To make your next media trip a raving success, here are few pointers from someone whose been on a few good, and a few really bad, ones.
1: Give your guests time to freshen up after their flight. This is especially necessary if the destination’s climate is different from their point of origin. Besides, having to rise early, lug baggage through an airport, share recycled plane air with a multitude of people in varying degrees of health and eat often questionable airplane food all take their toll and an hour or so at the first hotel is a great relief to the travel weary.
2: Journos have to be on their best behaviour throughout the trip, which is tiring. Unlike the average eight-hour work day, travelling journos have to watch what they say and do from the moment they step out of their room until the moment they greet their hotel door again. Trust me when I say this is exhausting. More so for the introverts, who became writers to be able to spend much of their time in their own company. But even the extroverts will start to flag after a couple of days. So, schedule at least one time-out every day. Time when your guests can catch a few zzzs at the hotel, or even be left to their own devices in town – an hour when they can pretend to be tourists and actually enjoy it at their own speed. The longer the trip, the longer the time-outs should be.
3: Pick your outings carefully. When you plan a media trip, you no doubt want your destination to get rave reviews. But how is this possible when you race from one activity to another? We journos really, really want to write a stunning article and mean all the things we say, not just pay lip service. To do this, we need time to enjoy the sites, cuisine and hospitality. Instead of trying to cram 10 things into a day, cut it down to the best three and allow us time to pretend that we’re on holiday. And if you choose carefully you can plan a route that doesn’t have a poor driver schlepping from one end of the city to the other multiple times a day.
4: Don’t schedule compulsory late night or early morning activities. Have dinner earlyish – around 19h00 – and allow people to retire as soon as they’re ready. Better yet, offer the option of room service. Often, back in her room, a journo is writing up pieces or downloading pics. Just because we’re out of the office doesn’t mean we’re allowed to ignore the emails or the crises that pop up while we’re away. Which shortens sleeping time. Which shortens tempers and patience. It’s a vicious cycle that can be avoided altogether.
5: Most people eat more than three meals a day. Not full meals, sure, but there’s usually a mid-morning and a mid-afternoon snack. It would be extremely thoughtful of you to work these into your plan. If it’s not possible, stash* makes a completely acceptable alternative. If your budget doesn’t stretch past three meals, make a point of visiting places for us to buy our own snacks. Unfettered access to drinks is a must though – even if it’s just water.
6: When typing up your itinerary, be as specific as possible with regards to dress codes. Personally, if I don’t have to pack a smart outfit, I won’t. But I will if I’m unsure about the activities. And something else is sacrificed to make room for an often unnecessary outfit and extra pair of shoes. And that something usually turns out to be the one thing I would have found most useful. If the accommodation has a website, include this so that we can get a sneak peak at what’s in store – it can help with packing.
7: If you’re planning any unusual activities, make sure to state it upfront. If you’re planning anything for which you’re supplying clothing of some sort, ask what size your guest is – not all of us fit into regular sizes and it’s rather embarrassing having someone run around looking for a larger size, or trying squeeze yourself into a spa gown that just won’t close. If you know in advance, you can organise the right size, or if that’s not possible, ask them to bring their own.
*Stash is a Kennedy travel must. It's our term for sweeties and other nibbles that can be bought once off and eaten throughout a trip. Biltong, nuts, dried fruit, chips, crunchies, biscuits and chocolates are all good.
