Writing For Travel Guides

Turn Your Anecdotes into Compelling Stories: A Step-by-Step Guide Ever found yourself stuck in an airport, missing a flight, and feeling frustrated? That happened to me once at San Francisco Airport. Long security lines caused me to miss my flight, but what unfolded was a memorable day spent with my friend Harry, who was only in town for a day. This anecdote became a great story, and here’s how you can turn your own anecdotes into compelling narratives: 1. What is the Anecdote About? Identify the core event. In my case, missing a flight. 2. Who are the Characters? Determine who was involved. For me, it was myself and my friend Harry who was only in town for a day. 3. What was the Context? Set the scene. It was a busy morning at San Francisco Airport. 4. Why is this Moment Significant? Reflect on why it stands out. It taught me about the unpredictability of travel and the importance of staying positive. 5. What was the Conflict or Challenge? Highlight the obstacle. The challenge was getting through security in time. 6. How Did You Feel? Share your emotions. I felt stressed and anxious but later pleasantly surprised and grateful. 7. What was the Turning Point? Identify the pivotal moment. Realising I wouldn’t make my flight and deciding to make the most of the situation. 8. What was the Resolution? Explain the outcome. Missing the flight but spending a wonderful day with Harry. 9. What Did You Learn? Consider the insights gained. The importance of flexibility and seeing opportunities in setbacks. 10. How Does This Relate to Your Audience? Connect the story to broader themes. It’s a reminder that life’s disruptions can lead to unexpected joys. Turning anecdotes into stories not only makes them more engaging but also relatable and insightful. Use these questions to structure your next story and make your experiences resonate with others. P.S. What’s the most memorable anecdote you’ve turned into a story? #whatsyourstory #storytelling #storytellingtips

You're not connecting through your stories because you're holding back. It's harsh, but true. As storytellers, we often believe we need to have the perfect narrative arc figured out before we can truly move audiences. But the truth is, your real story - even the messy, unresolved parts - has the power to inspire and resonate on a deep level. So, unfold authenticity in your tales: - Share your struggles and doubts - Celebrate the small victorious moments  - Write from your unvarnished, genuine perspective Your vulnerability is not a weakness as a storyteller - it's your secret weapon. So take off the mask of the flawless literary craftsman. Stop waiting to share your stories until you've manufactured perfection. Start pouring your raw human journey onto the page - the good, the bad, the ugly, the beautiful. It's your authenticity and emotional truth that unlocks a profound connection with readers and listeners. I hope these reflections inspire you to peel back another layer in your creative work. Your candor and openness is the key to taking your storytelling impact to the next level. ~~~ Do you agree that vulnerability is a storytelling superpower?  If these ideas resonated, feel free to share this perspective with others. #businessstorytelling #perspectiveshift #communicationtips

No one is better at being you than you. So many of my clients struggle to write content because they focus too much on trying to sound like anything but themselves. They think they need to write content that is:  → Super intelligent sounding → Filled with professional or corporate language  → Sharing some sort of ground breaking idea Which only ends up with them: → Overthinking and overwhelmed → Creating convoluted confusing content → Procrastinating until they give up entirely With the right knowledge and tools, writing content gets to be a lot less stressful. You just need to write more like you. Because the content that does well has these elements: → Stories from real life experiences  → Shared tips that worked for YOU  → Sounds like you speak in your words People can smell content that feels contrived and forced a mile off, it repels. Authentic content that comes from the heart, is the content that starts real conversations and leads to real clients. The ones you actually want to work with. If you've been struggling to write content, here's a simple structure I use and with my clients that WORKS: → Think about a recent experience you can share → Break down what happened and what you learned → Outline the key takeaways and include a personal tip → End with a question asking others about similar experiences I've seen this approach transform how my clients create content. They've gone from feeling stuck and overwhelmed to consistently sharing valuable posts that resonate with their audience. So don’t be afraid to sound like and be more like you in your content.  Because no one else can be you and your stories matter. What recent experience could you share in your next post?

