Originally Posted by
PWMTrav
Exactly. Ben is probably the best content marketer in the travel space. And he's consistent in his format, which makes it super helpful when I'm looking for what to expect on a given flight or hotel location. Lots of pictures, lots of observational commentary, and most importantly, a ton of content. I don't think I've flown a premium cabin in the last 5 years where I didn't first find a review of that specific aircraft and cabin on OMAAT. Same with lounges (although I don't really care much about lounges) and hotels. Some of it's luxury and some of it isn't, but the only people that really care about the distinction are usually involved in some online argument to gatekeep it. Safe to ignore.
But it is content marketing. If we treated it as such, this thread wouldn't exist. It's not a travel blog. It's content marketing in blog form. It's pretty hard to criticize the profit motive if you're in the habit of spending money on travel - that money came from somewhere, right?
You are exactly right. The value I place on Ben's website is that I can look up an airline/airport/hotel/lounge and I know I'm going to get an overview start to end of the product with consistent photos. I'm going to see the food options. I'm going to see the amenity kit. I'm going to see the bathroom situation in a hotel. Sometimes helpful hints like how to best get to an airport hotel from the terminal (like walk, don't take their shuttle). It has helped me in some trip planning or swayed me in which hotel property I've used (and I appreciate he does review some places as mundane as the HGI at FRA, which is pretty much my hotel baseline... well, HGI Joplin, MO is more so). He's also not generally sensationalist about various things in the product... I think he does identify legitimate shortcomings or gives a basis of information to either agree or disagree with him.