Jennifer Kester is the Vice President and Executive Editor at Forbes Travel Guide
Jennifer Kester, VP and Executive Editor at Forbes Travel Guide, shares insights on luxury travel, ratings, effective pitching, and Forbes' new Verified Air Travel Awards.
X: Jennifer Kester (@jenniferkester)
Linkedin: Jennifer Kester - Vice President/Executive Editor - Forbes Travel Guide | LinkedIn
Click below to listen to the full conversation and read below for highlights from the interview:
[0:01:44.6] BB: For those not as familiar though, I do like to start out with this, which is, how would you define the Forbes Travel Guide’s coverage? It is all about things of travel but let’s get into more specifics so people know what the heck we’re pitching here.
[0:02:10.8] JK: Sure. Forbes Travel Guide really covers everything luxury travel. However, we do have a strong emphasis on hotels, restaurants, spas, and cruises. We started out as a guidebook. Is it okay if I delve a little bit into the history just to give some background?
[0:02:31.8] BB: Yes.
[0:02:32.3] JK: We started out as a guidebook for Mobil gas company –
[0:02:38.6] BB: Yeah.
[0:02:38.9] JK: And the time back in 1958, the Mobil gas company was looking to find a way to encourage travelers to consume more gas and hit the road. So, they came up with the idea of putting out these guidebooks, which it put in every gas station and the guidebooks did really well for Mobil. It really became the travel bible for road trippers in North America but fast forward several years, the Exxon company came and acquired Mobil and was looking to get out of the guidebook business, and at the same time, we were rating hotels.
Everything from a five-star to a one-star hotel but we wanted to focus more on the luxury component, and so we had our owner, his name, Jeff Arnold. He came and acquired the rights for the five-star rating system, and what he did was envision bringing it back online only but in a more luxurious fashion. So, he took the guidebook and he was looking for a brand partner that would really convey to hotels and everyone else in the world that we were a luxury publication.
And as I mentioned, we started rating hotels in China and the Chinese were not as familiar with Mobil gas company but we chose Forbes as our brand partner, and that is instantly a recognizable name. Everybody knows who that consumer is.
[0:04:18.0] BB: Exactly.
[0:04:19.9] JK: And so, we are sort of like sister publications with Forbes Media. We have our own website, we have our own editorial team but we do have a channel on Forbes.com. We are also promoted in their travel channels, in their newsletters, and social media. So, it’s a close relationship but we are independent and what we really focus on is our star awards. So, these are –
[0:04:46.1] BB: Yes.
[0:04:46.6] JK: Ratings that we give to hotels, restaurants, spas, and ocean cruises, and so when I talk about coverage, a lot of our coverage revolves around our collection of rated properties, and so that might mean a hotel review but it could really touch upon anything in that experience. It could be the destination, it could be food and beverage, it could be adventure travel, really anything that lures in a luxury traveler.
[0:05:18.3] BB: I like how you said that, anything that lures in the luxury travel – traveler. Thank you for that overview too because I always thought, “Wow, what a brilliant move from a tire company to go, “Hold up, how do we get people more on the road?” I know, we’ll tell them where to go to, so they could drive there.” This is just brilliant in terms of what this initially started as, so that’s good.
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[0:06:50.3] BB: Speaking of mornings and maybe all those pitches you do get, what stands out for you, subject line-wise? If that’s an important element that makes you go, “Ooh, yeah, I’m going to open that email, right now.”
[0:07:03.8] JK: It’s a very important element. I will delete a ton of emails just based on the subject line, I don’t want to read them. For me, something that stands out is it doesn’t have to be really creative, it just have to convey information in a concise manner. So, one example is just getting an email like I received today, and it said, “Hotel opening: X hotel opens November 1st.” So, just very quick to the point. I know exactly what’s –
[0:07:36.8] BB: Which hotel, yes.
[0:07:37.5] JK: Yes, which hotel it is. You know, if there’s a timeliness element, and so I appreciate that but of course, I do really enjoy getting emails too that are a little less informative and more enticing. So, one, I received that I thought was really good said, “These luxury hotels are elevating the guest experience with exclusive in-room hotlines.”
[0:08:04.2] BB: Oh, hotlines.
[0:08:05.6] JK: Yes. So, that really made me, you know, don’t stop and want to check out and see what these hotlines were. and so something like that. Like, there’s a couple of things in there that peaked my attention, the word, “exclusive” was really good, the fact that these are luxury hotels, so this is what I cover, and the in-room hotline’s component just adds a different twist, something unexpected.
[0:11:33.4] BB: Agreed. Are there any pet peeves you specifically have, Jennifer with publicists that you wish to eliminate here?
