Meet the Team: Katie Hammel

Meet the Team is a recurring series allowing you to get to know the team behind Scott's Cheap Flights success.

Meet Katie - Future Olympic equestrian, 8x Iceland visitor, Napa expert, and writer-extraordinaire behind all of the great content you see at Scott’s Cheap Flights!

Tell us about you! What do you do outside of work?

I live just outside of San Francisco with my husband and our two cats. Our free time generally involves some good hiking, cooking, and often day or weekend trips around the state (Napa and Tahoe are favorites).

What does a Content Marketing Manager do anyway? How did you get in to Marketing?

As Content Marketing Manager, my role is to create written content that brings in new members and provides value to our existing menus.

In practical terms, it means I work with a team of freelance writers and our internal team of experts to write and edit our guides, newsletters, and annual reports and data-driven stories like our State of Cheap Flights report. While writing and editing are a big part of the job, I also spend a lot of time researching what topics we should be covering, as well as optimizing our existing content for search engines so we can make sure that we're getting our content in front of people when they need it.

I started my path to content marketing as a freelance travel writer, and then eventually as a travel editor. As I learned more about SEO and how to use content as a business tool, I transitioned to working as a content marketing manager in travel, which indulges both my creative side as a writer and my analytical and process-oriented side as I apply a little bit of science to creating and optimizing content.

What's your favorite thing about your role here at SCF?

Over the last three years, my role has evolved as the company has, and I've been able to stretch my skills, take on new projects, and experiment along the way. I have a lot of freedom to try new things, as well as to direct where my career at SCF will go, and as a result I think I've done some of the best work of my career here.

What's kept you here for 3 years?

I absolutely love the work I'm doing. I love the mission of the company and my team is the best I have ever had the pleasure of working with. How could I leave all that?

What advice would you give to a candidate interested in working at SCF?

Just be yourself and show us how amazing you are. SCF is made up of an eclectic group of people with different backgrounds, perspectives, and talents, and every single person brings something to the team. Also, get ready to be tempted to book a new trip almost every day!

What's the best SCF deal you've ever booked?

Every trip I've taken in the last three years has been the result of an SCF deal. Some favorites include $400 roundtrip nonstop to Japan, $150 roundtrip nonstop to Maui (which I snagged both in 2019 and again for 2022), and $400 roundtrip to Iceland, my very favorite place in the world. Up next: I'm keeping an eye out for a business class deal to Greece to celebrate my 15 year wedding anniversary next summer.‍

Alright - something fun - when you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

My childhood dream careers were teacher, therapist, writer, and Olympic equestrian and I feel like my current career combines little elements of three of the four (can't win 'em all, I guess).

Like a teacher, I help level up the skill of the freelancers on my team and empower them to do their best work, and I create content that educates our members. I also get to do a bit of writing and tell amazing stories about our members, our product, and incredible places around the world. And like a therapist, I need to understand the needs and challenges of our customers, so that I can create content that helps them achieve their goals.

Now I just need to get approval to expense an office pony and all my childhood dreams will have come true.