Hospitality PR Strategy: Everything You Need for a Successful Campaign

When you're planning a vacation, where do you choose to go? Which hotel do you choose? And what do you decide to do there?

On both local and global scales, hospitality is just about everywhere you look: the restaurants you go to, the hotels you stay in, the concerts and theme parks you go to, and the places you choose to travel all fall under the hospitality umbrella.

And the reason you know which spots to check out is that certain places either stood out to you or were recommended by somebody else. And most of the time, that's managed by the companies themselves.

With an effective hospitality public relations strategy, you can reach a wider pool of potential customers and connect with them on a deeper level.

What is the hospitality industry?

The hospitality industry comprises three main types of businesses:

• Service businesses: Accommodation, food and drinks, recreation, and entertainment are all services. Hotels, resorts, restaurants, clubs, spas, cafes, pubs, wineries, and cruise ships fall under this category.
• Event businesses: Companies that host events, like sports tournaments, conferences and conventions, fairs and festivals, weddings, banquets, and other social gatherings.
• Travel businesses: Companies that organize trips for individuals or groups, such as tour operators and travel agents.

Hospitality itself comprises the entire guest experience from beginning to end. It’s up to hospitality-related businesses to create an atmosphere that people enjoy and want to come back for again and again.

What is the purpose of public relations for hotels?

The purpose of hotel public relations is twofold:

1. To build relationships with customers and create a positive image in the eyes of the public.
2. To promote events, amenities, and services the hotel offers to attract new customers and increase bookings.

The overall goal is to create an atmosphere that customers will appreciate and want to return for more. You can build trust and forge lasting relationships with guests by creating a positive public image through PR.

And when you run PR campaigns as a hospitality-related business, you'll:

• Increase brand recognition
• Reach new customers
• Build customer loyalty
• Increase bookings
• Establish a positive public image
• Generate media coverage

Hotels operate in a perishable inventory model. While your expenses continue day in and day out, every unbooked room night is lost revenue that can’t be recouped.

That means, as a hotelier, you have to constantly create demand for your rooms and services. And PR is what keeps your name in the media.

7 Hotel PR Tips for 2025

PR certainly isn't a one-size-fits-all solution (if it were, we wouldn't have jobs!).

But there are a few general tips to consider when planning your hotel's public relations strategy in the coming years.

Leverage social media (heavily).

A picture has always been worth a thousand words, but younger generations want it to be worth a thousand likes.

There are tons of opportunities here, particularly on TikTok and Insta:

• Guest stories and highlights
• Behind-the-scenes content
• Staff spotlights
• Short-form videos that show what makes staying with you unforgettable

And there are plenty of reasons to do so:

Hotels can promote themselves to an audience of millions.

A TikTok ad has the potential to reach over half of America (more than 170 million people), and almost 2 billion international users. You can use social media to transform your hotel to a hotspot destination seemingly overnight.

You can get creative with it, too. A standout example is Hilton Hotels' “For the Stay” campaign. In 2023, Hilton launched a bold 10-minute TikTok video (unprecedented in length for the platform) featuring Paris Hilton alongside popular TikTok creators. Paris also created many short form videos on YouTube, which you can see below.

The content blended humor, authentic creator styles, and interactive storytelling, culminating in a reward of 10 million Hilton Honors Points to every viewer who watched the entire video.

Users will promote your destination as well.

When you search for the Saguaro Palm Springs, you'll immediately get hundreds of results from people just like you who've stayed there in the past.

61% of people between 18 and 34 say they've booked a hotel after seeing it featured on their Instagram feed. And UGC is 6.6 times more influential on booking decisions than brand-generated content.

Not to mention, almost a quarter of active users use these platforms primarily as search engines, meaning the amount of UGC that's published really does make a difference beyond the FYP.

Influencers will visit your hotel and tell their followers.

Influencer marketing is one of the most impactful strategies in terms of PR cost and reach potential (more on this later). You can use social media to connect with the right content creators before your competitors do.

There are endless opportunities to capitalize on virality.

Take the "Four Seasons Orlando baby," who got nearly 10 million likes on TikTok for an 8-second video exclaiming, "Me!" when asked "Who wants to go to Four Seasons Orlando?" by her mother.

After flying them out for an all-expenses-paid trip, the Four Seasons responded with a video montage showing her and her family arriving in style.

On social media, there are opportunities like this every day. And they cost you nothing to take advantage of.

A compelling social media presence gets you noticed first.

Most of your serious competitors are already running digital marketing and PR campaigns all over social media. The same way SEO is a battle of who can get the top spot in Google, social media is a fight to see who can capture people's attention first (or most often).

Harness the power of influencers.

Like we mentioned, influencer marketing is one of the best ways to get the word out about your hospitality business. 42% of marketers consider it their highest-ROI activity, and every dollar spent on it returns $5.78 (on average).

The reason is that they're cost-effective and scalable. Most influencers don't have very large followings, they'll usually only charge you per post or video, and you can theoretically have as many influencers promoting your hotel as you'd like.

Belmond Luxury Hotels hired a hospitality PR agency, which partnered them with Alla Andryukhina (@alla_sputnik) and six other influencers from travel, photography, and luxury sectors to stay at their properties in Venice, Brazil, and South Africa.

