I recently reported on a pair of hotel brands investing in experiences around a particular niche interest, and it really got me thinking about how interconnected books and travel really are.
I have to first confess that there is a small chance I'm projecting. An avid reader, I do my best reading on airplanes and usually overpack books rather than outfits when preparing for a trip. However, I did recently find some camaraderie when speaking to two separate sources for my article.
During our interview, Elisa Grimaldi, senior director of PR and communications at Avani Hotels & Resorts, shared a thought that deeply resonated with me. The Minor Hotels brand recently rolled out a book club program across its hotels that includes a book nook full of tomes native to the destination of the hotel. She said that reading books set in or about the destination before, during or after the trip gives travelers the ability to extend or deepen their experience. And shouldn't enabling guests to get the most out of their vacations be a huge priority for hotels?
In our conversation, I immediately thought back to my most recent trip to Portugal. I spent exactly two nights in Lisbon, so when I saw a book entitled "Two Nights in Lisbon" on the shelf of Livraria Bertrand, known as the oldest operating bookstore in the world, it felt kismet to buy it. The book is about newlywed woman waking to find her husband missing, and as I was on my honeymoon, I'm very glad the similarities between my trip the book ended with the title.
I read the book throughout my stay in Lisbon. The story, which mentions many real Lisbon neighborhoods and plazas, brought the city alive for me in different ways than any trip preparation or walking tours could.
I love reading on my vacations, and, on multiple occasions, I've had to defend partaking in this particular hobby while trying to explore new destinations. The sentiment was: why would I pay so much money to travel to beautiful destinations only to put my nose in a book rather than enjoy my surroundings?
It's a valid point, and reading on vacation is not going to be a priority for everyone. I've accepted this — mostly. I still try to force my favorite books on my friends ahead of their trips. But for me, just like Grimaldi expressed in our interview, the right book at the right time — in the right destination — can make my trip even more enjoyable.
I hope more hotels, like Avani and Hyatt, which has a summer reading retreat called Camp Unwritten, see the value in connecting books to hotel stays and providing guests a deeper experience in the destinations they travel to.
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