HIGH FORCE HOTEL AND WATERFALL

High Force Hotel and High Force Waterfall are part of Raby Estate and sit side by side in the heart of the County Durham countryside, and Silver Pear Communications was tasked with increasing bookings for the hotel and spreading awareness at key periods throughout the year through exciting coverage that tapped into our strong national travel contacts and relationships with north-east media.

High Force Hotel and Waterfall are located in one of the UK’s best dark sky locations due to its remote setting in the North Pennines National Landscape and it regularly hosts Stargazing Suppers where visitors enjoy a beautiful dinner at High Force’s restaurant and bar, then head outside to receive an expert workshop. The Stargazing Suppers hadn’t previously received any PR activity, so Silver Pear Communications planned a campaign to improve ticket take up and put the spotlight on these magical events.

The PR strategy focused on positioning the beauty of the waterfall and the cosiness of the hotel as the ultimate package for a staycation, taking full advantage of its strong USP. This resulted in prominent national coverage across several top tier newspapers and target consumer media.​

For Stargazing Suppers, an inclusion was achieved with a national newspaper looking at the increasing popularity in astronomy and a press review visit was arranged for target consumer media resulting in a positive follow up piece. We also utilised print competition ops within national consumer media.​

The momentum was maintained regionally as well, with seasonal updates shared to local media for target on-peak times of the year. Additional standalone updates were also shared including further details about the waterfall’s saver ticket for the summer, extended opening hours and its Polar Quest Trail at Christmas as examples.

• 85 pieces of coverage (excluding mentions in school holiday round ups)​
• Frequent national coverage for the hotel and waterfall via Telegraph Online, Independent, The Sun, Express Online, Country Living, Countryfile, Love It! and My Baba​
• Coverage achieved in Times Online for Stargazing Suppers plus an inclusion in VisitEngland’s after dark adventures round up​
• Positive hotel and Stargazing Suppers review in Country & Town House and competition in print and online via Countryside Magazine​
• Supporting group coverage in Group Leisure & Travel and Coach Tours​
• Total reach of 379,145,383 generated (excluding mentions in school holiday roundups)​