HOSPA (Hospitality) Sleep over to help turnover

HOSPA, the Hospitality Professionals Association, is a leading industry association.

Acting as a voice for the sector, it offers services that include career development, networking, and advice through guidance and counsel.

With a membership made up of senior hospitality professionals, HOSPA wanted to do what it could to support the industry during a pandemic that had decimated the sector’s revenues and operational capabilities.

To do this, we proposed the concept of ‘Sleep Over to Help Turnover’.

The Government-backed #EatOutToHelpOut scheme proved a lifeline for restaurants and others. But while great for eateries, the bulk of hotel revenue comes from overnight stays, with food and drink effectively a supplementary income. Consequently, we wanted to implement something to support hotels specifically (given the bulk of HOSPA members are hotel workers), without compromising guest safety.

The idea behind #SleepOverToHelpTurnover saw HOSPA encourage hotels (still desperate for trade) to offer some form of appreciative gesture to guests opting to book with them, be that an extra night, a complimentary drink at the bar, free parking, discounted meals, even a bowl of fruit in the room – whatever the hotel could afford given the pressures of the pandemic.

The central aims were to increase bookings for hotels, educate the public that hotels were both open for business and safe, and to position HOSPA as an industry leader.

The campaign achieved more than 190 pieces of coverage via The Sun, the Metro, The Mirror Online, the Evening Standard, Daily Star, the Scotsman, MSN, LadBible, Wales Online, The Guardian, The Telegraph, and more, as well as across dozens of UK regional titles.

This caused HOSPA’s website traffic to increase by an average of 585%, with a 505% jump in new users. More than 140 hotels signed up to the scheme: from boutique hotels to large UK-wide groups, causing a rise in both HOSPA’s membership and corporate sponsorship – a crucial measure of success – as sponsors recognised the enhanced profile of the association following the scheme.

Furthermore, expert commentary pieces for HOSPA’s CEO, Jane Pendlebury, secured an additional 160+ pieces of coverage, seeing her feature in dozens of national and international media, including The Independent, the Telegraph, The Guardian, Mirror Online, Mail Online, City AM, Daily Express, and more, while an interview with the Associated Press saw her comments featured in articles by the likes of the New York Post, Japan Times, News 9 Australia, TVNZ and other international outlets.

In total, HOSPA achieved more than 350 pieces of press coverage across the entire campaign.