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.
A fair and balanced take. Credit to you for your thoroughness! Alyssa’s perspective above is the exact party line that is rife through the lifestyle journalism world.
Good, I’m glad you felt I did all the angles justice! I wanted to mainly highlight that agents have loyalty to clients more than brands in this whole situation, definitely those of us who have been around for a while
Such a great piece packed with info!! “If I know a sales director is more likely to upgrade my client and make them feel really special during their stay, I’m more likely to recommend that property than one where I don’t know the onsite team and my client may just be another name on a register.” As you should ‼️‼️
It’s always funny to me when I see people accuse advisors on reddits of “shilling” for a hotel. Like, our whole job is to establish relationships so we can help our clients better!
This is the clearest map of that mess I’ve read, Anne Marie. ‘Follow the money’ should be printed above every travel feed.
One thing from the operator side. Amanvari didn’t have a marketing problem that day, it had a gate problem. All the narrative in the world means nothing if, in the one moment that tests it, the most junior person on site has no authority to make it right and a guest is left standing outside. Trust is built in the ordinary and revealed in the exception. A brand is only as trustworthy as whoever happens to be at the gate on the worst day.
And your point about who has something to lose is the whole thing. The trustworthy voice isn’t the loudest, it’s the one with a tomorrow. An anonymous account has no next year. A relationship does, and reputation only compounds for people who can’t disappear.
Seek information widely, but weight it by who pays a price if they’re wrong. That filter has never failed me.
I have so many thoughts and opinions on Amanvari-gate, but first I want to commend you on this really thoughtful piece. I've turned the Aman-Walker story over so many times and I really appreciated how you presented the facts from all sides. As a travel writer, I have my own very strong opinions on this, and on creator culture in general, and ultimately I think both Walker and Aman were in the wrong here. But it's not as simple as right and wrong; there's a LOT of grey area here, and I think the best thing to come out of this whole mess is that it's forcing a dialogue around transparency, access, and who (and why) to trust in the first place. Thanks again. for writing this, I'm looking forward to ongoing conversations around this topic in the weeks ahead.
Thank you! I kept ruminating on the topic and what was bothering me so much about the whole thing. I think it came down to all the reactions online and how they dragged in a lot of industry people and painted us all with the same brush. Nuance doesn’t drive as many clicks as outrage
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.
From what I understand, Ryan Walker does not need to make money from his Youtube channel, he runs his own marketing consulting business - which puts him in a very different traveller category from the travel influencers who make their money from Instagram/Youtube etc. He also paid the full room rate, it wasn't a comped or discounted trip. I also think that Aman was absolutely in the wrong; for a last minute cancellation like that, an email is absolutely not sufficient communication - especially at a resort-style venue where the clientele is international travellers - you cannot simply assume that guests won't have started their trip already/be in transit etc. The GM should have called, apologised on the phone, offered to re-book at a later date etc. And when Walker turned up at the gate; the GM should have come out in person to discuss the situation. There's no excuse for not doing that; and there's no excuse for calling the police on someone like that. I'm sorry, I think you're being way too lenient on Aman here. You're underestimating how stressful a situation like that is for a guest - especially a paying guest; and that is what the general public is responding to. They see themselves rocking up to the hotel after long international travel plus ground transfer and that is the reaction they get at the gate? Complete stonewalling by the hotel, no discussion, no explanation, just getting the cops called on you in a foreign country? *That* is what people are afraid of, and so when they see a lot of TA's (I've been on the Reddit subs you refer to, and the attitude of the mod on one of those subs was really bad), blindly taking the hotel's side, it really puts a lot of people off. In my opinion, this whole saga would have been a good opportunity for a lot of TA's to put their thinking caps on and really reflect on whether or not they've done everything to maximise their clients' trust in them. And the fact that many TA's had the opposite reaction confirmed a lot of people's suspicions instead.
HI Alexia, thanks for weighing in. I did note that I think Aman handled the entire situation terribly. To be clear, they absolutely should not have cancelled his reservation that close in and they absolutely fumbled the way they handled him arriving. Here's what I listed in the article about how they should have handled it differently:
1) Called the client instead of assuming they read an email the day before
2) Made it very clear the client’s reservation had been cancelled when the filming discussion came up, not left the door open for them to film with restrictions
3) Let the guest through the gate, and bring in the GM to explain in person, with the option to stay if he skips filming.
4) If staying wasn’t workable, walked him to a comparable property and handled the logistics, refund included.
5) Responded within days after the issue by calling the guest.
6) Made a statement that wasn’t so nebulous. Waiting a week to make a public statement hands the story to whoever posted first.
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! 😅
A fair and balanced take. Credit to you for your thoroughness! Alyssa’s perspective above is the exact party line that is rife through the lifestyle journalism world.
