Tainted travel advice

I recently got an e-mail from a high school sophomore who asked me how to become a travel writer.

Travel writing looks like a glamorous profession. You get to visit exotic destinations, meet interesting people and write about them.

I don’t think she had taken the time to read my travel writing.

But then I remembered: that’s how I got sucked into this racket. The promise of free trips and living the high life drew me away from a career as a “serious” journalist in 1993.

But over time, I started to realize that there was a darker side to the travel industry. A lot of people were having dreadful experiences — hotels were overbilling them, airlines were mistreating them, car rental companies were coming up with new fees to charge them.

In other industries, there are watchdogs — consumer reporters — who keep a close eye on the business and write about any misdeeds that affect customers. I didn’t see the same thing happening in travel. (In fairness, there were a handful of good consumer reporters, but they were few and far between.)

Where were the watchdogs?

They didn’t exist, for the most part, because the travel industry offered a powerful incentive to look the other way. By giving journalists free rooms, flights and cruises, the industry was making a tacit deal with the travel press: go easy on us and we’ll make it worth your while.

And a vast majority of travel reporters bought it.

So take a look around and ask yourself — who are the good guys? Do a keyword search on “airline expert,” for example, and shouldn’t you expect to find someone who is going to tell it like it is?

Not necessarily.

In addition to the sell-outs, the travel industry is full of watchdogs with hidden agendas. They call themselves experts, claim to have the customers best interests in mind, but, in fact, they are promoting their own businesses — a travel agency, ticket consolidator or a Web site that sells travel club memberships.

Their advice is often tainted (although there are a select few travel gurus who clearly disclose their corporate ties, and who go out of their way to avoid conflicts of interest).

My answer to my sophomore friend: If you want to become a really usefully, bona fide travel writer, you face some tall hurdles.

You must turn down the corrupting perks of this industry, resist the temptation to sell your services to the highest bidder, and take the side of the traveler.

Good luck.

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

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