Hotel

Travel isn’t just about going somewhere anymore—it’s about becoming someone. The quiet revolution of gamification is reshaping how we experience destinations, and smart marketers are already playing several moves ahead.

I’ve heard of some strange things at airports but having a valet for fish is about as curious as having one for wedding dresses – which Vancouver also has. The purpose of the fish valet? He makes sure your fishy delights are cared for and safely chilled if you’re stopping over in Vancouver between flights.  […]

The Trump Hotel Collection are targeting animal lovers by launching a new pet pampering service at its properties in Chicago, New York & Las Vegas.  If you’re visiting with your pet you can get a plush mini-beds, gourmet treats, a water bowl with fresh bottled water to fill it, chew toys and a special in-room […]

“The SOHO” in Tokyo Bay is set to open January 2010, deseigned by Wonder-wall’s Masamichi Kitayama. Typically known more for retail design, his attention to detail has been turned to an office complex which is perhaps more reminiscent of a 5 star hotel in terms of its ammenities and design aesthetic. As you approach the […]

Most airports have chocolate shops these days, its one of the fastest growing travel retail categories. Aside from Brussels and to some degree Zurich though, I haven’t found many airport chocolate shops which really impressed me – which stood out as something unique or special.  Vosges Haut-Chocolat at O’Hare (T1 B Concourse) changed that, with […]

The much awaited 46 storey, 400 room Trump SOHO is due to open somewhere around the end of the year. There is no “official date” though they are accepting bookings from Feb 2010 with prices starting at USD389.  They’ve also launched their countdown marketing campaign being led by Ivanka Trump and her twitter account (@IvankaTrump)- […]

Holiday Inn this month “launched” their brand “relaunch” which involves refreshing over 3,200 hotels by the end of 2010, new brand standards, touchpoints and of course a new logo & ads. Whilst Holiday Inn perhaps hasn’t grown as fast as other IHG brands in the last few years, there are over 1,000 Holiday Inn & […]

At Starwood Aloft & Four Points by Sheraton you will now be able to view free digital copies of your favourite magazines. Zinio‘s “digital newstand” can now be accessed on guests’ laptops in their rooms or via a kiosk in the lobby. You need to log into Starwood’s portal and register with Zinio but after […]

You read it right, Schipol Airport has opened a “goldfish hotel”. Now I know I’m the first to complain about the lack of innovation in airport retail offerings so I suppose I should applaud the creativity in this concept, but I’m afraid I’m left scratching my head on the commerciality of it. Are goldfish really […]

The Creative Director of Coach, Reed Krackoff, hasn’t really drawn attention to himself the way other Creative Directors have in the fashion industry. This however might be changing. Coach have apparently registered new Trademarks for “Reed”, “Reed Krakoff” and “RK” for ready-wear, leathergoods & personal care products as well as “hotel & restaurant services”. Coach […]

Everybody knows how much I love vending machines, particularly for airports and hotels. They take up very little space, have little or no staff costs, can delivery huge entertainment value and very importantly can deal with the peaks & troughs in airport or hotel traffic. So here are some new vending machine ideas I’ve seen […]

The days of hotel minibars stocking overpriced softdrinks and miniature spirits are thankfully passing. These days you see a surprising range of things in your minibar – some which make you scratch your head, some that are a pleasant surprise. No discussion of minibars however can proceed without stating my pet hate – computerised minibars […]

The opening of Missoni Hotel Edinburgh was so successful that they’ve announced yet another location – Oman – The Hotel Missoni Jebel Sifah. Its going to have 250 guestrooms and 50 apartments/villas as well as a private beach and the manditory spa, restaurants, tennis courts and a ballroom. The adjacent community will also have a […]

Most pricing research to date in the hospitality industry has been about typography, menu layout, use of images & wording and how that influences consumer perceptions. What has been lacking in research is some solid information on how the way in which prices are presented impacts on actual purchase behaviour. Cornell University’s Center for Hospitality […]

