Every year the Ghent Marriott Hotel in Belgium participates in the global Earth Hour. Last Saturday 29 March they dimmed the lights again during Earth Hour for an intimate free concert from a jazz guitar player and a jazz singer of the conservatory in Ghent. Have a look at the Dutch Issue calendar and inspire yourself with the many (inter)national days you could pay attention to.
A device that blows your guests dry after showering seems to come to the market soon. The Body Dryer by Tyler Overk collected via a crowdfunding campaign more than the required amount to go from concept to production. In September 2014, the first machines will be delivered. It could be a considerable saving in towel and washing cost if the technique functions. The devices, which sit somewhere between a hair dryer and scale, now costs about $ 150, – plus shipping.
The 19 Greek Street in London was founded in 2012 by creative director of design studio Montage, Marc Péridis. The 6-floor Victorian townhouse is an experimental playground for designers experiment. The gallery 19 Greek Street gathers design works by established and upcoming designers. The collections include a ‘limited edition collection’, ‘designing the middle east’ and the ‘endless series’ of Dirk van der Kooij that uses 3D printing to create furniture. Late April there will open a café in 19 Greek Street where customers can enjoy a drink, surrounded by examples from the collection of Marc Péridis.
Scelta Mushrooms is the founder of a healthy alternative for the snack range: the Snex. The Snex are vegetable snacks and don’t contain artificial colors and flavors. This healthier version of a snack is made of fresh frozen vegetables , is 100% meat free and contains an average of 150 calories. The Snex are available in the flavors mushroom, mushroom-broccoli, mushroom-spinach, sauerkraut, ratatouille and red cabbage-apple. At the 20th edition of Alimentaria (South-Europa’s largest food fair) the Snex were voted as best international products during the presentation of the Innoval Awards in Barcelona.
Roaster and café ‘Single Origin Roasters’ opened its doors in 2003 in Surry Hills, Australia. The guys of Single Origin Roasters really have a passion for coffee and take it very seriously. They are constantly roasting, measuring, mixing and tasting the coffee to create the best composition. They use ethically and environmentally responsible products and solar energy for roasting the beans. In addition, this company helped in creating the first special café milk on tap system ‘The Juggler‘. Customers can also have a breakfast, lunch or one of the seasonal menus besides a good cup of coffee.
Today opens the Faralda NDSM Crane Hotel in Amsterdam and is it possible to stay a night in one of the three hotel suites located in a historic ship’s crane (known as Crane 13). The suites are located at 35 to 50 meters high in the ship’s crane and offer a stunning view over the city and the IJ. A Jacuzzi is located on the roof in the open air. On 13 meters height Faralda Broadcasting Studio & Faralda Production Company is located. This studio will be used for productions of external parties, like TV programs and corporate events. In the past year the Frisian Franeker has restored and transformed the crane into the luxurious hotel with three high-end design suites.
It’s almost Easter! Marco Kuit of ‘De Patissier’ (The Patissier) in Oegstgeest, the Netherlands, and his team patissiers made the largest egg of macaroons and chocolates in the world. The Easter egg is 1 meter wide and 2.35 meter high, made of 3.000 macaroons and 880 pounds of chocolate. Five patissiers worked 14 days to stuck the chocolate and fill the macaroon shells. This macaroon egg has established a new world record. Earlier we published an article with inspiration for Easter.
The Chabran Drive of chef Michel Chabran* is a take-away concept of his star cuisine. Customers can order by phone or internet and can pick up the dish within an hour at the counter. Customers can choose between entrees, main courses and desserts, like the croque monsieur, scallops and tarte sablée. Michel Chabran is not the only French star chef who makes his food more accessible to customers, earlier we spotted chef Michel Bras*** with his deli ‘Capucin Signé Bras‘.
Generator London is one of the eight hostel accommodations of the Generator in Europe. Generator London opened in 1995 and now features 212 rooms. Designer Anwar Mekhayech (DesignAgency) worked in partnership with ORBIT Architects and converted the building into the hotspot of London. The impressive interior shows the industrial past of London and includes the eclectic culture, architecture and history of the city. Besides the modern industrial look there is a replica of a Routemaster London Bus inside. Generator London has an internet café, a lounge with game tables, a bar and a café where guests can have an artisan sandwich and drinks.
