Deez Interviews: Meet the CNN Travel editor who explains how the travel trend sausage is made + how her vacations are always on point
Happy Friday, Deezers! Today’s interview is with CNN Travel’s Stacey Lastoe, who talked to us about what she looks for in travel stories (aviation content is hot, apparently), how she meticulously plans her own vacations (obvi), and how her job isn’t all beaches and 5-star resorts (for the most part), heh.
Also: keep some tissues nearby, Bourdain fans, because one of her CNN anecdotes in particular will have you weeping.
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The interviewee: Stacey Lastoe (follow her @stacespeaks!)
The gig: Senior editor at CNN Travel
The day-to-day:
It all starts with checking to see what I’ve missed on Slack. Since my team is international (we have editors in the UK and one in Bangkok), conversations on possible stories to cover and content to pitch to the programming and social media teams have probably been taking place while I’ve been asleep.
We cover travel news or trending pieces if the story is great and if we think our audience will be interested. If I’m not writing or editing one of these quick writes, I am (hopefully) getting in the zone and putting lots of creative energy into editing features I’ve assigned. I also typically have two or three longer-lead stories I’m writing myself, so I try to carve out time for that focused research, reporting and writing.
On days when I have a lot of meetings — either internally or externally with various tourism boards or hotel CEOS, etc — I’m probably spending time reviewing and refining pitches and working with the photo team on images for my stories. I might be working on headlines, offering a second set of eyes on a colleague’s story or setting up phone interviews for upcoming features. When there’s a video topping one of my stories, I work closely with the producer and video editor on overall feel and text.
Okay, so between all the self-dubbed travel influencers and lifestyle blogs out there, there's definitely no shortage of #travelcontent out there. So what are a few things you always look for when considering whether a story is a good fit for CNN Travel?
I think more and more people are really into the idea of spending money on experiences rather than stuff, so that’s probably part of the high interest in travel, but, of course, the inspiration factor is a big deal too. Who doesn’t want to look at pretty beaches and turquoise waters on a cold, dreary and gray day in February?
With CNN Travel, we’re trying to cater to a broad, international audience, so I’m looking for stories that feel unique — ideas that people all around the world might be interested in. This often means superlatives, luxury (again, travel inspiration is huge), fresh travel tips or strong opinion pieces. Aviation is also big for us right now. People seem to love reading all things aviation-related.
At the end of last year, Chartbeat announced that CNN’s online obituary for Anthony Bourdain was the best read digital story of 2018. What was it like seeing that coverage resonate with so many people?
Anthony Bourdain. Where to begin? Did I mention I was hired as a senior editor of Explore Parts Unknown, the digital component to Parts Unknown in late 2017? It’s been a hard year to say the least, but such an insightful one too!
Learning that CNN’s Bourdain obituary was the most read digital story of 2018 wasn’t super surprising, not given the influx of social media commentary I personally saw in my own feeds — and from seemingly every corner of the world. I was in a state of semi-shock on June 8, the day of his untimely death, but I recall quite clearly being impressed and in awe of my colleagues who were handling the news around his suicide.
I remember being in one meeting, someone pointing out how well the Tony stuff was performing on digital, and the digital EIC firmly saying she didn’t care about traffic. It was all about honoring our former colleague, Anthony Bourdain, and I believe we did exactly that in our coverage.
Later though, recognizing the impact of the obituary and all of the other wonderful and respectful tribute pieces we produced here made me realize that I hadn’t really any idea of just how many people loved and respected Tony and his work. The digital success of the obit, if you will, is indicative of just what a large and important public figure he was; it showed quite clearly how many lives he’d touched.
We live in a time when it’s impossible to read everything, watch everything, etc. Keeping up with pop culture today isn’t easy. There’s just so much available consumption, but it seems we were all in agreement on one thing: Anthony Bourdain was a legend. Inimitable. Irreplaceable. And when he died, people couldn’t consume enough as far as it related to him and his legacy.
What is one of the biggest misconceptions people have about your job?
