Punch Hospitality, the Leeds-based specialist hospitality marketing agency, has secured approximately £500,000 in annualised fee income through new and expanded revenue-growth partnerships across Q3 of its financial year.
The expansion includes five new account wins and three expanded client partnerships, across a mix of branded and independent hotels, groups, and management companies. New and expanded partnerships include Clermont Hotel Group, Kingfisher Hospitality, We Stay, 7 Hospitality and Dalhousie Castle, spanning locations from rural Yorkshire settings to Zone 1 London properties.
The growth reflects a growing trend of hospitality businesses continuing to invest in marketing support during a challenging trading environment, with a stronger focus on measurable outcomes and commercial performance.
Punch Hospitality’s work is delivered through its revenue growth marketing approach, which combines commercial diagnostics with strategic planning and marketing execution. Core support areas include commercial audits, direct booking strategy, paid media, CRM and email, SEO and GEO, metasearch, creative, website optimisation, and data insight. – the agency tags itself as Yorkshire’s first marketing agency dedicated exclusively to the hospitality sector.
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Recent outcomes delivered through this approach include supporting a hotel management company to build an £18m enquiries pipeline following a targeted campaign aimed at event booking agents. The MICE campaign addressed audience fatigue through fresh creative execution, including gamification and visually engaging approaches, designed to improve engagement with event bookers.
The agency currently employs 25 people, and is growing. During 2025, Malcolm Brechin joined the leadership team as development director, and Punch Hospitality is currently recruiting for a head of marketing and a performance marketing lead, with roles based from its Grade II-listed offices on the edge of Leeds.
Louise Wright, commercial director at Punch Hospitality, said: “The question of why hotels are increasing marketing investment during economically challenging times comes down to a fundamental distinction between cost and value creation.”
Wright frames this as “the difference between a cost and an investment.”
Looking ahead, Wright acknowledges the sector faces continued pressure: “Some hotels have an understandable reluctance to invest in marketing. When times are hard, marketing is often the first cut. But hard times also represent an opportunity to those who are ambitious. The main thing hotels will ask of their marketing partners is a clear return on their investment which is our primary focus.”
