Villa De Bear can be found in an old teddy bear factory, situated in the west of Bangkok. If we are talking about special concepts and storytelling around your brand, this restaurant should be named. Although the production of teddy bears in this factory stopped a long time ago, the history of the property is still clearly visible. A perfect example of a concept which is conducted in detail. read more
We’re kind of jealous of those living in San Diego, they have the iDessert by Jean-Phillipe shop in their vicinity where they can create their own dessert. Guests can choose from hundreds of different flavour combinations. The signature dessert is made from a handmade meringue crust filled with whipped cream and homemade ice cream or sorbet. The dessert is enriched with a sauce made from fruit and topped with cake, nuts or cookie crumbs. You create and order your combination using a tablet in the store. read more
Hotelsuite De Pier From mid-November on people can spend the night on De Pier in Scheveningen. After opening the biggest terrace in the Netherlands, the Food boulevard, the Pier Offices and the first ferris wheel above the sea, the owners have a new goal. They want to complete the five exclusive hotel suites of 30m2 with their own outdoor area with panoramic views of the North Sea. After the completion of these five Pier suites, eight stylish cabins will be built on the outer ring of the Zuidereiland. If you want to visit The Hague in the Netherlands, this will be a great place to sleep! read more
Drunken Dumpling, situated in New York has a very unique specialty, the XL XLB. The XL XLB is a giant soup dumpling. The extra-large soup dumpling is filled with crab, scallops, shrimp and pork in a combination of chicken, pork, and vegetable broths. read more
Dorasarchese
Dorasarchese
DorasarcheseA small village in Italy, Caldari di Ortona, has a free wine fountain! Everybody can drink from the ‘Fontana del Vino’ but it’s primarily for those taking the Cammino di San Tommaso pilgrimage. The fountain, located in the Abruzzo region, serves red wine 24/7. A gesture to the town and those who enjoy the pilgrimage between Rome and the Cathedral of Ortona by the Dora Sarchese winery. read more
At Horecatrends we spot a lot of national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write articles about, the smaller trends we use in our column ‘Trends we spotted this week’. This week among others, design your own dessert and Halloween fries by McDonald’s.
If you like to read the whole article, click the title. Enjoy reading! read more
Famous sitcoms are opening a pop-up version of their restaurant into real live. On November 25th, Gilmore Girls is returning with a four-episode limited run on Netflix. Netflix sponsored a one-day pop-up of the show’s Luke’s Diner. All across America about 200 coffee shops and cafes where transformed to this diner, all to promote Gilmore Girls: ‘A Year in the Life’. read more
Shelter | photo by Dylan Perrenoud
interior Shelter | photo by Dylan Perrenoud 
inflatable Shelter | photo by Dylan Perrenoud
Shelter | photo by Dylan PerrenoudSwiss studio Bureau A created this inflatable black nightclub for the summer party of the ‘Bund Schweizer Architekten’ (federation of Swiss Architects). The black blow-up building contains a bar, dance floor, inflatable furniture, tables and a DJ booth.
Conservatorium Hotel
Restaurant Hemingway
Restaurant One
Waldorf Astoria AmsterdamThe visual social network Instagram is the best marketing platform for sharing photos of hotels, restaurant or bars. You can share photos of your property, the surroundings, the food and drinks. All to make your future guest excited about the experience those photos promises. read more
WineOvation’s cork popping wine gun allows you to pop wine bottles open with nothing but a simple push of a button, like most electric wine openers. The difference: it’s shaped like a pistol. It’s fun for your wine-tasting parties. read more
The Dry Iced machine is the latest product of Co-Two. With the machine, dry ice can be made within a minute. The machine uses liquid carbon dioxide in order to make the dry ice and is capable of making 200 grams of dry ice within 60 seconds. Unrefrigerated the ice can be stored for 45 minutes. read more
At Horecatrends we spot a lot of national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write articles about, the smaller trends we use in our column ‘Trends we spotted this week’. This week it’s all about beer, wine and cocktails, and drinking it without a pesky hangover.