‘De Hallen Amsterdam’ (the Halls Amsterdam) are entirely devoted to the modern and progressive Amsterdam brands on 19 and 20 April. Pakhuis de Zwijger, platform Made in Amsterdam and Indie Brands organize the first edition of the ‘Local Goods Weekend Market’ during this weekend. Various Amsterdam food products such as home made sausages, chocolate and ice cream will be sold next to non-food products like bicycles, clothes, furniture and bags. The Local Goods Weekend Market will include products of Kadolab, Ace & Tate, Proeftuin Amsterdam, the Upcycle and Professor Grunschnabel.
#Throwback Thursday. We started in August 2007 with horecatrends.com / hospitalitytrends.eu, in May 2008 we posted an item about the Give Back Getaways from the Ritz-Carlton hotel chain. With this program they invite their guests to join their employees in half-day volunteer tourism experiences that contribute something meaningful to the communities surrounding the hotels. Each Give Back Getaways project is unique to the destination. At the website of the chain you can see the whole list of possibilities. As example the video from the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, we can’t image that you don’t want to help!
After a two years of planning and renovation, the former Victorian men’s room in the heart of Fitzrovia (London) was converted into coffee shop ‘Cafeine Attendant’ with quirky features. The original porcelain urinals from 1890 have been cleaned and now serve as a seat and the old payment counter is transferred into a small kitchens. The coffee is made with hand roasted beans from the Caravan Roastery.
Recently, the chefs of Restaurant Hemingway created a special nutritional menu of their dishes. The restaurant is part of Hotel de Draak (Hotel the Dragon) in Bergen op Zoom, the Netherlands. With this new menu, the chefs want to facilitate their guests interested in the nutritional value of their dishes. They have determined the nutritional value of each dish and listed the amount of calories, fats, carbohydrates and proteins of all dishes. At the standard menu (without the nutritional value) a reference to this menu is explicitly stated and the menu with the nutritional value is actively communicated by the hosts in the restaurant.
Boston Pizza introduces ‘reverse delivery’ for the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs 16 April. The promotion has a funny wink in it and appears to be merely for free-publicity purposes, watch the video here.
In September, chef Michel Bras*** opened the deli ‘Capucin Signé Bras’ at the parking lot at the Millau Viaduct. The deli serves a variety of ‘Capucins’, that cost around € 7,=. A ‘Capucin’ is a crepe-like cone made of buckwheat and wheat, filled with local produce such as truffles, black pudding, foie gras, Roquefort etc.. A special variant of a simple sandwich. Michel Bras opened a second location along with his two sons and a local hotelier in Toulouse last January.
We discussed which products show up the most on social media, in all kind of shapes, flavours and colours, this year. The first product that 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
DrinkWaterBar is an idea of Sustainable Dance Club and Project Helder. The goal is to increase the sustainable awareness of using tap water in the hospitality and that it is a good alternative for soda. The value of DrinkWaterBar will be increased by adding flavors, education in water treatment and the experience aspect. Watch the movie.
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Dokkaffee is a nice example of hospitality in an industrial heritage. The Dokkaffee is situated in the middle of the port of Rotterdam, on the RDM area. Guests can come here for a cup of coffee or a lunch, but they offer as well (business) catering and exhibition space.
There is a roof available and you fancy a kitchen garden? Annelies Kuiper, better known as the rooftop farmer, offers a solution. She designs, develops rooftop gardens and can even take care of the maintenance. Her working area is focussed on urban environments, the ground is scarce and there are rooftops enough! (Photo David Galjaard).
The fruit basket from Kare Frandsen is suspended from the ceiling. This saves you space on you counter and gives a futuristic touch. An idea for your kitchen?
Fair Trade Original introduces a new chocolate character this year, that can be used for the whole family. It’s the letter “&”. On the packing there is space to write a personal message, the Fair Trade qualification benefits cocoa and sugar farmers in Africa and Latin-America. The letter is available from the 15th of October.
Philips has launched the MediaSuite, an internet based television specially for the hotel sector. This tv allows guests to visit the internet without the need of a computer or laptop. The TV offers several applications like Facebook and the weather forecast, but the guests can also browse the internet.
