Five Indications Hotels Should Hire a PR Agency
May 31, 2024It may seem possible to keep your marketing all in-house, but sometimes your hotel needs to work with a PR agency to maximize results. From media outreach, to social content curation, to handling crises, and everything in between, there’s just too much to do.
The expertise and resources that an agency brings are worth the investment for hotels struggling in a crowded accommodations market.
Rather than despair, reach out for help. These five indications are warning signs that your hotel’s marketing efforts need a boost, signaling that it’s time to bring a PR agency on board.
1. Numbers are Worrying
When bookings are inconsistent or declining, it’s clear that your hotel needs change. The current marketing strategies aren’t translating into bookings and perhaps your property is struggling to differentiate its brand. In today’s saturated market, where hotels face stiff competition from vacation rentals and other accommodations, it is understandable to feel pressure. However, complacency is not an option.
A PR agency can help with all of this, to gain visibility among target audiences, establish a brand presence in existing and new markets, and keep up with competition. Your goal is to get your rooms reserved and your meeting spaces booked, and that won’t happen by waiting quarter to quarter – it’s time to take action now.
2. Growth is Happening
On the flip side, significant growth is a chance to solidify your hotel’s brand, making it the perfect time to invest back in the property with a PR agency. As your hotel expands or new services launch, it’s a strategic moment to maximize your brand’s reach. Celebrate growth by pushing further.
Use these moments of growth, including new acquisitions, renovations, or rebranding, to amplify your presence across all channels with some external assistance. Don’t miss out on a newsworthy occasion to get your hotel’s brand out there.
3. Digital Literacy is Low
With an ever-changing digital landscape, any hotel marketer is forgiven for not keeping up with current trends. There is so much to learn and master, compounded by new technology and tools. TikTok is just the latest social media tool, but of course, it’s not the last.
Hotels need to take up digital space, with SEO strategies and a social media presence. A PR agency can help do just that, by maximizing your brand across media networks and emerging digital platforms. An agency can also build and leverage influencer partnerships and develop content marketing strategies to ensure your digital reach goes as far as possible.
There’s no perfect way to engage in digital marketing, but there is a best way for your hotel brand, and a PR agency can help build that approach.
4. Reputation is Waning
Even if the numbers are fine, sometimes your hotel is simply in need of reputation management, and an external PR agency can provide the objective help required. In the face of a crisis, for example, a hotel can rely on an agency to keep the brand afloat and mitigate damage.
And when it comes to online reviews—a digital reputation that’s largely out of your hotel’s control—a PR agency can help build strategies to respond to negative reviews or help stimulate newer positive ones. A team of PR professionals will streamline all of this reputation work to get results quickly.
5. Team is Struggling
And the common thread among all of these points is that your hotel’s in-house marketing team—which may just be one person—is overwhelmed. It’s nearly impossible to optimize success and fight all the fires that pop up each day. A PR agency brings the resources, time, and expertise that your in-house team craves.
It’s an investment, but one that you can track and report on, ultimately showing the benefits of an enhanced PR strategy. When rooms are filled and meeting planners are scheduling events, the ROI of a PR agency will be more than evident.
A PR agency is the right partner for any hotel wondering how they can increase bookings. Get in touch with Kayla Leska at [email protected] to learn more about partnering with DCI and boosting your hotel’s marketing strategy with our decades of experience.