The Solo Traveler Who Got Seven Business Cards

Camille, 30, a Paris-born art consultant now living in Toronto, was on a solo trip to the Aman Tokyo when she made the mistake of sitting poolside with a novel and a lychee cocktail. She was wearing a burgundy bikini and had genuinely planned to read the entire afternoon. She did not read. She received, over the course of approximately ninety minutes, seven business cards, two hotel-branded notepads with phone numbers written on them, and one marriage proposal that both she and the front desk agree was not entirely joking. (The gentleman’s wife was also at the pool. The marriage proposal was not received well.) Camille finished her cocktail, declined all offers, and went to her room. She posted a selfie from the balcony later that evening. The post got 12,000 new followers. The business cards are in her carry-on, uncontacted. What she ended up doing on her last night in Tokyo, though — that’s a different story.

The Checkout Photo That Broke the Hotel’s Instagram

Lexi, 25, a fitness coach from Austin, posted her checkout-day pool photo at 7:42am — literally as she was leaving — and the Montage Laguna Beach’s comment section collapsed under the weight of people tagging friends within four minutes. It was a candid. She didn’t even pose. Coral bikini, wet hair, one hand reaching for her bag. (Her friend who took it was trying to get a shot of the ocean behind her. The ocean did not make the cut.) The hotel’s Instagram reposted it with permission, and their account gained 14,000 followers in a single day — more than they’d gained in the previous three months combined. Lexi was already on the 405 North when she noticed her phone had died from notification overload. She didn’t see the hotel’s DM offering her a free return stay until two days later. She’s going back next month. And this time, she’s staying for a week.