Conde Nast Traveler recently unveiled its picks for the 2015 Hot List in its May issue. This carefully chosen list, broken down into categories including Design Stars, Beachside Escapes and Best Bargains, to name a few, is an annual collection of the top 60 hotels to debut in the past year.
For a new hotel, landing a spot on the glossy magazine’s Hot List is the gold standard – the ultimate indicator of a successful grand opening public relations campaign. With over thirty years of experience opening boutique, luxury hotels around the world, our travel PR agency is adept in maximizing media results around hotel openings.
Current client, Casas del XVI, a seven-room boutique luxury hotel in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, was just named to Conde Nast Traveler’s 2015 Hot List. The award makes it the first hotel in the historic Caribbean city to be named to the prestigious list.
So how did we garner such top tier exposure for the boutique property? Here are a few tips on how to position your new property to increase your chances of being recognized as one of the world’s top new hotels:
- Highlight Your Unique Selling Propositions – This should be obvious and a common thread through all of your media relations efforts. At the outset of your public relations campaign, make sure that you establish message points that clearly and succinctly define what distinguishes you from your competition. These message points, or unique selling propositions, should be reiterated throughout your press kit materials and in all interactions with the press – both written and verbal.
- Be Politely, Persistent in Your Pitching – Staying top of mind is key to finding success in your pitching efforts. As travel PR experts, we are well aware that editors, particularly at top tier outlets, receive hundreds of emails a day. Be sure to follow up regularly with new information and story angles pertaining to your property that you know will be of interest to specific editors at the outlets you are pitching. Perseverance pays off.
- Focus on Gaining Recognition in Multiple Top Tier Outlets – Do some research and find out which top tier travel and news outlets cover top hotel openings each year – you will find that most do. Be sure to know when each outlet is working on gathering information for these stories and pitch persistently. Knowing who to pitch matters, so you may have to phone an editorial desk to find out who the right contact is. Getting recognized by multiple outlets like CNN, Fodor’s Travel and UK’s The Independent will lead other top press to take notice.