Interview with a Travel PR expert: Stephanie Boyle
In your current role, which part of the business does your team support and what type of requests are you given in a typical month?
I support several areas of the business. My team looks after corporate and industry comms, which includes PR, speaking opps, events, product, employer brand and CSR. We align our plans to the overarching company strategy and act as an ‘agency’ within the business, delivering on behalf of various departments depending on the launch, story, campaign or announcement, from the senior exec team to commercial, from talent to marketing.
What would you say are the difficult parts of the role?
A lot of what I do is dependent on other teams and other aspects of the business. In comms, your work is directly tied to the business strategy and pillars. We advise and act as consultants, making internal stakeholders aware of the external media and broader industry landscape. In essence, we need to have a wide breadth of knowledge, be comfortable with uncertainty, identify and mitigate against risk, all the while securing positive coverage for the brand in earned media.
And as a counter, which parts are the most rewarding?
My favourite part of the job is communications training and messaging development. I enjoy taking something that feels complicated and really thinking about what we’re ultimately trying to say – what do we want people to take away. Once you have distilled your company’s mission and strategy into clear key messages, my favourite part is training spokespersons to deliver those messages in a way that is personal to them and meaningful to the audiences they will be speaking to. Sometimes you’ll have a spokesperson who is already very confident and just needs clarity on the messages. However it’s far more rewarding when you work with someone for whom public speaking or media engagements doesn’t come naturally; helping them gain confidence and feel empowered to speak or present with assurance is a genuine pleasure.
Do you have any stories where a colleague has made a faux pas in a live speaking environment and the press have got a hold of it?
Of course. It can happen, regardless of training and preparation. But a good PR person never tells. In communications, the key word is ‘confidential’.
How do you go about diffusing that type of situation?
There are several steps you can take. One of the most critical aspects of PR and comms is understanding and building relationships with the media – of course, journalists are always looking for the story, and anything that looks like ‘trouble’ feels like a story. However, if you have a relationship with a reporter, that can go a long way towards diffusing what could be a potential negative PR moment. Alternatively, you can let it go and ensure you don’t add any fuel to the fire. You have to analyse each situation on a case by case basis and decide the best way to handle it depending on the circumstances and the potential outcome.
What type of personalities and skill sets have successful careers in public relations and external communications?
Throughout my time in PR and comms, I haven’t met two people whom I would say had the same personality! Regardless of what people may say, I don’t think there’s a ‘PR’ type. While there might be an assumption that PRs tend to be extroverted or gregarious, some of the best comms people I’ve ever worked with have been quite reserved by nature. However, there are certain traits that are helpful to have, depending on the branch of communications you want to work in – for example, the ability to think ahead, to remain diplomatic regardless of personal feelings, and a willingness to go beyond the written scope of the role. One of the most important aspects of working in comms is looking at the full picture – which means knowing the company inside and out, being highly knowledgeable about the sector and identifying both areas of opportunity, as well as any potential risk.
In PR and communication, do you think it is possible to start from the bottom and to work your way to the top?
Absolutely. Most of us do. A lot of people get their starts in agencies which allows you to develop a variety of skills across a wide array of clients. Most agencies will group PRs by sector and have similar people working across client accounts for a specific industry, but you can move around in the early stages to get a sense of what you like best. Personally, I started in-house. I worked for the Normandy Tourism Board, acting as their UK press and PR representative, promoting the destination in consumer travel media. This led to my time at VisitEngland, where I remained more focused on the consumer side of things as Destination PR Manager. I did give agency life a go, but I only lasted six months. I was always more interested in getting under the skin of a brand, or destination and gaining a deep product knowledge, so I found myself back in-house for Tripadvisor by 2011. Since then, I have concentrated more on the industry and corporate side of comms, with increases in areas of responsibilities and promotions along the way.
What advice would you give to candidates starting their careers in PR and communications?
I’d recommend thinking about what it is they like about the idea of a career in PR and comms. Are they interested in promoting a specific industry? Or do they like the idea of working in publicity? Are they more interested in agency life or would they prefer a role in-house? Personally, I love an in-house role, because it allows me to build a deep level of product-knowledge and immerse myself in one company or brand’s story and proposition. However, others might prefer being able to work on several different brands, in which case an agency might be the better option for them.
Can you see a time in the near future where the travel, hospitality and leisure industry are on the rise and that companies are hiring again?
Absolutely. I’m not just saying this because it’s my dearest wish and desire – though it is. I believe this for three simple reasons: 1) people love travel and they will absolutely travel again once they are able to, 2) this industry is incredibly resilient – it has survived wars, terrorist attacks, ash clouds and economic crashes, and it will survive this to, and 3) once travellers are looking to book trips again, companies will need to be appropriate staffed and resourced and will be looking for a certain level of expertise – all of those incredible human beings who have sadly been made redundant due to the halting of travel caused by the pandemic will be in high demand once again.
