Hotel The Thief and the Russian Kiss
12-2-2014
The hotel ‘The Thief’ in Tjuvholmen (Norway) welcomed its guests at the first day of the Olympic Games with French kissing hetero and gay couples from different races. The campaign is inspired by a video from Norwegian singer Annie and Norwegian visual artist Bjarne Melgaard and in collaboration with a national LGBT-organization. With the campaign the hotel supports the #principle6 campaign, based on the Olympic values. The video of kissing people is projected in room #410 and visible at street level for two weeks.
Zuidas Amsterdam pop-up store
12-2-2014
The municipality of Amsterdam appointed four locations for pop-up stores at the ‘Zuidas’, near Amsterdam Zuid train station. From 1 May onwards the locations are available to unique concepts that complement the existing offer for six months. All competitors, with both food as well as non-food concepts, can send in their plans before 5 March 2014. The four winners will be announced on 13 March. Perhaps the area will be enriched with a test sleep facility, a tasting area or a collaboration between local entrepreneurs like we’ve seen in the West of Amsterdam.
Inspiration from NYFW 2014
11-2-2014
We all know that Fashion Weeks are concentrated around fashion shows and after party’s but this year Marc Jacobs took the opportunity to do another type of stunt!
After all the talk of alternative payment methods like Bitcoin recently, he decided to open a pop-up tweetshop, a store where you pay with social media posts, a brilliant idea to promote his fragrance Daisy. In essence this store was more about the experience than the shopping, being located in beautiful bright loft in Soho, the brand organized a set of activities. One was a photo-booth style field of daisies, where you could take daisy #selfies. When uploaded with #MJDaisyChain to Instagram or Twitter you could win great prizes with the messages, such as bags, full bottles of daisy, sunglasses and other gadgets. Other than the daisy-field booth there was also a cart with a coffeemachine and baristas making fresh coffee, ladies who were giving free manicures with Marc Jacobs nail polishes and lot’s of daisy art and daisies. A dj made the atmosphere even a bit more exciting and the “fabulous” NYFW visitors were having a ball. One simple tweet with the hashtag #MJDaisyChain earned you a small daisy roller and for the larger prizes your post had to be chosen. All together, a rather briljant concept and you bet that the # was trending during the opening days! ^Leonie van Spronsen
1001 Nights meets New York
11-2-2014
The QBara restaurant in the Fort WAFI Leisure Complex (Dubai) opened late 2013. The restaurant serves dishes inspired by the flavors of the region with a modern twist. Guests choose multiple dishes from the menu, which are served ‘family style’. For example we ate a few small dishes like ‘scallops, sumac and sweet & sour shallots’ and ‘tomatoes, watermelon and homemade Shanklish & mint’. The dishes we tasted were delicious with mysterious ingredients (for us) like za’atar butter and grilled vegetables ‘mechouia’. The desserts were also delicious; we loved the tempura Medjoul dates. As the alcohol consumption is less in this region, many restaurants have an extensive mocktail menu with great combinations of ingredients. All of this combined with the unique environment, with elements as the ‘magic wall’ (see a YouTube video of the wall here) and the house-Arabian music, makes for an amazing experience. The restaurant has a modern design that is enriched with oriental style. ^Marjolein
Valentine’s Day is all about attention
11-2-2014
No red roses, bonbons or discount but attention! That’s what Droste’s attends its guests on with a nice little envelope for your telephone during the Valentine’s dinner.
Pop-up bowling alley in nightclub Trouw
10-2-2014
Since last weekend, you can go bowling in nightclub Trouw in Amsterdam. There are three professional bowling lanes in the basement of Trouw where you can play from February 7 to March 2. Club Lebowski places pop-up bowling alleys at various locations and it took three days to place the bowling alleys at Trouw. During restaurant and club hours guests can throw strikes, spares and gutter balls along with up to six friends. The bowling alleys are open from Tuesday to Saturday for €10,= per hour.
BarBacon New York
10-2-2014
A real bacon lover? Visit the bacon restaurant ‘BarBacon’ in New York City. The restaurant opened last month and is completely in the theme of artisan bacon. The menu includes a variety of bacon sandwiches, salads, bacon chocolate chip cookies and even a bacon whiskey variant. When serving ‘The Tasting’ the guest will receive a selection of four types of bacon and there is a bacon of turkey or vegetarian bacon. ‘BarBacon’ serves local craft beers and whiskeys in combination with various types of bacons. Maybe they can serve a shot bacon liqueur?
