The Ben West Palm
launching West Palm Beach's first waterfront hotel
The Ben, Autograph Collection, aimed to become West Palm Beach's first luxury waterfront hotel, positioned to attract a mix of national and international travelers, area residents, and corporate guests. With the highly competitive hospitality market in South Florida, The Ben needed a comprehensive PR strategy to build awareness and establish itself as a top destination for leisure, dining, and events. As an Autograph Collection property, The Ben offers a style-forward design and thematic setting that honors the destination's legendary Gilded Age beginnings- key aspects of its identity and allure Our mission was to ensure this special property made a significant impact that would generate buzz that would drive regional attention and national media coverage ahead of its grand opening in February 2020.
solution
Our PR strategy for The Ben was designed to be both comprehensive and bespoke, highlighting the hotel’s connection to it's namesake- a historical home owned by a celebrated Gilded Age philanthropist, author, and socialite- and the striking, style-forward design honored that estate. We crafted tailored storylines that emphasized the hotel's unique blend of contemporary luxury and historical charm, emphasized the breathtaking rooftop views and exceptional dining outlets, and created packages and programs that showcased all of these assets in unique and inspiring ways.
in preparation for its opening day, we developed a robust launch plan, which included pre-opening press previews, media dinners, influencer events, and a high-profile launch party. Media tours, individual visits, and exclusive ribbon-cutting events helped build momentum, while curated press materials and media FAM (familiarization) trips provided firsthand experiences of The Ben's offerings. This multi-faceted approach ensured wide-reaching media exposure across national and regional outlets, positioning The Ben as West Palm Beach's premier waterfront hotel.
results
The Ben opened in February 2020- a month before the world shut down- so we don’t have accurate performance reports, but it earned more than 440 million media impressions in year one, helping the new hotel not only survive but come back and thrive in those critical post-pandemic years.
In 2020 alone, despite it being most challenging year the industry has ever seen, The Ben was featured in Forbes, Town & Country, Travel + Leisure, Fodor’s Travel, New York Post, NBC News, Thrillist, American Way, The Knot, Purist, Pow Wow, New York Social Diary, Palm Beach Illustrated, Palm Beach Post, South Florida Sun Sentinel, MSN, Eater, and dozens of other top media publications both regionally and across the country.