How did you book your last holiday and where did you go?
We went to visit family in Galicia over the summer, during the very brief window when travellers from the UK were able to visit Spain. Because we were staying with relatives, we didn’t need accommodation, but we found our flights via Skyscanner, and then booked them through easyJet. We also hired a car for the trip, which we found on a car hire comparison site.
Get to know the OTA expert better: Stephanie Boyle
Do you remember your first job in the travel industry?
Not many people know this about me but I started my career in financial sales, back in 2000. I was in charge of about 10 key accounts in one of the biggest banks in Spain. My clients were both B2C and B2B, that was my first experience dealing with medium-sized businesses.
The job eventually took me to Paris where I began to look after private European clients who were moving their savings around various off-shore locations.
After ten years of working in banking, in 2010 I decided to start from scratch in a completely new industry. So I moved to Oxford, UK. My English wasn’t initially up to scratch so I had to work as a kitchen porter to improve my language skills. I guess that was my first job in travel, leisure and hospitality.
In 2011, I successfully applied for a role at Tripadvisor, selling an annual subscription product to Spanish and French hotel chains, the likes of Iberostar and Club Med. I did that job for about another five years. Around 2015, I started selling to enterprise accounts with bigger budgets and more products. My role is exclusively client facing, and at one stage involved lots of travel.
Do you collect airpoints or participate in any other travel loyalty programs?
Yes, I collect plenty… Eurostar, Iberia, British Airways, Accor, the list goes on…. I’m based in London but regularly travel back and forth to Spain and France
Economy or business class?
I try to use the loyalty programs to upgrade my seats when I can. Eurostar has good deals if you book well in advance
Hotel or self-catering?
Hotel all the way, I do enough self-catering at home!
Package holiday or independent traveller?
Always independent, I have never been on a package holiday.
A memorable meal from your travels?
We were in Singapore last year and I was so impressed by the diversity of the food. I think I’d have to go for a curry at the Tiffin Room at the Raffles Hotel. The restaurant has a turn of the century ambience with refurbished wooden floors (from the early 1900s) and the food is served in tiffin carriers – a type of metal lunch box that I believe were originally used to deliver hot meals to workers.
An experience or attraction that you’d highly recommend?
I think I’d have to go Stateside and recommend the Cape Canaveral Early Space Tour at the Kennedy Space Centre, Florida.
Do you travel more than other members of your family?
Yes, I normally find myself travelling at least once a month or so to see various family members. I go to them more than they come to me!
Your best recent holiday?
Puff… no recent trips unfortunately outside of the regular visits to Spain and France.
And the worst?
There hasn’t really been a worst trip, I have been very lucky in that respect. I guess a few work trips that haven’t generated the desired outcome have retrospectively felt like a waste of time.
Do you think about your carbon footprint when you are travelling?
No really; is that bad? I make sure I do plenty of recycling to make up for it.
Did you have to cancel any trips this year due to Covid-19?
Yes, we had to cancel a couple including a trip to Florida. It’s hard to feel sorry for ourselves given that everybody is in the same boat, and given the wider disruption that Covid-19 is causing the wider travel industry.
Where can you recommend domestically for those preferring staycations?
I got to know the area in and around Oxford when I lived there for five years. The Oxfordshire Cotswolds are steeped in history, culture and natural beauty and there are so many picture perfect villages to visit – Shilton and Bibury spring to mind and a visit to Blenheim Palace is well worth it.
Have you ever visited anywhere that you think you would be a place to retire to?
Yes, particularly two places; Galacia in Spain and anywhere on the coast in Florida. Maybe an apartment on South Beach, Miami…
Have you ever bumped into anyone famous on holiday?
I only have to look into the mirror to see Javier Bardem 🙂 I couldn’t resist that – so many people say that I have a likeness.
What technical innovation would make travel easier?
Teletransportation would save everyone a lot of time.
When you are about to travel what can you not leave the house without?
Phone and a charger are the first things that go into my rucksack.
What is your guilty travel indulgence?
The hotel breakfast buffet doesn’t stand a chance when I’m in residence, “I try everything “. A memorable feast was at the Shangri-La, Singapore. They had to roll me out in a wheelbarrow.
What is the short and mid-term outlook for the travel industry?
Hmmmm… I hesitate to say that the short term isn’t very good but we will recover for sure, because ultimately people love to travel and to experience new things. I will say by Q2 2021 we will see travel, leisure and hospitality coming back a lot stronger.
Any advice for people just starting out in their professional travel careers?
Please always smile 🙂