I’ve been on plenty of press trips, let me add some color!
How to get invited: Journalists are typically invited to experience a hotel by an external PR agency. That agency could rep dozens to hundreds of hotels, so you want to stay in their good graces or else you won’t be invited on future trips to other destinations.
Who pays: The agency wants you to have confirmed coverage in advance, and all expenses are covered by the hotel, including flights, food, accommodations, and excursions. There are, however, publications that do not accept press trip pitches (like the NYTIMES). But usually, journalists aren’t making enough money to have these experiences and media today isn’t an industry that can foot the bill. So when pubs don’t accept press trips, that means only a small sector of writers can afford to write about luxury travel.
The ethics: At the magazine I worked for, we had an internal policy that if we had a bad experience, we wouldn’t write a bad review — we just wouldn’t write anything. Or, we would change the angle of the piece to be more focused on the destination, briefly mentioning the hotel. I think this is a classy approach still. Something else to note is that the hotel, of course, knows you’re there and is putting on their best performance.
I'm still stuck on how long it took Aman to respond. That's what gets me - it shows an internal PR mess at Aman with no leadership. That's actually what lost my trust - not Ryan Walker. As for what to trust? I take this out of the travel context. Who do you trust in real life for recommendations? My brother once told me he knows I'll recommend book he will like. I think this is the same adage for hotel/travel recommendations - trust those who know what you like :)
Yeah it took them a long time to make a statement in a world where opinions travel at lightning speed online.
I had to tell a client and friend of my parents yesterday to stop bringing the opinions of her acquaintances into our travel planning. I’m the professional she hired, and I’ve known her for about 20 years. I know what kind of hotels they like and which they would hate. Her friend kept insisting they stay at a massive resort property on Kauai that is so wrong for them.
It baffles me when people weigh Reddit opinions the same as a professional they are paying in an industry. It’s like asking Google for a cancer diagnosis instead of your doctor.
I’ve been on plenty of press trips, let me add some color!
How to get invited: Journalists are typically invited to experience a hotel by an external PR agency. That agency could rep dozens to hundreds of hotels, so you want to stay in their good graces or else you won’t be invited on future trips to other destinations.
Who pays: The agency wants you to have confirmed coverage in advance, and all expenses are covered by the hotel, including flights, food, accommodations, and excursions. There are, however, publications that do not accept press trip pitches (like the NYTIMES). But usually, journalists aren’t making enough money to have these experiences and media today isn’t an industry that can foot the bill. So when pubs don’t accept press trips, that means only a small sector of writers can afford to write about luxury travel.
The ethics: At the magazine I worked for, we had an internal policy that if we had a bad experience, we wouldn’t write a bad review — we just wouldn’t write anything. Or, we would change the angle of the piece to be more focused on the destination, briefly mentioning the hotel. I think this is a classy approach still. Something else to note is that the hotel, of course, knows you’re there and is putting on their best performance.
This is so helpful!! Thanks for adding the color. I didn’t know about the PR agency role in press trips, that’s an interesting aspect
Smaller boutiques might have an internal PR or marketing team handle journalists, but typically it’s the agencies that have to deal with us! 😅
I'm still stuck on how long it took Aman to respond. That's what gets me - it shows an internal PR mess at Aman with no leadership. That's actually what lost my trust - not Ryan Walker. As for what to trust? I take this out of the travel context. Who do you trust in real life for recommendations? My brother once told me he knows I'll recommend book he will like. I think this is the same adage for hotel/travel recommendations - trust those who know what you like :)
Yeah it took them a long time to make a statement in a world where opinions travel at lightning speed online.
I had to tell a client and friend of my parents yesterday to stop bringing the opinions of her acquaintances into our travel planning. I’m the professional she hired, and I’ve known her for about 20 years. I know what kind of hotels they like and which they would hate. Her friend kept insisting they stay at a massive resort property on Kauai that is so wrong for them.
It baffles me when people weigh Reddit opinions the same as a professional they are paying in an industry. It’s like asking Google for a cancer diagnosis instead of your doctor.