DOT Groningen presents the largest Christmas bauble in the world despite COVID-19
16-11-2020
The largest Christmas bauble in the world will rise again this year in Groningen. On Sunday December 6th, starting at 5:00 PM, no less than 6,000 LED lights will be lit at DOT Groningen. The initiators worked for weeks to get the lights and a completely new “Christmas bauble hook” ready on time and to attach them to their dome. The dome, with a diameter of 26 meters and a height of 19 meters, is the largest Christmas bauble in the world.
In addition to good food and drinks, DOT is a multifunctional company, where hospitality and variety in the programming for young and old are central. And the initiators also came up with a Drive-Thru-experience for this year and together with three other authentic restaurants they created the #ChristmasBaubleBox: The culinary December gift for companies and for families at home.
Trends we spotted | Week 45
10-11-2020
At horecatrends.com or hospitalitytrends.eu we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the other trends we use in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’.
Vegan is getting more and more important! We spotted articles about Willicroft’s ‘This is Not Cheese’ products, vegan Mini BabyBel cheese, vegan Boursin soft cheese and a new sustainability label for fish alternatives called ‘friend of the Sea’.
With all the restaurants, pubs etc. closing in the UK, Burger King tweeted that people could help the industry by treating themself to tasty meals even from McDonald’s. And we spotted one of the first list of predictions for 2021, ten food trends according to Whole Foods.
Recently opened at The Connaught Hotel with its own entrance: The Connaught Patisserie. Take-away or delivery of an afternoon tea! And a great way to introduce your new hotel in Auckland, New Zealand by QT Hotels & Resorts. Their treasure hunt created a big buzz!
Claridge’s Christmas magic delivered to your home | Comfort and Glamour
10-11-2020
We have always loved to write about the Christmas season in London, check out for example the really extremely beautiful Christmas Tree decorations at the Claridge’s in London, created by Karl Lagerfeld, Christian Louboutin and Diane von Furstenberg. The much anticipated arrival of Christmas at Claridge’s has long symbolised the start of the festive season in the capital and this year, the yuletide magic of the iconic London landmark is more poignant than ever. Claridge’s online shop is packed full of the hotels’ most loved festive treats. If you can’t enjoy Claridge’s Christmas magic in their hotel, they deliver parts of it to your home.
With the current lockdown for restaurants, cafés and pubs till at least halfway December here in the Netherlands it’s going to be hard to enjoy the magic of this season. Your guest can order take-away or delivery but how do you add that Christmas magic? Claridge’s online shop is an example but we have also heard about ideas like a Christmas Drive Thru and we can image that for streets with a lot of restaurants, it might be a way to make Christmas sparkle… Families collecting their orders while driving thru a Christmas fairy tale! If that doesn’t add some magic?
CityHub just opened its first international location in Copenhagen
3-11-2020
CityHub, the award-winning champion of smart city travel, opened its first international location on the 8th October 2020 in the diverse Vesterbro neighbourhood of Copenhagen, Denmark. CityHub Copenhagen marks the beginning of CityHub’s European rollout, following recent global financing from Dutch banks NIBC and ABN Amro.
“CityHub Copenhagen is our largest location yet, and the first milestone towards international development. A city known for its pioneering design and hospitality excellence, Copenhagen is a perfect fit for the brand,” asserts CityHub Co-founder Pieter van Tilburg.
Michelin star drive thru | Taste the art of 4 Michelin starred chefs in one meal
3-11-2020
A detour which everyone loves to make. The Michelin star drive thru at the stadium of soccer club Excelsior, in Rotterdam, executed by four Michelin starred chefs. A take-away meal has never been as delicious as this.
After a collaboration in the past, the culinary stars of Rotterdam are gathering again to collaborate. Lovers of high-quality food can enjoy meals at home from restaurant Parkheuvel, restaurant Fred, restaurant Joelia and restaurant Perceel, with in total 6 Michelin stars combined. We would go for the dishes: ‘Bouillabaise | Tomato | Vadouvan’ of restaurant Perceel, the ‘Ravioli of the Bresse Chicken’ of restaurant Parkheuvel and the ‘Pannactta | Pineapple | Star anise’ of restaurant Fred. You only have to order the food and collect it by driving through the drive thru. Taste the art of 4 Michelin starred chefs in one meal!
