:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/TAL-today-show-TDAYSHWOLYMPS0724-508486fe8a6f4bf79d851a01fafc5d07.jpg "What It’s Really Like to Travel With the ‘Today’ Anchors, According to the Morning Crew Themselves")
By While the spotlight will shine on nearly 10,500 world-class athletes from 206 countries at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics kicking off this week, the most familiar faces to American audiences just might be the Today show hosts and anchors, who will be pulling double duty as part of the NBC Olympics broadcast team covering the games.
The morning show’s Hoda Kotb, Al Roker, Savannah Guthrie, and Craig Melvin have packed their bags as they shift over into sports mode, all returning as veteran Olympic journalists, who have traveled together to previous games.
But their greatest moments often remain off camera, the crew tells Travel + Leisure before they jet off to Paris .
“In London, we were all stuck in this car together and there was so much traffic,” Guthrie recalled. “At the stoplight, Al’s like, ‘See you guys later!’ He jumped out, took the Tube, and beat us by an hour and a half! He’s a pro!”
.Getty Images
In fact, Roker is always ready to hop onto public transportation. “I love the Paris Metro,” he added. “In fact, when I land at Charles de Gaulle, I usually take the train. Depending on what time you land, it’s 90 minutes to get into the city, and it’s less than an hour on the train!”
It’s that kind of precise and strategic skill set that has made the Today team learn to play as hard as they work when they’re covering the 19 days of Olympic competition. Despite the long hours working together, they admit they also tend to spend their in-between hours together as well.
One memorable moment was at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics when they planned a hot tub party, but only two of them got in. “Al and I went out in our skivvies and got in the hot tub,” Guthrie said. Roker agreed, “It was great! It was one of my all-time favorite pictures!”
The odd hours with the time difference often means they’re out enjoying the cities when no one else is. After getting off the air at 1 a.m. once in Asia, the were all still “wired,” as Guthrie described, and decided to go out. Roker wrapped first and got to the bar ahead of the others. “I’d start ordering apps and drinks, so that they’d all be laid out and they could hit the ground running,” he said. “We enjoyed it so much they ran out of bourbon….”
“To be fair, they didn’t have enough bourbon stocked,” Melvin added.
With more epic moments sure to happen in the City of Light, we chatted with the four Today stars about what they’re looking forward ahead of Paris 2024.
What’s your favorite place to go in Paris?
Hoda Kotb: I’ve gone to Paris a couple of times with my mom — it’s one of my favorite travel memories. We just loved walking on the Left Bank and along the Seine. It wasn’t so much a particular spot, but a coffee shop in the rain, looking at the art. We stayed in the tiniest hotel, and loved it. It was what Paris should feel like.
Al Roker: My daughter has lived in Paris for about six years. One of my favorite areas is Rue Cler, where it is nothing but food and cheese shops, and great patisseries and boulangeries. You walk around and grab stuff for either lunch or dinner. You just feel like you are in Paris. There’s also a French American breakfast place called Eggs&Co. But what’s great is there’s all these weird little spots like…
Craig Melvin: Not the Sewer Museum!
Roker: We’re talking about food. But here’s the thing: I’m trying to convince them to go to the Sewer Museum!
Savannah Guthrie: The readers of Travel + Leisure are not going to want to go to the Sewer Museum! Anyway, I think we all just love feeling like we are “of Paris” for the moment, whether it’s sitting at a cafe or having a glass of wine. I personally love getting tips from friends of where the good vintage shopping is. All those French women, they had to give away some of their clothes at some point, so I love looking through the racks there.
How would you describe each of your travel styles?
Kotb: There’s nobody better at flying than the girl sitting next to me, [Savannah]. She has a plan of when she’s getting to the airport, what she’s going to do when she sits, when she eats her meal, when she sleeps, when she wakes up, when she takes her Ambien, and how she lands, so that she is ready to go. And she’s a pusher because she’s trying to make everyone do her plan, like “Hoda, you’ve got to eat your meal, drink the wine, go to bed!”
