The Creator Guide
Start creating travel content that pays.
What we’ve learned filming hotels, villas, restaurants and experiences: how to build a portfolio, find work, pitch, price it and what to pack.
Before you start
You don’t need a big following.
UGC (user-generated content) is content brands pay you to make for their channels and ads. Most of it never appears on your own feed, so skill and reliability matter more than follower count.
One full-time travel creator’s income
- Hotel & resort photo and video40%
- UGC content creation20%
- Travel product brands15%
- Tourism boards & brand trips10%
- Retreats10%
Step one
Build a portfolio brands can scan in seconds.
- 1
Intro
Who you are, where you’re based and the niche you create in.
- 2
Samples
Your best videos grouped by category: stays, food, wellness, product.
- 3
Rates
A simple rate card, or “rates on request” with a starting price.
- 4
Audience
Demographics and recent analytics, if you post your own content.
- 5
Contact
A professional email and a clear way to book you.
What works
- —Make it mostly video: brands want to see you on camera.
- —Show range: raw footage, edited ads, reviews, unboxings and talking-to-camera.
- —Keep it focused on the niche you want to be hired for.
- —Refresh it often and remove older, weaker work.
- —Skip AI-generated clips and avatars: brands want real people and places.
A brand should instantly see that you can speak on camera, make ad-style content, look polished and fit a niche.
Step two
Find work on platforms and off them.
Platforms are a good way to land your first paid jobs. Join a few, then spend most of your time pitching brands directly: the creators who land the most deals pitch consistently.
OnBento
Pitching tool with a large database of brand and PR contacts, plus scheduled follow-ups.
Brands Meet Creators
Brand contacts, templates and campaign opportunities.
Aspire
Campaign marketplace with lots of well-known brands.
Statusphere
Simple application; campaigns come to you when you qualify.
Insense
Paid UGC and influencer campaigns in one place.
Cohley
Higher-paying jobs with clear briefs, but competitive.
Collabstr
Brands book creators directly from your listing.
Billo
Short product videos for e-commerce brands; beginner-friendly.
Influee
UGC campaigns for brands, especially outside North America.
Sideshift
Apply to campaigns across many industries.
Vidsy
Paid creative briefs, available in many countries.
Skeepers
UGC campaigns with well-known consumer brands.
JoinBrands · Mini Social · Hourly UGC
More marketplaces worth joining early on.
Creatorflow · Crowdswell
Platforms with strong Australian brand lists.
Step three
Pitch like you’ve done your homework.
The pitch email
- 1Who you are and where you’ll be (dates help hotels say yes).
- 2Why this brand: one specific thing you love about it.
- 3A clear offer: reels, walkthroughs, drone, 20–30 edited photos.
- 4What you ask for in return: a stay, a fee, or both.
- 5A link to your portfolio and an easy next step.
Send it from a professional email address, keep it personal, and follow up once after a few days.
Hooks that stop the scroll
- “3 reasons I’d never stay anywhere else in X”
- “I tried X with zero expectations — here are my honest thoughts”
- “The place that made me fall in love with X again”
- “I wish I’d found this before wasting money on X”
- “This is the secret about X that big brands don’t want you to know”
Step four
Set your rates and protect your usage.
| Experience | Per video | Usually means |
|---|---|---|
| Under 6 monthsBasic portfolio, first few clients | $100–200 | Basic portfolio, first few clients |
| 6–12 monthsConsistent work, some repeat clients | $300–500 | Consistent work, some repeat clients |
| 1–2 yearsCase studies, retainers and repeat clients | $500–1K+ | Case studies, retainers and repeat clients |
Extra hooks
about $50 each
Raw footage
$100–200
Paid ads usage
+20–30% of the base rate per month
Finance, tech, health and wellness, luxury and alcohol brands often pay 40–60% more, because they spend the most on ads. Always agree usage rights in writing: how long the brand can use the content, and whether it runs as paid ads. These are starting points in USD; adjust for your market and experience.
Who to pitch
Travel brands that need content.
Stays
- Booking.com
- Hilton
- Marriott Bonvoy
- Accor (ALL)
- Luxury Escapes
Experiences
- GetYourGuide
- Viator
- Klook
- Headout
- G Adventures
- Intrepid Travel
Gear
- DJI
- GoPro
- Peak Design
- Osprey
- LARQ
Connectivity
- Airalo
Tourism boards
- Tourism Australia
- Visit Dubai
- Visit Abu Dhabi
Don’t limit yourself to the biggest names. Boutique hotels, villas, dive shops, spas and tour operators are often the fastest yes, and they need fresh photos for their websites and booking listings.
What to pack
Your kit, kept simple.
Wireless mic
Clean audio matters more than a new camera. A clip-on wireless mic is the first upgrade.
Phone or compact camera
A recent phone is enough to start; a compact vlogging camera is a good next step.
Stabiliser
A gimbal keeps walkthroughs and room tours smooth.
Drone
Hotels and villas love aerials. Check local rules before you fly.
Fast storage
A portable SSD so you can offload and back up every day.
Editing
CapCut for video, Canva for rate cards, decks and invoices.
Ready when you are
Join the Escaped creator network.
Share your best work and where you’re based. We match creators with stays, restaurants and experiences that fit their style.