Ten years of travel PR branding for FBR Hotel Consulting

Just imagine…

An exclusive beach club amid a cluster of umbrella pines. A Florentine manor house amid immaculate gardens, transformed into a new urban retreat. The news that a derelict 1930s hospital on Sardinia is to be turned into a stunning hotel, opening in June 2027. These are just some of the stories in the Travel Chronicles, a newspaper series we design for Flavia Brutti-Righetti’s travel PR firm FBR Hotel Consulting.

Beginning with DUCO Milan this past March, each issue has been created around a specific event. In this case, it was a really unusual concept: a drinks and dinner presentation on a cruise down the Thames, for a specially invited selection of the travel trade press. I was lucky enough to join the cruise and see the event being set up with our work a part of that experience. At the tables, each place was set with two copies of the Chronicles, both the latest news-crammed edition I describe above, as well as the more relaxed summer issue dedicated to the French hotels Flavia represents.

It was hugely satisfying to witness the impact the project had first hand, watching the press picking the editions up as they boarded. Later, Flavia was kind enough to pass on the compliments she’d received about the project, particularly from the hoteliers attending. This was very much the plan, as the intention of the event was for them to describe in more detail their recent updates and new openings for the coming year. We’re so proud of the part that the Chronicles has played in this process, providing tangible evidence of the hotels’ achievements, in a way that only a beautiful piece of print can.

Ten years on

The Thames cruise marks a really significant milestone for FBR. We had first worked with Flavia in 2016 as she set up the business in true founder-startup style in her spare room. At that point she asked us to design a logo, business card and the first landing page. Cut to ten years later and our collaboration on her brand has endured. As I met the charming teams behind her hotels on the boat, the evidence of all her hard work was clear.

The one thing that Flavia’s guests didn’t know was that we were about to complete the biggest project for FBR to date. Over the summer, we’d been working behind the scenes on a completely rethought website that was due to launch in early November. Our original brand identity remains, a stylish Italianate flowing ribbon of type that forms the keystone of everything we’ve completed for FBR from the Chronicles to the new site.

A new website for the future

The entire website design process was a highly collaborative exercise, with Flavia embracing a new era. What began as the idea of a subtle update quickly expanded into an enthusiastic rework of the house style, rethinking how FBR presents itself as an established business. In many ways the new site is grounded in that moment, wrapping in a mature design approach inspired by our innovations within the Chronicles project.

At its heart the new site features some of the most exquisite hotels in Europe, from the sprawling Borgo Pignano country estate in Tuscany, the chic Le Grand Mazarin in Paris, Sardinia’s Abi d’Oru beach resort with its crystal-clear blue seas, to the iconic Le Sirenuse in Positano on the Amalfi Coast.

We began by showcasing the entire portfolio in a masonry-grid homepage, leading to a longform feature page for each hotel, with the most carefully chosen combination of photography for each. During the project process, building out these pages was the core of our work, ensuring the detail of restaurants, suites, pools, beach clubs and the panoramic sweep of the views was front and centre. There’s also an innovation on the new site: a news section combining features, beginning with the first edition of the Chronicles, as well as Flavia’s more immediate travel trade updates, shared concurrently on LinkedIn.

What has been interesting has been the way in which all the different hotels have found their own place under the FBR umbrella, each maintaining character and offering. This balance of individuality and representation has been fundamental to our work on the project and, for me, expresses its success.

What comes next

A PR agency is inevitably judged by how well it presents its clients. The task with an agency’s marketing is to showcase the businesses it represents while keeping its own name primary. For FBR that now means a website and a newspaper series that give every hotel its own space to speak about its achievements.

The same question applies to the clients we work with, well beyond travel. For instance, a venture capital firm presenting its portfolio, a law firm describing its deep hyper-specialised knowledge or a developer showing its visionary schemes for the future all need to show each at its best, all the while still making the case for their own firm. In every case, the answer is an on-brand design system building a clear structure with room for each client’s character.

As the new FBR launches, we’re always looking forward, excited to be a part of what’s next. A new issue of the Travel Chronicles is already in the planning stages and the new site has been launched with room for every new hotel Flavia engages. A new concept digital brochure is following in early 2027. Ten years after we designed a logo and a business card for a startup, FBR has a presence, a character and client base to be proud of.

Does your travel PR business need branding or a new website?

If your firm’s reputation rests on the clients, companies or projects you represent, we’d be glad to talk about how your website and printed materials could best present them.

At Richard Chapman Studio, our work runs the gamut from elegant, easy-to-use brochure sites to precisely scoped work that follows industry-specific requirements.

If you’re interested in working with us, get in touch either by calling +44 20 7351 4083 or emailing us direct.

Find out more

More of our work for FBR Hotel Consulting 

Visit the FBR Hotel Consulting website