When I was in my early 20s, long before I’d ever written a travel story (in fact long before I’d ever written anything except the odd episode story outline for Neighbours - and very badly at that) an older friend of mine regularly wrote guides for Lonely Planet. “Oh I could do that!” I chirped with the witless confidence of someone who thought travel writing would be as easy as the ‘What I did on my holidays’ essays that always got me top marks in Year 6.
“It’s quite a lot of work,” my friend said with wild understatement. “You barely sleep, you spend your whole time racing around, door-to-door, restaurant-to-restaurant, fact-checking every inch of a city. You’re on your own. It’s not like you just get to sip piña cola…”
By this stage I’d replaced the headphones on my first generation iPod like the surly little twit I was and that was that.
I’ve never written for Lonely Planet - in no small part, I’m sure, thanks to my youthful surliness. But Chris Zeiher, my next Q&A subject has, though these days he works more on the ‘put people’s eyeballs onto the writing other people do for Lonely Planet’ side of things - as well as acting as the brand’s spokesperson on TV, radio and print.
He’s got a lot of insight about why this legacy brand still stands out even as it approaches its 40th birthday this year.
Lonely Planet’s Chris Zeiher:
AC: Tell us a bit about you and your role at Lonely Planet
CZ: Apart from being a travel nerd, a tragic Eurovisionaholic, a wannabe wine connoisseur, a lover of dark, twisty Scandi-crime and an amateur tennis hack I’m also the Senior Director, Trade Sales & Marketing globally for Lonely Planet.
That’s a mouthful!
So, what does that actually mean? Well, I head up the print sales and marketing team globally from my home base in Melbourne, Australia. My team is spread across locations in the US, UK, Ireland and Australia splintering my “work day” into multiple time zones. Basically, our team is responsible for getting Lonely Planet’s printed product sold into retail stores across the globe and marketing the within the retail channel.
I do wear many hats at Lonely Planet. I’m also lucky enough to be one of Lonely Planet’s spokespeople which sees me called upon to do everything from Breakfast TV to regular radio shows to guesting on podcasts.
It’s been a treat getting my hands dirty in product development too as I’ve been very fortunate to be part of the creative steering team that’s conceptualised and developed our new series of guides – Experience Guides (which we launched this year). Oh, and in my spare time I contribute topical articles for lonelyplanet.com and, where I can, I’ll scribe a few pieces to our printed publications.
Wow, that’s a lot hey!
AC: How did you end up there?
CZ: I’ve been with Lonely Planet for nearly 17 years now and I often describe myself as “part of the furniture”. I did start in a retail marketing role back in the day when Lonely Planet was based in a massive warehouse office in Footscray, Victoria. Prior to joining the travel behemoth I was managing retail bookstores. And when the opportunity came along to merge my passion for travel and books I jumped at it.
AC: What makes Lonely Planet different to all the other travel media and guides out there?
CZ: What I love about Lonely Planet’s philosophy is that we approach our printed product offering as an item that requires constant evolution. And this evolution come from evidence based research sourced from our customers, our travellers.
We’re very, very close to our travellers…we listen carefully to what they want from our product and then match that to macro or developing trends in travel. This dynamism ensures that we’re always looking for new ways of experiencing a destination and helping traveller’s find their next amazing travel story…and that’s exciting.
I love that travel is about making amazing memories, travel is about growing and challenging yourself and it’s also about educating yourself about other cultures and communities. And Lonely Planet’s product is very connected to that…it’s not observational, it’s experiential.
Our challenge internally is how do we help connect people to those amazing travel experiences but also allow them to be open to serendipity whilst on the road. The way we approach our product development is what stands us apart from our competitors.
AC: Can PRs reach out to Lonely Planet in the hope of getting featured in one of your guides? How do they do that?
CZ: We want our locally based authors to surface as many amazing experiences as possible for inclusion in our products. And that can be a challenging place to start.
Providing our team a dossier of contacts prior to every piece of research is a part our process. Our author team will assess these listings and, where it’s warranted, go and experience the business first-hand. It’s no guarantee that it will be included in any material as that’s the independent decision of our author.
If you’re keen to understand how to be listed on Lonely Planet you can check out the process here.
AC: How do you find new writers for the guides? If a travel writer was interested in writing for you, how would they put their hand up?
CZ: Our editorial team is always on the lookout for new talent and new voices. But, just at the minute, we’re closed for pitches. However, for guidance, we’ve an excellent amount of detail on what we’re looking for on our contribution page, here.
AC: You have contributed to Lonely Planet material yourself. Briefly, how does the process work (pre-planning? On the ground? Afterwards?)?
CZ: My contributions have been to our illustrated or gifting list (think our beautiful coffee table books). And for these, as they’re often subject specific, pre-planning is essential. Not everything I plan ends up in the final piece but it’s the bones that I use to assemble the article. On the ground research is mandatory…and it can change the course of a piece as something that appears to be a “no brainer” in planning can end up being a “no way” is that going in.
I find interviewing and chatting with owners of businesses incredibly insightful…it rounds out the texture when you’re able to include the people behind the venture as, I find, their passion always comes through.
AC: Which was your favourite guide or article to write for Lonely Planet and why?
CZ: Hands down my best writing gig was for Gourmet Trails Australia & New Zealand. This book is a culinary companion to having an amazing weekend away in food and wine country. Structured as a “trail”, the writer attends a region to create an itinerary based on amazing gourmet experiences. So, that’s everything from cellar doors, to farmers markets, to microdistillerys, coffee roasters and cheesemongers – every form of food and drink is up for inclusion. It was the most delicious writing assignment.
For the Fleurieu Peninsula trail I invited my Mum and Dad along on the research trip in the hope that they’d give me additional insight via an inter-generational trip. It really shaped what I included and what I discarded from the final copy.
AC: What’s your best tip or tips for a traveller who only has 24 hours in a new city or region and wants to make the most of it?
CZ: 24 hours! Wow…that’s brutal. Best piece of advice is don’t cram too much in…you’ll exhaust yourself and end up hating the place.
Structure your day into morning/ afternoon/ evening and hit one major thing in each of those time pockets.
And always splurge on food. For me finding great food experiences in a city or region can really underscore what that place is about. I always pick places where local produce and delicacies appear on the menu as they provide excellent insight into the location.
Another hot tip – make your food adventure a lunch experience rather than battling the evening crowd.
AC: What’s the one thing you never travel without?
CZ: Noise cancelling headphones. Planes, noisy hotels or AirBnBs…they’re a God send!
AC: Where can people find out more about you/connect with you?
CZ: Hit me up on any on Twitter, Instagram or TikTok
Also. My friends. I know I skipped a week of The Travel Communicator last week. Thanks to everyone who sent me slightly peeved reminder emails or rapped me smartly on the knuckles at events.
I knowww.
I started this thing during the languid Christmas months and then … deadlines. February is traditionally the month of mayhem.
However, once again I really thank you for all your interest in The Travel Communicator; I’m perennially shocked at how much you all seem to (inexplicably) enjoy it - so thank you!
And (ssshh!) there may or may not be big things coming down the track. So cagey. Stay tuned.
And travel somewhere nice when you can.
Alex