Archive - The Upgrade

🗝️ Master Key: Hotel People’s Bucket List Hotels

A master list of places I dream about, and what’s on the lists of other Upgrade hotel obsessives

Aug 27 • The Upgrade | Anne Marie

20. The Upgrade | Weekly - How Do You Evaluate Risk in Travel?

On helicopters, bush planes, political violence, hurricanes, and flight disruption

Aug 25 • The Upgrade | Anne Marie

Travel Dispatch - What I Wish I Knew Before Gorilla Trekking

Were the two One & Only properties in Rwanda, Ngyungwe House and Gorillas Nest, worth the $20k price point we paid for 5 nights between the two (plus…

Aug 20 • The Upgrade | Anne Marie

19. The Upgrade | Weekly - Who Can You Trust In Travel?

Examining the role of online forums, influencers, YouTube reviewers, travel advisors, and media in the travel trust matrix

Aug 18 • The Upgrade | Anne Marie

Master Key: Takeaways from a week meeting with luxury travel's top brands

I went to Las Vegas for Virtuoso Travel Week to bring back intel and offers for readers of the Upgrade. Industry thoughts on AI, Amanvari, Price…

Aug 14 • The Upgrade | Anne Marie

18. The Upgrade | Weekly - The Great Beige-ification of Hotels

Why consolidation in the FF&E value chain is making hotels feel like uncanny valley

Aug 11 • The Upgrade | Anne Marie

Master Key: Ten years a hotel LP. Numbers say recovery, K1s say otherwise

A special guest edition of Master Key, written by my husband, Matthew Brown. What we've learned over ten years of investing in hotels.

Aug 6 • The Upgrade | Anne Marie

17. The Upgrade | Weekly - A Wonky Look at What Has Changed in Luxury Travel Behavior

Macro and Microeconomic forces shaping the behavior of luxury travelers

Aug 4 • The Upgrade | Anne Marie

July 2026

Millennial Succession: An Interview with Ian Swain II about taking over his parent's company, Swain Destinations

Ian and I discuss what it's like to take over a family hospitality business

Jul 31 • The Upgrade | Anne Marie

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16. The Upgrade | Weekly - Succession: The Millennial Heirs in Hospitality Families Stepping up the Plate

An interview with Ian Swain II on taking over his parent’s company, Swain Destinations. Other millennials taking the helm.

Jul 27 • The Upgrade | Anne Marie

Hotel History: My Grandfather, Roy Kelley, The Architect Who Built Waikiki's Hospitality Industry

On raising rabbits, a murder, and making Hawaii accessible to the middle class traveler

Jul 27 • The Upgrade | Anne Marie

15. The Upgrade | Weekly - Why Is Everyone Becoming a Travel Agent? My Take on Fora

Controversial Tech Company / Travel Agency Fora Closed Another Round of Funding

Jul 21 • The Upgrade | Anne Marie

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