Pinterest for the hospitality industry
7-2-2014
‘Pin’ and ‘Interest’, also known as Pinterest. The social online bulletin board where users can share their images has become a lot more popular in the Netherlands the past year. Currently 1.1 million Dutch use Pinterest, compared with 530,000 users a year ago. Pinterest has extended the functions, so there are more opportunities for the users.
The first Dutch hot tub cinema in Amsterdam
7-2-2014
The first Dutch hot tub cinema is located in Amsterdam from 6 to 9 March. In the ‘Machinegebouw’ at the Westergasterrein are 21 hot tubs and two cinema screens. You could book a hot tub with five friends and you will get a waiter service, bottle of cava and a private bath robe but it is already sold out. After the movie there is a bathrobe after party with a DJ. The concept is inspired by the Hot Tub cinema in London.
Hospitality Crowd Funding Netherlands
7-2-2014
The first crowd funding platform especially for the Dutch hospitality industry is developed: Hospitality Crowd funding Netherlands. The platform helps hospitality businesses to raise capital. Hospitality Crowd funding Netherlands brings investors and hospitality business in touch with each other, so that the Dutch hospitality industry can continue to innovate.
Give me that bloody ice cream!
6-2-2014
Article by Julia Soldic.
This year the Copenhagen-based Nordic Food Lab revealed another shocking new ingredient that had awakened the lab’s curiosity. The team had examined the re-integration of animal blood into our food chain.
The Nordic Food Lab was founded in 2008 by the brain and hands behind restaurant Noma, Rene Redzepi. The lab has, ever since, shown the world that the uneatable can be eatable if only your stomach can take it.
The Burger Shed
6-2-2014
The famous Australian chef Justin North opened ‘The Burger Shed’ last year. He is the first of many chefs to develop a gourmet burger food concept. Because of the financial crisis in Australia, many customers choose for the opportunity of dining out inexpensively. ‘The Burger Shed’ is designed by Mima Design based on the concept; an inviting restaurant that expresses quality and affordability. The burger restaurant has brick walls, a concrete floor with elements of wooden pallets, raw materials and industrial lighting. Back-to-basics. The menu of ‘The Burger Shed’ focuses on the use of local and high-quality products. The menu offers four types of burgers (beef, lamb, chicken and Portobello), fish tacos and chicken tortillas.
Jaw-dropping hotel pools
6-2-2014
Tripadvisor gives an overview of 10 jaw-dropping hotel pools around the world. Like the Hanging Gardens Ubud in Bali with a beautiful view over the rainforest or the swimming pool located at the 24th floor of the Holiday Inn Shanghai Pudong Kangqiao. The video above shows ‘The Library’ hotel in Ko Samui, Thailand. The name of the hotel pool ‘The Red Pool’ says it all. The pool is not made of the standard blue tiles, but of yellow, orange and deep red mosaic tiles. The pool looks like red blood, but the red mosaic tiles give a warming and special effect. The video is a bit long, but shows the inspiring design of the hotel. Look for the other pools at Tripadvisor.
Maison F high-end French fries in Paris
5-2-2014
Late 2013 Maison F opened in Paris, a high-end restaurant specialized in French Fries. They serve the fries with all their dishes. As guest you can choose the size (7 or 10 mm), with or without skin and the taste of the day fries. Clotilde Dusoulier, food blogger from the website Chocolate & Zucchini has eaten fries made of saffron risotto with her duck fillet. The fries are served with dishes that are prepared with products of the best craftsmen. They also have a bar with an extensive cocktail menu. Nice to visit when you’re in Paris!
Van Dobben goes to Sochi
5-2-2014
Master croquette maker Piet Brink from ‘Van Dobben’ travels to Sotsji to make croquettes and ‘bitterballs’. He expects to make an average thousand per day that are sold in the ‘Holland Heineken Huis’. It was hard to arrange the paperwork for the import of frozen croquettes, this way the producer bends a problem into an opportunity.
Bidroom alternative booking websites
5-2-2014
Bidroom is a commission free booking website where hotels can offer rooms via a reversed auction. The guest selects a city and a room (3 to 5 stars and choice between single, double of triple) and within 24 hours hotels can make an offer, while the prices of competitors are visible. In the future Mark Bradshaw (CEO), Michael Ros (COO) and Casper Knieriem (CFO) want to generate revenue from advertisements.
