Hawthorne Hotel of Salem, MA

Hawthorne Hotel of Salem, MA

Salem, MA relies on the idea their city is haunted. It depends on the mystery and thoughts of evil and ghosts. This is the brand that has developed and brought millions of visitors to walk the streets not only during the month of October, but throughout the year. No matter what time of day you drive through the city you will find visitors with their maps strolling along.

One of the key hotels in Salem is the Hawthorne Hotel. They claim, like most hotels, to have ghosts. It was named after Judge Hawthorne, who was the grandson of Nathaniel Hawthorne. The hotel was actually built on an old apple orchard. Bridget Bishop was the owner of the apple orchard. She was one of the first victims of the Salem Witch Trial. Guests of the hotel often comment the hotel smells of apples. The creepiest room for some reason is room 612. Apparently guests say the ghost is seen walking outside the room and pauses outside the door.

Would be interesting to know if room 612 is the most sought after room or guests avoid it.

It is through these types of stories that the City of Salem has built a brand that gives visitors a reason to come to Salem. The city has embraced these stories that grab emotions and imaginations. At times, it can get crazy, but the city continues to find ways to improve the logistics of how to best handle the crowds.

Cities and towns can learn a lot from Salem. Obviously, not every city of town has the edge of having something creepy like Witch Trials to generate visitors, but the simple slogan of “Shop Local” is not going to drive enough revenue to a community. Visitors will come, if there is a defined reason why they should.

At Generating Media, we look into developing creative ideas to help communities define their goals. Then build content to be an extension of their promotional efforts.