Profit from your fans and followers

11-6-2014

A new kind of booking site, Hotelied, offers luxury hotels the opportunity to target discounts towards influential travelers with a large social media influence. Hotels probably hope that by offering these deals, the discounts will be outweighed by the exposure and publicity. I am quite sure it’s been done already between bloggers and hotels. Some bloggers are quite clear in their communication about these deals. But now we have the website Hotelied where travelers have to create a profile and link to their Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin. For people with a lot of fans or followers a great opportunity to gain some profit. But on the other hand, could this mean that the social media becomes less social? It seems that hotels can kind of buy ‘good reviews’ from influential travelers. Am I too suspicious and could we consider this as a win-win situation for the hotels, the booking site and the travelers? And assume that all those fans and followers will be able to read between the lines, what do you think? ^Marjolein van Spronsen

Warsteiner NightGolf Challenge

9-6-2014

The German premium beer Warsteiner transformed the Amsterdam Forest (Amsterdamse Bos) last June 7 to a golf course with a ‘par-3 course’ specially designed for the occasion. LED lighting and striking ‘glow-in-the-dark‘ golf balls guiding the players along the golf course in an exceptional setting that was made ​​up of temporary tee boxes and greens. As the sun went down, the game started (at 23:00 hour) and the last ball found the hole at 02:00 hour. As sponsor of the KLM Open and as official sponsor of the European PGA Tour, the top European golf competition, Warsteiner wants to help golf to a wider audiences.

Novotel Amsterdam City made in LEGO

6-6-2014

  • Novotel Amsterdam City

The Novotel Amsterdam City was replicated in LEGO. It took more than 30 days and 5.000 stones to build the construction, it was revealed on 11 June. The mini building was constructed to promote the exhibition ‘The Art of the Brick’ at Amsterdam EXPO.

Pinkpop festival of NIX

5-6-2014

  • Pinkpop NIX shirt

To archieve more attention for the laws that prevent under age drinking, Pinkpop organizer Jan Smeets communicates in various ways that the festival will provide no sigarettes nor alcohol to minors. The festival offered various alternatives, Happy Drinks was one of them.

Dutch couple links entrepreneurship and education in Suriname

4-6-2014

Entrepreneurs Jessica Augustin and Stanley Wassenaar from Amsterdam hope to be able to open ‘their’ hotel doors: Hotel Con Corazón in Paramaribo. With the profits of the hotel they want to contribute to good education and a better future for children in Suriname. To make their dream reality, they started a crowdfunding campaign and hope to collect 10 percent of the initial capital of approximately 800,000 euros. People can contribute in different ways; give a donation, provide a loan or become a social shareholder. For information on how to contribute klik here.

Papertowel news

3-6-2014

In the Netherlands we have a saying: ‘In today’s newspaper tomorrow’s fish will be wrapped’. If we start to print newspaper items on paper towels we could change the saying in ‘with the news of the moment, we dry our hands.’ This perhaps provides a better insight in the volatility of many news items! Nice action from máspormás.

Gin and tonic pop-up bar Brussels

28-5-2014

  • Copyright Pravda

Gin brand Bombay Sapphire and tonic producer Fever-Tree will open a gin & tonic pop-up bar from 29 May to 5 July. The finest gin & tonic combinations will be served. The pop-up bar opens in ‘Les Jardins de Bagatelle’, the inspiring gardens in the center of Brussels. A select group of Brussels artists have been asked to make their own Signature Gin & Tonic inspired by the classic gin & tonic. On 5 June Michelin star chef Bart de Pooter and Oscar-winning artist Stéphane Halleux will show their Signature Gin & Tonic and on 18 June culinary artist Laurence Soetens and fashion guru Didier Vervaeren will introduce theirs.

Master classes by known Dutch chefs

23-5-2014

‘De Kookfabriek’ has three locations in the Netherlands: Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam. At these locations large groups, both business and private, can cook and eat in the kitchen. ‘De Kookfabriek’ organizes especially for individuals various Masterclasses of well known Dutch chefs. During the 4,5 hour master classes the chefs will guide the cooks in making their own four-course seasonal menu. The master classes of chefs Julius Jaspers, Sandra Ysbrandy, Jos Grootscholten and Alain Caron cost € 75,= per person and the master class of Niven Kunz € 99,= including his latest book Niven 80/20. The video shows the master class by Julius Jaspers.

Drink Tube

13-5-2014

More and more guests asking for cocktails? And no inspiration? Look at the youtube channel ‘Drinks Tube‘ from Jamie Oliver and Bacardi.

Perfect Pairing with cognac and chocolate

12-5-2014

  • Perfect Pairing

The refined taste of cognac and the rich aroma of chocolate makes a perfect combination. Cognac brand Hennessy and chocolate connoisseur Chocolaterie & Patisserie Tout made different combinations of cognac and chocolate: ‘Perfect Pairing’. The many types of chocolate and new cognac blends provide many surprising combinations. The ‘Perfect Pairing’ ranges of cocktails and desserts to a simple cup of coffee. Check out the recipes on the Facebook page of Hennessy.

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