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Newsletters put the world of travel at your fingertips

Carolyn Spencer BrownTHE BALTIMORE SUN

Like a lot of people who love to travel for pleasure, Andrew Harper thought about finding a job in the industry. Mr. Harper, who was devoted to seeking and finding intimate and luxurious inns and hotels, toyed with the idea of becoming a travel agent.

"We'd been staying at uniquely private resorts for years," he says. "Friends were always saying, 'Why don't you become a travel agent?' But the only way to make a profit in that is to book people in hotels you don't particularly like."

Instead, he founded a travel newsletter named Andrew Harper's Hideaway Report. At that time, Mr. Harper (the name is actually a nom de plume so he can travel incognito) was an advertising executive at a Washington agency. He wrote the first issue at home during a blizzard that kept him cooped up in the house for three days.

Hideaway Report is now celebrating its 16th year of publication. Mr. Harper's subscribers pay a $100 annual fee and more than 78 percent of them are presidents, CEOs or owners of companies, he says.

Newsletters exist for almost any travel-oriented interest, from traveling by freighter to traveling with pets, from those who take trips based on a tight budget to those whose wallets are more expansive.

Travel newsletters appeal to a diverse audience that seeks information on narrow aspects of traveling. Publications such as the Las Vegas Advisor, the Italian Traveler, the British Travel Letter and Out West focus on a city, a country or a region. Those geared to a particular style of travel include Golf Travel, Tropicalities, Thrifty Traveler, Going Solo and Travelin' Woman. There are advocacy newsletters, such as the Handicapped Travel Newsletter and Out and About for gay and lesbian travelers.

What distinguishes these newsletters from other travel resources, such as guidebooks, newspapers and magazines, is their ability to focus on a specific concept -- one that the more broad-based publications don't have space for.

"We're a traveling country," says Howard Penn Hudson, publisher of the Newsletter on Newsletters. "Travel is a big, big business. And when people get excited about going places, they want everything they can get."

At last count, there are more than 80 travel newsletters in the marketplace, a figure that varies constantly as new ones begin ++ and old ones fold. Most have a relatively small circulation, ranging from a low of 500 to about 20,000 readers, compared, for instance, to a general interest travel magazine such as Conde Nast Traveler, which has more than 864,000 readers.

The cost of annual subscriptions can be as low as $11.95 but generally are pricier than that of a magazine or guidebook, often falling in the $40-$80 range. Frequency of publication varies with each newsletter. Some publish quarterly, with most being either monthly or bimonthly. Few accept advertising.

In addition to providing more specific types of information about lodging, restaurants, attractions and even local customs, newsletters exhibit a range of personalities because they are written more often by travel enthusiasts than publishing professionals. These publications are often as much a labor of love as a business, and the best of these manage to maintain a friendly character, making no bones about their own preferences and quirks.

"There is no concealing my disdain for crowds, flash, pomposity and plastic," Mr. Harper writes in a recent issue of Hideaway Report. "Pretentious hotels and name-dropping resorts tender me the excitement of a boiled turnip. Small rates big. Charm, not chicness."

On the opposite side of the spectrum, Mary VanMeer, founder of The Thrifty Traveler, writes of shoestring traveling -- a way of life that began for her as early as elementary school, when her family would traipse across the country with a tent, a trailer or a motor home.

Reading a newsletter is almost like hearing about a great trip from a good friend, and a recent poll conducted by Conde Nast Traveler shows the value of such information. According to the magazine, 80.6 percent preferred recommendations from friends and acquaintances, while 59 percent trusted a travel agent and 52.3 percent treated guidebooks as gospel.

But it's wise to know friends as well as possible before taking their advice. "What people have to be careful of is that with desktop publishing today, any Joe can knock off a newsletter and become a publishing expert," says Nichole Bernier, associate editor of Conde Nast Traveler. "You need to be able to trust that what they're telling you isn't just recycled information."

How can you tell if a newsletter is accurate? Ms. Bernier advises that you ask to see the last five issues. If possible, choose one that tackles a destination you are already familiar with -- you can compare your opinion to theirs. Check to see if the newsletter has an 800 number that permits not only new subscribers but also current ones to exchange opinions and make comments.

Sometimes, the process of figuring out the legitimacy of a newsletter comes from trial and error. Roger Doxsey subscribes to the Discerning Traveler, a Philadelphia-based newsletter that focuses on destinations up and down the East Coast. Mr. Doxsey's only criteria in evaluating the publication was the degree to which he agreed with its recommendations. "When they recommend a place, we find we always enjoy it," he says. "There's consistency."

It's the same for Tom Balliere, of Roland Park. Mr. Balliere, a stockbroker for whom traveling is a major hobby, is always on the lookout for unusual inns. He subscribes to Andrew Harper's Hideaway Report, which, he says, "offers continuity of quality, of uniqueness."

A newsletter's survival depends on that kind of approval. "The only reason I have a high renewal rate is because people have agreed with my opinion," Mr. Harper says. "In the newsletter business, renewal is the name of the game."