Langham Hotels & Resorts

A hotel group operating 40+ properties across four continents has a scale problem in media: you're big enough to be invisible, and too distributed to have a clear brand voice.

The answer isn't to promote the portfolio. It's to put credible, recognisable people at the centre of the story and let the group's ambitions speak through them.

Lemongrass Marketing, a B Corp-certified travel communication agency, delivered a broadcast-led executive profiling programme for Langham Hospitality Group.

Langham Hospitality Group needed to strengthen visibility and credibility across UK media while positioning its leadership as credible voices within the hospitality industry.

The challenge was that a global portfolio of 40+ properties doesn't have an obvious news hook - you're too established to be "launching," too geographically dispersed to be a "destination." What it needed was a people-focused story: leadership voices worth listening to.

We identified spokespeople with independent credibility

Rather than relying on group executives alone, we identified individuals within and around the group whose names and expertise would interest broadcast media independently - in this case, renowned chef Michel Roux Jr. and then-Managing Director Doris Greif.

Both had existing profile and expertise that made them interesting to talk to, rather than requiring a media outlet to care about Langham specifically in order to care about them.

We pitched the story as leadership, not promotion

The approach was positioning these individuals as voices on hospitality leadership, operational excellence, and industry trends - not as spokespeople announcing hotel news.

That distinction is what gets you onto ITV and Sky rather than hospitality trade press. Broadcast media wants to talk to interesting people about their perspective. They want to talk to hotel PR people about their property.

We secured flagship broadcast opportunities

The result was two slots on major UK broadcasters' flagship programmes - the kind of primetime visibility that reaches a genuinely broad audience and carries genuine credibility weight.

2 slots on ITV and Sky flagship programmes, with high-profile coverage for both Michel Roux Jr. and Doris Greif. The placements elevated both spokespeople's profiles within the industry while establishing Langham Hospitality Group as an organisation with credible leadership voices.

Why use executive profiling instead of direct brand PR for a hotel group? Executive profiling reaches broadcast media that wouldn't cover a hotel group directly. When a credible, recognisable person is the story, they become the hook that media cares about - and the group benefits from association with their credibility.

How do you identify which executives are worth profiling? Look for individuals with existing profile, recognised expertise, or public credibility independent of their corporate role. A renowned chef or a visionary leader can carry a story. A corporate title alone cannot.