In case you still think Twitter is just a bunch of narcissists discussing what they had for breakfast, a couple of months ago, while tweeting about pitching to editors, I got a public reply from Jane Knight, travel editor at the Times, asking why I never pitched to her anymore.

Laziness? I um’d and ah’d for a bit, then emailed her an idea for a story about a new hotel opening in East Jerusalem – in fact, the first new luxury hotel to open there in almost 50 years, the St George.

Luckily, she commissioned me – and the piece appeared in the paper today (subscribers only). She also took two more ideas from me. Thank you, Jane. Travel eds: please form an orderly queue. Travel hacks: Twitter works.

As for the story itself, I think it’s a cracker – how many hotels can claim to have been their city’s first new luxury property twice? Click here to view the article – or click on the embedded image to enlarge.