From Editor William Travis
 

Greetings!

Allow me to introduce myself: I’m William Travis, an editor on the book-side of Fodor’s. As you probably read from Doug Stallings, I’m one of the many book editors who come on line from time to time to see what’s going on and give my opinions when I can. So here’s where I’m at:

1. I've been a book editor for Fodor's for almost 5 years. Like Doug, I don’t handle the programming of the Web site; I just participate from time to time.

2. I’m the New York City editor, which means I can help guide those of you who are just getting familiar with the city or are interested in visiting. I live here, and I love it. But I can’t take all the credit, because all of my colleagues live here, and each one brings new discoveries and nuances to our ever-growing knowledge of the city. I, as the NYC editor, sort of serve as a conduit for all this information. In other words, if I don’t know it, I most likely know someone who does. We share what we know.

3. I’m a city person, through and through. Although I enjoy getting out of the city from time to time, I’m insatiable when it comes to restaurants, clubs, museums, and the energy of a city.

4. As a father of a 4-year-old daughter, I’ve done a bit of family travel. I edited the FYI: Travel with your Baby book, which gives great insight of how to travel with the under 5 set.

Welcome, William. I look forward to your take on New York.

I will be visiting soon with my 16 year old niece. We've chosen the Essex House (booked a park-view room way back in September in anticipation of "The Gates"). I'd like to take her ice skating in Central Park and to Serendipity, even if we do have to stand in a long line. I am considering Chez Josephine and/or Tao. We have theater tickets to "Little Women" and "Slava's Snowshow".

I think we'll forgo the Empire State Building, but I would like to take her on the Staten Island ferry for a view of the SOL. We will probably eat Sunday brunch at Cafe Botanica and do a carriage ride in the park, in addition to exploring the Christo installation. We will have from Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon. We fly out of LAG at 7:00.

I look forward to any comments you might have.

Maggi

Thank you for the introductory post, Mr. Travis. Very nice to meet you.

As the father of a 4 yr. old, did you get a chuckle out of our post on traveling to Vegas w/triplets?

I have one other question. If both you and Mr. Stallings are book editors at Fodors who come over to the dark side, er, I mean come over to the forum from time to time to see what is going on, is there any full time forum editor? Or do you two (and perhaps others) share some oversight of the forums w/other people who monitor it more closely?

We have great NYC lovers on the board, like mclaurie, Howard, mp, nytraveler, MFNYC, Patrick (sorry, I can't help but mention them since they have helped me so much w/my NYC trips in 2004) and many others, and we'd be thrilled to have you drop by on the many NYC posts. We love NYC too.

Eileen

william travis, like in the alamo, huh?

Welcome and please come to our Fodors GTG in May. We really had a blast last time. These are the 5 requirements to attend...

1. You like to travel
2. You like to eat
3. You like people
4. You are willing to drink some wine
5. See numbers 1-4

Really...come to our GTG and see what your readers are really like, I dare you.

Jerzee

Hello William, it's good to see you and Doug introducing yourselves here. I look forward to reading your views on NYC, as my wife and I will be making a "first" visit later this month. (my 2nd really, but the first was 25 yrs ago, as a kid)

Overall, it really is an enjoyable forum and has a lot of great input from so many places. When you <i>do</i> locate that Fodors web guru within your midst, please give them our regards.

Thanks for the introduction Travis6565. It is very nice to meet you. This board is a great resource for travelers. Best of luck:)

Nice to meet you, William, and thanks for telling us a bit about yourself. I'll look forward to your future NYC tips since I travel to the city annually.

William, pencil in your calendar the date of 21 May for our NJ/NY Fodors GTG. We'd love to have you. Just one small requirement/request -- <b>Bring us Fodor Pins.&lt;/b) ((a)) ((b))</b>

If he brings you pins, Budman, he also has to send the rest of us one!
Nice to meet you William Travis, thanks for the introduction.

Hey, William. I guess you've heard about us, eh?

And since you're the New York go-to guy, how come EVERYONE in NY wears black?

Hi William Travis!

Thank you for taking the time to introduce youself. Now we won't completely gang up on Doug Stallings (bloodsport ya know).

On the serious side of things, why is it that the NYC Fodors Travel Guide leaves the NY Salisbury off its recommended list?

Bill Alverado the GM, does a fabulous job with the hotel. My parents spend so much time in that hotel it is like their home away from home. The rooms are very large, excellent Midtown location, and excellent service.

WELCOME!!!((F))

Mr. Travis, we have a suggestion for the web site - split it into two parts, for those who travel, and those who do not. Your marketing needs to follow suit, and begin to develop products for the non-travellers. Guides to inform people about the towns and neighborhoods in which they live. There is an enormous home-bound market right here on this site, i.e., many of the people who've already started posting to you. You'll begin to notice over time the same people post 24/7, hence one begins to wonder when they travel. They are primed for non-travel products, and fodors has an historic opportunity to capture this segment before your competitors catch wind of them. Good luck, and welcome aboard.

Welcome Mr Travis!
Although you are on the Book side, you must be familiar with the Forums by now!
I hope you enjoy posting as much as reading.
I look forward to seeing you around ((F))

lol, Mr. Travis, take note!

Greetings William Travis. So glad you and Doug have peeked in on us and look forward to reading anything you and Doug have to offer.

Hello, William! So nice to know real people run this website!

This reminds me of the Wizard of Oz coming out from behind the curtain. There are real people at Fodors! Fun to hear from you.

;) LOL SergioL ;)

Welcome William Travis.
We appreciate your excellent work and this wonderful website.
And as the father of a 4 year old, your fun has just begun!
Enjoy!

