In this series, we flip the script on travel and hospitality PR pros to see where they’re headed and what they’re taking with them. This week, we spoke with Gizem Ozcelik, founder and CEO of GO PR, to discover where she's headed and what she doesn't leave home without. 

I am fortunate enough to be able to stay with some of our boutique hotel clients when I travel but what I particularly love the most is the experience of staying at a new hotel. Having launched close to 40 hotels in my tenure, there is something so special about helping an opening team: being immersed first and then being allowed to share feedback with owners and operators to perfect the experience. Two upcoming trips include visits to our newest hotel clients in the portfolio. First up is a visit to OTIS in early July, a new property at the base of the Tunnel of Trees in scenic Northern Michigan and come September, I am heading to Philly for a visit to Hotel Anna & Bel: the highly-anticipated boutique hotel that will breathe new life into a historic 18th century building that was once the Penn Asylum for Indigent Widows and Single Women. 

This past Memorial Day, I jetted off for a quick personal trip to the Cayman Islands for some R+R and to work on a much needed tan! I have been reading so much about a new property that opened down there and it definitely did live up to the hype. I find myself booking my personal trips based on cool properties I find that have been getting lots of buzz. I guess you can say I am a hotel gal through and through! For other upcoming trips, Switzerland is on the docket for the end of July. I was just there over the holidays with my partner and while it was beautiful to see Lucerne and Zurich in their wintertime glory, I am more of a warm weather gal and cannot wait to be able to hike and enjoy the country during a different season. Finally, I am hoping to be able to sneak in a trip to Turkey this year as well: I make an effort to book a trip there every two years or so to visit family. I love visiting new destinations and being immersed in new cultures, but flying to Turkey always feels like going home. The baklava doesn’t hurt either. 

Packing List:

• I probably have about five different lip products that I am carrying at once. Have to have the Glossier Balm Dotcom on me but recently have been loving lip oils like the ones from Kosas and Clarins. 
• Birkenstock Arizonas 
• Beats Over the Ear Headphones 
• A GO PR sweatshirt because no matter how hot it is outside, we all know that plane will be frigid 
• All the chargers 
• A pair of sunnies, sunscreen and a baseball cap
• A water bottle and gummy bears – calories don’t count when you’re traveling, right? 
• My Away Bigger Carry-On Suitcase in Petal Pink. The pink is the exact pink in GO PR’s brand colors!