Taking a step back, let’s define what exactly a PR firm does. A PR firm is responsible for telling your hotel’s story to the public, often through press releases, social media campaigns, events, and media placements. The PR firm serves as the intermediary between your hotel and the press. For example, if you see a story about a new hotel opening on the news, the story likely got airtime because of the work by that hotel’s PR firm. Your PR firm works with you to craft a compelling story about your hotel and can tell that story in a tailored way to best connect with the audiences with whom you want to engage.

PR firms work both proactively and reactively: proactive work could be announcing the opening of a new restaurant at your property or launching a campaign to target families looking for a spring break destination. Reactive work could look like a campaign that shows your area has bounced back after a hurricane. Either way, PR firms allow you to own your narrative and control the conversation about your hotel.

It’s standard practice for PR firms to charge a monthly retainer, which generally ranges from $1,000 to $25,000 per month depending on the services you’re using and prestige of the firm. The top-tier PR firms charge upwards of $50,000 per month. In addition to the monthly retainer, firms often charge ad-hoc fees for big projects or deliverables. If your PR firm plans a large event for you or handles major crisis communication, you can expect some extra fees. Firms will usually ask you to sign a contract that locks them in for at least a few months.

Within the hospitality industry, some leading firms include J/PR and three firms under the MMGY Global umbrella: NJF, Hills Balfour, and Grifco. J/PR is based in New York City and has satellite offices in Los Angeles, San Diego, Denver, Nashville, and London. J/PR is well-known for not only traditional public relations work like press placements, but also social media strategy and influencer marketing. Renowned travel brands like Relais & Chateaux, Pendry, and Nobu, as well as landmark hotels like Carmel Valley Ranch and Four Seasons Lanai trust J/PR to tell their stories.

MMGY is a conglomerate of marketing and PR agencies, and this group includes three PR firms. NJF works with global brands in the travel space, such as Oceania Cruises and Travel Texas. Hills Balfour is based in the UK and often works with Europe-based clients, while Grifco specializes in luxury hotels and travel products. Grifco’s clients range from luxury brand Wilderness Safaris in Africa to Courmayeur Mont Blanc in Italy.

PR firms can handle a plethora of types of campaigns and deliverables. Most common are press releases and press placements, which involve crafting a brief to either publish on a newswire or send to local and national press outlets (like newspapers, magazines, and TV shows) with the goal of getting the story picked up by a reporter.

In the past few years, social media strategy and influencer marketing is another niche for PR firms to add value. Your PR firm can source influencers that complement your hotel’s brand and coordinate influencer stays at your hotel. The influencer would then create content about your hotel and share it with their followers, also sharing the content with you so you can share it on your own channels.

PR firms can also add value when a crisis arises. Although we don’t want to expect the worst, it’s better to be prepared should something unfortunate happen. Having a PR team on retainer is a good strategy to ensure you’re ready to react to events like natural disasters or criminal activity. In these situations, your PR representative will be the point person for the press and make sure you stay in control of the story.

But PR firms can add value beyond the screen and the pen; event planning is another “deliverable” that your PR firm can take on. If you’re envisioning a grand opening event, a product launch, or a party to celebrate a big milestone, your PR team can plan the event from beginning to end while also securing press coverage and an invite list that includes the who’s who in your market.

Does a PR firm sound like a strategic value-add to your hotel? Before you can reap the benefits that a PR firm can deliver, you need to first find the right firm to work with. You’ll want to begin your search with a good idea of what you’re hoping to achieve, so working with your hotel owners, investors, and leadership team to define the goals and objectives of the PR work – and agree on a budget – is an important first step. Then, you can start contacting and vetting firms.

You can find potential firms by doing research online or by connecting with industry organizations, like HSMAI, and similar hotels to learn which firms have presence in your market. You’ll want to hire a firm that has experience either working with a hotel like yours or working in your local market. Once you’ve found some PR firms that look promising, reach out to set up a consultation. This consultation should feel a bit like an interview; it’s your chance to ask all the questions you have about the PR firm’s prior work, pricing, scope, areas of speciality, KPIs, and growth plans. Ultimately, it will be up to you to choose a firm that you feel can help you achieve your goals and best articulate what makes your hotel special.