Do bloggers get special treatment from travel providers?
Sep 30, 2014, 2:00 pm
#1
Original Member, Ambassador: External Miles and Points Resources
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Do bloggers get special treatment from travel providers?
I think so.
As I have pointed out before, back around the turn of the century I used to have a site called goodwinmustgo.com and FA's would recognize my name on the manifest and give me special treatment all the time (they hated him as much as I did).
But this question was raised in another thread when I pointed out:
He has been there, done that, got the t-shirt: http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.c...ht-of-my-life/
Who says bloggers don't get special treatment!?
As I have pointed out before, back around the turn of the century I used to have a site called goodwinmustgo.com and FA's would recognize my name on the manifest and give me special treatment all the time (they hated him as much as I did).
But this question was raised in another thread when I pointed out:
Who says bloggers don't get special treatment!?
Sep 30, 2014, 2:23 pm
#3
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I think they often do and often don't. And sometimes they do but perhaps not because of what we all might think.
They get rides in private jets and free trips to (Amex) events in NY. Ok.
Next most obviously, many bloggers are high-status across a lot of hotel and airline programs, and so get treatment that someone like me will almost never see. Also, even putting status aside, a "regular" at any individual hotel or restaurant is going to get special treatment, and if you spend a lot of time in hotels, you're going to be a regular way more often than, again, someone like me.
More subtly, many bloggers know all the tricks, e.g., just how to ask for an upgrade at an SPG property to get it and which flights (not Monday morning) to take to maximize the chances of an upgrade. Being a practiced sweet-talker helps, too.
And then there are the times they don't tell you about, when they really do get special treatment because they're recognized or drop a hint. I'm guessing this doesn't happen nearly as often as some people think, but I'm truly just guessing here.
They get rides in private jets and free trips to (Amex) events in NY. Ok.
Next most obviously, many bloggers are high-status across a lot of hotel and airline programs, and so get treatment that someone like me will almost never see. Also, even putting status aside, a "regular" at any individual hotel or restaurant is going to get special treatment, and if you spend a lot of time in hotels, you're going to be a regular way more often than, again, someone like me.
More subtly, many bloggers know all the tricks, e.g., just how to ask for an upgrade at an SPG property to get it and which flights (not Monday morning) to take to maximize the chances of an upgrade. Being a practiced sweet-talker helps, too.
And then there are the times they don't tell you about, when they really do get special treatment because they're recognized or drop a hint. I'm guessing this doesn't happen nearly as often as some people think, but I'm truly just guessing here.
Sep 30, 2014, 2:49 pm
#4
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Mostly we all are when it comes to incremental special treatment, including the bloggers themselves.
They can't possibly know that the hotel manager noticed who they are and so give them the white glove treatment without being asked.
And obviously no blogger will ever cop to pulling a DYKWIA publicly.
They can't possibly know that the hotel manager noticed who they are and so give them the white glove treatment without being asked.
And obviously no blogger will ever cop to pulling a DYKWIA publicly.
Oct 1, 2014, 2:33 am
#5
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So do you have any new found insight that wasn't mentioned here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/exter...ing-comps.html
and here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/exter...g-content.html
and here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/exter...-paid-fly.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/exter...ing-comps.html
and here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/exter...g-content.html
and here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/exter...-paid-fly.html
Oct 1, 2014, 9:19 am
#6
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So do you have any new found insight that wasn't mentioned here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/exter...ing-comps.html
and here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/exter...g-content.html
and here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/exter...-paid-fly.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/exter...ing-comps.html
and here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/exter...g-content.html
and here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/exter...-paid-fly.html
Oct 2, 2014, 1:42 am
#7
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Oct 2, 2014, 2:50 am
#8
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The truth is, you never really know.
I was at IC LeGrand two weeks ago. Despite having written a glowing piece on the hotel earlier this year, they actually refused to guarantee me connecting rooms and told me that I would have to stick my two kids (who they knew were 6 and 3) 'down the corridor'. I then threw a stink and they 'generously' allocated us adjacent rooms. On check-in I suddenly find a bottle of champagne in the room and, when I make a modest complaint, 10000 IHG points thrown at me.
