About Be Our Gaston + TheTripThread

Built for Travelers Who Feel More Than They Follow.

What Are Be Our Gaston and TheTripThread?

I’m Kelly McAtee, the founder of Be Our Gaston (BOG) and TheTripThread (TTT) — two projects built to bring soul, clarity, and human intelligence back to travel.

Be Our Gaston is the Savannah-based editorial arm — a smart, soulful city guide rooted in emotional fit, aesthetic feel, and true local nuance. It’s not a tourism board. It’s not a listicle farm. Visiting BOG is like getting travel advice from a trusted friend who actually lives here — someone who tells you where to stay (and why), what to skip, and how to experience Savannah in a way that feels right.

TheTripThread is the global logic system behind that experience. It powers our upcoming quizzes, tags, and vibe-matching — helping travelers everywhere discover the destinations that fit them emotionally, not just logistically.

Together, BOG and TTT are reimagining how people choose where to go — and how they feel once they get there. Savannah is our first city because we live in the Historic District and know it like the back of our hand. From here, we’re building outward: vibe-based guides that connect you to the places that will truly resonate.

✍️ Who am I?

Before launching Be Our Gaston and TheTripThread, I spent nearly a year traveling the U.S. with my husband, our two youngest kids, and two dogs — living out of Airbnbs, working remotely, and learning exactly what most travel tools get wrong.

That road trip turned into a realization:

✨ Most short-term rentals lack soul.
✨ Most travel content lacks voice.
✨ And most travel decisions ignore how people actually feel.

I created Be Our Gaston to solve those problems in one city.
Now, I’m building TheTripThread to scale that solution across the world.

I’m a psychologist, content strategist, and editor by trade — but at heart, I’m someone who wants your trip to feel like it fits.

💡 Our Philosophy

These projects weren’t created to chase trends or traffic. They were built because travelers deserve better. Our core beliefs:

  • Local-first: The best trips are rooted in a place’s personal vibe, not popularity.

  • Emotionally intelligent: We match destinations to your energy and style, not your browser history. What feels perfect for one person, may not be a great fit for someone else.

  • Editorial over algorithm: Every word you read here was written by a human — me — with intention and voice, then spell-checked and smoothed out by my good friend, ChatGPT.

  • Smart systems, not spam: TheTripThread uses logic themes and vibe tagging to create deeply personalized results, not generic lists.

📅 The Story So Far

  • 2021–2024: Be Our Gaston began as a rental listing site for our two Savannah properties — and slowly morphed (by accident) into a full editorial guide for the city.

  • Early 2025: BOG became a full-content platform, and the foundations of TTT began forming behind the scenes: tags, themes, spreadsheets, and systems.

  • Late 2025: TheTripThread will launch its first vibe-based quiz framework, with the goal of expanding into regional destination threads across the globe in 2026, specifically the Southeast United States and the Caribbean.

🌍 What’s Next

TheTripThread is building a global network of BOG-style destination hubs — each one rooted in emotional fit, cultural feel, and editorial trust. That means no generic top-ten lists, no AI slop, and no “one-size-fits-all” travel advice.

Coming soon: destinations across Entry Collections like
→ Cool Southern Towns
→ Tropical Caribbean Vibes
→ (with many more in the works)

Each traveler will go through a two-part psychological quiz experience:

→ First, you'll be matched to a region of the world that fits your aesthetic and emotional preferences
→ Then, you’ll get a vibe-based destination match within that region — the place that best fits your energy and travel personality

From there, each destination will eventually feature:

  • Curated Trip Threads and editorially crafted itineraries

  • Handpicked accommodations and rentals

  • Restaurant and activity recs grounded in local feel

  • Deep-vibe editorial that goes beyond "what to do" and into how a place makes you feel

This isn’t just smarter travel planning. It’s a whole new way to find places that fit you.

📸 A Quick Glimpse

Travel shouldn’t feel like déjà vu.
When every destination’s overrun and every list sounds the same, what people crave isn’t more content — it’s real connection. TheTripThread is here to cut through the copy-paste travel noise and deliver something better: curated, emotionally-smart guidance that actually gets you — and gets you somewhere that fits.
— Kelly

FAQs

  • We started as a local rental business with two apartments in Savannah — and we still operate those. But today, Be Our Gaston is primarily a curated trip planning guide for travelers visiting Savannah. We help you figure out where to stay, eat, and explore — with an editorial approach that prioritizes emotional intelligence, local nuance, and honesty.

  • First and foremost, we ONLY recommend businesses we 100% stand behind, which is why you won’t see every restaurant, every rental, every tour operator, etc listed. So, for the ones we do recommend, sometimes, yes, we will make a small amount via an affiliation. We use affiliate links to connect readers with trusted booking platforms like Booking.com, VRBO, Viator, and others. If you book something through one of our links, we may earn a small commission — at no extra cost to you. But we only recommend places and experiences we genuinely believe in.

  • Not usually. Most of the listings we recommend are independent properties or hotels we link to through affiliate platforms. The exception is our two original rentals in Savannah, which we do own and operate — and are clearly marked as such on the site.

  • Yes. Our two apartments in Savannah are fully licensed by the city and state to operate as short-term vacation rentals.

  • All hotel, rental, ticket, and tour bookings are fulfilled directly by the platform you book through (like Booking.com or Viator). Be Our Gaston does not collect your payment or manage your reservation unless you are booking one of our own two properties.