Hospitality PR in an AI World: Victoria Feldman de Falco on Ideas, Credibility, and Risk-Taking

“Relationships get you the hearing. Ideas get you the story. And now, credible stories help AI put your brand on the map.” — Victoria Feldman de Falco

With a career that spans more than 40 years, Victoria Feldman de Falco has delivered public relations and marketing success to clients in every segment of the tourism and hospitality industry. She sniffs out trends before they emerge, she’s a master at creating BIG ideas, and her visionary strategy has set the North Star for countless organizations…including her own, as Principal & Co-Founder of Redpoint Marketing PR. Vickie has been recognized as one of HSMAI’s Top 25 Extraordinary Minds, has shaped the way countless organizations tell their stories and just this year received HSMAI’s coveted Winthrop W. Grice Award for Career Achievement.  She’s got a lot of wisdom to share, so let’s get to it!

Vickie, you’ve worked with big brands, boutique hotels, cruise lines, and destinations. With all that experience, can you offer some insight into why new, promotable ideas frequently create friction between operations and marketing?

Two reasons: leadership and communication. If the CEO or GM understands the value of PR and marketing, the whole organization takes it seriously. Without that buy-in at the top, it can be a struggle. And then there’s communication, or lack of it. Too often, marketing develops a great idea and just hands it over: “Here, operations, execute this.” But when you include people early - chefs, revenue managers, GMs -you get their perspective, and suddenly an idea becomes workable instead of just wishful thinking.

Can you give some examples where that collaboration really worked?

On a grand scale, there was the “Royal Rendezvous” in New York Harbor, when we brought together three Cunard ships; the QE2, Queen Mary 2, and Queen Victoria. Changing schedules for ships that size is no small thing, but because operations and marketing were aligned, it worked. Thousands turned out to see it.

On the boutique end, we worked with a small hotel in Maine that partnered with a university astronomer for a night-sky program. Guests loved it, the Boston Globe covered it, and bookings followed the next day. That tiny idea, born from operations, PR, and marketing talking together, turned into a signature that could be replicated elsewhere.

You’ve emphasized communication. Why is that your through line?

Because communication breaks silos, builds trust, and makes ideas executable. It also gives teams confidence. If we’re not at the table, we equip our clients to sell the idea internally so they can get their colleagues on board.

And one more thing: joy. Joy is one of our company’s core values. We like to bring joy into the process, because when you approach the work with curiosity, humor, and energy, people respond. Work doesn’t have to feel heavy to be effective.

You often encourage your clients to take risks. In a fairly risk-averse industry, why is risk-taking so important in marketing and PR?

Because the bigger the risk, the greater the chance of a big reward. A perfect example is the early days of Cyber Monday. At the time, hotels weren’t participating. There was resistance and plenty of grumbling, but once the results came in--bookings, national coverage, and buzz…everyone saw the payoff. Innovation means stepping into the unknown, but if you wait until it feels “safe,” the moment has usually passed.

How do you balance the creative storytelling side of PR with the hard metrics that owners and developers want to see?

Impressions and ad values are fine, but what really matters is credibility. And here’s where AI has put PR in the spotlight: credibility has literally become currency. Search engines and AI tools are pulling from trusted, earned media sources to answer people’s questions. Paid ads can’t guarantee that placement, yet, only genuine credibility can.

The more consistent and high-quality your coverage in respected outlets, the more likely AI will surface your brand as the answer. That means PR is no longer just about visibility or buzz, it’s about making sure your brand has a seat at the table in an AI-driven world.

That sounds like a huge shift. How are you preparing for it?

Our digital marketing team is in constant conversation with Google and monitoring how AI is changing search. There’s no perfect metric yet, but the trend is clear: trusted content carries more weight. So, the role of PR in creating that content is only growing.

It’s another reminder that PR is not a short-term tactic. It’s an investment in visibility, reputation, and now, in being part of the future of search

Yet marketing budgets are always the first to be cut in a downturn. Why?

It’s a reflex: “If no one’s traveling, why invest in PR?” But that’s shortsighted. After 9/11, after the 2008 financial crisis, and again during the pandemic, we saw the same pattern. Brands that stayed visible recovered faster. When you “turn off the spigot,” it takes three times as much effort to get the flow going again.

During the pandemic, borders were literally closed, but we still found ways to keep destinations like Atlantic Canada top of mind. We organized virtual tours, put spokespeople face-to-face with journalists via Zoom, and kept the stories alive. By the time borders reopened, coverage was already in place.

What shifts are you seeing in how hotels communicate with guests today?

Personalization is the big one. Guests want to interact on their own terms. For a 16-room inn, a text concierge works beautifully…it feels personal and immediate. For a luxury spa resort, it’s about detailed conversations, planning treatments and dining so the experience flows.

Technology is part of it. AI chatbots are already here, though not quite refined enough yet. They’ll get better. But the larger point is this, no matter the tool, the goal is the same: making guests feel cared for in the way they prefer.

What advice would you give to hospitality leaders right now?

Stay open. Don’t panic-cut PR when things get tough. Think of it as an investment, not an expense. Recognize the new reality…that AI is reshaping how people find and trust information, and that PR is one of the strongest ways to make sure your brand shows up. And above all, keep communicating. Include people early, break down silos, and don’t forget to have fun. Joy is contagious. It shows up in your work, and it shows up in your brand.

Quickfire with Vickie

What’s your morning routine?  I'm an early riser, so I first drink some water, then pour coffee, and sit in blessed quiet reading for about 30 minutes. Then I'm out the door (when weather allows) or in the gym for a workout, then some stretching. 

What do you do for self-care? I slip in my earbuds and walk up and down Riverside Park. If I need a real escape, I listen to an audiobook, and if I need a distraction to gather thoughts or ideas, I turn to a podcast like Smartless or Dateline because the mind can wander a bit and never really lose the plot (hint: it's always the spouse).

Any books, podcasts, or movies you're into right now? I just finished listening to Barbra Streisand's reading of her own autobiography and cannot tell enough people how much I loved it. Babs is a badass! I'll give anything from the UK a try and currently can't wait to read the newest installment of Mick Herron's Slow Horses series (the ninth) and to watch the newest season of the Apple+ series, which is perfectly cast. (For the record, I was a fan of the books before the series was a twinkle in Apple TV's eye.)

Related reading: Sometimes It Takes Balls to Be a Woman, my column about Barbra's book!

Best advice? Someone once said to me, "everybody has their own $&*t." Meaning, no one is stress, anxiety, or problem-free, no matter how serene and together they may seem on the surface. I try to keep that in mind, and my "issues" in check, in every encounter because the other person might be dealing with much more. It helps me keep a positive outlook.