Missoni joins the list of designers opening hotels.  Today they officially opened in Edinburgh, Scotland and will be opening later this year in Kuwait then South Africa. The Missoni hotels are actually run by Belgium based Rezidor Hotel Group who set up a licensing agreement back in 2006 with Missoni to open around 30 hotels […]

Whilst most airlines are increasing charges for overweight people, bags, pets and anything else they can think of, JetBlue is taking the opposite tack and incentivising people to bring their pets on holidays. JetBlue’s new JetPaw’s programme gives passengers an extra two TrueBlue points each way if you bring your four-legged friend with you.  You’ll […]

Our Hotel Room launched an interesting initiative. The site is baically an online or virtual hotel room which showcases the most useful technology & hospitality services – as voted by respondents to their survey. As perhaps is predictable, internet connectivity (including free internet) was rated as the most important room feature (17%). The next most […]

New to Italy and hopefully soon the rest of the world, Let’s Pizza have launched the first vending machine to make pizza totally from scratch in less than 3 minutes.  The machine mixes the dough, stretches it, adds toppings and bakes it in an infrared oven, producing a fresh pizze in 2 mins 30 secs […]

Still more luxury vending machines! U*tiques have come to Segal’s Studio. The U*tique offers an selection of luxury and personal care items – gadgets, makeup, skincare and hair-care items by high-end and niche labels. The creator of the Ut*tique was 29 year old Mara Segal who said “I wanted to bring luxury personal-care products to […]

The Modrian South Beach hotel in Miami now features an automated gift machine aimed at replacing hotel boutiques. Designed by Mari Balestrazzi, this semi-automatic machine carries luxury items such as 24k gold handcuffs from Kiki de Montparnasse (now that’s an interesting gift!), Fred Flare heart sunglasses and a 14k gold necklace by Kiel Mead – […]

Called the Mayday Project, Glenn Millen has proposed a stimulus package to reinvigorate the Australian tourism industry. The idea basically is to give free fares to international tourists who agree to spend a certain amount of money in Australia’s hotels, shops and restaurants. Exactly how that would be monitored is open to some question perhaps […]

Still more luxury vending machines! U*tiques have come to Segal’s Studio. The U*tique offers an selection of luxury and personal care items – gadgets, makeup, skincare and hair-care items by high-end and niche labels. The creator of the Ut*tique was 29 year old Mara Segal who said “I wanted to bring luxury personal-care products to […]

Whilst slankets have been around since 1998, they’re now becoming all the rage – no I’m not kidding here. In blogs around the world recently, they’re being touted as everything from the ultimate hotel ammenity (to replace the bathrobe) to being the perfect inflight accessory for international flights. Now I’m not too sure about their […]

Customer service is one of JetBlue’s hallmarks, so its interesting to see how they’ve integrated it into T5 (aside from in the design elements & facilities). One of the first thing which perhaps you notice is the number of Customer Information Desks. When airlines are typically reducing these, JetBlue seem to have increased them. Further, […]

Don’t take me wrong, I love stylish hotel rooms. The problem is when you throw out practicality for design or even worse still throw out taste. Here are some of the most questionable design choices we’ve come across. The Gray Hotel, Milan OK these stairs look great but they’re not only terrifying to use sober […]

That’s what the Morgans Hotel Group are saying in their headline for an aggressive new marketing & advertising campaign aimed at treating the recession with defiance and optimism. They believe the attitude of many of their customers is to treat unpleasant things with this level of contempt, with the recession being no different.  Interesting approach, […]

Its always a pain when you’re in a hotel room and you want to check in electronically for your return flight – only to find there’s no printer. To deal with this, BA have launched the capacity to checkin via your mobile phone. It won’t stop you having to queue if you’re flying internationally but […]

This product was developed for toddlers and children so parents could send them messages via a solar-powered display. However with current security consciousness the odds of little kids being seperated from their parent’s long enough for this to have a valid market is limited.  However its a great idea for a 21st century friendsheip bracelet […]