Our PR agency designed a tailor-made campaign with the emphasis on pleasure, luxury, self-indulgence and period splendour in the most exclusive collection of UK country house destinations. From profiles for CEO Julia Hands in The Times to Hello! and OK Magazine celebrity photoshoots, to wedding festivities with the Sunday Telegraph to ‘Haunted Halloween Breaks’ for spook-loving guests, this was a campaign that delivered for the brand and the business creating differentiation, establishing exclusivity and driving sales for both business, weddings and leisure segments of the business.

We focused on three core areas when implementing the campaign to raise the Hotels profile.We introduced key potential partners to Hand Picked Hotels. The acquisition of three new hotels in spring 2008 was announced in an exclusive with The Times alongside widespread national, regional and trade coverage. Winning the AA Scottish Hotel of the year 2008/2009 award presented an excellent opportunity for corporate activity with the Scottish media.We carried out a mix of promotions, competitions and proactive national and regional PR activities that included last offers, themed seasonal offers and media visits to promote leisure, spa and business breaks.

We adapted the campaign in recent months to suit a challenging economic climate. PR ideas reflect the heightened desire for last-minute incentives, added value and creative hooks. We were particularly focused on the lucrative leisure and wedding markets, building strong relationships with key wedding titles, identifying new titles for competitions and promotions and exploring new partnerships with Fortnum & Mason and Bordeaux Wines to drive traffic.

769 pieces of media coverage: 29 national newspaper stories, 17 national online media, 472 pieces of regional coverage, 145 pieces of trade coverage and 106 pieces of consumer/lifestyle coverage. ROI - 23:1 with an AVE of £1.5 million to a PR spend of £65,000.

Our PR agency consistently delivered outstanding national and regional coverage on a weekly basis with substantial features across all key media, driving traffic to the Hand Picked website and calls direct to the hotels or the central booking telephone number. One feature in The Times resulted in 10,000 hits to the website. A Valentine’s campaign through the lates travel columns delivered 89 per cent occupancy across the hotels. As a result, in a tough marketplace, Hand Picked Hotels has increased its occupancy, turnover and bottom line.Key national and regional coverage includes The Times, The Times Magazine, The Evening Standard, The Sunday Telegraph, The Guardian, The Sunday Mirror, Ham & High, Kent Messenger, North Wales Chronicle, Yorkshire Today, and The Scotsman.