Press trip attendees relish the view atop one of Sublime Samana’s three-bedroom casitas
“You did an amazing job putting together a great group of journalists. We all got along so well and it made the trip all that much more enjoyable,” said journalist, Heloise Archambault. These are the words every travel PR professional wants to hear at the end of a press trip – verbal verification that not only was the trip a success based on the itinerary, but also because of the personalities in the group.
Regardless of the nature of the press trip – whether trekking through Nepal or luxuriating on the beach in Mexico – the makeup of the group can make or break the experience for all attendees. When we put together group press familiarization trips for our hotel and travel clients, the goal is always to highlight the very best aspects and most differentiating characteristics of the traveler’s experience to secure top-tier feature coverage.
Proper Press Trip Planning Involves In-Depth Research
In order to ensure that each press trip garners the results our clients seek, researching and getting to know our potential attendees is at the top of our priority list. We start planning group press trips months in advance in order to allow sufficient time to connect with every journalist that expresses interest in attending.
In addition to obtaining assignment letters and researching the past work of the journalists we consider, we also connect with them to gauge their personality. After all, we want to make sure that everyone in the group will get along, so as to enhance the overall travel experience.
Through email, phone and in-person correspondences, our team follows up with the journalists at the outlets our agency and clients feel would best reach and influence their target market. Taking our time to conduct our research, before confirming attendees. As we find it best to customize press trip itineraries to the interest of the attendees in each group, we put the itinerary together once all attendees are confirmed.
During a recent press trip to Sublime Samana Hotel & Residences in the Dominican Republic, our group, which included a mix of American and Canadian journalists, relished one another’s company. All attendees arrived in the same state of mind, with the same expectations for the trip with personalities that perfectly jived. In the end, the hotel experience at Sublime Samana was incredible for everyone with the hotel standing out to the journalists as the Samana peninsula’s most serene, private and luxurious beach retreat.
We can’t wait to read about each journalist’s experience, as the coverage appears.
How do you work to maximize journalists’ experiences when they visit your property? Sound off in the comments.