How to Pitch Travel Clients to Meetings & Events Publications

Many PR companies are missing out on a major coverage opportunity that could have an impact on travel clients’ bottom lines.

Prior to transitioning to a freelance writer, I was editor-in-chief at a company that published four national magazines for the meetings and events industry. Ah, those were the days when I could actually get my inbox under control—because I received only a small fraction of the PR pitches I get today regarding hotels and destinations.

You may not realize this key part of the travel industry until you’re on the trade side of it—I know I didn’t prior to starting with that company. But it’s huge business: Meetings and events business generates nearly $850 billion in economic impact annually, according to industry stats.

So what does this mean for PR teams? You need to be pitching meetings and events trades for your hospitality clients, including hotels, restaurants, spas, entertainment venues and more. And the good news is, it’s actually pretty easy. For one, staff at these trade publications are usually easy to find, clearly listed with emails on the company’s website (unlike some travel magazines, where it can feel like a scavenger hunt to find the right editor email!). Another bonus is that many meetings and events magazines are still going strong with print publications, so there’s a good chance articles will run both in print and online, if accepted.

Here’s how to make a good pitch to meetings and events publications:

Understand how the industry works.

Read up on what the meetings and events industry is all about (this is a good resource). It’s often referred to as MICE, standing for Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions. (FYI, incentives are reward trips that companies plan for their top achievers.)

Ask your client about their MICE business.

If it’s a hotel with meeting space, ask what percentage of their business currently comes from business/meetings travel. You might be surprised to learn that it’s often 60 percent or more, especially for destinations that have a definite high and low season. Find out what parts of their offerings for meetings they most want to promote. (I recently asked a publicist about this, and she told me this was “outside the realm of PR.” Talk about a missed opportunity!)

Read past destination stories on the magazine’s website.

This is a given for any pitch to any publication, obviously, but look to see how they’re covering travel. Meeting professionals reading their content are interested in the latest destinations, hotel and restaurant openings the way leisure travelers are, but are looking for additional information. Things like number of rooms, amount of meeting space and its layout, capacities, creative food and beverage options, activities for groups and more are important.

Find an angle.

When I did get pitches as a MICE editor, one of the emails I got all the time was just general information about meeting space. News flash: The fact that your hotel exists and hosts meetings does not make it worthy of a story. The same rules apply here when pitching any other travel-related publication: It has to be timely and relevant. It’s OK if your hotel isn’t brand new, but do they have a new chef who’s shaking up meetings menus? Did they just redo a breakout room with creative touches like e-white boards and the latest AV? Include that information at the top of your pitch.

Consider the photos.

Conference rooms at big hotels are not that interesting to look at empty (though newer properties are making more creative spaces a priority lately). Don’t submit photos of empty rooms set with boring chairs and round tables. Source photos from past events that really showcase how a room can be transformed when it’s designed and decorated for a special event. A lot of hotels don’t have these kinds of photos on hand, so encourage them to start taking and keeping them. Shots of F&B setups and unique dishes are important for food stories.

Offer someone as an expert.

If there’s absolutely nothing new about your hotel or venue or restaurant, you can still secure a story with a good pitch by offering up one of its leaders as an expert. For example, early in the year is an excellent time to pitch a chef, director of catering or F&B director to share his or her tips on new trends in conference F&B. You can also take current trends and pitch their application to the MICE world—say, pitching an F&B expert on how you can incorporate more plant-based meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner on conference menus.

Another title that MICE publications love to interview are directors of sales and marketing, as they are usually responsible for the sales teams’ efforts selling meetings and events business. Sometimes, hotel concierges can also work for stories, by recommending their favorite spots around the property. A story angle such as, “TK Coffee Shops to Try in Chicago” could be a hit for meeting planners coordinating a major event in the city, as they can use those recommendations themselves while in town for site visits and planning, as well as share it with their attendees.

Pitch profiles.

There are so many interesting characters in the MICE business, and in hotels, it’s unreal. I think it’s because the fast-paced nature of the job attracts a certain personality who can juggle at lot at once and make quick decisions on the fly. Take a look at your client and find out who might make an interesting person to profile, who will be of relevance to the MICE publication’s audience. Offer a phone interview, always.

Review “best places” lists.

Take a look at all those 2020 trending destination stories put out by national travel publications and see if you have clients in any of them. If so, send a pitch that this destination is trending because of TK publication, and you’d like to suggest a story idea on the city with a meetings and events angle, including your client in that list. This is a solid idea that’s honestly hard for an editor to say no to, and an easy way to get your client into a destination feature.

Pitching MICE publications may not be as glamorous as securing a feature in Conde Nast Traveler or Afar, but it can have major payoff for your client. I currently do contract editing for two digital-only publications about trade shows and corporate events (you can pitch me HERE for those, if you like). A few months ago, I had a hotel reach out to me saying they had booked a major meeting as a result of a planner learning about their property through a story I wrote—we’re talking tens of thousands of dollars here, rather than a couple hundred from a leisure guest’s stay. If you’re not already pitching these angles, it’s time to start.

Have more questions about pitching MICE publications? Ask away!