Giving a whole new meaning to 'booking' a hotel...self-promoting

Long Island Business News, Jul 27, 2007 by Claude Solnik

Those predictable, complimentary copies of USA Today tucked under hotel room doors are getting some company.

Looking to build brand loyalty, hotels aren't just booking rooms but booking themselves, in the form of self-promoting magazines. Wonder no more what tales a hotel's walls can tell; it's all right here in fancy type and glossy pages chock full of fashionable photos, elaborate layouts to articles that are occasionally engaging. If Hyatt-The Magazine isn't on your local newsstand yet, it's definitely waiting in your room.

Robert Lipper, editorial director of Melville-based Island Publications, said it's not about advertising and ad revenue, but promotion. If the magazine's a hit, guests will take it home, bringing the company's brand with them and increasing the chance they'll return, boosting future revenues and occupancy rates.

To that end, hotels are partnering with publishers. Hyatt's magazine, "Destination Hyatt," is put together by McClatchy Co.'s Miami, Fla.-based Herald Custom Publishing (McClatchy also publishes the Miami Herald). Thompson Hotels has teamed with Manhattan-based BlackBook Media to produce "Room100," which a Thompson spokeswoman called "a nightlife, art, film, fashion lifestyle publication."

Jason Pomeranc, co-owner of Thompson Hotels, said his company is seeking to connect with readers - or should that be guests? - and "to maintain a dialogue with Thompson Hotels' supporters." BlackBook President Ari Horowitz called the magazine both an "innovative marketing tool for the hospitality industry" and a "media property that targets the luxury buyers."

Hyatt puts out its magazine every December, while Thompson's publication is released seasonally. Whenever the books are published, hotels use them to hawk their brands in ways both subtle and direct.

Hyatt's brand is written all over its magazine, from its title to text. Rosa Rojas, editor of "Destination Hyatt," titles her letter- from-the-editor column "Welcome to Hyatt" and ends by imploring visitors to "visit again soon." The magazine mixes profiles of Hyatt properties, services and destinations with topics of likely interest to visitors, including essays on comfort food, wines and sports photographer Neil Leifer.

Room100 is much more subtle, mentioning Thompson Hotels only sporadically. Editor-in-Chief Steve Garbarino mentions that hotel chain almost in passing in his introductory note; the most recent issue's cover shot (of actor Adrien Brody) was taken at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, a Thompson property in Los Angeles.