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I started writing this blog on December 1, 2022. When I set out, I made it policy not to accept free flights or hotel stays. An invitation to a press event to preview products or the opening of a lounge is one thing, but taking flights or hotel rooms outright (probably the worst offense) does not lead to experiences that most guests will encounter. Complimentary hotel stays and free flights have become perks that are often offered to bloggers and influencers, but they also present ethical, professional, and practical challenges. Bloggers looking to build long-term trust and credibility should avoid these freebies.
Credibility Is a Blogger’s Most Valuable Asset
Visitors turn to travel bloggers for honest, unbiased insights. When a blogger accepts a comped trip, it can affect the tone of the coverage. Hoteliers and tourism boards often expect favorable reviews or minimum deliverables in exchange for sponsorship. When was the last time you read a negative review on The Points Guy? You’ll be hard pressed to find one. Yes, the site adds a disclaimer, but as soon as I see that I stop reading. When the stay is comped, you can bet that issues will be overlooked and the review will become anything but subjective.
Sponsored Travel Can Limit Creative Freedom
When a blogger pays their own way, they maintain full control over the content that they produce from it. Accepting free travel often comes with obligations like set posting deadlines, required brand messaging, restricted activities, and editorial oversight. Instead of capturing authentic experiences, like the poor quality of United Polaris® meals or how bad a hotel stay can be (looking at you, Hyatt Regency Times Square), creators may find themselves writing content to satisfy a contract rather than their audience. I’ll always call out the slop being served in a premium cabin or the rude staff because I am a paying guest and make no demands as a blogger. I’m just like everyone else. I want the benefits that I have earned via holding elite status, but never anything for being a blogger.
True Transparency Is Hard to Achieve
Even when bloggers disclose free travel (as they should), many readers will question the integrity of the review (including yours truly). Full transparency can reduce skepticism, but rarely eliminates it. Paid or sponsored trips raise doubts about whether the opinions expressed are genuinely independent or subtly influenced by the benefits received. This is especially true when the review is effusive or unrealistic.
It Creates an Uneven Playing Field
Bloggers who rely heavily on free travel may unintentionally alienate their audience. Paying your own way means you experience the same challenges, frustrations, and service levels that everyday travelers encounter. This authenticity is invaluable and it helps bloggers stay relatable rather than appearing to live in a world of perks inaccessible to readers.
Self-Funded Travel Encourages Higher-Quality Content
I am fortunate that I can afford to buy First Class tickets and stay in nice hotels. This comes from a day job that picks up part of the tab (unrelated to this blog), smart use of miles and points, and a personal belief that travel is a smart investment. Bloggers who invest their own money tend to be more discerning and more motivated to deliver thoughtful, valuable content. If I’m pissed off, you’ll know it and will be steered to avoid bad experiences.
Anthony’s Take: I laugh every time I see a disclosure of free travel. Whether it’s on a giant site like The Points Guy or from a small blogger, taking that free trip makes you sell out your credibility and eventually readers will catch on. The Bulkhead Seat just passed its third birthday and I promise that I will not accept free trips. I want my content to be based on my opinions and experience versus a corporate benefactor.
(Image Credits: The Points Guy.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
5 comments
Thanks for keeping it credible…the effort is appreciated. Congrats on 3 years!
Thank you!
You took the words right out of my mouth. I stopped reading TPG when these disclaimers became more daily slop than your UA meal. TPG is a giant PR firm. I detest their core, and have more tolerance for the small bloggers that are learning the ins and outs. They want $$$ and £££. End of story. Yuck.
Hi Anthony, I’m a fellow BoardingArea blogger (NoWorkAllTravel) who does accept hosted stays and trips.
Since you’re apparently against them, and therefore have no idea what they entail, I will be here to lop some spirited if ultimately anodyne volleys from the other side of the fence.
– A hosted stay/trip doesn’t guarantee anything. My photo isn’t plastered all over hotels or destinations as if service workers always had to have a red carpet, cheese steak, or lint brush at the ready.
– When I’m negotiating the deliverables, I stress that if I can’t write my true thoughts, I’m not going to continue with the review. I have had a few properties mention that they had to read through my review before it hit the presses; those collaborations have without fail been rejected.
On that note, yes, I have had to use some photos from hotel PR/marketing departments from time to time. Generally, the reason is because I’m not in the habit of taking photos of other guests without their permission (I find it rude, not to mention it is prohibited in a number of countries I visit). Buffets, swimming pools, and gyms often fall in this category, wherein hotels disallow photography.
– Every now and then, a hosted trip/stay engendered visiting a place typically off-limits to the public. For instance, a recent post involved getting to see the EVA Air hangars and catering facilities near Taipei Taoyuan Airport. It’s not standard fare for the average non-airline employee, let alone airline employee, but BoardingArea does involve travel, so here we are.
– “High-quality” and “transparency” aren’t a given, no matter where one visits online. Your camp might think that I am receiving a superlative room at a particular hotel, or the only “recently renovated” room at property, so as to promote it that way. 1) that’s never the case, 2) there’s plenty of fault to find with modernity/making everything connect to a silly tablet in the room, and 3) a plane has never landed on time just because a travel blogger was a passenger.
Thank you for sharing your experience and insight. I still contend that bloggers should pay for their flights and stays in order to have a true experience that would be the same as anyone off the street. Going behind the scenes is not a normal, everyday travel experience. You would also likely agree that during an experience like that you would not report back if the hangar was dirty and employees would go out of their way to be welcoming.