Comments

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  Ed Wetschler January 15, 2010 at 4:40pm

  Regarding room inspections: Understandably, the media reps want to show off a property's best rooms, but in order to compare apples to apples, I always ask to see the basic, standard, cheapest double in each hotel, and I try to discourage visits to the Presidential Suite.
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  Allan Lynch January 15, 2010 at 4:35pm

  Most of my travel is solo, so I'm used to one-offs. I have no objection to site inspections as part of a group. But in either case, I want it quick and simple. Show me too many rooms and I forget what the first looked like. A bedroom, a suite, meeting space, spa and pool area and out. Don't introduce me to all the staff, I won't remember, and it eats into time.
  
  A friend of mine who is a meeting planner says if he sees more than 20 minutes scheduled for a site inspection he skips it or walks out after 20 minutes. It sounds cruel, but if you see 13 hotels in a day (as some places have scheduled), you really can't recall anything. A professional who is used to looking at spaces and flow can quickly see what they need to see. It needn't be dragged out.
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  Nina Zapala January 15, 2010 at 4:09pm

  Just a quick question. When visiting a property do VJ's (visiting journalists) prefer one-offs as opposed to press trips. As a pr-pro with several decades of experience I've always done one-offs. I know I don't have all the answers so your insights would be appreciated.
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  Kat Morgenstern January 15, 2010 at 4:03pm

  Colin - I'd be happy to help you.
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  Ed Wetschler January 15, 2010 at 3:36pm

  Colin, Gail Harrington has spent the past few months in Peru and knows the country better than Alan P Garcia.
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  Colin J. Holden January 15, 2010 at 9:02am

  I'm considering a trip to Peru sometime between June 2010 and June 2011 - probably 10-14 days - to take in Lima, Cusco, Arequipa and Puno. I haven't been in Peru since September 1992 and would appreciate any current info including new regulations for the Inca Trail; the train from Cusco to/accommdations at Machu Picchu; the Santa Catalina Convent in Arequipa; and, Lake Titicaca.
  
  Thanks for any help/contacts that you can provide...
  
  Colin
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  Mary Alice Kellogg January 15, 2010 at 4:56am

  Am I the only person who gets irritated when PR people use this forum to push their clients/endeavors? The most recent post seeking "journalistic stories" made me feel like the inept have infiltrated the fort...
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  Allan Lynch January 15, 2010 at 3:29am

  Emma,
  
  This is my business. I never accept an invitation without an assignment. (Okay, twice in 20 years have I done this, and each time I was published.) The one time I didn't write about a destination was when the PR host changed the itinerary without telling me. I had a golf assignment and she decided replacing my tee time with a two-hour drive across an island to a plantation wouldn't affect my story. She reasoned this was such a neat thing that my editor wouldn't mind switching the focus. And she didn't tell me. I thought the group was dropping me off at the golf course, so there I was with shoes, glove, balls, cap and we kept on going. I was so pissed that I wouldn't even bother pitching anything for this island or any of her other clients. She wasted my time and cost me money.
  
  As for those writers who you say enjoy hosted trips without an obligation to write a story, isn't that the fault of the PR rep or whoever issued the invitation? Haven't they failed to check out who is a real producer and who is a sham? It's right up there with those 'writers' who travel with their own 'photographer' who can also share their hotel room... (Apologies to the legit husband and wife or husband and husband or wife and wife teams who do double up.)
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  Emma Krasov January 14, 2010 at 11:59pm

  Allan, with all due respect, what you are referring to is not as much about inexperienced writers as about personality traits. I've seen a number of seasoned writers who refuse to tip servers or feel entitled to enjoy hosted trips without an obligation to write and publish a story.
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