This week last year I was in Thailand lounging at this luxe-for-less villa {pictured above, take me back tout suite, K}. Instead of reading IN my plunge pool overlooking the beach---NOT a sentence I utter often---I had a Jerry Maguire "memo moment." Oh goodness. Rather than following Jerry's lead in a late-night photocopy-a-thon, one year later, I thought it was time to share a small part of it.
1/ Whether you know this or not, Trip Styler has an editorial policy. We always have. We always will.
2/ There are hundreds of hotels, destinations and travel things we DON'T write about on Trip Styler. Places or products we've tried on for size and cannot recommend because they aren't the right fit---cue bad design, odd vibe, lack of value for dollar, etc...
3/ If we’re offered trips---which happens from time to time---we only take the ones we’d pay for anyway. And when we write about a trip that’s been offered, it’s a-l-w-a-y-s noted. And don't think it's all presidential suites and flutes of Veuve, sometimes we're stuck in a small room over the kitchen vent; I count this a good thing {sometimes} unless there's a pungent onion scent permeating my room. Same goes for any travel product we're offered {like these suitcases which were on my list to buy anyway---bonus}.
4/ For every press trip we take---cut to a gaggle of travel journos taking notes 24/7 and snapping photos of everything from croissants to cultural finds---we travel as much personally on our own dime. Keeps things kosher. And when press trips come about we'd do anyway, we carefully consider them knowing it helps us to continue doing what we’re doing. For example, this month I turned down three trips. They weren't the right fit.
5/ At Trip Styler HQ, we talk our walk, and while we don't really believe in negativity---we're glass half-full kinda people---if we don't like something, it'll be presented as a "what to know", or not talked about at all. For example, on my recent trip to Hawaii I stayed at five hotels in 10 nights. I profiled one hotel in our Roam+Board standout hotel feature. As for the rest of the properties, if I came across something stellar like solar panels or midcentury style, I chronicled the cool on Instagram and my Editor's Diary. I reserve the most curated finds for Trip Styler.
Yes, we endorse exploring a mixed bag of trip styles, but we’re not pluralists who like everything. In fact, we're pretty picky.
{photo by @tripstyler taken at the x2 Kui Buri. And since we're on the topic, I researched until I was nearly blue in the face to scout this gem of a property on my personal trip in Thailand.}