I’m proud to announce that we’ve expanded the Bald Thoughts’ family. One of our bloggers has been providing some guests posts for the last few months and has shown growth in his writing ability and has uncovered some great independent hotels that are worthy of your consideration. I love Brett’s willingness to learn and focus on amazing hotels that most travelers wouldn’t otherwise hear of since we all tend to focus on hotels that belong to the major brands. Here’s a little bit about Brett in his own words. I hope you enjoy learning about him and following his reviews.
In This Post
About Brett
To all the loyal Bald Thoughts followers, thank you for your continued support! Since I am the newest blogger on the site, the Chief Bald Officer himself asked me to do a little intro.
Who are you?
My name is Brett Holzhauer, and I’m originally from Northridge, CA. I had the pleasure of attending Arizona State University, where I graduated in August 2015 with a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communications. It was a childhood dream to become the next Ron Burgundy and have a dog named Baxter. But but that dream has faded away as we have seen a painful downturn in the traditional media industry. Now I’m doing non-traditional content creation for BaldThoughts and BoardingArea!
What is your travel experience/specialty?
Many of us avid travelers are looking for the most rewarding loyalty program. I decided to take the non-traditional route of covering independent hotels. Every now and again, I do stay at a Marriott or Hilton, but I’ve done away with attempting to be loyal to them. As we continue to see devaluation, there is a huge disincentive to this loyalty. There is absolutely a niche audience of those that want the more personal experience of staying at a “mom and pop” hotel.
As for flying, I grew up being a Southwest loyalist and enjoying flights out of Burbank Bob Hope Airport. Now that I live in Salt Lake City and travel all over the country for work, I very quickly transitioned to Delta… and I’m soooo close to achieving Silver Medallion status!
How are you traveling this much?
I travel a bunch for work right now. My work calls for me to host networking and education events all across the country for our members. I’m on a plane someplace every other week and often hit multiple destinations time I travel.
Also, I do love traveling with my girlfriend (a.k.a. travel buddy). You’ll probably see her in many of my pictures. Don’t get tired of our cuteness, OK?
I also travel with a service dog, Duke. He’s a great dog and loves checking out new hotels with me. It can be tough finding hotels that are pet-friendly. Lee is a big Kimpton guy, and they’re very pet-friendly, so I’ll have to check out some of their properties during my travels. If you have recommendations in your city, please hit me up!
Where have you gone?
I’ve been to almost state across the US either for work or personal travel. And I’ve had the pleasure of visiting Mexico, Belize, Honduras, and the Bahamas. This summer I will be traveling to Guatemala for a charity service project.
What inspires you to travel?
Neither of my parents had the best upbringing. In fact, neither have traveled more than 10 miles from the homes they grew up in. They are very “bubbled”. Growing up, the only places we ever traveled to were Arizona for the Colorado River and Las Vegas.
They say that you either mirror your parents or act completely opposite. I chose the opposite path and love being able to explore the world and experience new cultures.
My family has no interest or desire to see the world, while I want to go everywhere! Join me in my journeys!
Here are a few of my most recent posts to get a flavor of the non-brand hotels that I choose to stay at:
What credit card are you currently using?
Since I don’t care about hotel loyalty or name brand hotels, I focus on cash back cards. Right now, I am spending like crazy on my Costco Anywhere Visa Card. With 4% cash back on Gas at Costco and 3% back on Restaurants and Travel related expenses, the cash back rebates are a great value if you are on the road!
My only complaint is that I wish I could cash out my rewards to Costco more than once a year…
My goal in travel blogging…
My goal is to share the best non-brand hotels to stay throughout the US with the goal of getting the best bang for your buck.
I’m a millennial with $70,000+ in student debt, yet I’m here to show you that travel is definitely still attainable and affordable!
The cost of traveling is going down… if you travel the right way. We’ll teach you how to travel the world using our tips and tricks.
The Bald Thoughts
I’m super excited to be part of the Bald Thoughts team.
If any of you are ever in Utah to experience the world class snow in Park City, or at the famous National Parks in southern Utah, please do not hesitate to email/tweet me and I can point you in the right direction!
brett@baldthoughts.com / @brettisnotbald
