Almost 2000 Instagram followers and the guy gets to go on vacation? That’s what some people think, but it really bores me. Because it’s not that simple. And there is a lot of commitment, passion, trust and work behind such a travel story. I would like to illustrate here how such a travel cooperation is created and implemented.
First of all, the most important thing: When I present a hotel here, I’m not doing it to offer a free vacation. If I did, I wouldn’t put so much time and effort into designing the layout and text. I do it because I am fascinated by cool hotel insider tips, cool pools and the hosts behind them and I would like to pass on my enthusiasm for such a wanderlust spot so that others out there – who share my passion for wine, design and fair prices – can also experience these impressions.
Traveling is about collecting impressions – and sharing them. Preferably with your own personal touch.
How does a cooperation come about?
If you have 20, 30, 40 thousand followers, probably by yourself. But not always. The whole world doesn’t revolve around Instagram. Vinum Hotels, with whom I recently implemented my first hotel stories in South Tyrol, make sure that the partners they work with have a blog when cooperating on travel. In other words: the content produced can also be found permanently on the internet and on Google. And that’s where it starts: Many have the addition Blogger on Instagram, even though they don’t have one – but see their feed as a blog. You can do it that way, but I think it’s just cheeky towards those who have spent a long time dealing with the necessary technology and programming 1×1, putting a lot of time into setting up articles, searching for keywords, researching topics, building layouts and fine-tuning the text. Let’s get ahead of ourselves: By the time a story like the report on the Plantitscherhof, Matillhof or Plattenhof goes online, I have invested well over 35 hours of my free time. And then there are countless hours spent creating and editing videos, reels and writing texts for Ínsta stories.
In the case of the hotel collaboration, the responsible public relations manager approached me. She was explicitly on the lookout for bloggers with just such a quirk, who stand behind what they do – in this case, who are keen on wine and travel inspiration, and who also communicate this to the outside world. It would be strange if I didn’t drink alcohol and wanted or was supposed to recommend a wine hotel. So tip: live what you love. So many “I-have-a-job-xy-will-be-a-bachelor-or-love-island-participant-and-then-influencers” are simply interchangeable billboards without a unique selling point for me. They just have followers and get invitations, which they then use to show off in one or two pictures of themselves. But you don’t have to understand that.
Option two, how a travel cooperation came about for me: I worked for GQ magazine for a long time, where I was responsible for wine and enjoyment as well as the travel section, among other things. During this time, I established and developed contacts with many manufacturers and PR agencies, some of whom believed in me and supported me even after my time with the big logo as a small blogger. This is how the story with the Zugspitz Resort came about, for example. In this case, it was a group press trip, i.e. compared to an individual visit to South Tyrol, a handful of journalists visited the location together with a PR person responsible for the hotel, got to know the hotel through a few program points and then reported on it.
Thanks to an initiative request for a travel cooperation, it has now become a living room away from home: The Hotel Ritter in Durbach.
Or you simply gather your courage and write to a hotel you have a good gut feeling about off the record. Just like with Hotel Ritter Durbach – a visit that has since become a friendship, and several visits have followed.
See and be seen: You simply have to stand behind your quirks.
Travel cooperation: the next steps
Once a hotel has been chosen, I clarify the next steps, as I did here with the trip to South Tyrol. This means: I take a look at the hotel, what the focal points are, what ideas I have for the story, what could be told and how, and agree a program with the PR department that gives us a good impression of the hotel – these are always experiences or activities that every guest can experience in the same way. That’s the most important thing for me: discussing in advance exactly what the partner can expect afterwards. In my reports, I like to focus on the motto “Why you can enjoy a perfect short trip here as best friends or a couple”. Because I think that’s a scenario that many people are looking for. I then tailor the points I want to present to this brief. We always take care of the journey by rental car ourselves – so the accusation of a free vacation can be refuted.
On site (here at the Arosea Life Balance Hotel), you sometimes have to go where it gets cold – or hot.
Travel cooperation: in the hotel
On site, I then try to see what might be interesting and exciting for couples or those traveling as best friends. If it’s an individual trip, we usually cover two nights’ accommodation and half board, but we always pay for items not listed in the program and extras such as drinks (which is normal) ourselves.
However, lying on your lazy skin is not an option (as long as you’re not just playing bikini model by the pool while the Insta-Husband takes pictures), I can only laugh at the accusation. The first pictures are usually taken as soon as you arrive. I then feel like a chameleon, my eyes constantly searching for beautiful spots, backgrounds or angles. After checking in, we always go on a little tour of the location, take our first mood pictures, look out for motifs that bring the person and hotel together well and take our first tests. Of course, the more great subjects I have at the beginning, the greater the chance of actually being able to enjoy a few relaxed moments.
That I’m lying on the floor in contorted poses with my cell phone because I have a particular shot in mind, working with magnum wine bottles by the pool or filming at the buffet: Take it with humor, I understand that other guests wonder why you can’t just go on vacation. And of course I’m a bit ashamed when I photograph every dish from three angles while eating, but if I want to convey a good impression in the article, the food evidence is also part of it. You can usually only really switch off when you have all the day’s shots in the can and can toast with a glass of wine. However, work never sleeps, and I usually sort through the pictures immediately afterwards, select favorites, think about what to post, consider how to package something as a story. But of course: if you work, you can also reward yourself and I make sure that my wine and pleasure quirks and a pinch of relaxation are not neglected.
Working on the weekend like usual … When the flair is as cool as here at the Arosea Life Balance Hotel, I’m always happy.
Travel cooperation: back at Home
Then the second half begins at home. Looking through an average of 500 pictures, sorting them out, reducing them to a selection that I then use for the blog post. Going from 500 to around 40-50 is a really tough decision. Then the images have to be cropped and edited, normal images from my iPhone 11 Pro are far too large for WordPress, which I use to host Gentlemens-Journey.de. Then the thinking begins: How do I design the layout? I find simply slapping a few pictures under the text without commentary unfair to the hotel and the travel cooperation and not helpful for the reader either. Where is the added value? What do I actually see in the picture? So I try to create a comprehensible process, draft captions before I start writing the text. In the end, it’s well over 25 hours that go into these posts in my free time after my main job, which I don’t think is clear to everyone who reads through it. I also check hotel information, explain offers and research prices, fight with the technology when something hasn’t been saved in Part and so on.
I think if you don’t have a quirk for it, it can quickly become exhausting. And of course uploading pics to Instagram is more relaxed, add a short emoji caption, tag the hotel, earn a few hundred to thousand euros, done. But can I do that in the fast-paced world of one post a day? I have no idea. Everyone can do it for themselves. In the end, it’s not work for me, I love telling the stories behind such spots, putting together pictures and text – and I’m happy when strangers write me a message, thank me, have either already been there or are planning to spend a few days there because of me. I’m happy when my article comes up on page 2 or 3 when I google it, when the hosts thank me personally and are happy that it was a great experience for everyone.
Every travel cooperation report should serve up a well-researched sip of wanderlust.
Whether 700 or 70,000: I don’t think good content for a travel cooperation depends on the number of followers. If even just one person travels there after reading a hotel recommendation from me, comes back and says: “Brudi, thanks, it was just like you wrote – what else can you recommend for a short trip with my wife (or best friend)” – then I’m already happy. It doesn’t always have to be the Maldives, Dubai or Ibiza. There are still so many insider tips that you can afford within easy reach. And I’m curious to see where 2024 will take me.
