Premier Inn hands consumer PR brief to Golin

Golin has been appointed to handle the consumer PR for the UK’s largest hotel chain, Whitbread’s Premier Inn.

Premier Inn was named the UK’s top-rated travel brand 2016 and the top-rated hotel chain for 2016, according to Which? It has more than 750 budget hotels and across the UK and Ireland.

Golin, which won the account following a competitive pitch, has been briefed to deliver a new consumer PR strategy for 2017 and beyond.

The agency will work with the brand’s other agency partners, including creative agency Lucky Generals, to enhance the profile of the brand and direct bookings for Premier Inn through “creative stories linked to key booking occasions and relevant news hooks”.

Mark Fells, chief customer officer for Premier Inn and hub hotels, said: “This pitch was a natural follow-up to our new brand focus on being ‘A Great Place to Start’.  After a rigorous process involving the incumbent, we have appointed Golin whose team demonstrated great depth of brand and guest understanding, as well as a highly-memorable creative.”

Bibi Hilton, MD of Golin, added: “We are over the moon – and stars – to be taking on the challenge of keeping one of the UK’s most loved brands front of mind whenever and wherever people need to book a great place to stay. Nearly everyone in the UK has stayed in a Premier Inn and the brand’s guests and team members have fantastic stories that we look forward to telling.”

Premier Inn’s PR was previously handled by Frank PR.

Fells said: “Frank PR has dedicated over nine years to Premier Inn and, in that time the team has delivered some unforgettable PR moments. We are grateful to everyone there who has worked on our business and we all wish them well for the future.”