TLDR
Goal: Evaluate the RHC agency contract before signing and identify any terms that should be renegotiated before committing to a 14-month, $152,800 engagement.
Conclusion: RHC is the right agency. The contract has two structural problems: Phase 1 charges $48,000 for strategy work Tropic Ventures has already produced, and Phase 2's 54-hour monthly cap is too tight for a hotel launch — leaving almost no buffer before $225/hour overage billing kicks in. A single pre-signature conversation can correct both without damaging the relationship. Adjusted total: $119,800.
Next steps: Our Creative Director engages RHC leadership directly to compress Phase 1 to 2 months and address the Phase 2 hour cap. Secondary asks (hosted stay credits, named accountable contacts) are raised in the same conversation.
Immediate requirements: Stakeholder sign-off that the renegotiation direction reflects their priorities. No external input needed — Creative Director owns the conversation.
The Contract
Phase 1 is six months of brand strategy at $8,000/month. Phase 2 is eight months of PR and social execution at $12,000/month. Influencer relations, event production, and content shoot costs are excluded and billed as add-ons.
RHC is proposing $152,800 for a 14-month engagement. Our realistic all-in spend would be $175,000–$200,000.
Problem 1 — We Are Being Charged for Work We Already Did
Phase 1 exists to produce the brand narrative, PR strategy, social framework, content pillars, activation concepts, and execution calendar. Tropic Ventures has already produced every one of these deliverables as the Ti Kaye Marketing and Communications Plan. RHC receives it on day one.
Six months of strategy development at $48,000 is not justified. Two months of onboarding and alignment is what is actually required.
Problem 2 — Phase 2 Hours Are Too Tight for a Launch Account
Phase 2 provides 54 hours/month. Recurring committed deliverables — community management, posting, calendars, pitching, stays coordination, reporting, calls — consume 42–44 hours at the floor. That leaves 10–12 hours for press releases, activations, and strategic counsel combined. Any press trip or activation triggers overage at $225/hour.
What We Recommend
- Compress Phase 1 to two months. Onboarding only — no strategy production. Saves $33,000 off the contracted total.
- Raise the Phase 2 hour cap to 70 hours/month or replace it with deliverable-based scope. Eliminates overage exposure during peak launch activity.
- Name MD-level accountability in the SOW. At $12,000/month we need a named Managing Director accountable for weekly execution — not just monthly calls.
What This Yields
Contracted total drops from $152,800 to $119,800 — a $33,000 reduction on Phase 1 alone, before any Phase 2 adjustments. We retain the full 8-month PR execution scope. The relationship is unaffected. Our Creative Director handles the conversation directly with RHC leadership.
Engagement Terms — What They Are Proposing
Fee Structure
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Phase 1 — Branding & Strategy (6 months) | $8,000/mo + $250 admin |
| Phase 2 — PR & Digital Execution (8 months) | $12,000/mo + $500 admin |
| Total retainer (14 months) | $144,000 |
| Admin fees | $5,500 |
| T&E allowance | $3,300 |
| Total as written | $152,800 |
| Blended hourly rate | $225/hr — all staff levels |
| Phase 1 monthly hours | 36 hours |
| Phase 2 monthly hours | 54 hours |
Included in Base
Phase 1: Brand advisory, partner call participation, initial PR and social strategy, brand narrative, initial copywriting.
Phase 2: Media relations (2–3 pitches/month, media list management, up to 20 media stays/year), social media management (2 posts/week, daily community management M–F, monthly content calendars, Instagram Stories, paid boost management), weekly clip roundups, monthly reporting, up to 3 activation concepts per 6-month period, up to 4 press releases, up to 2 group press trips.
Not Included — Add-On Billing
- Influencer relations — list building, outreach, vetting, contracting
- Event production — vendor sourcing, management, execution
- Content production costs — photographer, stylist, talent
- Copywriting beyond four included press releases
- Media mailers and sampling
- Event staffing beyond included scope ($50/hr)
Realistic Phase 2 monthly spend with influencer and content add-ons: $15,000–$18,000/month. All-in 14-month cost: $175,000–$200,000.
Core Issue — Phase 1 Is Largely Already Done
RHC has scoped Phase 1 as six months of strategy development at $8,000/month. The Ti Kaye Marketing and Communications Plan produced by Tropic Ventures delivers substantially all of those outputs. Line by line:
| Deliverable | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Initial PR and social media strategy | Complete | M&C Plan — Section 5 + 6 |
| Brand narrative | Complete | M&C Plan — Section 2 |
| Positioning statement and five pillars | Complete | M&C Plan — Section 2 |
| Social media strategy and cadence | Complete | M&C Plan — Section 6 |
| Content pillar definitions | Complete | M&C Plan — Section 6 |
| Influencer tier framework | Complete | M&C Plan — Section 6 |
| Activation and programming concepts | Complete | M&C Plan — Section 7 |
| PR workstreams and operating plan | Complete | M&C Plan — Section 5 |
| 26-week execution calendar | Complete | M&C Plan — Appendix |
| Reporting cadence | Complete | M&C Plan — Section 10 |
| Milestone and readiness gates | Complete | M&C Plan — Appendix A.3 |
| Target media verticals and feeder markets | Complete | M&C Plan — Section 5 |
| Demand channel strategy | Complete | M&C Plan — Section 4 |
| Governance and operating rhythm | Complete | M&C Plan — Section 9 |
RHC will need time to review and align to this material. A one-to-two month onboarding period is legitimate and appropriate. A full six-month phase is not.
