VEXblog is back!! This week, we’re talking luxury experiences, and what the museum and heritage sector can take from them. Research was tough on this one… vexblog.substack.com/p/lessons-in...
Rachel Mackay
@rachmackay.bsky.social
Head of Hampton Court Palace. Author of Delivering the Visitor Experience. Dundonian, dog owner, dancer. (That last isn’t true but I needed a D word) therecoveryroomblog.com
Rating Ben Stiller’s security skills and ruminating on the true magic of a Night at the Museum over on Substack open.substack.com/pub/vexblog/...
VEX at the Movies 2
A Frank Assessment of the Visitor Experience in Night at the Museum
open.substack.com
Today’s VEXblog is a little bit different, and hopefully a big bit fun 🦕 🦖 open.substack.com/pub/vexblog/...
VEX at the Movies
A Frank Assessment of the Visitor Experience in Jurassic World
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We have so many amazing partnerships in place to help us put together our visitor offer - and in the VEX world, it’s our job to make them fly. Some top tips on ensuring the visitor experiences that seamless delivery we are all aiming for in today’s VEXblog 🖊️ open.substack.com/pub/vexblog/...
All In It Together
How progressive partnerships are the key to success
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This is a rant close to my heart and common to all cultural charities, I think. But what is Third Man Syndrome? open.substack.com/pub/vexblog/...
Third Man Syndrome
My biggest pet peeve in cultural charities...
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In today’s VEXblog I fall out with visitors, then make up open.substack.com/pub/vexblog/...
Whoops, I Fell Out With Visitors
Or, how to get the good vibes back when they're not vibing
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Today’s VEXblog is a love letter to teamwork - with some surprising accolades. Read and subscribe here open.substack.com/pub/vexblog/...
Here’s a picture of my dog in her new Palace Host uniform, in case anyone particularly needs this in their Bank Holiday Monday
Today’s VEXblog is about the joys of being Duty Manager - the skills, the challenges and the WTFs Read and subscribe here: open.substack.com/pub/vexblog/...
Being Duty Manager
What it takes and why it can be the best job in the world
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Are other people hell? I explore the most variable part of any visitor experience in today’s VEXblog Find and subscribe at vexblog.substack.com
Debate rages on about reintroducing charging in national museums. In the meantime, I can’t help but think through the ops… open.substack.com/pub/vexblog/...
Five Impacts of Introducing Charging to the Nationals
Beyond the question of whether the Government should introduce charging, what could the practicalities be on the ground?
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Heritage toilet fanatics assemble! 📣 So excited to talk all things functional in today’s VEXblog and share some upcoming bathroom projects at Hampton Court 🚽 open.substack.com/pub/vexblog/...
It's the Toilets, Stupid
Why we should celebrate our great “houses of easement”
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“Even though so many people come to this sector because they love talking to people, the temptation to talk at people so often seems to triumph… We all have examples of museum interactions (mono-actions?) that have gone beyond the human to the inhumane” open.substack.com/pub/vexblog/...
The Art of Dialogue
An appreciation of genuine human connection is long overdue
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How our year of scaffolding is going, in today’s Substack open.substack.com/pub/vexblog/...
Staying Open, Staying Profitable
Navigating Major Works Without Losing Visitors
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What’s the best Vis Ex interview question you can ask - and how can you answer it? open.substack.com/pub/vexblog/...
My Favourite Question
The best interview question in the world, and how to answer it
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My first VEXblog post is live, and it’s basically a list of all my failures. Come for the schadenfreude, stay for the helpful Visitor Experience content! Subscribe for two-weekly posts sent straight to your inbox open.substack.com/pub/vexblog/...
On Trying to Fail
What are the ‘broken bones’ of your visitor experience career that taught you valuable lessons?
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I’m keen to back to writing about visitor experience in 2026. So I’m starting a Substack! VEXblog will be a regular dose of all things vis ex straight to your inbox. Subscribe below and expect new content soon! open.substack.com/pub/vexblog
VEXblog | Rachel Mackay | Substack
VEXblog is a Substack for people obsessed with delivering amazing visitor experiences in museums, heritage and cultural attractions. Click to read VEXblog, by Rachel Mackay, a Substack publication. La...
open.substack.com
High-fiving the New Year like…. Long may yer lum reek from Hampton Court Palace
A brilliant time to visit the Wilderness at Hampton Court Palace - the autumn colour is stunning 🤩
A Welsh escape this weekend enjoying beaches, hills, BBQs and lush landscapes 🏴
#GotchaDay Can’t believe it’s a year since I brought this fluff ball home 🧡 Yes I deliberately wore the same top
Flora and I had fun hanging out with London Fire Brigade and the RNLI as part of #WorldDrowningPreventionDay at Hampton Court Palace As a riverside palace, so important for us to help engage our local community in water safety 💧
What are the new frontiers of VEX I would talk about if I was writing Delivering the Visitor Experience today? Find out in my new piece for @blooloop.bsky.social blooloop.com/museum/opini...
Three new challenges in visitor experience
Rachel Mackay identifies three fresh challenges in visitor experience since she published her book Delivering the Visitor Experience in 2023.
blooloop.com
We’re well into the 2025 run of the Hampton Court Palace Music Festival - always one of my favourite times of year! James, Rag n Bone Man and Tom Jones have already knocked it out of the park (palace) - tonight it’s the turn of Bananarama!
Spent a wonderful day at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social as part of our HRP Ops Leads away day
Looking forward to being in Theatre 2 at 13:00 @museumsandheritage.com Show today - come and hear us talk about our new philosophy of visitor engagement!
