- Rebranding & New Logo Announcement
- Members’ Audits
- Membership Renewals
- New BGTW Website; Coming Soon
- The Gala Awards Dinner (Members’ tickets)
- The BGTW’s 65th Anthology
- Location of events
- Guild AGMs
- Debates and training around sustainable travel
- Basic social media training
- Photography training
- Newsletters
- Member benefits
- BGTW AI policy
- Board Elections
With the new Guild membership year commencing this week on 1 October, and the Gala Awards Dinner (celebrating the BGTW’s 65th anniversary) fast approaching, I wanted to send some important information regarding membership renewals and the new BGTW logo, alongside some exciting updates on everything that’s happened behind the scenes to make your Guild better based on your requests since last year’s Members Survey (this year’s will be circulated soon) and March’s AGM.
You Asked For…
“Can we have a fresh, more modern logo and branding?” – Rebranding & New Logo Announcement
It was agreed at the AGM that the Guild needed a fresher, more contemporary look and logo. This was something recommended by members and many of our industry colleagues alike. The new logo needed to have an impact online, on paper and from a distance when viewed at events with contemporary colours and a strong ‘BTGW’ element, given that a growing percentage of our members aren’t writers. It needed to represent all the skillsets within our membership.
Over the summer, we asked you to vote on the preliminary draft designs to learn what you liked and didn’t like. The vote was essentially 50:50, so rather than just choosing one design or starting again at great expense, we worked with the designer to develop the concept, incorporating as many of the elements you liked while dropping those you didn’t.
Having arrived at a design which the Board felt achieved our objectives, we were then faced with a decision as to whether to put this version out to another vote against the current logo. The majority concluded that this would serve nothing constructive in view of the clear need to modernise our outdated and unimpactful current logo.
The new design, for use on different backgrounds, is below. We hope you like it. You will start seeing this on internal comms immediately, and publicly from the Gala Awards Dinner.
“Can the Guild ensure professional and membership standards are kept with new applications and bring back the audits for current members?” – Members’ Audits
This has been raised consistently by members over the last couple of years. While it has been enormous work (thanks, Sarah and Dan) to do a thorough check of all members’ numerous links, media outlets, and publication date source codes, and tally word counts and review statements and stats where needed, the process is almost complete.
Thank you to all members who completed their self-audits on time. Audits are a requirement of ongoing membership (as stated last year, following their reintroduction after COVID-19) and a crucial element of presenting the Guild as the only accredited organisation of travel journalists. This distinguishes us from numerous other organisations where membership is automatic on application.
Sarah has, as suggested at the AGM, reviewed both years’ audits. She has been in touch (or will be this week) with some members to discuss individual situations. In cases where members still haven’t been able to meet the Guild’s criteria (especially when taking into account the 2024 and 2025 audits combined), members have either been invited to apply for Associate Membership or have had their membership paused, and are welcome to rejoin once they can meet the criteria. Some long-standing members will be bringing their energy to Associate Membership, and I hope to see Associates as a more active part of the Guild.
We have also been more stringent in our review of new applicants this year, requiring both proof of the criteria and a vested interest in staying active in the industry and the BGTW. Many unsuitable applicants are rejected at Board review, not making it to gazetting. Even with this stricter eye, we’ve still welcomed 25 fantastic members to the Guild in 2025, and have many in-progress applications. 2025 is on track to see the highest number of annual new members and rejoiners since COVID.
IMPORTANT: Membership Renewals
For all renewing members with no further audit concerns, your renewal invoice will be sent on 1st October. Please pay promptly – it’s important for the Guild’s cash flow and to ensure your continued membership.
If you haven’t paid by October 15th, you’ll receive a single final reminder, as per the BGTW’s Articles. Any member who hasn’t paid by 31st October will be considered lapsed and will be withdrawn from the MEAs (if shortlisted) and removed from comms and the website. Please help us run your Guild efficiently.
“Can we have better, searchable profile pages on the BGTW website and fix a few other things?” – New BGTW Website; Coming Soon
We were very happy to launch the overhauled “Find a Member” database earlier this year, which helped deliver this in part. The Guild’s new website will launch in December, but we didn’t want to delay the more indepth profiles and search features. As such, Daniel developed it internally to ensure it went live early and without cost to the Guild. When the new website launches, you’ll see that many of the requested features – including PR databases, the events calendar, and specific aspects of the yearbook – have either been restored already or will be phased in over the following months. Please note: During November, due to database transfers and debugging, members will not be able to update their profiles. Please make any necessary updates in October or December before it’s circulated to PRs & Editors in January.
“Can we have some slightly cheaper Gala tickets? It would especially help out-of-town members with costs? – The Gala Awards Dinner
With the Gala dinner fast approaching, ticket sales are going well. The extra-discounted £65 members’ tickets will not be available for much longer, so if you want to take advantage of this option, please order this week (use code 202565 to access members’ tickets). The standard, subsidised £95 members’ tickets will be available until sold out, which we hope to achieve in the coming weeks, due to upcoming press activity. Please remember that, without sponsors, members’ tickets would cost over £ 300 per person, so the members’ prices – for a three-course dinner, free-flow drinks this year, and the awards – represent a significant saving, practically equivalent to the annual membership fee.