That I travel all the time, or that when I do travel, it’s super glamorous and luxurious. But, in fact, while travel is sometimes a part of the job, and I have been fortunate to go to some cool places, more often than not, I’m sitting at my desk editing a story from a writer who has been somewhere even cooler.
My best not-at-all-glamorous story of travel is when my colleague (a video producer) and I went to Columbus, Ohio to cover the opening of the National Veterans Museum and Memorial. The opening ceremony took place outside: It was 40 degrees and raining the entire time. It was brutal, my hands were like icicles, and the icing on the cake is that it was a Saturday, not a day I typically report to work!
That said, I think the story came out great, and I’m grateful we had the opportunity to meet with veterans and their families and to hear Colin Powell speak in person. I just tell this story to make it abundantly clear my work-life isn’t all beaches and 5-star hotels.
There was this tweet the other day from the NYT's Jazmine Hughes, said that New Orleans is this year's Reykjavik in terms of being the new travel “hotspot,” and it made us curious about how these trends might emerge. What are your thoughts on that?
That’s interesting. Some editors would tell you that it’s all a big PR-stunt, i.e., PR pumping money into marketing for a particular city and bringing as many travel writers, bloggers and influencers there as they can helps for sure. It’s helpful if a city is affordable, too.
When my team was compiling our list of the 19 best places to travel in 2019, we brainstormed a lot and considered what major things were happening in the world in 2019. For example, the island of Hawaii’s been making a huge comeback since the volcano eruption, so that was one I pushed for. A colleague suggested Normandy, France in large part because this year marks the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
I think people discover a place that they really like, they tell other people about it, who then tell others (or just take the trip themselves), and before you know it: Croatia’s coast is the hottest thing since, well, since the Amalfi Coast (or something like that). Publications with a large readership, such as the NYT, can certainly influence travel trends, and I think that Instagram and influencers also possess this power, but is there a big convention of travel editors and writers who get together and decide that NOLA is the place of the moment? If there is, I’ve never been invited!
More of a personal Q: does working in travel editorial mean that your own vacations are always on point?
I’d like to think so! If it’s just me and my husband traveling, he’s in charge of flights (one of those points guys, you know?), and I oversee all the other planning because … I love planning! I’m very Type A in that way. I don’t care for hour-by-hour itineraries, but I want to be sure I’m selecting the best hotel, the best restaurants, the best neighborhood (best being highly subjective here, of course).
Even if it complicates the trip and makes it less relaxing, I want to explore a place. For our three-week honeymoon in Japan, that meant traveling to no less than seven cities or towns. If possible, I like to try and get off the well-worn path. I research restaurants (hate paying for a mediocre meal), but I like to leave it to chance sometimes. What looks good? What has a cool vibe?
Finally, any tips or tricks on how Deez Links readers can make their 2k19 travel plans extra amazing?
You need to decide what matters most on your vacation. Do you prefer to stay downtown in the center of the action? Would you like to get to some remote island where only a handful of other tourists are, even if it takes you three flights, an hour’s drive and a ferry followed by a taxi ride in a golf cart? A story or a guidebook shouldn’t dictate your trip, but it should provide guidance.
I’d suggest booking direct for hotels or even finding a travel agency (these are making a comeback) and reaching out to the hotel in advance of your trip. This can go a long way for making your stay special and making you less like one of thousands who booked through a third-party agency.
Ask for recommendations in advance. Read up on the destination. Once you’ve landed, get more recommendations. Sometimes the hotel’s concierge can help , but you know who’s really great at giving advice about where locals go? Bartenders and restaurant servers!
Also: There’s no travel law that says you have to do everything or check off every box. It’s OK if your idea of a vacation is taking a nap after a boozy lunch, or if it’s spending an hour visiting the city’s major museum, or skipping the museum altogether. You don’t have to go on the tour, see ALL the sights or eat at the number one restaurant if that’s not what’ll make you happy. You are in charge of your vacation, and that means doing as much or as little as you want and not apologizing for any of it.
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BRB booking our summer travel plans (or at least aggressively Instagram-saving them…) and you should be, too. Don’t forget to follow Stacey @stacespeaks, and have an unapologetic weekend!!