Journalists are always hungry for Thailand — it has so many angles to offer. In December 2018, Balcony Media led a group of five freelance travel writers from North America on a 6-day fam for a sneak peek at the soon-to-launch Hyatt Regency Bangkok, before flying down south to the tropical paradise of Koh Samui where they were hosted by Banyan Tree Samui for three nights.

Balcony representative Colin Hinshelwood joined the group, and revelled in the camaraderie. “We had the perfect combination of colorful characters and true professionals,” he said. “These guys spend up to 300 days a year on the road. They inspect hotels, interview the staff, get wined n’ dined, then check out and write their review in an airport lounge as they head for their next destination.”

The five freelancers were looking to pen reviews and feature stories for publications including Forbes Travel Guides, Food & Wine, Fodors, CNN Travel, USA Today, Business Traveler, Travel Weekly, and Postmedia, which covers regional newspapers from coast to coast in Canada.