“Can the Guild try and position itself in more direct-to-consumer ways, not just with industry?” – The BGTW’s 65th Anthology
Around The World in 65 Years, the BGTW’s 65th Anthology, has now gone to print and will be launched with fanfare at the Gala Dinner. Mary Anne Evens, Roger Bray and Daniel Clarke have put a tremendous amount of effort into producing this – as have the 77-member contributors, thank you! We’re excited it’s now available to pre-order online and will be going into retail stores. We’re also in the early stages of planning another print project for 2026, which will only proceed if it can guarantee a profit and fair pay for all members involved. Details to follow.
“Can the BGTW be less London-centric?” – This year, alongside planning events in Manchester & Oxford (thus far), and asking Convention hosts to supply regional flights where possible (Algarve), we’re making more events hybrid with online attendance as an option whenever suitable, such as last week’s Sri Lanka event, and the upcoming Better World symposium. I would ask that when we do have events outside London that you try to support these as they take as much work to organise for fewer members. We’re also bringing back some skills development webinars and have more plans in the pipeline to be more inclusive of our nationwide, Irish, and international members in 2026.
“Can the AGM itself be easier to attend and a one-day event?” – By separating the Annual General Meeting from the Guild’s annual trip (now “Conventions”), and holding the AGM as a standalone one-day event in London in 2025, it has made the legally-required AGM open to those who don’t wish to travel abroad for it. The introduction of the Convention program in 2025 replaced the post-AGM trip, offering 50 spaces (not all filled) on a 10-day journey in Sri Lanka, as well as 15 spaces across two shorter trips in the Algarve.
The 2026 AGM will be similar: a stand-alone Annual General Meeting in London. 2026’s Convention destination will be announced in due course. Note: We have researched other potential AGM locations, including Glasgow, Manchester, and Stratford-upon-Avon. However, due to the quorum required for the AGM to begin (otherwise it must be cancelled on the day), London’s weighted membership numbers make it the most sensible locale for logistical and Article-abiding reasons. We also haven’t written off hosting a combined abroad AGM & Trip again in the future, but this is dependent on finding a host destination with the budget to invite and cover the expenses of 100+ members.
“Can we have more debates and training around sustainable travel?” – The launch of the BGTW’s Better World Sustainability Symposium in October 2024 has been an excellent way to deliver on this goal. The 2026 edition, on 19 January, will be even bigger, better and informative. Details to follow very soon. For now, listen to last year’s five excellent recordings on the BGTW podcast here: Better World Symposium Sessions
“Can we have some photography training?” – In partnership with Fujifilm, we delivered this hands-on workshop in January. It was well-received, and we hope to run another similar event in 2026.
“Can we have benefits that don’t require a commission and also some insurance options that cover work trips and professional cover?” – We’ve overhauled the Members’ Benefits page to separate those that don’t require a commission. In 2025, we secured 25% off travel insurance for members that does cover work trips with Cedar Tree and Outbacker, along with a few other new discounts. Meanwhile, some old favourites – such as 30 minutes of free legal advice for members – have been well utilised. We’ve had various meetings with insurance brokers regarding both Public Liability and Professional Indemnity insurance for the membership. Some members asked us to explore blanket policies for all (this turned out not to be workable due to the varying professions in the Guild), and we’re now waiting on a Guild-wide discount percentage instead.
It’s important to note that, as “just” 250-ish members, we have less power than some of the huge unions, and, as such, it’s vital that when we do secure discounts, we all try to use them whenever possible; otherwise, they will lapse. Our discount with FlixBus across the UK & Europe (secured in 2024) expired a year later due to lack of use, which doesn’t provide us with the best “stats” when approaching UK train companies and the like. Work is always ongoing on securing benefits – it’s often a slow process to secure the ones members really want – so please do check out the Members’ Benefits page to see what is useful for you.
“Can we discuss a BGTW AI policy?” – We touched on this at the 2025 AGM. We plan to do so again at next year’s AGM (not just from an internal point of view, but how it’s affecting the industry). We will be taking your discussion suggestions in this month’s survey.
“Great! How can I get more involved in the BGTW and support all the exciting plans for next year?” – Board Elections & AGM
Nominations for the 2026/2027 Board election will open in late November/early December, hopefully followed by elections in January. If you are interested in serving as a Director or Assistant, please feel free to contact any Board member (many of whom plan to stand again for another year) for more information on what’s involved.
As per the BGTW’s Articles, all proper communications regarding the AGM must be standalone emails, which will follow later in October. The All-Member Survey, to help shape the Guild’s agenda for 2026, will also be circulated soon.
This is a long email, so please excuse this extensive read. It’s all important stuff, though – and while we know there is more to do and more you’ve asked of us, we hope you’ll see plenty has happened in the six months since the AGM. I hope you will be reassured that your Guild is in safe hands and moving forward at a pace.
Chris, on behalf of the BGTW Board:
Chris Coe – Chair
Daniel Clarke – Vice Chair, Sustainability, Governance, Benefits & Digital
Sarah Rodrigues – Membership Director & Internal Communications
Stuart Render – Awards Director
Renate Ruge – Partnerships & Conventions Director
Alicia Sheber – Events Director