Coordinating travel as an executive assistant requires precision, foresight, and strong organizational skills. Here are a few guiding principles I rely on: 🧭 1. Understand the Executive's Preferences - Airlines & Seating: Preferred carriers, seating class (e.g., business, aisle/window). - Hotels: Loyalty programs, room type (suite, quiet room, etc.). - Transportation: Preferences for rental cars, chauffeured services, or ride-shares. - Food & Rest: Dietary restrictions, preferred mealtimes, and necessary downtime. 📅 2. Gather Key Travel Details Before booking anything, always confirm: - Destination(s) and the purpose of travel. - Dates & times, including flexibility. - Meetings or events scheduled during the trip. - International requirements: Check visa rules, passport validity, and vaccination requirements. Tip: I’m part of a Microsoft Teams channel with my EA peers where we share real-time updates on visa and travel policy changes. It’s been invaluable with all the recent shifts globally. 🧾 3. Book with Precision - Flights: Consider layovers, flight times, loyalty programs, and backup options. - Hotels: Choose locations close to meeting venues, with solid reviews and loyalty benefits. - Ground Transportation: Arrange rental cars, car services, or vetted ride-share solutions. - Itineraries: I send all travel-related calendar invites from my own calendar. It keeps everything centralized, and I can easily manage updates or changes. 📂 4. Prepare a Comprehensive Travel Pack Provide this digitally or printed: - Full itinerary (flights, hotels, meetings). - Confirmation numbers, addresses, and maps. - Emergency contacts and local office details. - Meeting materials or presentation backups. - Currency tips and local guidance (for international trips). Pro Tip: Check if your executive's spouse or family uses a shared calendar. I had an executive whose personal calendar was shared with her husband and children—adding her travel details there helped keep everyone in sync. ⚠️ 5. Anticipate and Troubleshoot - Monitor flights for delays, gate changes, or cancellations. - Set alerts for weather or local disruptions. - Always have a Plan B: alternate flights, hotel contacts, and car service options. 📲 6. Stay Connected Use tools that keep everyone in the loop based on preference. Text message, WhatsApp (great when traveling internationally) and others. 🧘 7. Post-Trip Tasks - Collect, categorize, and submit receipts for expense reports. - Cancel or reschedule unused bookings where applicable. - Schedule a quick debrief to gather feedback and improve future trips. To my fellow EAs - anything you would like to add? I would love to hear your suggestions.

I was recently asked at a conference about an immediate action tourism professionals could put into play right away when it comes to communicating with travelers. One area I see as being overlooked is taking advantage of anticipated questions. If you've led the same tour more than once, guided the same experience multiple times, or worked with travelers in any consistent capacity, you already know that their questions are predictable. Too many professionals act as if these are random moments of curiosity, but they are actually patterns you can anticipate and prepare for. The difference between reactive communication and intentional storytelling often comes down to anticipation. When you know the questions before they're asked, you have the opportunity to craft responses that do more than simply answer. These are the questions that open doors to deeper understanding. They are invitations to help travelers see the multidimensional reality of a place rather than just its surface appearance. And what can you do with this information? A few examples: On food tours, travelers will ask about ingredients or preparation methods. Be ready to share: > Where ingredients come from and who grows them. > What this dish means in local celebrations or daily life. > How climate or geography influences what grows here. For adventure activities, people often ask about the landscape or environment. Be prepared with: > Geological or ecological stories about how this place formed. > How local communities have adapted to this environment. > Changes happening due to climate or development. > Why protecting these spaces matters beyond just beauty. If you interact with travelers in any capacity -- from answering questions during the fact-finding part of the buying journey to on-the-ground guiding moments -- here are a few questions you can use to take better advantage of anticipated questions: > What are the three most common questions travelers ask during your tours, experiences, or interactions? How do you currently answer them? > Are there moments when travelers seem curious but don’t ask questions? What might they be wondering about, and how could you address those unspoken curiosities? > Consider the “surface-level” attractions of your destination — the things tourists come to see. What deeper stories or contexts could help transform these from pretty backdrops into meaningful experiences? #TravelStorytelling #TourGuide #

I've reviewed many tourism strategies, and most have one thing in common: While culture and people often are mentioned, they rarely take center stage. Marketing usually focuses on places and experiences. It's a missed opportunity, since you're skipping the essence and what makes your place really unique and memorable ✨ Instead of just showing attractions and activities, dive into the stories behind. Who are the people maintaining these? What traditions make these unique? In Medellin, a local señor is voluntarily taking care of one of the popular hiking trails. He's there from the early morning making sure it's all set. Most who are not from here don't know, but details like that make it extra special 🤗 How can you introduce people more to traditions and lifestyles? We often remember better when we participate. Not in that awkward, superficial staged way, but in collaboration with locals who also enjoy and benefit from it. It could be having breakfast at the local bakery while chatting with people (very common here in Colombia), watching a game, dancing, sports, joining a festival. Homestays. For those who prefer private accommodation, a dinner together with locals can be a great way to bond. Show why traditions matter. Local guides, interactive tours, and your personal stories can be a great way to share how traditions were shaped. That they often are about so much more than what they first appear (like fika in Sweden ☕). Set expectations from the beginning. Create and promote guidelines that talk about do's and don'ts, how to be respectful, as we are fortunate enough to step into someone else's home. Highlight diversity and challenge stereotypes. After having traveled full-time for 7+ years and been based longer in many countries - one of the main conclusions is that most cultures are misunderstood. Show how locals might have unique approaches to life. How gastronomy, priorities, and values might vary. How it's more about being curious while not assuming… When you focus more on culture, people, and genuine connection, suddenly every place has something to offer 😉 ➡ What would you add? How do you emphasize this in your strategies/travels? ➡ Any place that stands out to you for its culture and people? 📷 A mix from Latin America (Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Costa Rica, Bolivia). While you'll be spoiled by options for places to visit, the people and the vibe are what will make you want to come back again and again #cultures #sustainabletravel #travelandtourism

