You’d think that when you go on a trip, your biggest concerns would be dealing with forest bears or finding the time to see all the sights you want to see. However, the people you travel with can have a massive impact on the quality of your adventure. If you’re not all on the same page, someone will have a bad time.
Seattle-based travel influencer Ben Keenan, @ivebentraveling, went viral on TikTok after sharing a very witty video about the people you should absolutely not go on a trip with. His remarks are incredibly funny and some of them are very accurate. And we’d be lying if we didn’t say that we were giggling harder than we expected to. Scroll down to check out his video and to see the discussion that he started online!
Bored Panda reached out to Ben and he was kind enough to share his thoughts about the video, why upfront communication is vital when traveling with others, and why authenticity is key when creating content. You'll find our full interview with him below, so be sure to read on.
Finding a travel buddy who fits your energy and goals can be challenging
Image credits: cottonbro studio (not the actual photo)
Travel influencer Ben went viral after sharing a witty list of people that you "should absolutely not go on a trip with"
Image credits: ivebentraveling
1. "People that need to recharge their battery in the middle of the day and force you to go back to the hotel or Airbnb to do that"
Image credits: ivebentraveling
"I'm sorry you're telling me you can't not speak to me in a park or at a café, or with a glass of wine somewhere outdoors? You have to be in your bed?"
2. "People who sleep in on vacation"
Image credits: ivebentraveling
"Unless you have been up until 4 in the morning, there is absolutely zero reason that you need to be sleeping in until 10:30 or 11 every single day. I can absolutely promise you, I did not pay for this trip to New York for you to lay in bed."
3. "Picky eaters. That. Just picky eaters"
Image credits: ivebentraveling
4. "On that same note, people who want to always eat meals at the place that you're staying"
Image credits: ivebentraveling
"Obviously, having food on hand is fine, but the people who actually want to go to the store and pick up, like, pasta supplies and then go back to your Airbnb and cook at home instead of going and trying local restaurants. That's an immediate no for me, dog."
5. "People who will not stipulate a budget until they get there"
Image credits: ivebentraveling
"If you know you cannot spend more than $100 a day, let me know that upfront. I don't mind reducing what I'm spending or I don't mind increasing what I'm spending if I'm capable of doing that and keeping up with your idea of this vacation... But don't surprise me with a budget that is really high or budget that's really low once we're there and I've spent months planning everything that I wanted to do there."
6. "If you're going international, anyone named Rachel. If you're staying domestic, anyone by the name of Brad, Chad, or Thad"
Image credits: ivebentraveling
You can watch Ben's popular video in full right over here
We were interested in hearing about how the internet reacted to Ben's clip. "As with many viral videos, the response has been mixed, but that's to be expected as everyone has had unique and differing experiences in their travels," he told Bored Panda via email.
However, the video still resonated with a lot of people and drove the discussion. According to the travel influencer, this is because what he described in the viral video were universal experiences.
"Whether folks agree or disagree, the experience of going on a trip or a vacation with someone who has a distinctly different travel style is something that most people can relate to in one way or another," he said.
According to Ben, open and honest communication is paramount if you want to avoid "any bumps during a trip." He told Bored Panda that "it might not always be the easiest conversation to have, but outlining expectations, wants, needs, and finances are all big factors to make sure that no one is left feeling surprised once you're actually on the trip."
In the meantime, we were curious about what keeps Ben passionate about being a content creator, and the advice he'd give someone who might want to start filming clips for TikTok.
"It's incredibly important to bring your authentic self to content creation day in and day out if content creation is something that you want to pursue, even just as a fun creative outlet," he shared his thoughts with us.
"It's easy to fall into the trap of creating content that you think others expect from you, rather than content that you enjoy making. That, for me, is how I stay excited about creating videos; I film what I enjoy, and am lucky enough to have been able to build a community who shares common interests and wants to come along for the ride with me," Ben said.
"If someone is interested in becoming a content creator, I would definitely recommend starting there: be authentically you and you'll find the right folks for your content."
Some TikTok users completely agreed with the influencer's opinions
Consultant and travel influencer Ben, who is based in Seattle, has a massive presence on TikTok. At the time of writing, he had nearly 108k followers and all of his videos had gotten a combined 6.1 million likes. His clip about who not to travel with was particularly popular and got 1.7 million views and counting.
The odds are that you may have gone on a trip with the type of people that Ben mentioned in his video. It’s also likely that you might have one or two (or more!) qualities that he warned about. Now, obviously, the clip exaggerates everything for the sake of comedy, but there’s a lot of truth there, too. Seeing this and recognizing it in ourselves can help us become more pleasant for others to travel with.
What the TikToker was getting at in his video was the importance of traveling with like-minded individuals who have similar values, goals, and lifestyles while on holiday. It’s perfectly fine if you want to sleep in during your vacation, so long as your friends plan to do so as well. However, it’d be incredibly unfair to everyone else if you force them to change their plans because you need your beauty sleep.
A good rule of thumb would be for everyone to get on the same page before the trip even starts, and to agree to follow the lead of the person who organized the entire adventure, to begin with. To put it bluntly, everyone needs to have the same pace and energy. Some people really do travel to take it easy, but others enjoy active rest.
If there’s no upfront communication, everyone ends up with different expectations and it can ruin the entire vibe of the adventure. Aside from a surprise run-in with a grizzly in the woods, the last thing you want is for everyone to get into a fight. You don’t want to see everyone arguing because the host has everything planned, but one person needs their afternoon nap, another is spending their precious time grocery shopping to save cash, while Brad, Chad, and Thad are up to God knows what.
Of course, your entire holiday doesn’t have to be structured down to the very last minute. It’s perfectly fine to have large chunks of each day where you explore the local area, chill, and unwind at a cafe or even with some board games. However, having some order can make your trip that much more pleasurable because you’ll have done at least some of the things that you wish you had.
Traveling together also doesn’t mean that you have to spend every single second glued to one another. People have different goals or might need some privacy to recharge in their own ways, so spending a bit of time apart can work out for the best.
For example, if someone wants to go hiking while the other would like to check out the restaurant scene, they can agree to do that separately. It’s fine because they’ll later meet up for a joint activity that they both love, say, going to museums and standing in awe of the local architectural marvels.
And if you do get into a fight with your travel buddies, try to remember that you’re all supposed to be on the same side. Yes, you might be frustrated. Yes, they might totally be ruining everything with their selfish ways. But sit down, explain how you feel, and actively hear out their side of things as well. You might end up finding a compromise that genuinely works for all of you. Don’t let all of that resentment you feel churn inside of you until it boils over—if you see that everything’s chaotic, take action, diplomatically set some expectations, and salvage what’s left of the trip.
Others, however, had different thoughts
A few people even added to the list of folks they wouldn't want to travel with
