The Combined Group Influencer and Press Trip

News and Insights

The Combined Group Influencer and Press Trip

June 30, 2026

Here's a common scenario: You're looking to promote your hotel, destination, or travel product, and you want to reach both press and influencer audiences through dedicated, hosted trips. Instead of two separate trips, why not combine them so, as your PR reps, we can hit all of your targets at once? After all, when a destination or product is endorsed by both trusted influencers and respected writers, it creates a powerful narrative that feels genuine and authoritative. One date, one major message. How hard can it be?

First, let's talk about the players. During a hosted trip, journalists are typically focused on in-depth reporting, unique angles, and critical analysis, and their goal is to inform their audience with well-researched stories, often with a longer lead time for publication. Whereas your influencers are primarily focused on creating engaging, visually appealing content for immediate social media consumption. Their goal is to inspire and entertain, often with a more personal, lifestyle-oriented approach and a shorter turnaround time for posting. Both are incredibly effective forms of promotion, but it's important to recognize: They're also incredibly different.

This can make the itinerary (and energy) of a combined press trip a bit difficult to nail. While plenty of journalists are social butterflies, influencers are often looking to foster a more collaborative and interactive atmosphere during a trip. As such, some journalists prefer a more focused, structured environment in which they can focus on pursuing their own unique angle, conducting interviews or exploring on their own.

If you decide to combine the two, here's one of the most important things to consider: itinerary, itinerary, itinerary!

A thoughtful and well-executed itinerary is a vital component of any hosted trip, capable of leaving a significant impact resulting in positive brand perception and lasting industry relationships. Combined itinerary ideation goes beyond the "traditional" thought process of creating the perfect mix of fun brand activities and personal downtime, and instead becomes a bit of a risk that, when not executed thoughtfully, can leave a sour taste in the mouth of a writer or influencer.

Throughout that planning process, it's important to always keep in mind what each is there for, and how the two might differ throughout the activities you have lined up.

Let's give a specific example: You're a hotel looking to raise awareness about a new menu launch at your on-site restaurant, so you make sure to include a dinner for all of the influencers and journalists in attendance.

Dinner has arrived - and the food is the star of the show! The dishes are not just delicious but also incredibly photogenic. While the writers appreciate this and are also wowed at a restaurant, the influencers are more likely to go into their laser-focus mode - and you don't want to rush them when plates hit the table. Influencers need time to compose their shots, adjust lighting, and get multiple angles. Speeding them through it will result in lower-quality content.

Should traditional press be expected to sit back and wait, dodging flashes since they're camera shy and feeling as though they're less prioritized because capturing images and video isn't their thing? In this particular example, one group is overshadowing the other, and the writers might feel their needs aren't being met with the mixed dynamic. (Of course, the same scenario can happen the other way around, with writers prioritized and influencers left waiting for their next opportunity for an ideal photo-op.)

This is when the strategic advice of your FINN team comes in, with our practiced ability to guide you on how to make everyone happy: from recommending the seating of press and influencers at separate tables, to dedicating pre-dinner "content creation" windows for influencers to capture the most impressive meals while the journalists arrive for their dedicated timeslots to interview the head chef for in-depth features.

While a combined trip can be tricky to navigate, it's not impossible. And it can still result in hitting both of your marketing objectives successfully: Influencers can go viral on social platforms, while traditional press provides in-depth, long-form coverage and further legitimizes the experience.

Overall, it's important to remember that just because it's a combined trip does not mean you won't have to plan two separate budgets. Indeed, sometimes two smaller, more focused trips are more cost-effective than one large, combined trip.

Ultimately, the decision to combine or separate such trips depends on your specific goals, target audience, budget, and the nature of what you're promoting.

Happy hosting!

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• TAGS:

• Luxury
• ,
• Travel & Tourism

POSTED BY: Megan Derks