Recently the first library on a train station (in Dutch Bibliotheek op het station) has opened its doors. This is the first library placed on a train station, specially created for the daily travelers. The travelers can borrow books, magazines and they can go online. In the future more libraries will be opening on train stations in the Netherlands.
Sluiz is a new store concept which can be found on Ibiza. This is a warehouse for fashion, lifestyle, living and eating and drinking and is created by the Dutch couple Yvonne and Hans Nuyten. During shopping, an adventured, magical and inspirational feeling will be created.
Bistrot de la Place – Chez Norbert in The Hague is proclaimed by the Dutch magazine ‘Leven in Frankrijk’ (Living in France) to Finest French restaurant of the Netherland. This restaurant was chosen of 10 nominees. The restaurant organises on regular base ‘Soirées Chansons Françaises’, where the owners sings French songs, to complete the experience of the evening.
The Dutch company Mobiele Pizzabakkers (The Mobile Pizza chefs) can be rented to serve the most fresh pizzas on your party or event.
There is a clear and professional qualification among the wines. Heinz also has it’s beaujolais primeur now with the ‘Heinz first harvest’. Heinz focusses on the seasons and the freshness of the ketchup with this new bottle. Be quick, there are only 130.000 bottles!
For the smokers among us it is always a challenge to find a smoking area. The sigaret brand Ronhill comes with QR-codes on their cigarette packs and automaticlly directs the smoker to the closest smoking area.
The concept of a silent disco is widely spread nowadays. Last week was the birth of a new concept, the silent concert. Rowwen Hèze played in a forrest, the audience could hear their songs through headphones and the animals didn’t hear the music.
The second Wash & Coffee in the world is opened in Amsterdam. It is an initiative from Persil and Bosch and opened in München before. In a wash & coffee there is the possibillity to wash, study, lunch and use internet.
The problem of finding a babysitter often withholds parents to go to the theater. The Theater Bellevue in Amsterdam came with a solution for this group. Parents can visit a show while a babysitter from Babysitter Central Kriterion looks after the young one(s). The service cost 7 euro per hour and is only for inhabitants of Amsterdam, an extra fee is charged for houses outside of the city ring, at IJburg and in Amsterdam-Noord.
Foursquare, some use it active others don’t see the use of it. Students from Miami are creating ‘Foursquaropoly’, Monopoly in real life. The (fictive) prices of the buildings rise if more people check in. We are curious about promotion possibilities for restaurants and hotels.
Do you also encounter that you receive reservations and the guests prefer some privacy? Molonews came with the solution, special walls of kraft paper that you can easily place in your restaurant. The walls connect with magnets and are made of sustainable material.
Nowadays many people use car navigation systems. TomTom has incorperated Expedia, Tripadvisor, Yelp and Twitter in new systems. The user will be able to check hotel availability, see restaurant reviews or tweet their arrival time.
The world-famous Spanish restaurant El Bulli has released a movie about their success. Ah highly recommended tip for all the entrepreneurs and food lovers to be inspired by one of the best chefs of the world. Watch the trailer!
With this smartphone app you can collect points by scanning QR codes at the participating companies. A modern way of creating loyalty. The earned points can be exchanged for nice rewards. Watch the movie at the website.
Beer is a typical men’s drink. But this beer ‘Witness the Chickness’ of brewer Shazz Lewis, developed this beer only for women. The packaging, the looks and the taste is specially designed for women.
An unique way of emphasizing the Remy Martin aromas. The new Seduction Series of Remy Martin are ment as accessories during special events. The aromas of Remy Martin are thus used in a completely new expierience.
We all know it is important, intense control on the expiration date. LG just came with the fridge that controls it for you! No constant date checks on your F&B anymore, your fridge does it for you. So at the end, it minimizes your waste.
Nowadays everybody is busy watching what they eat, many try to remember or to write it down. Foodzy introduced an app for Android and iPhone that can easily track and control your eating habits.
With all that misery in the world, sometimes we really need some fun. The simple idea to put a table with a megaphone in the middle of the streets brings some joy into the streets. Just say hello to your friends or family or just to let the street hear your talents.
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