2TravelDads

Rob Taylor, Co-Founder

Florida

The Taylor family at Yellowstone National Park.

2024

2TravelDads will help you plan your family’s next unforgettable trip

Rob Taylor originally started his blog to give other LGBTQ families information about safe, welcoming destinations for vacations. Over the years, the site has grown into an invaluable resource for any family that wants to plan the trip of a lifetime.

Memorable trips for all types of families

When Rob Taylor and his husband would take their kids on trips ten years ago, things were quite different.

“People would stare at us from across the campground wondering what our deal was,” says Rob. “Or we would get to the hotel, and the front desk would try to put me and my husband in separate rooms. It was a strange world to navigate.”

Documenting these experiences and giving LGBTQ parents the resources to plan safe, enjoyable trips for their families was what initially prompted Rob to start 2TravelDads. The blog blends humorous, story-driven writing with more educational content to help parents create memorable, enlightening travel experiences for their children.

“LGBTQ traveling marketing tends to center gay men in their mid-20s having a wonderful time partying and traveling around the world,” says Rob. “But then you get older, you start a family, and you start to see the world differently. We weren’t always seeing content aimed at us, so why not create it ourselves?”

2TravelDads catered to LGBTQ adults — and the content was resonating. As the audience grew and the opportunities increased, Rob shifted from the writer’s side of his brain to the business side — and started to think of strategies that would make the blog a sustainable source of revenue.

Ads take flight

Like many content creators, Rob initially was skeptical about an ad-supported model. “While I didn’t think I wanted ads at first, I remembered that most people use them to monetize their content, so I wasn’t exactly doing anything out of the ordinary,” says Rob. “And once that consistent paycheck was coming in, I didn’t look back.”

Around this same time, Rob and his husband were starting brand partnerships to add another source of revenue to their site. While these campaigns were lucrative, they weren’t always simple experiences.

“I like the idea of being my own boss, but with those partnerships, you’re suddenly working for someone else’s creative vision,” says Rob. “Sometimes you’re on an email thread with eight different people giving you feedback on the content, which really forces you to be flexible.”

“On the other hand, with ads, you always get to be flexible. So we’re grateful that our ad revenue means we don’t need campaigns and don’t need to partner with a corporate entity. We can still create the content we want to make, on our terms.”

That’s why Rob maintains that ad revenue is always his number one priority. “Ads tell us that people are consuming what we’re creating, which validates our strategy and points a path forward,” says Rob. “It’s not just about the revenue it generates — it tells us if our content is useful and really meeting families where they are.”

Steady income in unsteady times

When COVID hit, the travel industry ground to a halt. Suddenly, companies didn’t even have travel destinations to advertise — and partnerships dried up. “That’s when stable ad revenue became especially important,” says Rob. “It lets us stay afloat during those downtimes when other revenue sources might slow down.”

In fact, consistency might be the greatest benefit from ads. “The consistent interval of ad revenue paychecks gives me the freedom to budget my time because I know the sort of revenue that’s going to come in,” says Rob. “This is really lovely and really helpful, especially when it comes to parenting because I can plan for those moments when I need to focus on the kids’ school or bonding time. I have the flexibility to set the blog aside in those moments, with revenue coming in passively.”

“If ad revenue goes away because of new laws or changes that will limit us not just in the trips we take but the actual cost of running a publication,” says Rob. “It would make my job cost prohibitive.”

And of course, some of the benefits of ad revenue are more personal. “I majored in English in school and I was always hoping for a chance to really put that degree to use,” says Rob. “Now I get to say that I have my own publication that I write and that people read — I’ve actually been able to transfer my college education into a money-making career.”

“Ads tell us that people are consuming what we’re creating, which validates our strategy and points a path forward. It’s not just about the revenue it generates — it tells us if our content is useful and really meeting families where they are.”

A family business

Rob is grateful to know that his blog is helping parents share the gifts of travel with their children. “Travel helps you understand how you fit into the world. When you travel with kids, you want to offer them those insights and let them discover themselves a bit,” says Rob. “And it’s also important for adults to have these travel experiences — these are our voters, our decision makers, so seeing the world broadens their worldview and teaches them new things.”

What started as a simple Google Sites blog has morphed into something much larger and more meaningful. But after getting to write two books and publishing millions of words on his blog, Rob is proudest of the beautiful document of his family that he’s created.

“I have every moment of our kids’ lives documented in photos and videos. Someday when I'm old and when they have kids, they're gonna be able to share the life that they've lived,” says Rob. “I'm able to retell their stories, essentially creating a photo album of their lives.”

Rob hopes the blog can turn into a family business. “I’d love to be able to hand off pieces of it to my kids when they’re at working age,” says Rob. “Because this isn’t just a site for LGBTQ families — this is a travel magazine for anyone. There's so much content that we have and that we will continue to develop — which means this publication should make an impact for a very, very long time.”

About the Publisher

Rob Taylor is the founder of 2TravelDads, the original LGBTQ Family Travel blog. Focusing on the outdoors and education, 2TravelDads inspires ALL families to go beyond their usual getaways and use travel to learn about and be part of a bigger world. "Traveling the globe and giving the kids a broad worldview." Favorite topics and destinations include: America's National Parks, LGBT friendly destinations, education on the road, and anywhere nature, culture and fun are mixed together.

Rob has written two books: the Road Trip Survival Guide and the Ultimate Travel Journal for Kids. The Road Trip Survival Guide is an exciting step in making travel less daunting and more accessible to families, particularly following such an upheaval as the global pandemic. As more and more travel is converted to road tripping, there are endless opportunities to help others learn how to travel with a low impact and make the most of their time off. The Ultimate Travel Journal for Kids brings a fun level of engagement and memory making to downtime during travel, and is a great way to keep young minds active while NOT using a screen.