Hi William,

You're definitely invited to our GTG...May 21st over in Weehawken at Paula in Rigoletto. Yum!

We would love (love!) some Fodors pins to make the other kids jealous!

Fodorites, if you want one, come to the GTG...simple as that! You're all welcome!

Trish :)

Hi William!

My name is &quot;buckeymom&quot; and I am a Fodoraholic.

Love to hear your opinions on kids in Vegas, buying a seat on the plane for a 2 year old and should you take your kid into nice restaurants...

hahaha buckeyemom, you spelled your own name wrong! I wonder what Mr. Travis' opinion of that would be.

:-)

Wow, Atilla, good catch!

Pleased to meet you. I love this forum and all of my cyber-friends from this board. Many of my faves are on this very thread. :-)

SergioL~ listen here buster.. that comment about frequent posters who do not actually travel.. well, that's a big misconception. I am probably not the only one who solicits advice, uses said advice, and regularly fails to post a trip report afterwards. Why, you ask? Simple, my confused baggage comrade... I pro-cras-tin-ate. Yup, I confess, it's one of my sins, and unlikely to stop anytime soon.
Besides, with Depend undergarments and the Big Gulp wine bottle, I can read and post and read and post for days without end.
Unless you are willing to realize how some of us operate, I suggest that you refrain from typecasting regular posters as non-travelers. I have traveled to many destinations, but when I read a humorous and well written report of a similar trip, I decide to wait for another opportunity.
Happy travels to YOU, dear boy, and we'll eagerly await your enthralling and pertinent travel posts if you care to join our elite group.

jetset1, here, you can read all about Sergio in his younger days as L or Leone. I don't think he has changed much in all these years.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...mp;tid=1311013

jetset1,
Scarlett just beat me to it, I was going to suggest that you not be concerned about postings from SergioL, FainaAgain, Queridissima, and the other aliases that a particular t uses by constantly registering and deregistering. It has degenerated to the point where that same t asks questions under one alias and immediately answers by using another name. Should other aliases pop up, you will recognize the same language usage, such as it is, and the same kinds of comments.

This person wouldn't know or understand travel if it fell out of an airplane.
It's a bit sad really.

Aw, you mean to tell me Faina is an alias? Wow, &quot;she&quot; had me fooled. Are you certain? I had a nice impression of her posts. How do you tell, other than repeated dissing or promoting certain places? The other name I've never heard of.
To think, I could have met up with Faina in Las Vegas and possibly been fooled.. that would be creepy.

I thought we saw her photo on the fodor GTG that Marylin posted?????

Um...elaine, FainaAgain is a regular in the SF/Yountville GTG group. She's shown herself in person at GTG's, had her pics posted on the web. Perhaps you are confused? I think she's legit.

With regard to Faina, if you've met her, obviously I AM wrong, in which case I apologize. I guess I was making an incorrect assumption due to the dialogues between her and the t. But I'm not wrong about SergioL, Queridissima and the other t aliases which show up for a day or two at a time, and register and deregister.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34543415

thank you, I apologize to FainaAgain again.

If it were not for the 'real' trolls like SergioL/blacktie/TravelsLaughing and nellyann/praline and the few who are lurking around on weekends, we would not have mistakes like this.
It is a shame that Fodors cannot do more about them...like <i>elimination</i>
On the Europe board is a post now from one of them..Queirisimo or whatever. sighing.

Elaine, don't feel bad. Faina is so delightfully off the wall that I thought so when she first arrived plus how perceptive she is and knows the jargon for a foreign-born lady, boggles my mind.

Hi William,
Thank you for taking the time to introduce youself.

You are a self-proclaimed New Yorker. &quot;But I can’t take all the credit, because all of my colleagues live here&quot;. I hope all of the Fodors editors are not your colleagues.

Are any of the Fodors editors from the midwest? I'm asking this question for many of your members who may be too intimidated to ask. Please don't take my post the wrong way. I'm just asking a question.

thank you.

Hello, everyone---

First I want to say thanks for the warm welcome! Especially, the roses (scarlett and cigalechanta). A fantastic group, indeed.

So let me answer a few questions:

To jorr: Indeed, all of my colleagues (i.e. Fodor's editors) live in New York City. However, that doesn't mean we're all from New York City. A couple of editors are from the Midwest, including myself. I moved here from Chicago.

To Maggi: You've planned your NYC trip well. You're smart to forgo a trip to the Empire State Building, especially since you're only here for a weekend. The Staten Island Ferry is such a great idea---a wonderful, free way to see the SOL and it's always a pleasant trip across New York Harbor.

to jersey: Is the May Fodor's GTG in New York City? If it is, I'll try to meet you all. I like numbers 1-5. I'll bring pins.

More later...

William, the NJ/NY GTG will be in Weehawken -- take the ferry from West 38th Steet to Port Imperial -- We'll pick you up, or it's a short walk/taxi.

<b> Yippee!! Fodor Pins!! ((y)) ((b))</b>

Welcome, welcome Great Travel
Redactor.

Do pen in 5/21/05 on your calendar
for a lunch that may last from noon
to 5 when the last of us waddled out.
Ok; I speak for self.

Along with the pins, bring good
appetite as Budman, the East Coast's answer to Kal, found a wonderful restaurant w/a charming chef/owner in Weehawken.

Take the 7 minute ferry across to
Weehawken. I'll ask tpatricco if she
&amp; hubby can again play taxi.

Advance word is that this event has
a Hawaiian theme altho Bud has not
given us the final word yet.