The BBC posted an article today on social media influencers and their requests to "collaborate" to give a business "exposure" in exchange for freebies. They highlight two recent events. (1) An ice cream store owner, sick of getting such requests, jokingly posted a new policy that influencers will pay 2x pricing. (2) A luxury resort in the Philippines declared on IG that they won't collaborate and recommends that influencers "try actual work".

There's no shortage of travel bloggers - many with web pages asking for hotels to "work with me!". When these reviews go from personal to institutional, I think they really lose credibility. I can't relate to someone who posts manicured photos of presidential suites every week on IG (sorry, Stefan). Or to a site that hires an army of staff to post articles without regard for quality (not sorry, TPG).

I'm glad to see businesses push back on unsolicited marketing. I don't think a luxury hotel or airline product should need to advertise like this. In fact, I think I'm more likely to shop at businesses that shun influencers.

What do you think? Do you support the business backlash? Does "collaborating" cheapen a hotel's (or airline's) image?

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48873551