Today’s travelers want indelible experiences. They demand authenticity and seek fulfillment and inspiration wherever they go. We tap into these needs by simply treating travel differently—conceptualizing the experience from beginning to end, creating targeted points of distinction and promoting each client through key verticals and niches.
C&R knows what it takes to promote a successful launch or renovation and we understand the importance of disseminating the right message from the onset. We generate big buzz from the beginning, and just as critically, we keep the momentum going. Plus, for hotels looking to breathe new life into an existing brand, we deploy tailored strategies using creative angles and trend development to continue to get your property in front of the eyes that matter most.
With 3+ decades of experience in premium travel and hospitality, we have a pulse on the industry – and our contacts prove it. Knowing the top media and key social influencers, C&R consistently secures A-list results based on the strong relationships we have cultivated.
When booking a hotel stay, consumers look to certain types of experiences, from the invigorating and interesting to the relaxed and romantic. Buoyed by an increased focus on food, wellness and culture across travel media, hotel amenities including restaurants, bars and spas undoubtedly contribute to a property’s overall success. With that in mind, C&R employs a targeted approach to reaching the entirety of a brand’s audience. Our media relationships encompass multiple verticals and channels, ultimately leading to prime placement in the bridal, culinary and wellness categories.
Our firm has the expertise needed to connect clients worldwide with effective, brand-tailored media strategies. We execute successful programs that build relationships and deliver results.
Montage Healdsburg engaged C&R in April 2020 to begin the opening PR strategy for the brand’s first wine country resort. Over the past year, C&R has executed several effective campaigns to maintain brand relevancy during a very challenging time, including Virtual Wine Tastings. The team hosted a total of four tastings on behalf of Montage Healdsburg, sending wine to a handful of top editors, creating a custom Zoom backdrop, and encouraging our media friends to meet us in the vineyards for an afternoon of wine tasting. The response was overwhelmingly positive, as almost all attendees produced a story, confirmed upcoming coverage or planned a future visit as a result.
Additional initiatives ahead of opening include the coordination of exclusive hard hat tours and future media visits with top editors from Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler and Departures for early consideration for “It List,” “Hot List” and “Legends Awards” marquee awards and assisting with partnership development with local wineries, a yoga mat brand, baby amenity line, a wine luggage brand, astral photographer and more. C&R is also collaborated with the property team to execute a family-centric mailer for the baby amenity line targeting celebrity influencers and top editors.
C&R secured a steady stream of coverage pre- and post-opening A-list target outlets such as Departures, Travel + Leisure, Forbes, Robb Report, Town & Country, AFAR, Sunset, Elite Traveler, LUXE Interiors + Design, LUXURY Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, Nob Hill Gazette, Marin Magazine, Diablo Magazine, Napa Sonoma Magazine and 7×7.com. As a result of targeted outreach and on-property media experiences, forthcoming coverage includes Modern Luxury, Forbes Travel Guide, Travel + Leisure, Departures, Condé Nast Traveler, goop and more.
Since 2013, nearly 5,000 new hotel rooms have come online in Nashville, and many of those have been high-end and boutique offerings near downtown, such as The Bobby, Noelle and Thompson. In this increasingly crowded hotel market, C&R was brought on in 2018 to assist in maintaining relevancy for the three-year-old Thompson Nashville. Through a targeted and strategic campaign, C&R continues to position the hotel as the city’s premier luxury lifestyle hotel and continued favorite with standout culinary, rooftop hotspot, and year-round creative programming and experiential packages.
C&R has secured national placements in outlets such as Delta Sky, Forbes, Virtuoso (x2), House Beautiful, USA Today, Men’s Journal, and more, and secured the hotel in Celebrated Living’s 2020 Platinum List, plus regional stories in key outlets such as the Chicago Tribune, Southern Living, and NBC News. On a local level, C&R has secured top-tier placements with The Local Palate, Style Blueprint, and Nashville Lifestyles. C&R has hosted editors and writers from outlets such as Modern Luxury, Fortune, and more, as well as partnering with the TN Department of Tourism to host an additional dozen media. During the pandemic, C&R has driven the hotel to create packages such as “Work from Hotel” that has since become a Hyatt brand wide campaign, staycation packages to drive local business, as well as suggesting a discounted rate and free cocktail for those rockin’ their voter sticker for this election night to create buzz for the beloved Gulch property.
Tequila Casa Dragones: We hosted an event at the Mexico-themed Cirque du Soleil show, LUZIA, with the high-end tequila brand to introduce Montage Los Cabos to LA media ahead of its opening.
Bridal Guide: To promote Banyan Tree Mayakoba as the ultimate wedding and honeymoon destination, we partnered with top national publications such as Bridal Guide and Forbes Travel Guide, in addition to influencer Jen Campbell of @greenweddingshoes. Tapping into these leading networks and garnering additional traction which led to a significant number of new followers.
Music to Your Mouth: In partnership with our Palmetto Bluff client, C&R has assisted in the further activation and media attendance and coverage of Music To Your Mouth, a gathering of chefs, vintners, breweries and food lovers for a celebration of Lowcountry food and music.
