Influencers and travel demands

[PittsburghTiger 6225]

I thought this was a pretty interesting story. It's about how the social media "influencers" demand free travel to really nice places.

 

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/06/instagram-influencers-are-driving-luxury-hotels-crazy/562679/

 

Instagram’s Wannabe-Stars Are Driving Luxury Hotels Crazy

Hotels are being forced to figure out how to work with a new class of brand-peddling marketers

Three years ago, Lisa Linh quit her full-time job to travel the world and document it on Instagram, where she has nearly 100,000 followers; since then, she has stayed in breathtaking hotels everywhere from Mexico to Quebec to the Cook Islands. Often, she stays for free.

Linh is part of an ever-growing class of people who have leveraged their social media clout to travel the world, frequently in luxury. While Linh and other elite influencers are usually personally invited by hotel brands, an onslaught of lesser-known wannabes has left hotels scrambling to deal with a deluge of requests for all-expense-paid vacations in exchange for some social media posts.

Kate Jones, marketing and communications manager at the Dusit Thani, a five-star resort in the Maldives, said that her hotel receives at least six requests from self-described influencers per day, typically through Instagram direct message.

"Everyone with a Facebook these days is an influencer," she said. "People say, I want to come to the Maldives for 10 days and will do two posts on Instagram to like 2,000 followers. It's people with 600 Facebook friends saying, 'Hi I'm an influencer, I want to stay in your hotel for 7 days,'" she said. Others send vauge one line emails, like "I want to collaborate with you", with no further explanation. "These people are expecting five to seven nights on average, all inclusive. Maldives is not a cheap destination.” She said that only about 10 percent of the requests she receives are worth investigating.

[HenryJames 66227]

I hate people like that.

[Incredulity 11684]

Just now, HenryJames said:

I hate people 

FIFM

[Brisketexan 105478]

I'm doing this, but I'm starting modestly.  A Tuesday to Thursday stay at a La Quinta in San Angelo seems good.

[MAROON 445]

7 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

I'm doing this, but I'm starting modestly.  A Tuesday to Thursday stay at a La Quinta in San Angelo seems good.

there are a lot of attorneys looking for the hidden gems in San Angelo. ....you can't eat at BW3's every night.

[52-80 19274]

If some THOTs want to whore themselves out, who am I  to judge.  I'm looking at some skank taking photos on the beach from my suite in Zanzibar.  Maybe she has a good account.

 

Tho if I owned a business I'd tell them all to fuck squarely off.

[BottleRocket 647]

Nothing new.  Travel agents have been doing this between the beginning of time and Al Gore's invention of the internets.

[midtown 3348]

These "influencers" are just as bad as every hotel, resort, restaurant, tour company and outfitter that asks you to tag them or mention them on your fb, insta etc.   

Edited June 13, 2018 by midtown

[TornACL 7733]

The women that do this "professionally" are, shall we say, executive platinum on the crazy scale. I've followed a couple of them on the Twitters or Instagrams and I pity the poor fool who ends up marrying these entitled women.

[JimmyHoffa 1188]

7 minutes ago, BottleRocket said:

Nothing new.  Travel agents have been doing this between the beginning of time and Al Gore's invention of the internets.

 

Correct, a little different on how it works today but still a marketing expense for the hotels, resorts, etc. They just have to more leg work on researching the individuals to see if they are legit or worthy of the expense. 

[elfenix 34364]

hi casey

 

to be clear, if i were a luxury hotel manager, casey could stay at my hotel all expenses paid as long as she wanted.  i'd make it all back bottling her bathwater.

Edited June 13, 2018 by elfenix

[JimmyHoffa 1188]

10 minutes ago, midtown said:

These "influencers" are just as bad as every hotel, resort, restaurant, tour company and outfitter that asks you to tag them or mention them on your fb, insta etc.   

 

This shit annoys the piss out of me. 

If you "Check in" we will give you a free desert" 

"Use this hashtag for a chance to win a $5 coupon"

"I would really appreciate the 5 star review...."

ETC.

 

Blow me asshole.

Edited June 13, 2018 by JimmyHoffa

[Spankytoes 1743]

On 6/13/2018 at 12:28 PM, midtown said:

These "influencers" are just as bad as every hotel, resort, restaurant, tour company and outfitter that asks you to tag them or mention them on your fb, insta etc.   

I have a FB friend that posts pics lifting his "You should be here" banner every time he goes to Guatemala or Mexico. So I tagged him with #YSBH from a McDonalds for 2 straight weeks from different towns in Australia and New Zealand. I don't think he got the point. Don't MLM for these shitty travel membership clubs. Spend a solid hour researching and get 10X the vacation for 25% of the cost.

Travel bloggers creep me out. Yes, you get to see a lot of countries that not many people have interest in because they are cheap. Perhaps that makes you more culturally in tune than those of us that travel for vacation from time to time and don't eat grasshoppers to feel enlightened. But, like the tramp stamp tattoo you got when you were 22 with a tight body, the chickens will come home to roost when you're older. 

[Bill Brasky 1468]

Fuck these fucking fucks.  

[52-80 19274]

17 minutes ago, Spankytoes said:

I have a FB friend that posts pics lifting his "You should be here" banner every time he goes to Guatemala or Mexico. So I tagged him with #YSBH from a McDonalds for 2 straight weeks from different towns in Australia and New Zealand. I don't think he got the point. Don't MLM for these shitty travel membership clubs. Spend a solid hour researching and get 10X the vacation for 25% of the cost.

Travel bloggers creep me out. Yes, you get to see a lot of countries that not many people have interest in because they are cheap. Perhaps that makes you more culturally in tune than those of us that travel for vacation from time to time and don't eat grasshoppers to feel enlightened. But, like the tramp stamp tattoo you got when you were 22 with a tight body, the chickens will come home to roost when you're older. 

What does this have to do with anything

[CooterBrown 18038]

1 hour ago, Spankytoes said:

I have a FB friend that posts pics lifting his "You should be here" banner every time he goes to Guatemala or Mexico.

I had to unfriend someone because of this stupidity.  The YSBH posts were fucking incessant.  She'd get a "trip" out of them for being a good MLMer. It was always something like a TUE-WED in Baltimore.  Great prize. Don't get murdered. Or please do.