Each year, editorial powerhouses like Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, AFAR and Time unveil their much-anticipated annual accolades such as voter-led “Reader’s Choice” awards, expert-recommended “World’s Best” lists and endless lists of trends in the industry. Following each respective list release, industry insiders respond: from sales teams leveraging accrued awards and quotes for business development to PR teams amplifying the news for optimized coverage opportunities.
As such, it’s no secret that prominent recognition from some of the industry’s most esteemed publications makes waves for our clients and can often become essential in crafting our strategies and reaching our goals.
But this raises an interesting question: Who’s really driving trends here? Are our hospitality clients shaping what’s next in travel or are they simply responding to the narratives already being written? How can clients best amplify such recognition?
It’s possibly a mixture of hospitality brands striving to innovate on-property, travel PR professionals spotlighting client innovations for annual award consideration and the astute eyes of media crystallizing offerings from around the globe into emerging and digestible trends. No question that hospitality brands are often the inspiration for these trends as they quietly strive to innovate on-property before an editor ever pens the words “noctourism” or “wellness 3.0.” What matters also is how we, as PR professionals, bridge that gap and help our clients leverage these moments when a trend, award, or prestigious placement shines a spotlight in their direction.
Take the recent Condé Nast Traveler story on “The Biggest Travel Trends to Expect in 2025,” for example. It highlights everything from “detour destinations”—less crowded, more soulful places—to “night-based tourism,” or what they cheekily call “noctourism.” If your hotel already offers sunset yoga, stargazing packages or late-night cultural tours, you’re already ahead of the curve, and a great PR professional can highlight your hotel, cruise line or destination for inclusion in the article. These trend pieces offer an inspirational roadmap: they highlight where travelers’ imaginations are headed. And it’s our job in PR to educate and expose our clients to new opportunities and help them be the embodiment of future travelers’ desires.
The power of these lists lies in momentum. A placement, whether on a global trend list or a regional award roundup, should never be the end of the conversation. It could be the beginning of a new or refreshed campaign that doesn’t necessarily require a giant budget. Sometimes, it’s as simple as crafting a smart email blast to past guests, travel advisors and travel editors to highlight their recent accolades. In turn, this helps to boost brand equity, loyalty and awareness.
Another powerful move? Turn that recognition into storytelling. Advise clients to use their owned channels to bring these accolades to life on their owned channels where they can go deeper with captivating photography, videos and a beautiful story of a GM, spa director, owner or chef. These thoughtful tactics can go a long way to add personality, passion and the vision behind the brand—and the accolade. Just another way for your client to intensify their relationship with loyalists.
The same goes for your clients’ trade audiences. Travel advisors, meeting planners and event professionals are all looking for “what’s next,” but they’re often inundated with options, so making sure your clients repurpose their top coverage to their key stakeholders will give them an edge in their sales and marketing efforts. A proactive PR executive will advise clients on how to elegantly conduct such thoughtful outreach so that it lands with impact and doesn’t fall flat.
Even better is when we advise our clients to feature their spotlight moment and turn it into more recognition by pitching it to regional print and broadcast outlets with a “why we made the trends list” story, or collaborating with influencers to create content around that trend, or even hosting a mini local press event or press trip that brings the theme to life.
If clients aren’t enthusiastic to go after these types of inclusions, take the time to talk with your client about the possibilities that come with them. Being featured on an “Upcoming Trends” list or winning a “Best New Hotels” award isn’t just about the media value. It’s about strategic positioning. It’s about validation from an unbiased source publication. It shows consumers and trade that they can trust your property to be innovative and there is authentication in being part of those bigger conversations with other like-minded brands. And when clients understand this, they become more willing to invest in the follow-through: a new campaign, a refreshed pitch, a new creative package, a press visit or an opportunistic social media content push.
The lists will keep coming. The trends will keep evolving. The smart move is to see them not as finish lines but as invitations to create richer stories, deeper connections and campaigns that don’t just ride the wave but steer it.
***
Jennifer Hawkins is Managing Partner, NY Travel, at FINN Partners.
Category: Travel PR

More Travel PR posts from O’Dwyer’s:

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