If you like to read the whole article, click the title. Enjoy reading! read more
Leonie van Spronsen, lives and works in Paris and finds the most amazing spots for you to sleep and eat as The Localpolitan, this time she writes about a workshop lunch she had at The Ritz, Pause Ritzy.
It occurs very often, business travel where businessman or -woman barely get to see the destination which they are visiting, a real shame sometimes. This is especially a shame at the moment there is quite a bit of time in the program. Specifically when visiting Mediterranean countries, here they will easily schedule 2 hours for a lunch. The Ritz Paris has found an excellent solution to this. read more
In January this year we published a white paper of the Indoor Playgrounds in the Netherlands. One of the trends we spotted in this industry is the quickly professionalization. Climbing walls are sometimes part of a bigger family indoor playgrounds and the interactive technology developed at the Aalto University Game Research faculty in Finland would push the professionalism in the sector. read more
In April we wrote about the raindrop cake. Whether it’s actually a cake or a bite of water doesn’t matter it was a hot topic in New York City! Now we spotted coffee jelly and that’s just what it is, jelly made of coffee, topped with cream. read more
We couldn’t find an immersive Christmas Light Maze in Europe yet, howevere correct us if we are wrong. But we love the idea, another fun read more
We have been sharing inspiration on our website since 2007, inspiration that we find in the hospitality industry or by online spotting of what our read more
We have been sharing inspiration on our website since 2007, inspiration that we find in the hospitality industry or by online spotting of what our read more
More than 1 billion people don’t have access to safe drinking water and more than 2.5 billion to adequate sanitation, making billions of people around the world vulnerable to disease. To help these people, Coca Cola started a pilot from the project EKOCENTER™ in South Africa, in collaboration with DEKA R&D and other partners. EKOCENTER™ is a small kiosk made of containers and offers clean and safe drinking water to the local population. The kiosk also offers other services like wireless communications, electricity, vaccination storage and more. The goals is to open around 1,500 to 2,000 EKOCENTERS™ in 2015 in Africa, Asia, Latin America and North America to provide clean and safe drinking water to developing countries. The EKOCENTERS or ‘Downtown in a box’ provided with the Slingshot water purification systems will be managed by local women entrepreneurs.
The innovative ‘Togo Burger’ packaging is developed by the American student Seulbi Kim. In the package, you can put some fries, a burger and a drink, it is a lot smaller than a normal fast food packaging. The ‘Togo Burger’ is more durable and you can wear it in one hand. Unfortunately the Togo Burger is not yet for sale.
During the opening of the Restaurant week Leiden on November 7, top chef René Redzepi will present his new book ‘A work in Progress‘. René Redzepi wrote down all the occurrences of his restaurant NOMA which resulted in the book ‘A work in Progress’: Notes of Food, Cooking and Creativity. The book consists of three parts: a diary, a recipe book and a photo book. The book contains never before seen photos taken by René Redzepi and his team. It will give readers a peek behind the scenes of the restaurant. During the meeting on November 7, various restaurants in Leiden will serve culinary delights and guests will receive a copy of the new book. You can be present for € 100,=, this includes a signed copy of the book. Check the website of Leidslekkers for the program.
Gazosa La Fiorenzana originates from the Swiss Misox valley, in the south of the Alps. Since 1921 the fruity lemonades by Fabbricca are produced from original recipes. The Swiss Stephan Keller tasted the lemonade for the first time in 2002 in a small bar in Zurich and decided to import the drink to the Netherlands. Gazosa La Fiorenzana is available in eight fruity flavors: bitter orange, lemon, alpine blueberries, raspberry, bitter lemon, tangerine, sweet orange and dark orange with alpine herbs. The lemonade is bottles in a swing-top bottle of 0.35L and is reusable and recyclable. Up to now, the fruity lemonade is exclusively available in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany.
