Travel Creator Spotlight: Lauren Alboini on Building "Away With Albs" and Sharing Her Travels Online

Travel creator Lauren Alboini shares her journey in building "Away With Albs," emphasizing the importance of authenticity in travel experiences. She discusses her passion for photography, impactful moments in Switzerland and Kenya, and offers advice for aspiring creators on balancing exploration with online presence. Alboini provides insights into creating valuable travel guides and maintaining a unique voice in the competitive world of travel content creation.

Liv Coning

Marketing Lead

Travel Creator Spotlight: Lauren Alboini on Building "Away With Albs" and Sharing Her Travels Online

Aug 08 2024

Meet Lauren, a passionate traveler who loves capturing the world with her camera and pen.

In this interview, Lauren Alboini shares how she fell in love with travel photography, built her brand "Away With Albs," and offers insights into her travel experiences and the creation of her career on Thatch.

Hi Lauren! Can you kick things off by telling us about your account, "Away With Albs," and all the beautiful destinations you showcase? What inspired you to start documenting and sharing your travels with the world?

It all started back in 2011 when I went backpacking in Southeast Asia with one of my best friends. Up to this point, I’d loved taking pictures and was known amongst my friends for having my trusty Canon Powershot out and about. But this was my first time visiting this part of the world so I wanted to do more justice to these beautiful countries, so I invested in a DSLR.

I came home with thousands of photos, tons of stories and incredible memories, so I decided to start a blog to share all of this. And I loved it. Editing photos, writing about my travels, building something for all of this from scratch. It was so much fun. Then I started working 9-5 and my time dwindled, so I turned to IG and started using it as a micro blog, and then eventually Away With Albs was born :)

On your Instagram, you highlight stunning landscapes and unique experiences. How do you choose which destinations to visit and feature?

I’ve never thought about that before - great question! I’d say I’m quite influenced in where I visit by the season and what I feel in the mood for. In winter, I love getting my mountain and snowboarding fix, and in the summer I love slowing down and soaking up some sun (like what I’m doing right now!).

Most of the time I want to go somewhere where I can do a bit of everything - explore, relax, eat, walk and cycle mostly. And in terms of picking what to feature, I think that comes down to the quality of the photos and videos I take, paired with the value of recommendations, stories and insights I can share that I think others would find helpful.

You've visited many incredible places. Is there a destination that holds a special place in your heart, and why?

Switzerland, for sure. I lived there for a year from 2005-6 and it completely changed my life. It sounds cheesy to say, but I can’t understate how true this is. I was in a bad place leading up to this and that year - the country, the people, the experiences - worked magic on me.

I can’t say enough good things about Switzerland. It’s absolutely beautiful, has so much to offer and just does everything so well. I went back for the first time a few years ago on a road trip with my boyfriend and it was amazing. If you haven’t gone, I couldn’t recommend it more. And when you go, promise you’ll go to the mountains and spend as much time as you can outside in nature. It’s powerful, moving and restorative.

In your travels, you've experienced diverse cultures and cuisines. Can you share a particularly impactful cultural experience or a favorite local dish you've discovered?

I’d say little or even nothing could trump the impact that Kenya left on me. I was there on a school trip when I was 17. Our group stayed in an animal conservancy and on one particular day we ventured into a nearby area to visit another school. I’d never seen poverty like I did on that trip, and I couldn’t believe how happy these kids were in spite of having so little. It blew me away.

Their happiness was infectious and I didn’t want to leave. I remember being quiet the entire drive back to where we were staying, and it took me weeks to adjust back to my everyday life afterwards. It’s still the most eye-opening and meaningful trip I’ve ever been on.

As a content creator, what challenges have you faced in balancing the desire to explore new places with the need to maintain a consistent online presence?

If I’m honest, and hopefully this doesn’t sound strange, but I don’t think I’ve let myself be challenged by them, if that makes sense. When I’m away, I prioritise being present where I am and who I’m with. I’m definitely taking photos and video clips, but until the trip is over, they live on my phone. The creative fun begins after the trip.

I definitely do feel the pressure of needing to do this and that to feed the algorithm and stay top of mind, but I’ve really tried to not listen to that or let it influence me. If I like someone’s content, I follow and engage regardless of how often or inconsistently they post, and I’d like to think my people would do the same for me.

I’ve never come close to being successful at maintaining a consistent online presence. It always comes in ebbs and flows for me. But I’m ok with that because it’s more about balance and prioritising how and where and with who I’m spending my time. Sometimes that’s online, but a lot of the time, if not most of the time, it’s not.

Any best practices for creating travel guides and services that sell?

I did a lot of research on Thatch before I started building my guides and services. I made note of what I liked, what I didn’t, and perhaps most importantly, what I wasn’t finding and where I thought the gaps were.

I also looked at all of this from a buyer’s perspective and thought, “if I were considering purchasing a guide or service, what would I want to see or what would help me make that purchase?” And that really helped inspire how I built my shop.

Like, for instance, I showcase what the value of my off-the-shelf paid guides would cost as a custom service order and how incredibly marked down they are in comparison. I also added this to my IG marketing when I’d launch or promote a new guide. The response has been incredible and other sellers have asked me if they could do the same for theirs :)

You can register as a seller on Thatch to start creating and selling your own guides and services.

What advice would you give to aspiring travel creators who want to build a brand and business around their travel experiences?

I’d say do your research and learn from others, but at the end of the day, do you! There’s only one of you and one voice like yours, so harness it and channel it into everything you do - from the name of your business to the look and feel of your brand.

And also be patient. Building and creating takes time, more than you might think, but have fun with it. It’s so rewarding and exciting to push that “publish” button and to see that first sale come in. So keep at it!