I was offered $2500 for a press trip

What you need to know about press trips and paid coverage

Apr 17, 2025

Hello friends,

Greetings from Milwaukee, where I just extended my trip (for the second time) so I’d have more time with my family.

Last week, I wrote a really popular newsletter about Why Press Trips are Getting Harder to Fill and How One Destination Convinced Me to Visit next month (I’ll note that paying me to travel was NOT one of their strategies). If you or your client host press trips, I highly recommend checking it out. Side note - the pic above is from me on a group hiking press trip last month, all red and sweaty-faced from having climbed 2,000 feet in two miles.

How to Fill a Pres Trip

Because there’s so much talk of press trips right now, it seemed like a good time to talk about a $2500 offer I received last week in exchange for a summer press trip.

Cassandra

P.S. If you missed my last newsletter about how I’m giving away annual Substack subscriptions for free, I’d encourage you to check it out.

Are your clients struggling to fill press trips?

For months, I’ve heard from my fellow freelancers that they are reluctant to join press trips because 1) the trip itineraries haven’t been worth their time, 2) it’s not worth the “press trip debt” given how hard it’s been to confirm coverage, and 3) How low the rate would be even if they were to land coverage.

At the same time, I’ve been hearing from publicists that press trips are getting harder and harder to fill. I’m also seeing this firsthand as I receive last-minute invites to trips that are two weeks out because they still have empty slots. Many destinations and agencies are having to cancel press trips altogether or they’re trying to convince writers to do a solo press trip if they aren’t interested in the group version.

But what about paying to get a journalist to join your press trip?

Is that even ethical?

How do they handle coverage?

Is it already happening?

What’s up with paid press trips?

Last month, there was a very controversial (and highly interesting) LinkedIn post about how “PR firms are going to have to start paying media to go on visits, or writers will go under...” It went on to say that this pay-to-play situation is “already happening with staffed writers/editors at select pubs…and in the influencer space.” My friend and fellow freelancer, Joni Sweet, also talked about this in her recent newsletter on how to fill your press trips.

So, yes, being paid to travel is definitely a thing, it’s just not something that’s been getting a lot of attention. Why? I believe this is for two main reasons:

Destinations and PR agencies don’t want to admit that they’re having to pay writers and editors to fill trips.
Writers worry that accepting payment for trips will compromise their relationship with editors and publications (even if those same editors and publications receive financial incentives in exchange for coverage).

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So, I was offered $2500 for a trip

Last week, a large travel brand offered me $2,500 in exchange for a summer press trip. Mind you - this was on top of having all the accommodations comped as well. Why? Because this brand recognized how hard it is to fill press trips these days and they really wanted me to become familiar with their brand so that I could cover them.

Now, I can’t say that I accepted it, but the whole situation had me thinking more about the evolving press and publication dynamics and how I can help publicists and destinations navigate the constantly changing media landscape.

If other travel brands, destinations, and operators are offering thousands of dollars to get writers on their trips, how are you going to compete with them?

Well, you could start off by reading my post about Why Press Trips are Getting Harder to Fill and How One Destination Convinced Me to Visit.

You can also join a special press trip event I’ll be co-hosting with some colleagues on Monday, May 12th. More details TBA next week, but if you want to be the first to learn about the event, just respond and let me know.