The German company Döhler has introduced bubbles based on algae at the Anuga fair in Cologne which can be used in dairy drinks or as a topping for ice cream. The tapioca pearls, we all know are made from starch and a bit hard, the bubbles created from algae are softer in texture and take the flavor of the syrup. These bubbles burst in the mouth causing more syrup to be released. They were developed in the flavors mango, strawberry and raspberry. Döhler Holland is currently looking for distribution partners to deliver the bubbles to the hospitality industry.
Restaurant ‘Romita Comedor’, located in Mexico City, has a vintage and modern look. The building dates back to early 1900s and the interior is inspired by an old train station. The restaurant has massive windows, large glass ceiling, various elements of wood and tile and there are many plants. The culinary hot spot serves traditionally-inspired Mexican dishes, has an extensive cocktail menu and live entertainment in the evenings. A wonderful stylish vintage interior, for a great dining experience in Mexico.
Love to bake, but want some variation? Use the Rollware, a set of laser cut dough rollers with different patterns. By rolling the Rollware over the (bread) dough, you will simply get an original patterns. The dough rollers are designed and developed by students at the Piet Zwart Institute in Rotterdam.
In the spring I spent a few days in Germany, during which we went for drinks with friends and with that we shared a ‘Flammkuchen, originated from the Alsace region (France)’. Actually we thought to get a quiche but the thin crust of the ‘flammkuchen’ tasted much better. In addition, everyone at the table was convinced that this would taste great as lunch or light dinner dish as well. And the crust can be used with al kind of toppings of course.
Alex Klein Casual Dining BV introduces the ‘flammkuchen’ currently in the Netherlands as a new revenue model for catering businesses. Indeed, the margins on this product are very good and the preparation time is one minute and baking takes 3 minutes. A great business model for entrepreneurs and I know from experience that you will do your guests a favor. ^ Marjolein
A combination of two passions: cycling and soup. Jolanda Kok from the Netherlands bought an old carrier cycle, fixed it up into a soup bar named YOUSOUP!. With the carrier cycle of YOUSOUP! Jolanda Kok delivers fresh soups on locations such as markets, festivals and events. But she also delivers to businesses and restaurants in the region of Amersfoort. The soups are made from fresh, organic and local ingredients and contain no artificial additives.
The Mandarin Oriental, Boston Curry Pop-up will be in the hotel’s lobby lounge every day from Sept. 30-Nov. 1, 12 pm until 1:30 pm. They choose for the curry theme to pay homage to the hotel’s Thai roots in Bangkok. The curry pop-up offers a choice of 2 Thai Curry Bowl’s who recipes originate from the Sala Rim Naam Thai restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok. Great to use the original cuisine from the chain as pop-up in a hotel lobby. An originated Dutch hotel would serve ‘stamppot’ (in between stew and hotchpot) in a pop-up lobby restaurant during the winter. At the Sala Rim Naam Thai Restaurant they have an eye for small details, like a rose in a wine cooler or flowers in an ice sculpture. We are wondering if the pop-up restaurant in Boston also implements these details. Only the atmosphere of the terrace of the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok can’t be equalized in Boston.
Giving people a chance to taste the dishes from Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, the hotel chain has introduced the FS Taste Truck. Since 16 September, the food truck drives to eight destinations in three states, from Palo alto, California to Santa Fe, New Mexico. During the tour the nearest Four Seasons Hotel will take over the FS Taste Truck and serves dishes inspired by the city visiting. The food truck will be parked for one week in each location at the Four Seasons Hotel there, hosting a series of events. The FS Taste Truck can be followed via #FSTasteTruck on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Wine brand Barefoot shows that you don’t have to drink cocktails during the summer months exclusively. For the cold winter period, the wine brand has introduced two Winter Warming cocktails; the Choco-tini and Mull-licious. The base for the Choco-tini is the Barefood Merlot, a wine with notes of raspberry, blackberry and chocolate. The Mull-licious is made with Barefood Cabernet Sauvignon with notes of ripe berries and currants. The ideal cocktails for the winter.