AWAY Luggage: We executed a six-month campaign and partnership with the popular travel company to gift luggage to media visiting C&R clients worldwide.
CAA: We arranged partnerships with Costa Baja and Kukui’ula to execute a VIP influencer program with the top 30 agents at CAA resulting in a home sale and increased qualified leads and repeat hotel guests to the Lodge at Kukui’ula.
TasteMade: One of our client’s wish list outlets was Tastemade. We successfully negotiated an earned media placement online and social—at no cost to the client—showcasing the destination’s epicurean experiences, which resulted in 30k+ impressions.
Robb Report: RR1 is Robb Report’s exclusive private membership community, comprised of a very select group of individuals who are able to enjoy unique access to luxury through Signature Events and experiences. We worked with RR1 to set up an opportunity for members to experience the island of Caye Chapel, Belize first-hand in order to help funnel sales prospects to the destination.
C&R was brought on board in January 2018 to launch Montage Los Cabos, which opened its doors in May 2018 as the first international resort for the Orange County-based luxury hotel, resort and residence.
In the months leading to the hotel’s opening, C&R ideated and executed a unique LA market media event to begin conversations with and excite the resort’s top regional market media. In addition, C&R garnered significant pre-opening regional and national buzz, as well as secured a strategic exclusive with Condé Nast Traveler. Upon opening, a crucial component of the campaign was to target the nation’s top luxury travel editors for individual specially curated media visits to experience the resort firsthand – comprised of a fully hosted three-day itinerary (inclusive of culinary, spa and leisure activities) and roundtrip airfare. In addition to targeted media pitching, C&R secured coverage in top outlets such as: The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Departures, Town & Country, Delta’s Sky Magazine, Financial Times’ How To Spend It, Forbes, Robb Report, Virtuoso and many more.
In the first three months post opening, roughly 20 top national editors visited Montage Los Cabos – resulting in feature coverage and a strong pipeline of commitments for the remainder of 2018 and well into 2019. Additionally, C&R secured the resort on the T+L It List, CNT Hot List, AFAR Stay List, Celebrating Living Platinum List, Organic Spa Wellness Awards, and Virtuoso’s Best of the Best.
Beyond traditional media relations, C&R has brokered countless strategic partnerships on behalf of our clients, further aligning properties with like-minded brands and exposing them to target audiences in impactful ways. By identifying and collaborating with new partners, we’ve elevated in-room offerings, resort programming, and on property events, further differentiating our clients from their comp set.
In the past, C&R has established partnerships with lifestyle brands including Casa Dragones, Equinox, goop, Le Crueset, Lululemon, Moët Hennessey, PXG, Trina Turk, Zadig & Voltaire and more. In addition to increased awareness, these brand partnerships also resulted in coverage locally, regionally and nationally.
A nine-year partner, C&R was charged with securing media visits for social media influencers and online content writers within a six-week timeframe in order to secure immediate coverage, drive Q1 bookings and increase Mayakoba’s social media following. The C&R team invited and hosted targeted bloggers, social media influencers and key print writers and introduced them to the on-site programming that makes the Riviera Maya destination so unique in exchange for blog and social media coverage. In six weeks C&R hosted 13 qualified media, which resulted in 14 blog posts, 89 Instagram posts and more than 198,000 social likes and 3,070 comments. Mayakoba’s Instagram account also increased by 144,200 followers in six weeks.
A landmark property since opening in 1928, the Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel brought a touch of the “great outdoors” to its Veranda Suite terrace with the first urban glamping experience available in Los Angeles. Leading into the hotel’s 90th anniversary, the glamping offered guests a new, experiential avenue to rediscover the property.
C&R was tasked with launching the new suite to generate awareness and revenue. We secured an exclusive with Forbes to run a first-look of the suite. A week later, the team hosted the annual Four Seasons Media Connect on the rooftop, introducing the experience to 25+ top media. Shortly thereafter, we secured a broadcast exclusive with AP World News. The six-minute segment was shared with 250+ networks worldwide.
Additional coverage includes: The Wall Street Journal, Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine, The Los Angeles Times, Robb Report, The Hollywood Reporter, Modern Luxury, and more, resulting in over 200 million media impressions.
Due to its success, the glamping experience has been extended indefinitely. To date, the suite has generated over half a million dollars in revenue.
C&R was charged with introducing Hawaii’s first new luxury resort in more than a decade to U.S. and Canadian media. Prior to the agency’s engagement, there was minimal media awareness for the project on the mainland and the community needed to create immediate excitement to drive sales leads and to create a series of third-party endorsements that could be used in marketing efforts. C&R immediately tapped into its network of key national and regional lifestyle writers to create excitement for the project. C&R arranged more than 20 visits with key decision makers from Robb Report, Golf Magazine, Coastal Living, Golf Digest, Unique Homes and Ocean Home. C&R also executed a series of NYC meetings with writers from Town & Country, Wall Street Journal, Travel + Leisure, CNN/Money, Financial Times, Elite Traveler and Departures.
