Evidence and accuracy · 30%
Claims are sourced, assumptions are visible, calculations are reproducible and uncertainty is not hidden.
Academic-style open course · KECB-PR301
Hospitality Public Relations and Reputation Management
Plan, execute, measure and defend a place-based public-relations program for an independent hospitality or live-entertainment venue.
Measurable learning
Course outcomes
- Explain how operations, staff conduct, programming and guest treatment create reputation before promotion begins.
- Analyze audiences, stakeholders, public risks and cultural obligations surrounding a hospitality venue.
- Build integrated owned, earned, shared and community communication plans.
- Prepare event promotion, media relations, issue response and online-reputation systems.
- Create a budget and measurement plan tied to decisions rather than vanity metrics.
- Defend a complete 90-day venue PR strategy using evidence and ethical reasoning.
Assessment architecture
How learning is evaluated
| Assessment | Weight |
|---|---|
| Weekly application memos | 20% |
| Audience and stakeholder map | 10% |
| Media and content portfolio | 15% |
| Crisis-response simulation | 15% |
| Measurement and budget brief | 15% |
| Final 90-day PR strategy and defense | 25% |
Academic integrity
Evidence rules
- Label facts, sourced claims, observations, assumptions and unresolved questions separately.
- Do not invent venue data, biographies, financial records, safety facts or legal conclusions.
- Use real organizations only with permission or rely on clearly labeled simulations.
- Disclose assistance, templates and generative tools according to the instructor’s policy.
- Protect private guest, worker, artist and student information.
Weekly sequence
Read, apply and submit
Each week connects the free book library to a concrete tool or operating exercise. Instructors may substitute current peer-reviewed readings and local requirements.
Week 1Reputation begins inside the roomDistinguish promotion from operational reputation and identify every public-facing role.
Read and review
Submit or demonstrate
Submit a two-page reputation audit identifying three operational behaviors that strengthen trust and three that weaken it.
Week 2Place, history and cultural legitimacyFrame a venue as part of a living Texas cultural system without reducing culture to decoration.
Read and review
Submit or demonstrate
Create a source-labeled venue context brief and identify claims that still require documentation.
Week 3Stakeholders, publics and the social license to operateMap guests, workers, artists, neighbors, officials, media and community partners by influence and concern.
Read and review
Submit or demonstrate
Build a stakeholder matrix and choose one relationship that requires active repair or development.
Week 4Programming as public-relations strategyEvaluate entertainment and recurring activities as identity, habit and reputation systems.
Submit or demonstrate
Propose one recurring program with a defined audience, promise and operational owner.
Week 5Message architecture and visual identityCreate a consistent promise, proof points, language rules and visual direction.
Read and review
Submit or demonstrate
Develop a message house with one core promise, three proof points and prohibited overclaims.
Week 6Owned media: website, email and textDesign permission-based communication that helps guests decide and return.
Read and review
Submit or demonstrate
Build a four-message sequence that informs without over-contacting or manipulating urgency.
Week 7Social media as a service systemPlan useful, repeatable social content governed by consent and operational truth.
Read and review
Apply
Submit or demonstrate
Create a two-week content plan tied to real guest questions and venue operations.
Week 8Media relations and earned attentionIdentify legitimate news value, prepare press materials and pitch specific reporters responsibly.
Read and review
Submit or demonstrate
Write one targeted pitch and a supporting fact sheet; do not send it as part of the assignment.
Week 9Event campaign planningBuild a campaign backward from guest decisions, operational readiness and measurable outcomes.
Read and review
Submit or demonstrate
Produce an eight-week campaign map with owners, deadlines, messages and decision metrics.
Week 10Community partnerships and sponsorshipSeparate genuine partnership from logo placement and document mutual obligations.
Read and review
Submit or demonstrate
Draft a partnership brief with purpose, audience benefit, deliverables and proof of completion.
Week 11Issues, emergencies and crisis communicationUse confirmed facts, role clarity and humane response standards during fast-moving problems.
Read and review
Submit or demonstrate
Complete a timed simulation: incident record, internal briefing and public holding statement.
Week 12Online reputation and repairRespond to reviews and criticism without defensiveness, fabrication or disclosure of private information.
Read and review
Submit or demonstrate
Classify five review scenarios and produce proportionate public and private responses.
Week 13Budgeting and resource allocationConnect communication spending to capacity, risk and operational priorities.
Read and review
Apply
Submit or demonstrate
Build a minimum, expected and constrained PR budget with explicit tradeoffs.
Week 14Measurement and evidenceSelect leading, lagging, qualitative and financial evidence for specific decisions.
Read and review
Submit or demonstrate
Create a one-page measurement plan that states what each metric can and cannot prove.
Week 15Capstone defenseIntegrate context, publics, operations, messages, channels, crisis readiness, budget and measurement.
Read and review
Submit or demonstrate
Present and defend a complete 90-day strategy for a real or simulated venue; disclose all assumptions and evidence gaps.
Common capstone rubric
What strong work must demonstrate
Operational usefulness · 25%
The work assigns owners, deadlines, resources, decisions and realistic next actions.
Stakeholder and ethical judgment · 20%
The plan considers workers, guests, artists, students, neighbors and community consequences.
Integration and reasoning · 15%
Recommendations connect across departments and explain tradeoffs rather than listing disconnected tactics.
Communication and defense · 10%
The final presentation is clear, concise and responsive to questions and contrary evidence.
Core source library
Required reading base
The assigned Keep ’Em Coming Back chapters and tools form the applied source base. Institutional instructors should add peer-reviewed scholarship and current official requirements.
Teach or adapt this course responsibly
Use the instructor resources for lesson planning, assessment blueprints, accessible delivery, bibliography records and capstone review.