A few years ago, I was offered £6,000 to write a chunky guidebook, on which I
was expected to work exclusively for six months. I declined. Though I
desperately wanted to gild my bookshelf with something bearing my name,
slave labour didn't interest me.
Not that I was qualified: I'd been asked to write a book for family travel
when at the time I didn't have a family - something the commissioning editor
ignored.
So I wasn't surprised to hear the cost-cutting stories that the American
writer Thomas Kohnstamm told in his book Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?
- which, by the way, he is doing a very good job of promoting.
Certainly the talk of the London Book Fair this week has been of little but
the former Lonely Planet author who scribed a section in the Colombia guide
without even stepping foot in the country, and blew the whistle on a world
where good reviews were included on the whim of an author in need of free
food.
Cutting corners and indiscriminately accepting freebies is increasingly
ingrained in the travel writing circuit because writers' pay is being
whittled down to just a couple of thousand pounds in some cases, while the
few weeks they spend in a country is hardly sufficient for a comprehensive
review.
Which leaves us, a travel-savvy generation, in a bit of a quandary. If writers
rely so heavily on the web, the obvious question is why shouldn't we just
cut out the middle man, save ourselves the best part of a tenner, and get
information at the touch of a keypad?
The starting place for many is the hotel review site TripAdvisor, which
receives 20 million visitors a month and whose strength is that it relies on
Joe Public's opinion. That strength, though, can also be a weakness. “I'd
say TripAdvisor is a bit of a minefield as anyone can write a review,” says
James Lohan, the managing director of the upmarket accommodation guide Mr &
Mrs Smith.
With every wannabe travel writer demanding his say, there is no way for the
user to know if his views coincide with Bill Smith's from Idaho.
Nor can he tell if the review is written by someone with an axe to grind who
may not have even stayed at the hotel in question, or whether it's penned by
a hotelier posing as a client, though TripAdvisor says it has a
zero-tolerance policy to the former and can usually tell from the wording if
a review comes from a hotelier.
But are these internet pitfalls any worse than guides written by professionals
whose budgets don't stretch to allow them to eat or stay everywhere the
guide mentions? “Nobody can visit everything,” admits Melissa Shales, the
former chair of the British Guild of Travel Writers, who has more than 20
volumes to her name.
“It is impossible given deadlines, fees and the expenses we get offered to try
out every restaurant and sleep in every hotel. There comes a point when you
have to ask for local recommendations and to look at things like
TripAdvisor.”
There are tales of an Irish guide put together entirely by an author whose
only visit to the Emerald Isle was on cyberspace, and of errors perpetuated
by writers relying on other guides and the internet: a mention of a hotel
that closed a year previously here, the description of the stunning
turquoise colour of a lagoon where the water is actually a dark shade of
grey there.
The solution, if you're looking for reliable information, is probably to take
a bit of this and a bit of that. As Christopher Somerville, a guidebook
writer who has written on Ireland, Crete and the UK, says: “Because an
author can't possibly experience all hotels and restaurants, when I travel I
would look at the internet for hotel and restaurant information rather than
consult a guidebook but I would use a guidebook to learn about a country
itself.”
One criticism about guidebooks is that they are often out of date by the time
they hit the bookstall, although forward-thinking companies such as the
Hedonist's Guide series are tackling the issue by offering free online
updates to book purchasers. Meanwhile, websites such as Globorati.com and
Gridskipper.com paint an up-to-date picture of what's new out there.
Interestingly, it is the country-wide guides that are the first casualty in a
rapidly changing industry, according to figures from the UK Travel
Publishing Year Book, while specialised, niche publications are coming into
their own. Accommodation and restaurant guides are ripe for a move to the
web, but if you're going to the Himalayas, a trusted guidebook has to be
better.
Finding the brand you trust and which suits you is often a matter of trial and
error, but if you can find a series you identify with it's like carrying a
best friend's recommendations in your backpack. Books written by authors who
live in a city are obviously better than those who parachute in for a few
weeks, while series where writers are paid royalties - such as the Rough
Guides - give writers a vested interest in producing good-quality material.
For my part, I find Time Out's city guides are unsurpassable, and I
identify strongly with Alastair Sawday's characterful and quirky
accommodation in his Special Places to Stay series.
There is still a place for a good travel book. And despite Kohnstamm's
revelations, there are some excellent guidebook authors out there, propelled
by their passion, with writers almost anally obsessed with their facts, who
get a kick from seeing their entry glaring back at them from the restaurant
or shop window in which it has been placed.
But reliability is no longer always a given, as it was in the days of the
pioneering Victorian Baedeker guides: Karl Baedeker was even discovered
placing a coin on every 20th step during his ascent to the cathedral roof in
Milan, just to ensure his count was exact.
Unless there's a rapid shake up, perhaps as a result of Kohnstamm's
revelations, it's only going to get worse. “If publishers keep cutting
corners they are going to end up with internet review guides in print that
are written by amateurs, which will undermine any position of authority the
guides once had,” cautions Matthew Teller, a Rough Guide author.
