Working with an independent hotel group in New York State over the past two years, I was never more challenged professionally than I was in March when consumer travel came to a grinding halt and no one knew when it would resume. Just before everyone in the world took to their homes, the hotels’ new websites went live, social channels were lively, email marketing was putting reservations on the books, and we had several travel writers interested in visiting properties in Chautauqua County, Watkins Glen and 1000 Islands. It was all going so well. We certainly couldn’t stop. So, what were we going to do?
Our first move was to flip messaging in all channels from “book now,” to content that was soft, inspirational and assuring in tone. Despite the fact that there was no “call to action” in emails and social media campaigns, they were successful in building brand awareness and growing social followings — priming the pump, so to speak, for when the time was right to ask consumers to travel again and make their hotel reservation.
Next, with travel bans in place, we had to think long and hard on how to move forward with our earned media strategy. Over the past 18 months, we had been hosting media regularly at the hotels and securing regional and national media coverage. Sustaining this visibility was important, as we knew that the best way to convince consumers that the hotels were safe and they could travel again was to invite press to visit and write about their experience. In short, we needed trusted media pioneers to lead the way, build consumer confidence and educate the public on how to travel again in this COVID-19 era.
By the end of May, we had decided to move forward with a July group press trip, hoping that by then restrictions would be fully lifted on travel as well as on hotel and restaurant operations. We sent an invitation (with disclaimer) to media who we knew were willing to travel based on data collected in a travel media survey we had recently conducted through Media Concierge, our proprietary CRM platform. This ensured that we invited only likely participants and our overture did not appear insensitive to the inherent risks of traveling at this time. We had to move with caution. I mean, who hosts a press trip in the midst of a pandemic?
Well, we do, and we’re glad we did. Writers were thankful that we “broke the ice” by giving them their first opportunity to travel and write since the shut-down. Everyone reported that they felt safe throughout the experience. Local tourism partners, strapped for cash, were grateful for the exposure and eager to show off how they’d incorporated social distancing into their museums and attractions. And most important, the hotels performed seamlessly with new protocols in place and have editorial testimonials from credible sources to prove it.
Today, with occupancy levels and revenue exceeding projections and beating last summer’s numbers, the hotels are reaping the benefits of a PR-centric multichannel marketing program that did not stop and will not stop in the face of unprecedented adversity. We are in the process of coordinating another group press trip for the fall.
Earned Media Generated Through Press Trip & Media Visits
