Where are you based?
Denver, Colorado
What topics and places do you cover?
Hospitality (hotels, resorts, inns, B&Bs, unique accommodations), outdoor adventures, train travel, destination features, profiles of cool people
What outlets do you usually pitch (and write for)?
I write for Fodor's Travel, Thrillist, Matador Network, Travel + Leisure, and Business Insider, among some additional local outlets.
Are you in-house or freelance (or both)?
Freelance
What is your approach to press trips?
I appreciate the opportunity to consider any press trip (and the timing of it and whether it could work for a story or not, so please feel free to send invites my way!) and I'm open to both groups and individual trips. But honestly, individual press trips usually work better for my schedule and garner more coverage opportunities.
What are your professional pet peeves?
• When someone spells my name wrong (it's “O'Brien”)
• When someone expects too much of me and my work (I'm just a writer, not an advertiser… this is earned media)
• When someone invites me to a single day/night event (not a press trip) in a destination I am nowhere near and have never lived in (NYC, Boston, Miami… cool spots but I can't get there in a flash without financial support if you are open to hosting me for a particular event if it's important/cool)
In your past professional life, you were …
I started my career in public relations :) I worked in luxury/destination travel/tourism hospitality and lifestyle PR… trust me, I know how challenging it is to be on your end of this media world and I use the experience to empathize and make it better for all of us.
Where would you like to return to?
Hmm, that's a tricky one. I'm not sure if there's a single place I want to return to. I want to be in different places that inspire me which could be anywhere new.
What's on your bucket list?
Climbing Machu Picchu, stepping foot on every continent (I've still not yet been to Africa or Asia!), discovering new stories across the world that deserve to be told regardless of existing notoriety ;)
Where do you travel for fun?
I don't know how to travel for fun – HA! But in reality, for me, traveling for fun likely involves hiking/backpacking somewhere when I don't care whether it will produce a story and just need to get away from the world/disconnect for a bit.
Your funniest (or most harrowing) travel story is …
For an individual press trip that happened to take place over the dates corresponding with “Day of the Dead,” I just happened to be visiting a very (known/proven to be) “haunted” old mining destination out West. My husband and I checked into the “historic” hotel that was hosting us, which looked like it was still living in the 1800s… and we immediately felt some serious heebie jeebie vibes. After the sun went down, we lasted about 10 more minutes inside that harrowing building before deciding to book a night at another (safe) well-known chain hotel nearby. I knew we wouldn't sleep a wink staying in that room. As we were leaving this haunted city behind, our car started shorting out – and the “maps” app on the car's dashboard was vigorously blinking, with our music cutting in and out. It was as if our car was having an electrical meltdown — as if this town was somehow trying to KEEP us there! Needless to say, we FLOORED it out of the town and when we went back in the morning to collect our things (which we had left in the hotel room), it was as if we had never been there… the bed was made, and our bags were propped by the door. Housekeeping or haunting? ;)
Anyway — we later found out that a woman back in the hotel's heyday had taken her own life in the room next to ours, and is said to never have actually “left” the building… it was creepy.
What advice would you give your younger professional self?
Don't push yourself so hard that you hurt yourself. You only have one body and mind in this life! Things that are meant to happen will happen in due time, and your relationships are the absolute most important part of this industry, so never be afraid to put yourself out there regardless of age/experience :) People who treat you poorly are acting upon a negative reflection they have of their own selves.
What nugget would you like to add that we haven't touched on?
This job can look beautiful and glamorous from the outside, but anyone who's in it knows it can be challenging and exhausting. I know we're all working super hard – or we wouldn't be where we are today.
PR folks: know that you're appreciated for the story assistance you give (especially when it's timely).
Journo folks: know you're worthy and recognized for the hard work you do, as well.
How best should people contact you?
The best bet is to reach me via the email address on my TravMedia profile, which can be found here.