The campaign netted them over 22,000 new Instagram followers, 24,000 clicks via paid social, and 277 high-quality social assets.

A tip from our PR experts: Don't just go after follower counts. Focus on alignment. Micro-influencers with niche, engaged audiences that match your ideal guest will almost always deliver better ROI than big names with generic reach.

Take advantage of responsive media relations.

Journalists and travel editors are constantly looking for fresh angles, but they work on tight deadlines and expect fast responses. That’s where responsive media relations give you an edge.

Responsive media relations is all about being ready to jump on relevant, timely stories as they happen. That means you should be actively monitoring news and trends in the hospitality industry so that you can reach out to reporters with a pitch when something hits the news cycle.

Let’s say we represent Terra Azul, an eco-hotel in São Miguel, Azores. A major outlet just published a report on how Gen Z travelers are prioritizing sustainability over luxury.

Within 30 minutes, we respond with:

• A personalized pitch that speaks to the editor’s theme
• A short, compelling paragraph about Terra Azul’s solar-powered villas, reforestation project, and zero-waste kitchen
• A Dropbox folder with high-res imagery, media-ready descriptions, and recent guest testimonials

The hospitality industry is full of potential stories like these, and they can help set you apart as a media source. By being proactive and responsive to news stories, you can position your hotel as an expert in the field, even if it doesn't have the biggest budget for PR.

A tip from our PR experts: Have a media kit ready to go. High-res photos of rooms and amenities, a short media bio about the hotel, recent press releases, contact info for the PR team, and a “fast facts” sheet (location, number of rooms, key features) should be ready to go at all times.

Distribute press releases and measure the results.

Press releases are public announcements used by organizations to share newsworthy information with the public. They are usually written in a journalistic style, which conveys objective facts rather than opinions.

Press release distribution services can send them to media outlets as part of a larger PR strategy, or through online channels such as social media and email newsletters.

There are numerous types of press releases: new product launches, business updates, event announcements, and more. Depending on your goal, you should craft a press release tailored to the specific information you want to share with the public.

Once you've crafted and distributed it, measure your press release and how effective it is with the following PR metrics:

• Impressions: The number of people who have seen your release.
• Reach: The number of unique individuals who have been exposed to your release.
• Engagement: The level of interaction with your content, such as comments and shares on social media.

Over time, you'll also see an uptick in site visitors, social media followers, brand mentions, backlinks, and revenue. By understanding the metrics behind your press releases, you can continually optimize them and make sure they're having the desired effect.

Promote customer loyalty.

Retention is a lot more cost-effective compared to new customer acquisition because it requires far fewer resources. Plus, when you have a loyal customer base, they're more likely to recommend your brand to others and leave positive reviews (free word-of-mouth marketing).

There are a few different ways to increase customer loyalty:

• Limited-time deals
• Rewards or loyalty programs
• Customer experience surveys
• Customer advocacy programs
• Personalized customer service
• UGC challenges (e.g., photo contests)

These all contribute to good PR over time. You'll also get unique opportunities to reinforce to others why they should be loyal to you through the power of PR.

Back in May 2023, Alix Earle and her friends arrived in Positano, Italy, only to discover the villa they'd booked was a scam and did not exist. After documenting the ordeal on TikTok, Airbnb intervened almost immediately, arranging a luxurious Mediterranean villa for Earle and her friends.

Not only was Airbnb able to put themselves above the competitor that got her scammed, they were the subject of thousands of positive news articles and social media posts. And their brand name was in every one.

Invest in news outreach.

Here’s the truth: the hotels getting covered in Condé Nast Traveler, Forbes, or Travel + Leisure aren’t always the best. They’re just the ones doing the best outreach.

PR outreach is the practice of pitching stories to journalists or media outlets to get coverage for your brand. It could be anything from an announcement about a new product launch or service offering, to an inside look at how your company operates.

The best hospitality brands take the initiative. They research what journalists are writing about, follow their beats, and send tailored ideas that fit those narratives. They don’t just pitch their hotel, they pitch a story the media wants to tell.

Once you've secured coverage, don't forget to share it with your followers through social media or email campaigns. You can even use the feature to build relationships with journalists, adding them to your list of media contacts and furthering your reach.

Note: Building and maintaining a list of media contacts is almost impossible to do on your own, even if you're a large hotel brand. A PR agency will have on-demand access to a network of contacts and the expertise needed to craft the perfect pitch.

Participate in local media events.

Local media events are an excellent way to get your hotel noticed in the local community and show your dedication to the area.

A few ideas:

• Community festivals
• Food and wine expos
• Hospitality panels
• Tourism board showcases
• Charity events

Offer to host, speak, or sponsor. Give them a taste of your hotel experience, and get your brand name plastered across event banners and flyers.

You can also use these events as an opportunity to create relationships with local media outlets, like TV stations and radio shows. The best thing about this is local media outlets are usually easier to reach and love promoting local events and businesses.

To sum it all up...

Ultimately, a successful hospitality PR strategy has to be creative, proactive, and measurable. You can establish a strong presence in the industry through organic and paid social, influencer marketing, proactive media relations strategies, effective distribution, and, of course, the right story.

At Influize, we can help you with all that and more. We'll build you a personalized full-funnel strategy designed for your business model, market, and target audience. And we'll connect PR to your other channels, like SEO and organic social.