Good, I’m glad you felt I did all the angles justice! I wanted to mainly highlight that agents have loyalty to clients more than brands in this whole situation, definitely those of us who have been around for a while
Such a great piece packed with info!! “If I know a sales director is more likely to upgrade my client and make them feel really special during their stay, I’m more likely to recommend that property than one where I don’t know the onsite team and my client may just be another name on a register.” As you should ‼️‼️
It’s always funny to me when I see people accuse advisors on reddits of “shilling” for a hotel. Like, our whole job is to establish relationships so we can help our clients better!
This is the clearest map of that mess I’ve read, Anne Marie. ‘Follow the money’ should be printed above every travel feed.
One thing from the operator side. Amanvari didn’t have a marketing problem that day, it had a gate problem. All the narrative in the world means nothing if, in the one moment that tests it, the most junior person on site has no authority to make it right and a guest is left standing outside. Trust is built in the ordinary and revealed in the exception. A brand is only as trustworthy as whoever happens to be at the gate on the worst day.
And your point about who has something to lose is the whole thing. The trustworthy voice isn’t the loudest, it’s the one with a tomorrow. An anonymous account has no next year. A relationship does, and reputation only compounds for people who can’t disappear.
Seek information widely, but weight it by who pays a price if they’re wrong. That filter has never failed me.
Yes, classic situation where the employee wasn’t empowered and didn’t have the GM on call for back up
I have so many thoughts and opinions on Amanvari-gate, but first I want to commend you on this really thoughtful piece. I've turned the Aman-Walker story over so many times and I really appreciated how you presented the facts from all sides. As a travel writer, I have my own very strong opinions on this, and on creator culture in general, and ultimately I think both Walker and Aman were in the wrong here. But it's not as simple as right and wrong; there's a LOT of grey area here, and I think the best thing to come out of this whole mess is that it's forcing a dialogue around transparency, access, and who (and why) to trust in the first place. Thanks again. for writing this, I'm looking forward to ongoing conversations around this topic in the weeks ahead.
Thank you! I kept ruminating on the topic and what was bothering me so much about the whole thing. I think it came down to all the reactions online and how they dragged in a lot of industry people and painted us all with the same brush. Nuance doesn’t drive as many clicks as outrage
100% This discourse cont…
Another fantastic post! Great analysis and summary of what a lot of us luxury travel advisors already know but the general public does not.
Thank you so much! I feel like there’s so much people don’t know about how our industry works, I’m trying to close that gap
I just read people have travel alter-egos. So no one?
Trust, but trust wisely
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.
From what I understand, Ryan Walker does not need to make money from his Youtube channel, he runs his own marketing consulting business - which puts him in a very different traveller category from the travel influencers who make their money from Instagram/Youtube etc. He also paid the full room rate, it wasn't a comped or discounted trip. I also think that Aman was absolutely in the wrong; for a last minute cancellation like that, an email is absolutely not sufficient communication - especially at a resort-style venue where the clientele is international travellers - you cannot simply assume that guests won't have started their trip already/be in transit etc. The GM should have called, apologised on the phone, offered to re-book at a later date etc. And when Walker turned up at the gate; the GM should have come out in person to discuss the situation. There's no excuse for not doing that; and there's no excuse for calling the police on someone like that. I'm sorry, I think you're being way too lenient on Aman here. You're underestimating how stressful a situation like that is for a guest - especially a paying guest; and that is what the general public is responding to. They see themselves rocking up to the hotel after long international travel plus ground transfer and that is the reaction they get at the gate? Complete stonewalling by the hotel, no discussion, no explanation, just getting the cops called on you in a foreign country? *That* is what people are afraid of, and so when they see a lot of TA's (I've been on the Reddit subs you refer to, and the attitude of the mod on one of those subs was really bad), blindly taking the hotel's side, it really puts a lot of people off. In my opinion, this whole saga would have been a good opportunity for a lot of TA's to put their thinking caps on and really reflect on whether or not they've done everything to maximise their clients' trust in them. And the fact that many TA's had the opposite reaction confirmed a lot of people's suspicions instead.
HI Alexia, thanks for weighing in. I did note that I think Aman handled the entire situation terribly. To be clear, they absolutely should not have cancelled his reservation that close in and they absolutely fumbled the way they handled him arriving. Here's what I listed in the article about how they should have handled it differently:
1) Called the client instead of assuming they read an email the day before
2) Made it very clear the client’s reservation had been cancelled when the filming discussion came up, not left the door open for them to film with restrictions
3) Let the guest through the gate, and bring in the GM to explain in person, with the option to stay if he skips filming.
4) If staying wasn’t workable, walked him to a comparable property and handled the logistics, refund included.
5) Responded within days after the issue by calling the guest.
6) Made a statement that wasn’t so nebulous. Waiting a week to make a public statement hands the story to whoever posted first.