Hotel offers Wilderness Survival Program
16-8-2013
Inspired by ‘The Hunger Games’, the ‘Waldorf Astoria Grand Wailea’ in Hawaii offers a ‘Wilderness Survival Program’. During the program children ages 5 and up learn how to survive in the wilderness, a unique experience during their stay at the hotel. Children can practice archery, their endurance is tested, they learn more about food and edible and non-edible plants and they will work on their camouflage skills. The hotel has four water slides, a white water rapids slide and a Tarzan pool where the skills of the participants will be improved.
Ten thousand Twitter followers
15-8-2013
To celebrate the mile stone of 10.000 Twitter followers we’ve visited one of our connections, Kitch& in Leiden, the Netherlands. We entered the restaurant with a bottle of Limonchili and were welcomed by co-owner Edwin van den Akker. He got acquinted with Horecatrends during one of our regular trend presentations. Kitch& uses Twitter to start an easy accessible dialogue with guests. Next to Twitter the restaurant uses DineRate to promote feedback on dishes and service, feedback through this service is rewarded with culinairy rewards on next visits. Edwin van den Akker uses Horecatrends.com to keep himself up-to-date with the latest trends in hospitality. “I don’t check the website every week, but if I do, I browse a few weeks back. The trends are for approximately 10% inspiring for my business, so definately worth to look at.” We would like to thank everyone for archieving the 10.000 followers, please keep sending tips via @horecatrends and tip@spronsen.com.
A drink upside down
12-8-2013
After the laying wine glass rEvolution of Martin Jakobsen, the designer developed a special glass for lemonade together with VINICE. The lemonade glass Halm literally puts every drink upside down. Fill the glass with lemonade, a cocktail or an other drink and put the white stopper on the glass. Then turn the glass upside down, shake and put a straw in the glass so you can enjoy your drink. Stylish, innovative and wasps don’t have a chance! Watch the video about the Halm glass to see how it works.
Spa Happy Hour Four Seasons Hotel
8-8-2013
The Spa at the Four Seasons Hotel Houston has introduced a Spa Happy Hour. Guests and locals can get USD 30 off at a 60 or 90 minute massage, facial or body treatment from Monday through Thursday from 12:00 to 6:30 pm. They can also choose a special Happy Hour menu that includes free Spa cocktails and snacks. The promotion continued to December 31. A new kind of happy hour, not just like the Happy Hour at a bar…
Floating hotel room
7-8-2013
Artist Alex Schweder has developed a floating pop-up hotelroom named ‘Lloyd in the Sky With Diamonds’ for hotel chain ‘The Curtis’. The inflatable hotel room is located on top of a van and can be lifted up 22 ft in the air. The room has a bed, couch, curtains and a small bathroom with a shower, toilet and sink. Because the wall and ceiling are transparent guests can enjoy the view of Denver when the van is parked. One night in the hotel is now offered for $ 50,000 as part of a special package.
Ice cream soda
6-8-2013
An ice cream soda, refreshing, old-fashioned and blessed! The last couple of warm days I experimented with this drink from my childhood. The base is a soda with a scoop of ice cream. You don’t see this drink in the most restaurants, while it is a easy drink to make! My daughter especially liked the sweeter varieties with vanilla ice cream. Personally I find the variant with a dash of lime juice and lime ice cream with sprite delicious! Yesterday I served this drink to my colleagues and they found it wonderfully refreshing! I also made the Mojito ice cream soda with lime ice cream, it was very tasty! ^Marjolein.
Food sherpas
6-8-2013
There are more and more food sherpas in touristicareas. Food sherpas are local people who receive tourists and show them the city. Unlike tourist agencies, the food sherpas lead you to local restaurants where you normally wouldn’t come as a tourist. They take you on a local culinary discovery tour and not only tell you where to go, but also what to order in restaurants. For example food sherpas can be found in Paris, where they guide tourist to the not so touristy Paris.
Hotels could set up an agreement with local people to guide the hotel guests through the most local hotspots. This as reaction to the deployment of an AirBnB host, because the success of this concept is that tourists can stay at the local people
Streetlight with a message
5-8-2013
In the area around São Paulo, Brazil residents can share stories in a special and direct way. The project ‘Mensagens Que Brilham’ equipped the street lights with special lenses with printed text. In the evening when the streetlights are switched on, different messages of residents are projected on the streets. This project is developed for AES Eletropaulo, an energy company. But we think that this is a special way to transmit a message, or fun for events or as an eye catcher for the entrance of a restaurant or hotel.
Split the hotel room bill with a stranger
5-8-2013
Most hotels charge the same price for a double room, whether you are alone or with two people. The website of Easynest enables solo tourists to share a hotel room with another traveler and share the costs. When you sign in on the website you can start looking for a companion to share your hotel room with. Although the focus of the site is on saving money during your trip, Easynest also provides a way for travelers to make friend, or even find a companion, while visiting a city. Looking at their website we imagine that the service will specially be used at big events.
Robotic coffee machine
2-8-2013
Briggo has developed a robotic coffee machine in conjunction with Yves Behar and Fuseproject. The coffee machine ‘Briggo Coffee Haus’ offers people the opportunity to order a coffee through a touch screen or via a smartphone app. The range consists of many types of coffee, even with coffee syrups. The app will remember your favorite coffees. The Briggo Coffee Machine offers a fast and easy way to order a coffee, without any hassle or wait. At this point the coffee machine is tested at the University of Texas and will soon be at Bergstrom airport Austin.
