Looking to partner with a hotel soon for an upcoming vacation or staycation? YAY! I gotcha covered. Ready to land that first hotel stay collaboration as a content creator? Below are my tips for pitching hotels for hosted stays.
One of my absolute favorite things to do as a content creator is to partner with hotels for hosted stays. It is always an honor for me to be able to highlight hotels and all they do to accommodate their guests to make them comfortable. The hospitality I’ve received when partnering with hotels has been unparalleled and I’m excited to pitch more hotels this fall! Of course, travelling is one of my absolute things, so this is truly a HUGE perk of my job as a content creator.
Ok, so let’s get into the good stuff – how can YOU as a content creator pitch a hotel for a hosted (aka FREE) stay? Here are my tips:
Create guides in your city that you can share with the hotel as samples of content
Practice creating this type of content in YOUR OWN CITY! I love creating blog posts highlighting my favorite spots in town. These are great examples of your writing and photography style that you can share with brands as a tangible sample of what you can do for them. Act like you are partnering with brands locally when creating content. This helps you to get in the mindset of working with hotels and businesses in the hospitality industry. Creating these posts also helps to position you as a potential partner to brands in the hospitality space such as hotels for hosted stays.
Interact with the hotel on Instagram prior to pitching (make sure you’re following)
Of course, I recommend that you do this with ANY brand you pitch, but especially a hotel! Follow and interact with them on social so you can establish that connection with them prior to reaching out and pitching them for a hosted stay.
Check to see if they’ve worked with other influencers in the past
Another thing I always recommend vetting before pitching brands. It is not essential that they’ve worked with other influencers in the past, but it can be a good signal that they are open to collaborations with influencers if they have.
Pitch without an agenda
In my personal experience, I’ve had much more success pitching hotels locally for staycations. When I’ve tried to partner with hotels for trips I already had booked, I’ve had minimal success since finding a hotel was a necessity as the trip was booked. Go in with a minimal agenda. It’s much easier to plan a trip around a hotel stay than to scramble at the last minute to pay for a hotel because you assumed you could get it comped for a trip you already had scheduled.
Get in touch with the right person
Again, another piece of the puzzle I recommend for any brand collaboration, but finding the right contact can be the key to nailing a hosted stay partnership. At the bottom of most hotel websites, there is a link that says “Contact Us.” Try reaching out to the email listed on that page for a more direct pitch. If that email does not work, I’d recommend DM’ing the hotel on Instagram with a message along the lines of the following:
“Hi there! I’m a huge fan of what you all are doing over at BLANK HOTEL. I’d to love to discuss a potential partnership between our two brands. Is there a preferred email I can reach out to?”
Once they respond, send your original pitch email to the contact email provided.
Sample Pitch Email
Below is real sample pitch email I sent last year that landed me a hosted stay:
Hi ABC HOTEL Team,
Popping into your inbox to introduce myself – I’m Emily Croslin (better known as @helloemilyerin), a St. Petersburg, Florida-based lifestyle and fashion influencer and blogger. As I mentioned, I am located in St. Pete and I love spending time at our local beaches! In fact, one of my favorite things to do is make a day trip down to AMI to enjoy the sugary white sand down there. I love highlighting the Florida lifestyle and encouraging others to visit the area and see all that we have to offer! Recently, I stumbled upon your property and it’s safe to say, I’m OBSESSED! I love the luxurious resort feel and would love the chance to share more about your property with my Florida-based audience.
Would you be open to discussing a collaboration between ABC HOTEL and Hello Emily Erin? I would love to feature your resort on my Instagram account and blog and promote the idea of social-distanced “staycation.” With this, I can highlight the beautiful pool area, a social-distanced brunch or cocktails outdoors, stylish rooms, and any policies your team has implemented since the pandemic to ensure safety for guests. In exchange for a two-night stay at your hotel, I can provide an Instagram post (with photos you can use on your pages!), stories, and a dedicated blog post. In the blog post, I will provide a dedicated write up for your property, including photos and links to booking websites and optimized search terms. For a sample of this type of content, I recently shared a dedicated write-up on my blog for a Marriott Bonvoy property, The Sarasota Modern. I also shared this post on Pinterest on my account with 60,000 monthly views.
For a little more information about my brand, I’d be happy to share my media kit for a deeper dive into my audience, past branded collaborations, and opportunities available. Additionally, you can view my portfolio and website here, which showcases some of my past branded work. You can view sample hotel stay posts from my stay at the Sarasota Modern here, here, here, and here.
For added context, this week on Instagram (the past 7 days) I’ve received:
- 54,319 impressions
- 12,920 reach
- 2,230 actions taken on my account
- Engagement rate: 4.39%
My audience breakdown is as follows:
- 18,000 followers
- 70% women
- 22% in 18-24 range
- 45% in 25-34 range
Please let me know if you have any questions. I hope to partner up soon!
Here are some examples of blog posts I’ve done for hosted stays:
After each hotel stay (and brand collaborations in general), I follow up with the hotel to thank them for their hospitality and provide them with some assets they can use on their social media accounts. I’ll provide any insights or analytics from our partnership so they can gauge the success of the hosted stay. Typically, I’ll wrap up all insights and assets into a Google Drive folder and share the link so the hotel can easily view everything in one place.
Have you ever done a hosted stay with a hotel? What are your tips for landing this type of partnership? How did you go above and beyond for that brand during the campaign? Share down below!
Bit by the travel bug? Check out some of my travel guides:
- Anna Maria Island Travel Guide
- Miami Travel Guide
- Sarasota, FL Travel Guide
- Key West Travel Guide
- Havana, Cuba Travel Guide
- San Diego, CA Travel Guide
- Bali Hai Beach Resort Travel Guide
- St. Pete’s Most Instagrammable Locations: Downtown Edition
- London Travel Guide
- Rome Travel Guide
- Paris Travel Guide
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