Ten fun Valentine’s day ideas for hospitality
4-2-2014
In 2014, 2015 and 2016 Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the weekend. This means that you have three opportunities in a row to use all your Valentine’s weekend ideas! We gathered some fun suggestions for you here.
Unlimited Lobster Night hospitality Amsterdam
4-2-2014
Last Sunday Joris Bijdendijk (Executive Chef Sofitel Legend The Grand Amsterdam ) organized a Lobster Night for the hospitality industry in Amsterdam at Restaurant Bridges. The goal of the night was to create more bonding between the Amsterdam hotels, restaurants and cafés. For € 35,- (drinks excluded) invited guests could indulge themselves with unlimited lobster and selected wines by ‘Kwast Wijnkopers’. Chef and DJ Ron Blaauw arranged the musical context.
The Golden Egg Bar Beijing
4-2-2014
The Golden Egg Bar is the latest restaurant design by BAM (Ballistic Architecture Machine) and located in Beijing. The design is a blend between Chinese elements and a typical American dining from the fifties. The polished Egg functions as a bar and service counter. The extraordinary combination of contemporary Sichuan cuisine and fifties dinner culture creates a vibrant and convivial dining atmosphere.
Bowling theme in restaurant Nicky’s
3-2-2014
Nicky’s is a restaurant concept in Gandia Spain, designed by Oscar Vidal of Ozone Group. Nicky’s is part of a recreational center with cinemas, bowling, a playground, souvenir shop and ice cream parlor. Hispabowling, the source behind the recreational center, was used as inspiration for the design of Nicky’s. A lot of wooden materials is used in the restaurant and it has wooden tables and chairs, some armchairs and to highlight the bowling theme, pins hang on the ceiling. Pins are placed at the end of a long table, so it just looks like a bowling alley. A lamp has been designed using galvanized old wash-basins to add a funny touch to the place. Click here for more pictures.
Tea Clutch
3-2-2014
Always take your favorite tea with you with the ‘Tea Clutch’ by Tea Bar in Amserdam. The ‘Tea Clutch’ is a convenient on-the-go packaging with fifteen tea filters and loose tea. The mini clutch is available in the flavors Choco Chanel, Champ Chique (champagne cassis) and Mango Madness. The packaging has a chic look and is sealed with a reseal able sticker.
Wahaca Southbank Experiment
3-2-2014
The Wahaca Southbank Experiment is a temporary restaurant build of eight recycled shipping containers, arranged in two floors with panoramic views over the river and a tequila bar with terrace. It is a creative and innovative restaurant with retro chairs, lamps made from recycled soda bottles and a relaxing atmosphere created by neon lights. Artists Daniel Melim has made Mexican street art works at the outside of the building. Wahaca is a Mexican restaurant that serves Mexican market food and they experiment with dishes, every month there is a new special on the menu. Wahaca has several locations in the London area. Check out this video of Wahaca Southbank being built.
Starwood Preferred Guest advertises on Instagram
31-1-2014
Starwood Hotels & Resorts guest loyalty program Starwood Preferred Guest advertises on Instagram. It is the first advertising campaign by a travel brand on the social media platform. The campaign runs through February 4 on mobile and desktop devices. The photos used in advertising on Instagram are already published by the brands and promoted within the feed of people who don’t follow them.
Aloft Hotel introduces virtual key
31-1-2014
The check-in process at a hotel can be long and often much paperwork must be filled in. The Aloft Hotel in Manhattan has a solution: a digital key to open the hotel room. Guests receive a virtual key through the Starwood app, compatible with both iPhones and Android devices. The Bluetooth enabled system will open the door. With this technical development the hotel chain wants to attract young people and offer an additional service.
Burger King gave away free Big Macs
31-1-2014
The Norwegian Burger King has performed a remarkable campaign: they gave way free burgers of their competitor McDonalds as part of their Facebook campaign. The campaign was meant to test the sincerity of their fans. The fans could choose whether they remained loyal to Burger King or would go for a free Big Mac. When the fan chose for the Big Mac, the fan was removed from Facebook. Although the number of Facebook fans significantly decreased, the involvement and interaction with the fine fans increased.