May 20, 2021
Valle de Guadalupe, Mexico with Brandon Berkson
Just an hour and one half drive into the Mexican border, Valle de Guadalupe, Mexico's Napa Valley, awaits you. Brendan Berkson, or Hotels Above Par, shares his insights into the region using his 1, 2, 3 signature format. Watch this on YouTube: https://youtu.be/lIRcQ62jz0k
Format:
M: Would you please take a minute to introduce yourself and Hotels Above Par?
B: My name is Brandon Berkson. I am a travel and hotel enthusiast, who splits his time between New York and San Diego. Additionally, I'm the Founder of Hotels Above Par: an expert-curated guide with under-two-minute articles for the hip traveler who is short on time.
Hotels Above Pay is known for our around-300-word articles, which are, in their entirety, posted on our Instagram, website, and newsletter. We’ve had a range of great travel journalists write for us — including Katherine Parker-Magyar and Katy Spratte Joyce. I know they both appeared on this podcast!
M: What is your backstory? Hotels Above Par is a very new but very successful venture. How did you get from your previous work into Hotels Above Par full time?
B: Since I was a kid, I always knew I wanted to work in travel and hotels
My first hotel job was a front desk associate and bellboy at a boutique property in San Francisco. Eventually, I landed travel and hospitality PR positions in Paris, London, and New York City.
Most recently, I was working at a Travel PR firm in New York; however, this was upended in April 2020 as I was furloughed like so many in the industry. I was devastated, but knew I wanted to support hotels during a time they needed love most. I wanted them to feel relevant and talked about during this dark period.
I created Hotels Above Par’s (HAP) around-300-word format, designed to capture one’s interest in this world we live in; as everyone knows, there is an overabundance of content competing for our attention every day. One year later (we just had our first birthday), I’m grateful to share we have over 65,000 IG followers, 17,000+ newsletter subscribers, and 23,000+ monthly unique visitors on our website.
I was actually brought back to work at the PR firm in August 2020; however, after many twelve-hour working days between both positions, I decided to pursue Hotels Above Par full-time last month.
M: Where can people find you online if they want to follow along?
B: Instagram: @HotelsAbovePar and at HotelsAbovePar.com
M: Now, where are we going today?
B: Today we are headed to Valle de Guadalupe, in the Mexican state of Baja California. I must say, I consider myself very well-versed on this area. Not only did I grow up in San Diego — twenty-five minutes from the border — but I also, for the second half of 2020, landed a weekly travel segment in Spanish on leading Mexican network, Radio Formula. I talked a lot about travel to Baja California.
M: On Hotels Above Par you are very good at story telling in short character counts. Today, I would like you to have the freedom to retell your best, favorite or funniest story of Valle de Guadalupe, Mexico in as many characters/sound bites as you like. Can you tell us your story please?
B: Yes, I do have a funny story! My friends and I went to Bruma Wine Garden — a hip eatery where you dine under eucalyptus trees. We asked the bartender to make us a “surprise cocktail,” something “very authentic.” Upon receipt of the drinks, my friend realized there was a grasshopper at the top (this is a common delicacy in Mexico). She screamed so loud — everyone looked at us! So, with that, I ended up eating two grasshoppers — hers and mine. They were so good!
M: I have never driven into...