Guthrie: Never eat on the airplane, eat at the lounge. Have a glass of wine, then you have an Ambien, but only when the wheels are rolling. Never take it when you’re on the ground.
Kotb: You might be on the ground for a long time! Let me tell you, this girl gets there refreshed, so maybe she’s right!
Melvin: For me, Roker is the best traveler because, minus the Sewer Museum, he typically finds off-the-beaten spots that are delightful and non-touristy.
Who gets to the airport the earliest?
Kotb: I’m an early arriver. Al and I are always the first two there.
Roker: Two hours at least.
Kotb: Then there’s Savannah, as the wheels are moving…
Roker: She’s running and throwing her bag on the plane!
Melvin: I get there like an hour and a half early. I don’t like to spend too much time at the airport, although I’m excited about going this time because they’ve got the new lounge.
Hoda, you’ve been such an enthusiastic supporter of gymnastics! What makes the sport so exciting for you?
Kotb: Watching gymnastics for me is equal parts exhilarating and terrifying. I often miss a lot of it because my eyes are closed and I’m watching through my fingers! I get a pit in my stomach and I stress eat. Think about walking along a beam that’s as thick as your phone — I get anxiety watching it!
What are your thoughts on this year’s team?
Kotb: This year’s team is amazing! They have four veterans with Suni [Lee], Simone [Biles], Jade [Carey] and Jordan [Chiles]. Those who have been-there-done-that, they understand the stress and pressure. Then they have Hezly [Rivera] who is the newbie — the youngest [U.S.] Olympian of the whole games — she just turned 16. To have her there is going to add this jolt of just being wide-eyed. I like that she’s part of it because she’s reminding those guys how delightful it all is. So it’s gonna be good. They’re going to win gold!
What sports are the rest of you excited about?
Melvin: Swimming is always fun to watch. I love basketball — I used to play many years ago and I coach my son’s rec league team. Also, these are professional athletes, playing in their offseason. They’re risking injury and they don’t get paid for it. They do it for the love of country. It’s fun to watch the best of the best compete. The women will dominate as they have over [nearly] 20 years. The international men’s basketball game has gone up a notch. [Most of the recent] MVPs in the NBA are foreign born. The Greek team is awesome. The French team is playing on their home court and are awesome. It’s going to be fun to watch — and it should be competitive.
Guthrie: Tennis is my favorite sport and I will be watching it, especially with Roland Garros being an iconic venue. I also like sports that we don’t get to see every day. I actually really enjoy track and field, like shot put and the long jump. And beach volleyball is fun!
Melvin: Al was quite the athlete in high school? What did you play?
Roker: The piano! But I first discovered beach volleyball in Athens. It was like, oh my gosh, this is a party. Nobody had seen it and you could just walk in and you didn’t even need a ticket. Now it’s just unbelievable. In fact, Craig and I both have the men’s beach volleyball bathing suits we’re gonna wear!
What Olympics moment stands out the most in your memory?
Roker: I was there in 1996 when Muhammad Ali came out and lit that torch. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. It was one of the most emotional moments I’ve ever experienced.
Guthrie: My favorite Olympic memory is Kerri Strug [also at Atlanta 1996] because she was like she did vault injured, and she saved Team USA.
Kotb: A recent one would have probably been the Rio games and the gymnasts winning gold. Simone came out of nowhere — people couldn’t pronounce her name, and now she’s something special. Savannah and I were also just talking about Mary Lou Retton. I remember the [Sports Illustrated] magazine headline was, “Only You, Mary Lou!”
Melvin: I’m still sort of the rookie. Honestly, I enjoy hanging out with our team outside of the Games and just spending time together, having dinners and enjoying rosé! We don’t get to play together a lot because we keep odd hours at work. So, for me, that’s the highlight.
The Today crew’s coverage airs from July 26 through Aug. 11 on NBC, as well as on streaming app Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, NBC.com, NBC app, and the NBC Olympics app.