A new hostel has opened in Bonn, Germany. ‘The BaseCamp Young Hostel Bonn is located inside a former storage facility, it’s a covered campsite with a hostel feeling. All the ‘rooms’ of the hotel are camping trailers and other retro vehicles. The hostel accommodates 120 beds across 15 caravans, trailers and airstreams. The rates for a night range from €54 up to €76. The hotel is an idea of the German hotelier Michael Schlösser and is in business as from August. The trailers, airstreams and caravans are all classic models that definitely remind many of the holiday experiences of their childhood. The youtube video is a bit long but shows the whole campground.
It pays to work together. In the Netherlands we see more and more restaurant- and hotelowners looking for ways to work together. In April we spotted a pop-up restaurant by two-star chef Edwin Vinke from the south of Holland in Buitenplaats Amerongen. On October the 27th (fully booked) and November 24th SchultnHues&Friends will provide Amsterdam with their Lazy Sunday, a combination of good music and culinary delights. Normally their Lazy Sunday is held in Zutphen where their restaurant is located. Peter Gast of restaurant ‘t Schulten Hues will work with André Gerrits (‘het Amsterdammertje’ in Loenen a/d Vecht / one Michelin star) and DJ Hans Stroeve to provide a swinging and succulent Lazy Sunday Afternoon, in the famous Café Americain on the Leidseplein. For us who live in the West of Holland a fun way to get acquainted with the cooking of Peter Gast without having to drive the 2 hours to Zutphen.
Share your food photos online and share actual food with those children who need it. Feedie, a new free app, aims to channel all the food ínstagrammers’ toward a common goal. After a restaurant guest uploads a photo on Feedie and shares it on his or hers social networks (Google+, Foursquare, Facebook or Twitter), participating restaurants donate money to The Lunchbox Fund, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing a daily meal to extremely poor school children. The app has been launched officially on October 9 at The Lunchbox Fund’s annual gala. Quite some restaurants in New York are participating, including Del Posto, The Spotted Pig and La Esquina. Feedie says on their website that they are already working international.
A real Italian promotional short film, a bit old fashioned, but the product is innovative. The Italian company Hasta La Pizza has introduced ‘pizza on a stick’ on the Anuga fair in Cologne. It is designed for the on-the-go market. Hasta la Pizza is available in the flavors Margherita, ham and salami, in packs of 60 grams. Gerardo Acampora came up with the concept two years ago when he saw two boys on the beach. One ate a slice of pizza, the other an ice cream on a stick. That gave him the idea to combine the two. He went to work and four months later he applied for a patent. You can warm them in a toaster or in the oven and the makers promise that the pizza’s won’t leak tomato sauce and you will not get dirty fingers. Hasta la Pizza offers ‘pizza on a stick’ in license to producers from outside Italy.
This article is only available in Dutch:
Op basis van uitgebreid onderzoek, uitgevoerd door VVV Nederland en Van Spronsen & Partners horeca – advies, is de gastvrijheidsbeleving van ruim 8.000 bezoekers van de 21 grootste steden van ons land voor de vijfde maal in kaart gebracht. Lees verder.
Brugal rum from the Dominican Republic is celebrating their 125th birthday! To celebrate this they have challenged bartenders from the Netherlands to create their own Brugal Dry cocktail recipe and to create a concept for a Brugal Refreshingly Dry Bar. From all entries 10 bartenders were selected from witch the jury will taste their cocktail. Three finalists will continue and decide who makes the best cocktail and came up with a great concept on the 21st of October in hotel Droog (Amsterdam). The winner wins his or her own Refreshingly Dry Bar for a night in hotel Droog. They can invite their friends and Wyane Collins – an internationally renowned and award winning bart trainer – will join as colleague.
Drawing the attention of all passersby, the vegan restaurant Rayen at Lope de Vega street in Madrid creatively redesigned its store entrance facade. The installation is titled (fos), which means “light” in the Greek language, and “melted” in Catalan. The entry of this small eatery invites their passersby to stop and step into the ‘spotlight’. Created by Eleni Karpatsi, Susan Piquer and Julio Calvo, the (fos) trio. The team introduced an unique installation that paints the illusion of an artificial light beam shining from above. Effectively highlighting the restaurant front door for 4 days and nights, was made using yellow tape, pineapples, a lamp, and painted pieces of art and lawn furniture. At the Facebookpage from the (fos) trio, you can find a lot of inspirational pictures.
