Where to next?
The bite sized guide for the ‘hip’ traveler
Brandon Berkson launched a travel site in April 2020, just as the world was shutting down. With exotic, colorful, IG photos, he captured an audience of dreamers. Now, they’re taking flight.
Q: Tell us about Hotels Above Par.
A: It’s a community that evolved from a fun hotel-touting Instagram page to a multi-faceted website and newsletter. I define it as ‘an expert-curated guide with under-two-minute articles for hip travelers.
What are some places you love and some places you still want to go?
A: There are so many places! As far as destinations I’ve never visited, Singapore and Malta are at the top of that list. I can’t wait to go back to San Miguel de Allende — Mexico is one of my favorite places in the world — as well as head to my favorite hotel in the world, located on the Amalfi Coast in Italy, Casa Angelina.
What is it about the site that has resonated with so many?
A: I think it’s a couple of things: First and foremost, I believe the pandemic — from quarantines to heavy restrictions — made people appreciate travel more than ever. We couldn’t go anywhere, so seeing aesthetically pleasing images of hotels and destinations really gave people that dose of travel they were so craving. Secondly, I believe our around-300-word article format, which has the ability to fit in its entirety as an Instagram caption and website article, really makes our pieces digestible in a world where an overabundance of content is constantly compromising our attention and provoking us to quickly scroll to the next post or head to another website page in a matter of seconds. It gives you that travel content you’re looking for in the length of an Instagram post. On top of that, the fact that we have had a wealth of different travel journalists write for us has proven our guide is expert-curated and multi-dimensional.