[0:11:41.2] JK: Sure, I think the biggest –
[0:11:42.7] BB: Yeah, I guess I do.
[0:11:44.9] JK: Do you enjoy working with them for the, you know, most part? Of course, there’s always room for improvement.
[0:11:51.9] BB: Yes.
[0:11:52.5] JK: I think my biggest pet peeve is photos.
[0:11:55.8] BB: Oh.
[0:11:56.9] JK: I will get a press release or I’ll get some you know, some information and it requires like a back and forth with getting photos and then I have to escort you know, where the photo credit comes from and it just – I really appreciate it when the, whatever, the email, the press release has photos there and ready because there are times where I might need something last minute, and if I have all the information there and I have the photos, then I’m going to pick that property.
[0:12:28.3] BB: Got it.
[0:12:29.0] JK: That property and sometimes, they’ll give you, you know, a URL for a Dropbox for something or WeTransfer and it expires.
[0:12:37.9] BB: It expires, oh, yes.
[0:12:39.6] JK: So, it – that just makes it –
[0:12:43.4] BB: Yeah.
[0:12:44.4] JK: That gives me just like five more steps that I need to do.
[0:12:47.5] BB: Yeah, yeah. What is the deal with that? I guess that’s maybe just the auto setting because I’ve dealt with that too and nothing is more frustrating when you’re like, “Okay, great, I just need this photo. Okay, great, here they are.” And then you’re like, “Okay.”
[0:12:57.7] JK: Yes.
[0:12:58.4] BB: Now, you got to – yeah, yeah.
[0:13:00.0] JK: Yes.
[0:13:00.4] BB: Okay, so it sounds like just with photos, you would just want a link that never expires, number one.
[0:13:07.1] JK: Yes.
[0:13:07.7] BB: Yeah, okay, don’t expire with that.
[0:13:09.2] JK: And just included, included in your –
[0:13:10.9] BB: Include it.
[0:13:11.6] JK: Your hedge because the more information I have right at my fingertips, the more likely I will be to cover it.
[0:14:08.6] BB: I have a quick flash list of questions to go through if you’re down for it Jennifer, we could see what we get.
[0:14:20.4] JK: Let’s do it.
[0:14:21.1] BB: They are our rapid-fire questions, here we go, yes?
[0:14:22.9] JK: Let’s do it.
[0:14:23.7] BB: Let’s do it. Phone or video interview?
[0:14:26.5] JK: Video.
[0:14:27.4] BB: Video, why video by the way?
[0:14:29.6] JK: I sometimes like picking up on visual cues when I’m interviewing someone. Like if they, maybe they want to say a little something more or if I touch upon something that I think like I can probe a little bit deeper.
[0:14:45.3] BB: Yeah.
[0:14:45.8] JK: And sometimes, you can’t detect that through audio.
[0:14:50.3] BB: Yeah, there’s more clues of a communication coming out. Bullet points or paragraphs in a pitch.
[0:14:57.0] JK: Either would suffice but I guess I get more paragraphs.
[0:15:01.3] BB: Okay, more paragraphs, and you like that? We’re talking about preferences, like Jennifer’s hitlist of the best thing ever.
[0:15:08.1] JK: As long as it’s concise, it doesn’t matter to me so much whether it’s in paragraphs or bullet points.
[0:15:15.2] BB: Got you, okay, no preference. How about short or long pitches though? Like how short, how long?
[0:15:21.7] JK: I would say shorter.
[0:15:23.2] BB: Okay.
[0:15:23.7] JK: Even if it’s like, you give me two paragraphs to introduce a press release or something like that. I’d rather just kind of get all the information in a quick manner.
[0:15:36.9] BB: Great, what about, we already covered images, so email or a DM like on Instagram or X or LinkedIn, what? Like, there’s so many places to DM.
[0:15:47.5] JK: Only email.
[0:15:48.1] BB: Only email.
[0:15:49.4] JK: A lot of phone calls, unless they’re planned I don’t want DMs. I just find that obtrusive.
[0:15:56.8] BB: Yeah.
[0:15:57.4] JK: To do that.
[0:15:58.7] BB: Well, there’s so many DMs though.
[0:16:00.0] JK: There are.
[0:16:00.6] BB: All over the place, so it’s like, “How do I?” I can’t get to seven other boxes of things.
[0:16:05.1] JK: Yes.
[0:16:05.7] BB: Yeah, what about, we touched on this a bit, direct or creative subject lines. You said direct you liked.
[0:16:12.7] JK: I do like both. I think each has a place, like if it’s more of a newsy item, I think direct is great but if you have something that’s a little more creative, I think it’s fine to be a little creative with your subject line as well.
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