As part of our ongoing Q&A series, we caught up with Sophie Harris, Senior Lifestyle Reporter at Daily Express to discuss what makes a brand truly stand out and where the industry is headed in 2025.
Sophie covers a range of topics including travel, food, property and garden. She previously worked as a Lifestyle Reporter on the overnight team and is particularly interested in DIY, and gardening hacks, as well as baking.
- What makes a PR pitch stand out to you?
A pitch stands out to me if the subject line is short and snappy, so I know what the email involves without me opening it. I also love it when the PR knows what kind of content I write and what I’m interested in, so my inbox doesn’t get too spammed with irrelevant content; I wish I had time to reply to every email. It sounds obvious, but it’s also super helpful when the press release or email is laid out simply, so it doesn’t take too long to try and gather what it’s about.
- What are your favourite features for writing?
I enjoy writing about a variety of lifestyle topics, and my main focuses include recipes, travel, property and gardening, it’s a huge variety of topics to navigate. However, I love writing about these topics as our readers absolutely love them and always get involved in the comments. I also absolutely love writing hotel review content for our travel section, as they are super fun and tend to be very eye-catching.
- What makes a press release interesting to you?
I’m always interested when there’s a good, eye-catching photo at the top of it, especially if it’s related to hotel and spa content or even recipes. I also love it when there’s an expert quoted in the press release, as it helps to back up the story and saves me the job of chasing for a quote! A clear and concise writing style is also great, as well as being relevant to the time.
- Are there any wellness or travel trends that you can see being popular in 2025?
I can absolutely see the hotel restaurant renaissance being a prominent travel trend in 2025, which involves prioritising eating at restaurants within your chosen hotel. I have done this many times in recent months as it’s great to try out the food where you’re staying, especially if they have won awards for their food.
In terms of wellness, I can see people prioritising brain food and healthy drinks and partaking in spa treatments such as a salt float bath, a Himalayan salt sauna or steam rooms.
- Where do you see the industry moving in the future?
I can see many more people opting for spa breaks in the UK, and the hotel restaurant renaissance trend still being popular for many years to come. I think many people will also opt to visit spas just for the day to get away and relax or even just for a treatment if that’s an option.
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Make sure to stay up to date with Sophie’s work: https://www.express.co.uk/journalist/122875/Sophie-Harris