For now, the bookshop shelves are dangerously bowed under the weight of a
staggering 35,000 different travel books which won't all survive the
challenge of the internet. One is the tome I eventually wrote - The Big
House Party - detailing properties for exclusive hire use, for which I and a
co-author slogged around Britain over six months. We did it the long way
round, without cutting corners, and barely covered our costs. It was great
to see our names on the book's spine but we're both agreed that it was a
one-off experience - doing it properly just doesn't pay.
Matthew Teller, Rough Guides author since 1996: "The first
question people ask me when they find out that I write Rough Guides is
whether I eat in all the restaurants. Of course I don't. There simply isn't
the time, money or stomach capacity to do it. Researching the first edition
of the Rough Guide to Switzerland took me about six months of travel. There
was barely any time to think straight. I started off consulting the existing
guidebooks, but they weren't much good. Then it was four months at home,
often working from breakfast time until midnight. I can't make a living from
guidebooks alone. To do this job, I think you have to be a writer who
travels, not a traveller who writes."
James Lohan, managing director of Mr & Mrs Smith, boutique hotel
directory: "We research a shortlist of favourites, based on looks,
reputation and recommendations; either myself or a member of the team will
then visit the property. If we're happy with what we see, we book in a
reviewer for an anonymous review. Our reviewers are people we admire and
respect, who can be trusted to be honest. If they come back with a glowing
report, we agree terms with the hotel (a fee, and commission on bookings;
our members never pay more to book through us). The reviews are edited and
fact-checked by our editorial team. We also keep tabs on every property via
feedback from our readers."
Beverley Fearis, author of A Hedonist's Guide to Madrid: "Madrid
turned out to be one of the toughest jobs I've ever done. I was given an
apartment and a budget of £50 a day and was told to review all the city's
best bars, restaurants, tapas bars, cafes, shops, nightclubs and
attractions. £50 a day doesn't go very far when you're living a hedonist's
lifestyle, so I didn't eat a full meal everywhere I mentioned - I would
maybe look at menus, or what was on other people's plates. By the end, I was
exhausted, skint, had put on half a stone. What's more, I then spent the
next four months writing the guide in between earning my living as a travel
writer."
Mr Kohnstamm claims to have written about Colombia while never having visited the country. Lonely Planet's response is that he was hired to write about the history of Colombia and not about specific details like hotesl and sights etc. Mr Kohnstamm admits he is a conman and is at the moment trying to flog a book yet everyone seems to believe what he says. He may be telling the truth but I have my doubts.
I personally first decide where I want to go and then look up guide books to see if they can smooth my planning. They are just one of the many sources of information available today. If you believe all you read in either a guide book or a newspaper then I think you may be heading for a disappointment.
James, Jakarta, Indonesia
I always refer to Time Out guides when on a city break. The Barcelona & Bruges guide was perfect for my short visit to the city - all the information you need with fantastic recommendations.
Wendy, London,
I have recently returned from 6 weeks in Cuba, where quite frankly it was blindingly obvious that the author of the Lonely Planet or "The Bible" as the travellers call it was wearing some Austin Powers esq extremely large cuffs!!!
I slogged my way round the whole country and went to some isolated and inhospitible places infested with mosquitoes and sandflies on the back of "Of Cayo Sabinals 30km of beaches Playa Los Pinos is undoubtedly the best. There are five basic cabins" (actually derelict and uninhabited-a lonely night was had)
Needless to say without the LP I would have been well and truly up the junction!!!!
Toby, Hurstpierpoint,
I was once asked to write some entries for a travel book. I had never been to any of the places they wanted me to write about, but it didn't seem to bother the editors - and they certainly didn't want to pay to send me there. Definitely don't rely on one tome when you're going to a new place!
Lucy, London,
I've always found Time Out guides to be really reliable - the Barcelona guide was essential on a recent trip over there
Danielle, London, UK
I had no choice at the airport and Time Out Rome was the only guide on offer. Sometimes you don't need choice, just the best. Well-researched, good maps, written with humour. They don't do many places yet, that's because quality cannot be mass-produced. Keep up the excellent quality, Time Out! Rough Guides, Lonely Planet and DK guides were excellent when they were indies. Conglomerates cut corners. Shame on them.
karel, london,
Me too Never go anywhere without my trusty timeout guide there def the best on the market
Cheggers, London,
Guide book readers benefit from insider information and local tips. This is often why they buy a particular book. It is difficult to present an insider's view to readers if you do not live in the country or city you are writing about. Perhaps I am unusual in that I have only been in one country; so only write about this and its cities; so I have accumulated an enormous up to date data base of touristic contacts. Many official bodies now e-mail new transport routes or schedules. I am involved in the life of the country, often speak at congresses and work on local touristic and cultural projects and have written local books on cultural subjects. This is the undisputed way to have current, accurate and interesting information. You cannot visit everyone at once but over time, you can work up a lot of restaurants and hotels, shops etc., and more contacts than you will need for one guide book.
Suzanne Swan, Kas, Antalya, Turkey
I agree with your recommendation of the Time Out guides. If I have the misfortune to visit somewhere they don't cover, I feel quite lost.
ian, london,