. Accor Hotels, a global hotel giant, has faced issues related to guest experiences but has consistently demonstrated effective crisis communication by quickly addressing concerns and focusing on customer satisfaction.
4) SEO and Content Marketing to Drive Direct Bookings
Search engine optimization (SEO) and content marketing are integral parts of a hotel’s digital PR strategy, helping to drive organic traffic to a hotel’s website and increase direct bookings. By producing high-quality content—such as blogs, destination guides, travel tips, and hotel news—hotels can engage potential guests, provide value, and rank higher in search engine results.
Creating Destination-Focused Content
Hotel brands can leverage their location as a key selling point by creating content that highlights the destination itself. Blog posts, videos, and social media content that offer insider tips, local attractions, and hidden gems encourage travelers to visit not just the hotel but the surrounding area as well. This kind of content can position a hotel as a local expert and go-to resource for travelers.
For instance, The Langham Hotels & Resorts uses destination-driven content to showcase not only its accommodations but also its proximity to cultural, culinary, and sightseeing experiences. Their website features blog posts about things to do in the cities where their properties are located, with links to booking pages to convert interest into bookings.
Using SEO to Rank for Key Travel Terms
SEO ensures that hotels are visible when potential guests search for accommodations, travel tips, or activities in the destination. Hotels should optimize their website for relevant keywords, such as “luxury hotel in [destination],” “best beach resorts,” or “romantic getaways in [city].” This type of targeted SEO ensures that their hotel shows up in search results when potential guests are planning their trip.
Booking.com and Expedia are examples of platforms that dominate search results, but hotel brands that focus on their own SEO strategies can also rank well and attract direct bookings, bypassing third-party booking sites and the associated commission fees.
5) Using Data and Analytics to Measure PR Impact
One of the key advantages of digital PR is the ability to track and measure the impact of campaigns in real time. Hotel brands can use data and analytics to assess the effectiveness of social media posts, influencer campaigns, content marketing, and reviews management. By tracking engagement rates, click-through rates, conversions, and customer sentiment, hotels can continuously optimize their PR strategy.
The role of PR in the hotel industry has evolved dramatically in recent years, with digital tools now at the forefront of brand promotion and guest engagement. By building a strong social media presence, collaborating with influencers, managing online reputations, and using data-driven strategies, hotel brands can ensure they stand out in an increasingly competitive marketplace. The hotel brands that embrace digital PR with a strategic approach will not only attract more guests but also build long-term loyalty and foster a stronger connection with their audience, ensuring sustained success in the digital age.
Successful examples, such as Marriott, Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, and Aloft Hotels, demonstrate the power of digital PR when it is executed effectively. As the hospitality industry continues to adapt to the digital landscape, hotels must stay innovative, customer-centric, and proactive in their PR efforts, leveraging the latest tools and trends to build strong, meaningful connections with their audiences.
