Today we’d like to introduce you to Karen Weiner Escalera.
Karen, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Part of my DNA is a desire to constantly learn, innovate, and do new things, all the while pursuing my passions which are travel, food, culture and fashion. Over the years that has taken from being a professor at the National University in Bogota, Colombia and a travel journalist for the Chicago Tribune and Boston Globe, to heading up area public relations for Hilton International hotels, and then starting my own agency, KWE Partners, specializing in luxury travel, hotels and lifestyle which I continue to do and love. I’ve been fortunate to have represented a “who’s who” in the industry, from foreign governments of Hong Kong, New Zealand and Mexico to major cruise lines, hotels like the Waldorf Astoria in New York and Bristol in Paris, to travel tech and airlines. I have been named one of the “Top 25 Extraordinary Minds in Hotel Sales and Marketing” by the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association International. My company was in New York City for 23 years and then I moved it to Miami where I now reside and love and have a special relationship with the city.
Five years ago, I was ready for yet another new challenge. It had to be one that still involved travel, but went beyond it to embrace my “foodie” self and love of culture and fashion. So I started a blog called MiamiCurated.
The point of view — that I would only write about what I felt was the best as a picky ex-New Yorker.
I was the consummate New Yorker who was always searching for the best bagel or gourmet store, latest and greatest museum show, chic and glam fashion, and loved to travel. But, as I write, quality doesn’t have to be expensive. Thanks to my journalism background, the writing part came easy. And one of the best parts of the job — constantly making new discoveries. Five years later, the blog is well established and I’m loving every minute.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The most challenging part of running a company has been the personnel aspect and learning how to delegate. I’ve made mistakes in that respect along the way but I learned, which ultimately made me more effective and made things a lot easier. Then the major challenge was getting through 9/11 in New York. My office was five blocks from the World Trade Center, so not only was there the trauma and fact that we had to move offices, but my clients, understandably nervous, required more attention since they were concerned that Americans would curtail their travel. In my blog, one of the tough parts for me is the technology — troubleshooting problems with the blogging platform and photography. Then there’s the promotion of the blog through social media, a major job.
As a colleague once said, and it’s oh so true —- a blog is like a store. You can’t just open your doors (in this case, set up a blog online) and expect people to come. You have to promote, and constantly and, at the same time, keep doing posts. When I go on vacation I need to stockpile blogposts. So, what did I do? Have someone lined up for tech support when problems happen, and now I’ve started using guest bloggers to help out when I need to build up content when I’m planning to travel. That has made a noticeable difference.
Please tell us about KWE Partners.
KWE Partners does marketing and public relations in luxury travel and hospitality. The main thrust of my work is developing the marketing promotion strategy and executing a public relations campaign to get them media coverage in the US and Canada, online and print, as well as handling social media. My team executes the programs and I focus on the strategy and coming up with creative ideas, the parts I adore. The best example is our program for Velas Resorts in Mexico (5 in Puerto Vallarta/Riviera Nayarit/Riviera Maya/Cabo San Lucas). We create low cost/no cost ideas for experiences, amenities and services that are WOWs. Wherever possible, I tie into lifestyle and travel trends. This is a natural for me since I write a newsletter and blog for the company 0n trends. Some of our all time greatest hits were billionaire’s Sweet Sixteen party, baby concierge, handbag bar (the resort will rent you a designer handbag for the evening, and our latest, the world’s most expensive taco for $25,000. The taco garnered $12 million of press coverage throughout the world. It was everywhere. We followed that up with a charity event to auction off the taco, paired with a bottle of the world’s most expensive tequila ($3.5 million), overseen by security guards. Then, in terms of MiamiCurated, it’s probably best known as a “foodie” blog and that’s the area which attracts the most followers for me.
And I’m proud to say MiamiCurated is the #1 food blog in Miami according to Zomato review site and it has thousands of unique visitors a month. Foodies follow me because they trust my palate as being discriminating. Whatever I believe is what I write.
Credibility and integrity are my bottom line. I also write about fashion, culture, beauty and travel.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
When, at the age of 16, and never having traveled outside the US, I won the prize for best essay in the state of Delaware for the importance of the United Nations. It was given by the US Association for the United Nations. It foreshadowed a life of a love of travel, my vocation and avocation.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kwepartners.com www.miamicurated.com
- Phone: kwepartners 305-4765424
- Email: [email protected] [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/miamicurated/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Miamicurated/ https://www.facebook.com/KWEPartners/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/MiamiCurated
Getting in touch: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