Late September, our colleagues Lennert Rietveld and Laura Stoter got introduced to the Dutch board game ‘Gastologie’. Jeannine Sok who developed the game together with students from the ‘Cas Spijkers Academy Twente’, played the game with visitors during the event ‘Gastvrij Rotterdam’. Nice to play the game with your staff or to use it to increase the Hospitality level that you want your guest to experience in your business.
Recently our managing director, Hans van Spronsen, wrote a column ‘Generation 0.0’ from witch we quote the following paragraph, ” Maybe the fact that the majority of hotel guests in the middle and upper segment is older than 40 years and is not active on the social media. That’s why I’m always amazed when I see that these hotels have a Facebook page and are very active on Twitter. Who are you trying to reach? Not the target audience, I think. We do not read tweets or likes.” In his column which is published in a Dutch magazine he explains that this generation checks all the reviews at bookings.com or Tripadvisor and that hotelmanagers better check these reviews at a daily base and react to the reviews in a personal way.
Hotel Mitland in Utrecht is responding with the introduction of the hotelBooQi . This communication tool , a folding flyer credit card size , serves as a holder for the room key, contains practical information about staying in the hotel and a map with landmarks. The hotel thinks that despite the attendance of mobile applications, that at this moment in time it is still more effective to inform their guests this way. This in addition to the information on their website and taking into account the 0.0 generation. Besides that the unfolding of the HotelBooQi is still faster than downloading and opening an application.
The boutique hostel King Kong in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, will open in the first quarter of 2014. The 5 meter high loft offers extraordinary sleeping facilities. There are ‘huts’ between the roof beams to hammocks and cozy niches and normal two, four and six person rooms as well. The hostel accommodates a total of 150 beds.
All the bungalows at bungalowpark ‘De Eemhof’ are fully booked from 7 to 9 February 2014. Organizer ‘Meubelstukken’ only needed a week to archieve this, giving previous visitors the first chance to book their bungalow.
Party organization Loveland announced its ‘Loveland weekender’ bungalow festival in September. This festival, located at Roompot bungalowpark Weerterbergen in Limburg from 4 to 6 April was sold-out in only 24 hours.
Unfortunately this article is only available in Dutch.
De Italiaanse restaurants kenden in 2013 de sterkste groei van alle restauranttypen in Nederland. Er kwamen 55 nieuwe Italiaanse restaurants bij. Over een periode van 5 jaar groeide het aantal Italiaanse restaurants met bijna 14%. Ook over een periode van tien jaar zien we een zelfde ontwikkeling met een aanwas van 576 bedrijven. Hierdoor nam het marktaandeel van Italiaanse restaurants de afgelopen tien jaar toe naar in totaal 12% van de totale restaurantmarkt. Deze positieve ontwikkeling wordt mede veroorzaakt door de opkomst van Italiaanse fast casual concepten. Desondanks staat de gemiddelde besteding onder druk. Dit blijkt uit het brancheonderzoek ‘Het Italiaanse restaurant in beeld’ van Van Spronsen & Partners horeca – advies uit Warmond. Bekijk het volledige artikel hier of download het onderzoek
A warning with a wink for all tourists who will be visiting NY in the coming period. This hilarious movie should be mandatory for tourists to prevent sidewalk-clogging, by tourist taking pictures while wearing tracksuits. According to New Yorkers tourists need to learn how to behave. And Johnny T, tells about all the jerky things tourist do in NY and tells the basic tenets of not-obnoxious touristing. At the expense of large restaurant chains (although again with a touch of humor) the creators ‘Glove and Boots’ refer to smaller restaurants to eat. He also recommends that out-of-towners stay in their hotels between the hours of 4 and 6pm, when residents are trying to get home. Just another way to put your city in the picture ;-).
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