ENTREE Travel Newsletter

Travel newsletter by Bill Tomicki

ENTREE Travel Newsletter (established 1981) is a travel newsletter by American writer Bill Tomicki.[1][2][3] It bills itself as "An uncompromising and confidential travelers newsletter."[4]

As of 2014, it has over 22,000 subscribers.[5] Tomicki said then when it started in 1981, it was the third travel newsletter in the industry.[1] It is targeted to upscale clientele, Tomicki said Entree's average reader is between 45 and 55, and has a household income of $455,000 a year.[6]

In 2006, Tomicki described the newsletter operations: "I have a staff of 12--four permanent people based in Santa Barbara, Calif.," where he lives, "and eight stringers around the world who contribute information, which I then edit and assemble in the newsletter."[6]

The newsletter has been reviewed in the Chicago Tribune,[6] The New York Times,[3][7] and the Los Angeles Times.[8]

## Bill Tomicki

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William Tomicki is an American travel writer. Since 1981 he is the publisher of the ENTREE Travel Newsletter,[9] which has been called the "Rolls Royce of travel newsletters" where "Each month Mr. Tomicki skewers the mediocre and exalts excellence so that his readers do not waste their time and money".[10] Tomicki claims he personally writes "60 to 70 percent of the content based on his own travels."[11] In 1990, Joel Sleed of the Seattle Times called him "outspoken."[12]

He serves as Travel and Restaurant Editor for the American-International News Syndicate, Travel Editor for El Paso Inc. Magazine,[13] and Senior Editor for Traveler Overseas Magazine.[14] He has been a member of the International Food Wine & Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA)[15] He is also a former syndicated Travel Writer for The New York Times.[16][17][14] "Most newspapers and magazines tend to be too PR oriented. I try to tell it as it is, talk to the reader as a friend, tips where to go, where not to go."[18]

In an article, Tomicki was asked if hoteliers ever spend time in their own hotels: "We guess not, judging by the missteps we find so often, like square soaps, soaps that are wrapped too tightly with plastic or paper ... We hate soap dispensers in the bath, phones we cannot figure out, lighting that takes a visit from the engineer to decipher and any hotel that puts so much reading crap in the room that you can't find a place for your own crap. And stop turning the radio on when we are not there, please. And not coming back for the room service table."[19]

In 2008, Tomicki won a million dollars in a lottery.[20]

## References

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1. ^ a b Will McGough (February 14, 2011). "Traveling Man Finds Home in Santa Barbara". SBEntrepreneur. Archived from the original on April 5, 2011. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
2. ^ Barney Brantingham (March 28, 2008). "Show Me the Money". Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
3. ^ a b Roger Collis (January 16, 2004). "The Frequent Traveler: Assessing the value of luxury". The New York Times. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
4. ^ http://www.santamonica.com/includes/docs/Entree-Nov-Dec.pdf Archived 2012-06-08 at the Wayback Machine [bare URL PDF]
5. ^ "Faces in the Crowd". 805 Living. p. 48. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
6. ^ a b c Alfred Borcover (August 6, 2006). "Newsletters court a niche travel market". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
7. ^ Paul Grimes (May 27, 1984). "Practical Traveler: Newsletters Can Provide Valuable Analysis". The New York Times. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
8. ^ Christopher Reynolds (November 1, 1992). "Travel Insider: World of Advice Sold Through Newsletters: Publishing: Nearly 200 missives compete for the specialized interests of travel aficionados. Many are informative, but readers should beware of hidden biases". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
9. ^ "ENTREE Travel Newsletter Nov-Dec 2009" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 8, 2012.
10. ^ "William Tomicki". New York Journal of Books. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
11. ^ Alfred Borcover (August 6, 2006). "Newsletters court a niche travel market". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on September 29, 2018.
12. ^ Joel Sleed (January 14, 1990). "Travel Agents May Be Sued For Malpractice". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
13. ^ Bill Tomicki. "Winter Madness tour: Saner than it seems". El Paso Inc. Retrieved September 21, 2014.[permanent dead link]
14. ^ a b "Bill Tomicki". Traveler Overseas. Archived from the original on March 24, 2014.
15. ^ "William Tomicki". International Food, Wine & Travel Writers Assoc. -- IFWTWA. Archived from the original on July 3, 2014. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
16. ^ "Newspaper Reviews of Savoir-Flair, 211 Tips for Enjoying France and the French". Archived from the original on August 27, 2014. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
17. ^ "Colorado Sightseer Reviews". Archived from the original on September 29, 2018. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
18. ^ Collis, Roger (January 16, 2004). "The Frequent TRAVELER : Assessing the value of luxury". The New York Times.
19. ^ Barney Brantingham (April 28, 2016). "'Just a Joke' (We Wish)". Santa Barbara Independent.
20. ^ Barney Brantingham (March 28, 2008). "Opinion: Show Me the Money". Santa Barbara Independent. Archived from the original on July 6, 2008.

## External links

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* Official website