How do you maximise a media moment happening in your hotel? Here’s a great example from a 2026 Airbnb Wuthering Heights campaign

How did Hey Marketing help Holdsworth House Hotel max out on a media moment?

When Airbnb created a pop-up installation of Cathy’s Bedroom (from the 2026 Wuthering Heights film) in the grounds of Holdsworth House in Halifax, the property suddenly found itself at the centre of a cultural conversation. Airbnb’s campaign generated immediate attention from national media, global content creators and online publications. Coverage of the project (and often the hotel as a secondary message) reached the likes of Time Out, Evening Standard and Condé Nast as well as international titles from the US and Europe. In fact, key press highlights showed a reach in excess of 243 million in the first week alone.

As a freelance marketing consultant working with Holdsworth House, my role was to explore how the 33-bed independent hotel could maximise the opportunity created by that media moment.

The challenge was twofold: 1) how could I extend the life of the coverage once the initial announcement had landed? 2) How could I turn the media coverage into hotel revenue and profit?

Turning a PR moment into ongoing visibility

Rather than allowing the story to end with the first wave of press interest, the focus was on building momentum and keeping the hotel part of the wider conversation around the film. I did this by leaning into the hotel’s authentic Brontë locality.

Several activities helped extend the impact:

Amplifying social and influencer content

Once the story began to spread, Airbnb and influencers started sharing visual content from the installation across social media, particularly on TikTok.

By taking part in those online conversations, resharing and amplifying the content across the hotel’s channels, I helped increase visibility and ensured Holdsworth House remained closely associated with the story as it travelled online. This resulted in an 85% increase in hotel TikTok profile views.

Creating a Brontë-inspired guest experience

It was important to turn the interest generated by the campaign into room and restaurant bookings. I developed the Brontë-Country Escape – a short break, partnering with local tourist attractions, wrapped up in an easy-to-purchase and authentic exprience-led stay. Initial package bookings generated estimated £15K in room revenue in early 2026.

The association with a premier local attraction, both in terms of brand affinity and location, was key to making a short break work. Behind the scenes I worked on linking hotel and tourist site booking systems, financial accountability and piggyback marketing. I ensured guest-facing teams had clear instructions, and that both businesses could see the benefit of working together.

Encouraging follow-on press coverage

With Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights film and the Airbnb installation on everyone’s lips, there was an opportunity to generate further interest by sharing updates, imagery and additional angles with other media outlets.

A competition was secured with the Daily Mail, resulting in half-page national print coverage and online presence. I encouraged a direct data capture (not competition entry), which brought an additional 371 new email contacts from potential guests who wanted to know more about the hotel. The competition cost the hotel around £300 in prize inclusions, but the value of a half-page plus online presence rate card value is £45,000+.

I secured free coverage with The Times and a phone interview with Radio Leeds for the hotel general manager, each time ensuring Holdsworth House was the star of the story.

Journalist visits for The Sun and Danish media outlet REJSER were secured by networking with VisitBritain and VisitEngland partners.

Telling the tourism industry movers and shakers

The Cathy’s Bedroom pop-up was short-lived. De-rig was scheduled by Airbnb for 4 short weeks after its launch. So how could we extend the story further?

As someone who has been heavily involved with local and regional tourism offices for over 10 years, I leaned on these partnerships to help spread the word of the Airbnb activation. In turn, the LVEPs (Local Visitors Economy Partnerships) helped stimulate interest from movers and shakers with a bigger voice in the tourism industry. The message was “look at what a small independent hotel can do by partnering with global giants”.

The networking worked. Shortly after the installation was de-rigged, we welcomed Chair of VisitEngland Advisory Board, Lady Victoria Borwick and the regional development lead of VisitBritain, to Holdsworth House for a dinner and an overnight stay. The visit formed part of English Tourism Week and helped gain traction, but more importantly cemented brilliant relations with those who are engaging tour operators, attending tourism conferences and exhibitions and networking with corporate travel bookers.

See and seize the golden opportunities

The project demonstrated how a single high-profile moment can be turned into a wider marketing opportunity when the follow-up strategy is handled quickly and carefully.

For hospitality businesses, the real value of a campaign is not always in the initial headline. Often, it comes from the work that follows: amplifying the story, creating experiences that guests can book and ensuring the momentum continues. Helping hotels recognise and build on these opportunities is a key part of the consultancy work I do through Hey Marketing.

Need help turning attention into bookings?

If your hotel has a story to tell, a campaign launching or a moment of media attention, I can help you turn that visibility into a broader marketing opportunity.

Get in touch to discuss how I can support your hotel’s marketing strategy. Tel: 07538 238936