: About Me

We are an online vacation planning service, focused on assisting and educating travelers who seek a more personalized vacation, by helping them discover new possibilities for lodging, activities and experiences in their destinations of choice. We help our users find and select vacation accommodations best suited their specific needs length of stay, room requirements, budget, and proximity to attractions among the most popular vacation spots in Central and North America, and the Caribbean.

We know there are many other vacation planning tools and Web sites with destination guides and related travel content available online. But unlike traditional travel guides, our approach is focused on the personal experience of travel, and engaging the user through a mix of content both written and visual. We're also focused on building a community around travel, and allowing our readers to contribute their own thoughts and experiences to our destination guides, adding comments and rating our top picks. Every article we publish should have the potential to provoke further questions, discussion or community debate.

In addition to some of the must-have pieces, such as Things to Do and See, we are looking for alternative views on each destination, with a focus on insider information and odd topics you won't find in a traditional travel guide. Our target audience is leisure/active travelers, but vary greatly in demographic we're just as likely to appeal to Baby Boomers as Generation X, or young professionals with families. We'll be looking for articles that target these groups both simultaneously and separately.

Our approach is personable, friendly, very humorous and a little bit edgy, with a dash of professionalism thrown in.
Additional Writer Guidelines.
Tone & Style: Real, approachable, conversational, candid yet professional. AP Style Guide is preferred.

Expertise:
We expect you have been to the destination at least once, if not several times in the last five years, and could tell us a little bit about how it's changed over time, and which areas may be experiencing growth or revitalization. If you haven't actually been to a location, it's pretty obvious in the writing. Researching points you are less familiar with is perfectly acceptable, but should never be the bulk of your contribution. We want to hear about your experience as though you are telling a friend about a trip, and what you would do differently the next time you go.

Do:
Cover the basics ease of getting there/using local transportation, nightlife, safety/cleanliness, arts & entertainment districts, shopping areas, historical elements, well-known and established attractions that are unlikely to close in the near future, and features specific to the destination - beach, mountains, golf, ski, etc.

Don't:
Suggest accommodations or list popular resorts and hotels. Similarly, do not specifically name eating establishments. Be general in your mentions of neighborhoods and districts. Example: use "many upscale restaurants can be found along Market Street" and not: "On Market street, you'll find Bob's Clam Shack, Chez du Chien, and Pappy's Patisserie".

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