Was the champagne damage limitation because the head of reservations realised how arrogant on her underlings had been? Or had they realised who I was? But if they did know who I was, why was I not upgraded?
Similarly, I got some free champagne from BA the other day because I got a plane with the old First Class seats. I was the only one who got it, but talking to other pax I seemed to be the only person in the cabin who had not been upgraded. I am also pretty sure my BA account is not flagged with my details because no-one has ever mentioned it to me.
I had many great upgrades and bits of compensation before I ever started writing anything. Bloggers tend to have status anyway which would make special treatment more the expectation than the norm.
(My Mrs got an upgrade on BA short-haul this week, which is almost unheard of. That is certainly nothing to do with me, but if it had been me flying then I'm sure some people would have felt I had special treatment.)
Bottom line is that unless you get a gift which says 'Pleasure to have you with us, Raffles' written on it, you never know.
I was at IC LeGrand two weeks ago. Despite having written a glowing piece on the hotel earlier this year, they actually refused to guarantee me connecting rooms and told me that I would have to stick my two kids (who they knew were 6 and 3) 'down the corridor'. I then threw a stink and they 'generously' allocated us adjacent rooms. On check-in I suddenly find a bottle of champagne in the room and, when I make a modest complaint, 10000 IHG points thrown at me.
Was the champagne damage limitation because the head of reservations realised how arrogant on her underlings had been? Or had they realised who I was? But if they did know who I was, why was I not upgraded?
Similarly, I got some free champagne from BA the other day because I got a plane with the old First Class seats. I was the only one who got it, but talking to other pax I seemed to be the only person in the cabin who had not been upgraded. I am also pretty sure my BA account is not flagged with my details because no-one has ever mentioned it to me.
I had many great upgrades and bits of compensation before I ever started writing anything. Bloggers tend to have status anyway which would make special treatment more the expectation than the norm.
(My Mrs got an upgrade on BA short-haul this week, which is almost unheard of. That is certainly nothing to do with me, but if it had been me flying then I'm sure some people would have felt I had special treatment.)
Bottom line is that unless you get a gift which says 'Pleasure to have you with us, Raffles' written on it, you never know.
Oct 2, 2014, 6:31 am
#9
Formerly known as FTRox87
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I think they keyword here is: *famous* bloggers get special treatment... thats a side effect of being famous, no matter what industry, rather than being a blogger per se. seems obvious cause for every Coins out there, there are 100s of unsuccessful bloggers who get no attention even if they try to pull the DYKWIA card
Oct 2, 2014, 7:26 am
#10
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I signaled for her to come back and asked her to hang my coat. I then said this verbatim—
"I want you to understand why I was taking pictures. I hope you didn't think I was a terrorist. Here is my business card [offering her one]. I write about United Airlines on an almost-daily basis and the folks at United in Chicago are even aware of my blog."
She took my jacket but refused to take my business card saying, "No, that's okay," then saying, "I did not know that" after I explained my reason for taking pictures.
"I want you to understand why I was taking pictures. I hope you didn't think I was a terrorist. Here is my business card [offering her one]. I write about United Airlines on an almost-daily basis and the folks at United in Chicago are even aware of my blog."
She took my jacket but refused to take my business card saying, "No, that's okay," then saying, "I did not know that" after I explained my reason for taking pictures.
Oct 2, 2014, 11:01 am
#12
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I am involved with a travel company and we are increasingly getting a high volume of begging letters from bloggers asking for free trips.
They always get ignored, but anecdotally, bloggers certainly seem to have the expectation that they are worthy of special treatment for simply having set up a wordpress site and spat out their banal musings about fruit juice in Mexico.
They always get ignored, but anecdotally, bloggers certainly seem to have the expectation that they are worthy of special treatment for simply having set up a wordpress site and spat out their banal musings about fruit juice in Mexico.
Oct 2, 2014, 12:11 pm
#14
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Oct 2, 2014, 12:28 pm
#15
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Many travel providers and marketing organizations are providing FAM trips to the bloggers instead of travel agents or accredited journalists. All about knowing who the target market is and if you can convert those freebies to a real RoI. Most smaller blogs likely don't have such yields but many providers have the budgets to give it a try and see what happens.