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FTC Disclosure

As bloggers, sometimes businesses invite us to experience their services on the house or host us for a visit. We also do contracted work with brands and destinations to bring awareness to their product or experience.  Please note that while all opinions expressed within our blog are our own, we may have been comped, received a paycheck or asked to write something in exchange for the fun time.  Per the FTC Disclosure rules, we do need to call this out.  Having said that, any of the following might apply:

Again, our opinions are our own and we do no cast them lightly.  If you have a concern about anything we’ve written or have questions, please contact us directly.

Optional Partner Sharing

Another important disclosure to share is that sometime we work with clients (destinations or travel brands) and have specific jobs to do for them, that may not include any form of writing or social media on our own site or channels. Sometimes, we choose to share all about that client or experience because it’s fantastic and we have the photos and stories to share.

For example, we have worked with UnCruise Adventures as a contractor providing them with assets for their own use and distribution, but have had such awesome experiences that we’ve written about them for our website, have recorded podcast episodes about our trips, and share lots of things to social media. It’s not the job, but it’s our own take and joy that we’re sharing.

If something is contracted, that is clearly stated, both on our website and in social media. If it’s not contracted, then it’s not and it’s fully being shared because we want to. Does that make sense?

Hosted / Comp vs Work Requirement

I get so many questions about how we do what we do, and one of those things is about working with brands and destinations. When we are sharing anything we are adhering to FTC Disclosure requirements. So, if a hotel is comping our stay at our request so that we can write about it we will clearly call that out. If a destination has invited us to share about all the fun we have there, we’ll call it out.

Example: “Jim Bob’s Beach Camp asked us to share about our experience…” or “We were invited by Sally Jo’s Booze Bar to try their newest crawdad cocktails…” or “We partner with Yomammaso Beachy, FL and here’s what we’ve enjoyed…”

If there’s no disclosure, then it’s all up to us what we share because it’s OUR TRIP, not a trip paid for by the destination or brand. Ya feel me?

Personal Disclosure

If there is a destination, experience or hotel that you are curious about and don’t see anything about it in our blog articles or listed anywhere on our website, that could be for a variety of reasons:

  • We haven’t experienced it
  • We HAVE experienced it but haven’t written about it yet
  • We HAVE experienced it but have chosen to not share about it (bad experience, didn’t meet expectations, not a good relationship with the subject…)

If you know that we’ve been somewhere or done something and there’s no information about it, please reach out to us. We’re happy to talk about our experiences, and sometimes we’d rather just NOT share in writing. We’re careful to not be libelous and are very thoughtful about our words. When something is awesome, we share it. When something is lame or problematic, we don’t. How’s that for clarity?

Why do we not share sometimes?

As the original LGBTQ Family Travel Blog, 2TravelDads has a duty in providing recommendations for families like ours. We share the places we have felt welcome and safe, and the brands and destinations that are known for being supporting and that stand up for LGBTQ rights and progress. When we are on a work trip, that is 99 out of 100 times because a destination or brand understands the value (ethically or monetarily) to engage and support our community. We’re happy to partner with those that are engaging us and putting their money where their mouth is.

This also goes for travel that’s self-funded. If we’re on a trip that’s either vacation or to be able to write about it, we are very deliberate in choosing destinations and brands that have a positive rapport with the LGBTQ community. If we’re visiting a place where it’s unclear how our family will be welcomed, we approach it with caution and then share what we found to be worthwhile. We will openly share our observations about the visible political scene or conversations we had, good and bad. We’re here to paint an accurate picture based on our perception.

Like I said, we’re very careful to not be libelous. Anything negative we say about a destination, brand or experience is directly from our own encounters and time engaging with whatever it is. We’re not out here to prevent others from going where they want or hurting a brand or destination’s image, but we ARE here to be honest about our experiences and perceptions.

Should you or anyone you know have questions about how we work or anything I’ve talked about here, please reach out. I’m happy to talk about all of these things and happy to discuss working relationships. The internet is a wild place full of misinformation and malarkey. I’m proud to say that our blog is NOT that and will always be.

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Have a great day!