An interview with Laura Bolton, Senior PR Account Manager at Abode Worldwide
Abode PR is a specialist B2B public relations and content marketing agency that serves clients operating in the short-term rental, hotel, multifamily and ‘living’ tech ecosystems. Working with the Abode PR team, I help clients to raise their brand awareness and reputation, create strong thought leaders from within their company, and help them engage their target market with focused content. For me in particular, this means day-to-day management of each client account, and really understanding the inner workings of their company and the unique value proposition of their brand.
How the Abode Worldwide team has evolved
In the short period of time I’ve worked for the company, the Abode Worldwide team has more than doubled! We’ve made our offering more holistic, working with clients on their content marketing and social media management, as well as PR.
When the company was founded, our predominant focus was on short-term rentals, but now we work in hotel tech, corporate accommodation, multifamily, senior living, co-living and more. Essentially our clients sit at the intersection between hospitality and property. There are a lot of fast-growing sectors, like student living, that are going to be particularly interesting to get involved in in the future.
How the industry has evolved
The last few years have been challenging for travel and real estate, but there’s been a huge amount of opportunities created too (particularly on the tech side) as these industries have evolved and reshaped themselves. Keeping up to date with these trends is something that I find fascinating, especially when I’m able to talk with my clients about these and their predictions for the future.
Something that the Abode Worldwide team has always enjoyed has been remote working, which has obviously become the norm during the pandemic. This topic is something that I am always keeping a close eye on in the press as it encompasses so many important aspects of travel, real estate, business, and living.
Our hybrid work approach
With flexibility as one of our core values, we’re fortunate at Abode Worldwide in that we can decide how we work. It’s generally different for each member of the team, but we’re all trusted to carry on doing our own work at a high level no matter where we are.
I absolutely love working in an office environment so I take full advantage of our co-working space in the center of Bath, but it’s also great knowing I have the option to work from home or remotely at any time. I’ve definitely found a change of scene is good for boosting creativity and productivity.
Abode Worldwide’s workplace culture
Even as a remote team, we still have a great company culture that’s founded on trust, flexibility, and supporting each other’s success.
We have access to training (from management to meditation) and personal work coaching, both of which have helped me grow in my role in the time I’ve been here, particularly with my recent promotion to Senior PR Account Manager.
There’s also always scope to get involved in projects beyond your client work, like planning our fifth birthday celebrations or managing Abode Worldwide’s social media channels. Plus, suggestions to improve ways of working are definitely encouraged!
How Abode Worldwide stays connected with remote clients
The key here is frequent communication. We have weekly check-ins with each of our clients to talk about the work that we’re doing. It also gives them the opportunity to discuss what’s happening in their business. Sometimes they may have an update they don’t think is relevant to PR or content, but with a dash of creativity, we can turn it into an exciting project.
Meeting in person is also always invaluable relationship building, but has of course been trickier these past couple of years. I attended Skift Forum Europe recently, and last year I went to CREtech and the Short Stay Summit. They were all great opportunities to meet with clients and network with the wider industry.
Where we’re headed
Abode Worldwide’s future is bright. As part of our five-year plan, we’ll branch into new sectors and expand the team significantly over this period.
I really love learning and absorbing new information, so I’m particularly excited about us expanding into new sectors in the future. It’s always a great opportunity to get to grips with the media landscape before thinking of insightful story ideas that clients can contribute.
I also believe that people are the key to creativity. Everyone brings their own experience to a role and the Abode team is no exception. In our small team, we share knowledge and skills gained from roles in journalism, publishing, marketing, hospitality, and travel. By growing our team, we can hopefully keep the creative juices flowing and better the service we provide.
Want to join Abode Worldwide?
We’re always interested in hearing from those who think Abode Worldwide might be the right place for them to work. If that’s you, please do get in touch with our managing director, Jessica Gillingham. We’re always open to prospective applicants.
About Laura Bolton
Laura is a Senior PR Account Manager at Abode Worldwide, a B2B public relations and communications agency. Laura works with clients who create technology solutions operating within the short-term rental, hotel, living and real estate ecosystems and helps them raise their profile amongst stakeholders.
