Why I Do NOT Do Sponsored Content and Posts (And How I Really Pay For My Trips)

I touched on this in my About Me section but a conversation I had recently with someone made me realize that I should dive a bit more into this subject.

Sponsored content are those posts you see on social media that list #ad, #sponsored, Paid Partnership, Branded Content, or “Created for [Brand]” or could be within a blog post “thanks to [ ] tourism board for sponsoring this trip” or “courtesy of [ ] hotel for hosting” “comped stay”. So someone receives a free hotel stay, flight or trip and in exchange, they will need to create x number of TikToks or Instagram videos of said freebies. Or they are paid by [ ] hotel to make content or write a blog post from their stays.

Listen I totally get why people do it and I will not knock the hustle but frankly that business model doesn’t align for me. Why?

First: I am in the position that I can afford my own trips – yay for points and miles! I should really say thank goodness for and only because of travel and money hacking, have I been able to travel all around the world, visit so many countries, do so many things as I don’t typically pay cash for flights, hotels or cruises.

Case in point: my first solo trip to South America. What would have been the largest expenditures (pricey flights and a hotel stay here and there) were covered by points. I saved more money by backpacking and staying in hostels. But this worked out so well for me as I was able to make such great friends and do have incredible experiences like visiting the Salar de Uyuni!

I definitely would not be able to afford some of the fancier vacations I have done if I didn’t use points or miles! There is no way I would have spent the cash price on the 2 bedroom villa in Cabo that was bigger than my house! Or stay at the Park Hyatt Paris and during the Olympics! With the money I saved, I had no problem dropping some cash for some epic Paris2024 events!

Second: One of my aims with this site is to showcase my trips and bring you honest reviews of places that I have stayed or flights that I have taken or experiences that I have had. I just don’t think that sponsored content is able to deliver on the honesty front – even when you see that phrase [ ] provided xx to me, but the opinions are my own”.

I know that sounds cynical but I think some of this is down to how most of us are wired. When you receive something for free in exchange for your opinion, you are likely to have the review be positive for a number of reasons. We tend to like things more when they don’t cost us anything or are more understanding if there are any issues or mistakes that happen.

But there’s also the business aspect that needs to be considered. When someone is writing a post or creating content because they got something for free, they are not likely to be critical and voice any issues or concerns because doing so can also hurt their relationship with [ ]. And as critically, doing so could endanger future opportunities with other brands – because for them, the question to ask is why not hire someone else that will leave a glowing review?

Just as critically, sponsored content likely does not reflect a typical experience. As the brand sponsoring the stay, flight or trip is going to want to put their best foot forward and provide a level of service and other things (extra or comped amenities) that someone else booking the stay, flight or trip will not receive. This is one of the reasons why I always disclose if I have any status with a hotel or airline and crucially which status because that does have an impact (and outsized one) on my travel experience. I want you to know if this is the experience is likely for you if we both don’t have status or if it not likely since I have high elite status with the brand!

I would disclose even if I wasn’t legally obligated to because simply it’s the right thing to do (and lol I had been a manager + in some highly regulated fields for too long in my professional life lol so I don’t know any other way to be). Likewise in that spirit: when I did the one free activity not available to the general public, I did say that. BTW I wrote a post because it was an interesting experience plus it was combined with a Northern Lights hunt that I know many people visiting Iceland would want to know more about. And the only reason I even took advantage of that (the above pictured Lava Tunnel tour) was because the sole requirement was an unbiased review on GetYourGuide’s app or website as this was a new tour being offered. I did not need to write a blog post and I haven’t really shared the experience on social media.

Lastly: I have always had so many people wondering how I was able to travel so I decided to really showcase not only how I am able to but as importantly, how you can do this as well. I describe travel hacking simply as strategies and/or techniques adopted to allow one to travel for cheaper, better and/or more often. Honestly it’s such a PITA to track all of my spending – cash, miles and points but I do so to prove what I have spent on trips. But okay I really, really just like data and spreadsheets – ha! If you get anything from them – great but otherwise they are simply one other way to really highlight the power of money and travel hacking!