Contact the mailroom
Every message sent to this site ends up in one place, and that place is the mailroom. Evan Merrick reads each note himself, usually at the same desk where trials are planned and write-ups are drafted. There is no ticket queue, no automated reply chain, and no outsourced support service behind the address. You write a note, a person reads it, and the answer comes from someone who knows the material firsthand.
That arrangement keeps the quality of correspondence high, but it also sets some practical limits. This page explains what to include in a message, which topics the desk considers, and when you can expect an answer. It also lists every official way to reach the company, from the postal address to the phone line. A few minutes spent here will usually save a round of follow-up questions later.
Before you write
Context is the single most useful thing you can add to a message. If your note concerns a specific trial, name the page and quote the sentence or figure in question. If something did not work the way a write-up said it would, tell the mailroom what you tried, where you tried it, and what happened instead. Notes that arrive with that level of detail almost always receive a faster and more useful reply. The contact form on this page routes straight to the mailroom, and a plain email to the address listed below works just as well.
Plain text is enough. You do not need to attach documents, and the desk does not open unexpected attachments as a matter of practice. If a photograph or a file genuinely matters to your note, mention it first, and the mailroom will tell you how to send it.
What the mailroom welcomes
The desk reads every note, but some subjects fit the work of this journal better than others. The topics below match the choices in the form and cover most of the mail the desk receives.
- A question about a trial: ask about a method, a step that seems unclear, or a result that surprised you. Reader questions often shape the follow-up work on the bench.
- A correction: point out a factual error, a broken page, or a figure that no longer holds. Corrections are reviewed before anything else and fixed in the published text with a note.
- A suggestion for the bench: propose a method or a routine you would like to see tested under real conditions. The bench schedule is set months ahead, but reader ideas regularly make the list.
- A privacy request: ask what data this site holds, or request a copy or deletion, as described in the Privacy Policy. These notes go to the records address listed below.
- Something else: introduce yourself, share a field note from your own travel, or flag anything that does not fit the categories above.
What the desk does not consider
A few categories of mail receive a polite decline, and it is kinder to say so here than to leave a sender waiting. My Travel Innovations is an independent publication with a single editor and a narrow editorial scope, so the requests below sit outside its remit.
- Guest posts: the journal does not publish outside submissions. Every trial is planned, run, and written by the editor, and that is the format readers rely on.
- Link placement: requests to insert, exchange, or purchase links in published pages are declined without exception, regardless of the subject or the terms proposed.
- Unlabeled advertising: promotional material presented as editorial content is not considered. If consent-based advertising is ever enabled on this site, it will carry a clear label, as the Disclaimer explains.
- Product samples and pitches: the desk does not accept unsolicited gear, samples, or review requests. Items tested on the bench are chosen and paid for by the company.
Response times
The mailroom keeps regular hours: Tuesday through Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Mountain Time. Messages that arrive inside that window are usually read the same day. Notes sent in the evening or over the weekend wait in the queue until the next working morning. Nothing is lost in the meantime, and nothing is answered by a machine.
You can expect a reply within two business days for most subjects. Corrections move to the front of the line, because a published error matters more than anything else in the stack. Privacy requests follow the schedule described in the Privacy Policy, which allows extra time for verification and record checks. If a question calls for archived field notes or older material, the first reply will say so and give an honest estimate.
Phone calls reach the same desk during the same hours. A voicemail left outside that window is returned on the next working day. If a reply has not arrived within two business days, write again with the same subject line, since a second note is never treated as a bother.
The desk
- Company
- My Travel Innovations LLC
- Address
- 950 W Bannock St, Boise, ID 83702, United States
- Phone
- +1 (208) 331-7462
- Privacy email
- records@mytravelinnovations.com
- Hours
- Tuesday through Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Mountain Time
Write to the mailroom
Before you write, it may be worth a stop at the FAQ, where the most common questions about the trials, the company, and the site already have full answers. If your note concerns how this site handles information, the Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use cover most of that ground. Everything else belongs in the mailroom, and the mailroom is glad to have it. Thoughtful mail from readers has changed the bench schedule more than once, and it will surely do so again.