Idea Hotels & Neighborhoods

MISSION:

People seek unique hotels in interesting neighborhoods. It's about the experience reflecting the essence of place and perspective.  We don’t choose a city - we choose a community. This became the mission - to feature hotels and neighborhoods representing the people who live and work around them.

FOCUS:

The focus was to feature places with big stories to tell.  I decided to build special local teams in each location to design and help produce the digital magazine.  Then I would market the production through social media and the locals we worked with along with the places we covered.   

REFINING THE IDEA:

We looked to inspire readers’ perceptions of what the city is actually like. We wanted readers to feel like they were meeting locals and learning their secrets.

I produced these magazines within cities I was visiting during the filming of The Beauty Show TV series or when I was on a consulting job.  I looked to involve local people with talent to create content and receive credit.  This worked out great and I was rewarded with new friendships and inspiration.  I set up the production so the local people would decide on what they wanted the world to know about their city. 

A big focus was to uncover amazing stories that do not get told. This approach kept the perspectives varied and balanced with the overall content. Digging deep, we presented gritty, honest, inspiring editorial through interviews, features, stunning photography, personal profiles, artwork and what-if ideas.

 "New Travel"
it’s about the experience – the mystery

Travelers look to visit neighborhoods and unique boutique hotels that bring locally inspired guest experiences centered around dynamic locations.  

Boutique properties in cool neighborhoods have a unique advantage over the larger well-known brands, as boutique properties are fashionable. Today’s travelers want more than cookie-cutter convenience and large soulless spas. They look for unique designs and translation of place and perspective. They do not want another anonymous and impersonal hotel. The old standards have been disrupted. It’s actually becoming unfashionable to stay in the large branded properties.

In today’s age of distraction and media saturation, the hospitality industry has a new responsibility to offer deeper meaning and engagement to its guests. A new breed of hoteliers have followed this command, creating community hubs that offer cultural, spiritual, and intellectual programming to those looking to connect and interact more deeply.

This sets the foundation when coupled with wellbeing experiences, food . . . and wonderful surprises that constantly appear during your stay, it becomes something to write about and share with others . . . the strongest form of marketing.

Visual Storytelling . . . sharing the journey

In the past couple years, the term “transformation” has been used to describe what consumers seek from their travel. It's about having experiences that leaves a lasting change or impression.

Additionally, travelers seek an expanded worldview, opportunities for learning, and immersion in natural environments.

As a travel content creator or journalist, you are in the epitome of the experience business . . . and storytelling through visuals is the way to go.

Embracing the fact that travelers are seeking transformative experiences and an expanded worldview provides you with opportunities others do not totally understand.

You are really curating a collection of Ideas and Stories. 

For example, there is a company that creates adventures for its well-heeled clients involving epic stories featuring a multitude of sets, actors and locations.  Each journey casts their guests as the heroes of their own stories.  One journey was based on A Greek Odyssey… an adventure that unfolded with hundreds of actors, as a family encountered gods and goddesses…as well as having to overcome mythological monsters…. as they uncovered a trail of gold.  How wonderful would it be to cover some travel stories such as this . . . .