Reading · Happy Hoteling · RSS Amplifier

I shared on Substack Notes that nearly every week, I dive into somewhere in the world I don’t know much about on YouTube. Two weeks ago it was the Falkland Islands, last week it was Kashmir – the highly contested area that spans Pakistan, India, and China. To my delight, people were curious about how I do this, which I see as one form of my continuing education. In general, I try to find a summary about the area and it’s history and current realities from a reputable journalistic source – in this case it was Al Jazeera. Then, I usually watch a video by a creator who is native to the area and still lives there to understand daily life. Finally, I like to watch a travel creator with high moral standards share their journey of visiting the place. Sometimes I go deeper than this, but this is usually the formula. It takes an hour or two, I pick the place on a whim based on snagged interest, and it helps me continue to know and understand more about the world as a whole. I may have already told you about this at some point, so if I’m repeating myself please forgive me.

Emirates may have just cracked the code to comfortable economy travel.

Robert Khederian shared everything we need to know about LED lightbulbs that actually look incandescent.

Whether you’re from Marin or not, Ken Fulk fan or not, anxiously awaiting the reopening of Manka’s or not (I am, obviously, all three) – this is quite the juicy read, and would make a fantastic movie.

When it’s too hot to go outside and everything is closed anyway, I read. I was so excited for Riley Sager’s The Unknown to be published, but 50% of the way in I had to give up – I found it utterly boring, despite the premise of a movie being made on a small Vermont island where women disappeared a century ago. If you like thrillers but paranormal stuff isn’t for you, this isn’t for you either. I finally read Yesteryear, which I sillily didn’t have much interest in for all these months – I thought it was great, with a genuinely fantastic ending, of which I’m always a tough critic. I have nothing to add to the cultural commentary, but I’m so glad I finally gave in. I also read Sarah Pekkanen’s The Women in White, which involves a dual timeline of the 60s and today around four women who underwent a mind control study. It had more substance than the typical thriller, and for once I enjoyed the first 75% of the book more than I did the ending. Still, I’d recommend.

The NYT 50 book list of best thrillers of the 21st century. I have read 23, and clearly have some catching up to do from the time period where I had put my love of reading on hold.

The Uffizi (and Palazzo Pitti and Boboli Gardens) are embarking on a 50 million restoration! Two years sounds ambitious, but all of the plans are much-appreciated to my ears.

I had written a “my two cents” piece about both the Amanvari/Ryan Walker debacle and the “No Influencers” sign in Nantucket but decided not to publish as it veers into hot take territory, which is not something I enjoy. It would have made today’s piece meatier, but sometimes you do not need a double-double, just a simple hamburger.

Edie Parker was one of my favorite clients to work on in my agency life, and I’ve become such a fan of the brand. The end-of-season sale is on, and this radicchio ashtray and this coconut one are so fun – they can be homes for olive pits if you do not partake.

Norma Kamali has been one of my favorite designers for a long time, both because the fabrics travel very well and because I have pieces of my mom’s from the 80s that have fully held up in all the ways. They’re also having a sale, and I’m debating between a few staples – a riff on a black dress I have (wear off-the-shoulder, not as a hood), a casual full skirt, and a classic shirtdress.

I’m really into purple right now, and these socks are the perfect hue. Also in the purple department, Araks is having a sale and this classic one-piece bathing suit is something you can wear for many sunny seasons ahead.

Maria de la Orden is having a great sale too – this cape, this jumpsuit, and these pants are some of my favorites.

How to make a solo-traveler feel welcome
What are your favorites? Hotels? Places? A questionnaire for paid subscribers, from which I’ll create a feature titled In Residence with Hotel People.
The Italian New(s)

Happy Hoteling!

xMarissa

According to me, obviously.

Only offer a single-occupancy room and describe it as such if you genuinely want to attract a solo traveler.

If it’s intended to be a teenager, au pair, or something of the sort’s room, make that a clear distinction.
Pretty please, always provide more than one pillow. And at the pool or beach, pretty please provide two towels.
If the guest in this room will get the lesser table at the restaurant, the back row at the beach/pool, the shorter end of any stick, I encourage you to flip the mentality entirely. Yes, they will be likely spending less than a couple, and surely less than a family of five. But, solo travel is, I would argue, some of the most impressionable travel. A great stay is likely to be extra-recommended, the choice for a return trip, and somewhere that makes the person fall in love with the place at-large. Also, solo travelers do often have a f*ck it, why not treat myself mentality – a larger bar tab, multiple things ordered off the room service menu, the purchase of a piece of hotel merch, an extra big tip to housekeeping.

Take after Keith McNally at Balthazar, where his policy is to offer a solo diner a glass of champagne on the house.

The cost of a gesture like this is so low for a hotel, but has such a high emotional ROI.
Small things like this are the type that get word-of-mouth really flowing, and make people go out of their way to stay with you.
In regards to solo travelers, especially female, making the guest feel special is worth it.

Encourage your staff to pick up on their energy and if it seems like it would be appreciated, encourage them to extend extra attention.

We don’t have someone else to go order another spritz, or to adjust the umbrella – it is always very appreciated when a member of staff notices this, without feeling watched.
Usually, solo travelers aren’t staying at a hotel for pure solitude. Human connection is almost always appreciated, but only if it’s not forced or overly formal (unless the guest is). A longer chat, an extra question asked, a clever joke.
On the flip side, there are certainly solo guests who want to fly under the radar, and are taking time to themselves quite literally. It’s important in these instances not to insist on engagement, or participation in anything. Solo travelers are sometimes working while they’re in residence, or taking time to catch up on sleep.
There should be no one-size-fits-all approach to solo travelers, just as their should not be for any other type of guest.

Girls and gays, yes, we would love you to take our photo.

I can only speak from the female perspective, but I have never said no to a kind admirer wondering if I would like to be at the other end of the lens.
On the other hand, please, do not take our photo without asking as a sort of omg I could never souvenir or social post.
If you’re a photographer and would like a photo, please ask – if you’re me, I will always say yes and feel appreciated.

An invitation to join a table when appropriate.

This is one you have to read the room on, but if you’ve made easy conversation with a solo traveler, an invitation to join your table for a drink is usually very appreciated.
But equally, please do not use someone’s aloneness to hit on them if they seem content. The invitation to join a table is most welcome when it’s from a group or a couple that you have already engaged with. If it’s out of the blue it’s strange.

Please, no pity, from anyone.

Staying at a hotel solo was a choice. The reason varies person to person, stay by stay. Catty whispers, looks of pity, remarks on how brave we are are the last thing any party-of-one wants.

Fellow solo travelers, is there anything you would add?

What is your favorite hotel?

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