The word experience is a bit generic isn't it? The market is saturated with staged tours and activities. Everything is an experience. Even when we use the word on One Planet Journey it's hard to find alternative words that go deeper. But to truly stand out, you have to move from selling a product to facilitating a profound connection. That's the real experience. So, how do you create a deep travel experience that a traveller will remember for a lifetime? You have to get the fundamentals right: Go beyond the itinerary: Skip the rigid checklist or minute by minute schedule, instead build a narrative. The goal isn't to see everything; it's to feel something. An itinerary for a deep traveller is about purpose, not just places. Prioritise people over places: Sounds basic but you wouldn't know it for all the tours etc that let you take pictures of landmarks instead of allowing time for chats with locals. A deep travel experience connects visitors with resident storytellers, artisans, or family-run businesses. No staged performances of course. Embrace the "ugly real": Authenticity isn't about perfection. I personally look for unscripted spontaneity and the chance to see the less-polished side of a destination. I want to make up my own mind, not having a constructed view served to me. Facilitate, don't command: If you're a tour operator see yourself as a facilitator rather than an organised leader. Provide the framework for an adventure, giving the traveller the freedom to explore, make choices, and find their own meaning. What does a real experience in travel mean to you? Share what makes you a happy customer. #Travel #Deeptravel #Sustainabletourism #Hospitality #Travelmarketing

It’s easy to make business travel *look* glamorous. It’s harder to stay healthy, grounded, and connected while doing it. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been on the road nonstop with conferences, meetings, events… all while recovering from foot surgery and moving around in a boot. I’ve always planned my travel carefully but this time, the surgery forced me to be even more intentional about how I move through a trip. When you’re less mobile, you see clearly how much planning it takes to stay healthy, connected, and effective. I think about business travel through three pillars: 1. Health Travel disrupts your normal routines faster than anything else, so I build a schedule around things that keep me functional: • Enough sleep • Light movement (stretching, walking, or a quick workout) • And the basics… like actually drinking enough water Hydration seems trivial, but it’s the easiest thing to let slip, especially on flights. I always carry a bottle and fill it before boarding, because paying $10 for water at an airport isn’t nice. With the boot, this became even more critical. Everything took longer, and small movements required more effort, so planning ahead mattered more than ever. 2. Staying connected The part most people overlook is that you lose touch with your family faster than you think while traveling. Different time zones, long days, constant events… suddenly a week goes by and you’ve barely checked in. I schedule calls with my wife and kids on my calendar just like any meeting because if it’s not scheduled, it doesn’t happen. I also like to meet people on the road in ways that aren’t just sitting in a conference room. A walk before work, or a light workout together colleagues or partners, is great for building connection and giving everyone some fresh air and movement. 3. Habits on the road Travel is filled with unhealthy defaults like late dinners and non-stop social events. So I try to make one or two better choices each day like lighter meals, earlier nights when possible, and structured downtime between trips. Small improvements do add up fast. And after pushing too hard recently (five days a week on the road for months), I learned how important it is to build in recovery time at home. Besides getting work done, business travel should be about staying healthy, present, and connected to the people who matter. Reminder! Call your family! These habits help make business travel sustainable… even when you’re traveling with a boot on your foot.

Just like Stella, we’ve gotten our groove back (for business travel) Gearing up for Boston tomorrow to host 42 CROs and heads of sales for a yummy dinner. Pumped. When we started traveling around to other cities doing IRL events again in 2022, we were rusty. And pretty innefficient when it came to making our trips productive (esp given how our execs were the ones traveling). Covid helped us forget what GTM teams are really supposed to do when on the road :) But today, is how we ensure Uber-successful, cost conscious, and ROI driven trips: 1) if we’re hosting an event of our own, leverage attendees for +1s to help fill the room with more net new ICP who we don’t know yet 2) limit travel to 2 days, if possible. 3) schedule well. Arrive early day 1. Load up mtgs in afternoon. Have an event night 1. Meetings day 2. Event night 2 4) if we’re traveling out to host a dinner on a Thursday for example, try to do a dinner or HH on Wednesday for a different yet still relevant group (like we’re doing in SF next week…dinner for CROs, HH for enablement leaders) 5) unless critical, no more than 2 team members travel 6) run reports ahead of time of all client POCs in market and try to set up mtgs while in town. Show customers the love they deserve. 7) if hosting events, try to get sponsors / partners to pay 8) bring swag that fits in a carry on. Ppl like to get something but doesn’t need to be much 9) pack light, make bouncing around downtown with a bag easy 10) if hosting an event, be super detailed in tracking RSVP roster. Populate notes ahead of time and share w colleagues who will be there. And drop into the google sheet the next day to brainbump more notes from convos 11) properly follow up with everyone as soon as humanly possible 12) if possible, fly home night 2 (like I’m doing on Thursday). That way I don’t kill my Friday plus I can see my kids Fri morning before school. 13) try to plan your travel around another event where you clients or prospects will be. And maybe attend. Like I’m doing with the pavilion event on Thursday. 14) book a cheap hotel room, close to your venue. If you plan mtgs right, you’ll spend almost no time there. Holiday Inn works great 15) connect with everyone you will or might meet while in town, on LinkedIn, before you leave 16) put up a custom OOO to let folks know exactly what you’re doing…and don’t be boring with it. Matt Green is good at this I think that’s the whole list for us? What else do you do for your travel?