Trends we spotted | Week 44
2-11-2020
At horecatrends.com or hospitalitytrends.eu we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the other trends we use in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’.
With this week, links to articles about the hotel arrangement by Hotels.com offering a place to literally ‘hide under a rock’ during the 2020 presidential election. Although we hope that everybody allowed to vote will support their candidate!
The Former chief design officer at Apple will design ‘the next generation of Airbnb products’ and a link to an article about The ‘Don’t Call Me Chicken’ pizza by California Pizza Kitchen.
In New York the Brooklyn Dumpling Shop will open, it will be the first ZHI restaurant and they will be offering a special crossover. Also serving a crossover is Papa John’s: Double Cheeseburger Pizza!
Sensory Inc., an artificial intelligence provider in Silicon Valley, is debuting the alpha release of its artificial intelligence enabled virtual assistant. No more touchscreens at kiosks! And as flying taxis inch closer to reality, companies are scrambling to develop infrastructure.
‘Gordon Ramsey Burger’ will soon be available at Harrods, it’s the second location of his gourmet burger restaurant, the first one is in Las Vegas. And Japanese robots serve soft ice cream!
Pulitzer X Dr. Hauschka | Pop-up beauty boutique in Pulitzer Amsterdam
29-10-2020
The 100% natural cosmetics brand Dr. Hauschka and five-star Pulitzer Amsterdam have joined forces to open a pop-up beauty boutique in a room of the hotel. For the first time in the hotel’s 50-year history, everyone is now welcome for a soothing facial or body treatment.
This pop-up beauty boutique will be open in Pulitzer Amsterdam from November 4 until at least the end of February 2021. Another great example of collaboration!
KFC’s 11 Herbs & Spices Firelogs | KFC ignites their fans Holiday Season
27-10-2020
After selling out two years in a row, KFC’s 11 Herbs & Spices Firelogs are back exclusively in select Walmart stores and on Walmart.com. Forget chestnuts roasting over an open fire, because KFC’s famous fried chicken-scented 11 Herbs & Spices Firelog is back for its third consecutive holiday season. Created once again in partnership with Enviro-Log®, the famous fried chicken-scented firelog is available while supplies last exclusively in the U.S. at select Walmart stores and on Walmart.com.
We recently wrote about a Christmas scented hand sanitizer that recently hit the market in the U.S., we wonder when a European restaurant or fast service chain will follow with a scented product! It looks like it’s very popular in the U.S. and KFC will even be available at the Canadian market as well. The big question is whether you want your home to smell like fried chicken?
On Air Beauty Co. launched unique Christmas scented hand sanitizers
27-10-2020
On Air Beauty Co. kicked the hand washing game up a notch by launching Christmas scented hand sanitizers on ‘Global Hand Washing Day’ that took place on the 15th of October. Washing your hands is one of the most important things people can do to protect their health, but a Global Hand Washing Day? Well if COVID-19 learned us anything, it’s the importance of just that! On the other hand and compared to ‘World Happiness Day’ or ‘National Unicorn Day’, ‘Global Hand Washing Day’ seems a bit boring. That’s all changed this year, because the Pumpkin Spice and Hallmark Christmas Movie Revolutions just elevated the global holiday.
Although we Dutchies weren’t aware of a Global Hand Washing Day, we most certainly realize the importance of it and if a product like Christmas scented hand sanitizers make more people clean their hands, we love to be able to buy it here as well!
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Cabin | Hotel on wheels between Los Angeles and San Francisco
8-10-2020
Cabin, a USA based company, provides travellers with a new way of travelling between San Francisco and Los Angeles. This concept was first executed in 2016 under the name SleepBus as a pilot, where tickets were sold-out in three days and the waiting list contained more than 20,000 people who liked the idea of being transported in a bus with sleeping pods. The same concept continued under the name of Cabin, providing services between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
One of our colleagues came across these services and really liked the idea of travelling by night while having a pod to sleep in. Currently the staff of Cabin is closely monitoring the Covid-19 situations but still continues to provide their services. At their new initiative you can order a Cabin or ‘Hotel on wheels’ for private events as well. Wouldn’t it be great to travel while sleeping between big cities in Europe? Kind of a rolling hotel!
The biggest Christmas Bauble in the world by DOT credits Melvin Jonker
DOT Groningen - de grootste kerstbal ter wereld - credits Deon Prins