Phase 2 Analysis — The Hour Cap Is Tight
54 hours per month at $225/hour. Mapping committed deliverables against a realistic time floor:
| Deliverable | Est. Hours/Month |
|---|---|
| Community management (M–F, 9am–5pm) | 10 hrs minimum |
| 2 posts/week — edit, copy, schedule | 6 hrs |
| Monthly content calendar | 4 hrs |
| 2–3 pitches/month + media list management | 8–10 hrs |
| Media stays coordination | 4 hrs |
| Weekly clip roundups (x4) | 4 hrs |
| Monthly reporting | 3 hrs |
| Client calls and prep | 3 hrs |
| Estimated floor total | 42–44 hrs consumed |
That leaves 10–12 hours per month for press release drafting, activation development, and strategic counsel — combined. Any press trip, reactive media moment, or activation pushes into overage at $225/hour. A hotel launch is not a steady-state account. This is a structural risk worth addressing before we sign.
Our Position — What Tropic Ventures Brings
We are not a standard agency client. Several things we bring directly reduce the hours RHC would otherwise need to bill against us. This is the basis for the scope discussion.
Complete Strategic Foundation
The M&C Plan is the brief. RHC does not need to build strategy — they need to ingest it, align their team, and execute. This eliminates months of senior-level billable time.
Marketing and Creative Leadership On-Staff
Tropic Ventures' Creative Director brings 25 years at the executive level across design, technology, production, and digital marketing — R/GA, Ogilvy, global accounts at Nike and Coca-Cola. RHC is not managing an uninformed client. Decisions move faster, creative quality is maintained internally, and the agency's senior time goes to media relationships and pitching rather than client management overhead.
Full Production and Vendor Network
RHC's standard practice is to source external partners for photography, graphic design, content production, and paid digital — and bill coordination time against the client retainer. We have direct access to a full-stack vendor network at the relevant quality tier. Supplying those partners removes sourcing and coordination burden from our hours.
Direct Brand and Media Relationships
For partnership and activation work — among RHC's most labor-intensive services — we can in some cases compress months of outreach into a direct introduction. This is real value that offsets their time.
The Property as Currency
RHC's relationship tool with press and influencers is access to hosted stays. We are the asset. Up to 20 media stays per year are already in scope and represent significant ADR contribution. This is leverage against add-on fees — particularly influencer contracting and event staffing — that currently sit entirely outside the base retainer.
Negotiation Options — What to Discuss Before Signing
These are framed as practical alignment conversations, not demands. RHC will understand a well-prepared client. The goal is a structured engagement that works for both parties long-term.
Option A — Compress Phase 1
Ask: Reduce Phase 1 from 6 months to 1–2 months of onboarding and alignment, with contract value adjusted accordingly.
Rationale: The M&C Plan delivers substantially all Phase 1 deliverables. RHC needs time to review materials, build media lists, and align their team — not to produce the strategy. Savings: $32,000 retainer + $1,000 admin = $33,000.
Option B — Raise the Hour Cap or Shift to Deliverable Scope
Ask: Raise the Phase 2 monthly cap to 70 hours at the same rate, or replace the hour cap with a deliverable-based scope that does not trigger overage billing for normal launch activity.
Rationale: At 54 hours/month, committed deliverables consume 42–44 hours at the floor. Any press trip, activation, or reactive media moment triggers overage at $225/hr. A launch account is not steady-state.
Option C — Hosted Stay Credit Against Add-On Fees
Ask: Define an ADR-equivalent annual value for hosted stays that offsets a portion of add-on service fees — particularly influencer contracting and event production.
Rationale: RHC's business model runs on property access. We provide that access at scale — up to 20 media stays per year already in scope. A credit structure is reasonable reciprocity against add-on overages.
Option D — Name Accountable Contacts in the SOW
Ask: Specify which RHC roles are accountable for weekly deliverables — not just monthly calls. Account Director as named day-to-day lead; Managing Director accountable for monthly review and strategy.
Rationale: At $12,000/month, the practical risk is MD-level staff on monthly calls with a publicist handling the majority of execution hours. Naming accountability is a standard protection during a critical launch window.
Financial Summary — As Written vs. Renegotiated
| Item | As Written | Renegotiated |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 retainer | $48,000 (6 months) | $16,000 (2 months) |
| Phase 1 admin | $1,500 | $500 |
| Phase 2 retainer | $96,000 (8 months) | $96,000 (8 months) |
| Phase 2 admin | $4,000 | $4,000 |
| T&E | $3,300 | $3,300 |
| Total | $152,800 | $119,800 |
| Savings | $33,000 |
Reflects Phase 1 compression only. Options B–D would reduce effective Phase 2 spend further — particularly if hosted stay credits offset influencer and event staffing add-ons during launch.
Scope Integrity — What We Should Not Try to Reduce
There are areas where cutting scope would be counterproductive regardless of cost.
- Media relations and pitching execution. Their journalist network is the primary reason we are hiring them. Not a function to compress.
- Account management during the launch window. Press trips, media stays, and clip tracking across 8 active months is legitimate billable scope.
- Event staffing for press trips. They have the hospitality PR experience and the media relationships. Leave this in their hands.
- Strategic counsel. An MD-level conversation that redirects a pitch or unlocks a publication pays for itself many times over.
Recommendation — Path Forward
Pursue Option A as the primary ask. It is the most defensible, the most material in dollar terms, and the clearest to present — we have the work product that proves the point.
Options B, C, and D are secondary. Introduce them in the same conversation as practical operating adjustments — not cost-reduction demands. Framing them as logistics and accountability refinements will land better than framing them as financial pressure.
Our Creative Director will manage this conversation directly with RHC leadership. The only input needed at this stage is alignment on whether this direction reflects your priorities.
Bottom line: RHC is the right agency for this launch. The contract as written overcharges us for work already completed and leaves cost exposure in the add-on structure. A single pre-signature conversation corrects this without affecting the relationship.
March 2026. Confidential — Internal Use Only. Tropic Ventures / Ti Kaye Resort & Spa.