Cracking The Code On How To Work With Luxury Hotels

Guest contributor and TBEX Europe 2024 speaker, Andrew Dobson, will be presenting his session “How to Plan a 2-Month Trip with Luxury Hotels” in San Sebastian. We hope to see you there!

While sitting at the airport in Chiang Mai waiting for my flight home for the holidays, I was already scheming a return to the Land of Smiles…

I began my trip spending 6 weeks in Southern Thailand writing about Phuket’s most luxurious honeymoon hotels. After speaking at TBEX Phuket I wrapped up my visit with a post-conference FAM to Northern Thailand then extended my visit 3 more nights to stay at 137 Pillars House Chiang Mai, recently ranked as the best luxury boutique hotel in Asia!

It was while waiting to board my flight that I pulled up my Google Maps and started researching the best 5-star hotels in Bangkok. I also opened Keysearch and started creating a list of story ideas for my soon-to-be return to Thailand.

I would end up spending 60 days the following Fall visiting over 30 luxury hotels in Bangkok and Phuket. I focused my time on the capital (over 6 weeks) to write a comprehensive Gay Bangkok Hotel Guide. I ended up publishing over 40 editorials from the trip.

In a former, pre-pandemic life, I was a travel journalist for outlets read by millions each week like the Vancouver Sun and Metro Newspaper Canada. There was a period of my career where I would travel to 3 to 4 countries a month. My memories are foggy as I lived in a constant loop of adventure adrenaline and jetlag.

I now find balance in my work life by planning several regional trips each year, enjoying sustainable slow travel without having to zig-zag across the globe.

In 2024, I’m spending the month of April in the Caribbean, island hopping from Grenada to Barbados and Saint Lucia with Air Canada.

Before speaking at TBEX in Spain this May I’ll spend a month visiting luxury hotels in Barcelona, Madrid, Bilbao and San Sebastian. After the conference I’m road tripping to Toulouse, Bordeaux and Paris in France.

This Fall I return to Asia for a 2 month trip to Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Thailand and Sri Lanka. Arriving back home just in time for Christmas.

I’m writing this in early February and just booked a 3-night stay at a luxury safari tented camp in December. Early bird gets the worm!

Many travel journalists and content creators always seem amazed that I’m able to work with luxury hotels and coordinate with so many stays throughout the year…

At TBEX San Sebastian I’m going to demystify the process, teaching you my unique methodology to researching story ideas, sourcing a list of hotels, successfully pitching properties, and organizing itineraries.

This session will be fun, engaging and educational for everyone. Whether you’re a newbie blogger looking to learn how to organize your first complimentary hotel stay or a seasoned journalist keen to build a longer itinerary than the typical week-long trips organized by tourism boards.

See you in Basque Country soon!