Hotel V Frederiksplein has opened six V lofts in the center of Amsterdam. With all the amenities of a hotel but the comfort of a city apartment, each V loft has the same style as the hotel with a mix of design and vintage furniture. Each V loft has a fireplace, compact kitchenette, bathroom, sleeping area and free Wi-Fi. During their stay, guests can use the breakfast service, bar, meeting rooms and the lobby of Hotel V.
A no nonsense restaurant, eating food as nature intended it: new in Rotterdam is ‘De Pasta Kantine’ (translated as the pasta canteen). Various pasta dishes, salads made from fresh and biological ingredients. Guests can also order half portions to taste a bit of everything. All dishes cost under € 10,= and are available gluten free, except the lasagnas. With the ‘Container for the neighbors’ suggestion guests are attended to take their leftovers home. A bottle of tap water costs € 1,= and sponsors to ‘Dine4Them’, a foundation dedicated to the Youth Care Agency and the Food Bank Rotterdam.
It might be possible to pay a snack at snack bar Febo by mobile soon. You need to scan a QR-code and the payment goes through a personal code on the mobile. After that the locker can be opened to grab the snack. To develop the app Febo started a collaboration with èM!payment.
Marriott organized the Travel Brilliant competition in 2013. Recently the hotel chain started developing the winning idea by Anjanna of a healthy vending machine, with for instance olives and dried fruit, in London. The idea is not new, but it’s interesting how a large hotel chain like the Marriott will implement it. The company is focusing more on content marketing around the competition and got a deal with websites like Fast Company, Wired and Mashable to support this.
From 23 May to 8 June 2014 the Hotel shabbyshabby project will take place in the context of the Theater der Welt 2014 festival in Mannheim, Germany. For this project creative geniuses, students of architecture and professionals have build the hotel room of their dreams, made from the city of Mannheim’s trash. The rooms have to consist of mostly used or recycled materials (except for the beds and bedclothes) and may cost maximum €250,-. Contestants can send in their designs until 31 January and will construct them in 20 groups at a purpose-built construction camp in the week before the event. With the project the festival organizers want to change the view of residents and visitors on Mannheim. The reception and breakfast room is centrally located at the National Theater, while the rooms are scattered across town.
If you are on a vacation in Dubai, want to dine out and love desserts, you should definitely eat at restaurant Stay at The Palm (One&Only resort). They have a menu that’s inspired by the French chef Yannick Alléno (three Michelin stars since 2007). By handing over the menus the waiter already warns you to leave some space for the dessert! And we must say that our meter desserts, prepared by Chef Kevin Lacote based on our tastes, was great! The method of serving is beautiful, a kind of ‘dessert wave’. Guests can also make a selection of friandises from the library, which will be served with your coffee. ^Marjolein
Bavaria Brouwerij CaféIn the centre of Lieshout you will find the Bavaria Brewery café. Experience genuine hospitality in the Dutch area of Brabant in a contemporary atmosphere. You can drop by here for a delicious lunch, dinner and drinks. They also have a number of rooms, each with their own character, offering countless possibilities for a meeting, conference or presentation, among other things. More in the party mood? A birthday, anniversary or staff party, everything is possible. They also offer all kinds of arrangements such as motorised activities, (beer) games, workshops, tastings and guided tours. They also offer a Bavaria Brewery Tour for larger and smaller groups. Prefer something tailor-made? Then they will be happy to help you put together a tailor-made programme, of course with the conviviality known in this region. For more information on the packages and the restaurant, check out their website.
The winter sport season is kicking off. Skiers and snowboarders get in touch with new drinks and connect them with a holiday feeling. Spezi, made of cola and orange soda is one example, but there are many other examples. Surpise winter sporters with a German or Austrian soda in your bar or restaurant.
Cragels – the adventurous hybrid between a croissant and a bagel, the newest “famous” pastry of New York. Originating from The Bagel Store on Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg this is the snack that tries to challenge the cronut in 2014. Saturday January 25, was the first day that the bakery was serving flavored cragels next to the basic cragels and we were there to try them out! They were selling plain, chocolate, bacon-cheddar-egg and parmesan spinach cragels. Personally I was especially impressed by the way both items were actually to be found in the eating sensation. When you take a bite, the first you notice is the flakiness of the croissant but when you are really eating your bite you feel and taste the denseness of the bagel. On top of that the flavor is very full and I have to say the bacon-cheddar-egg cragel was a delight for the taste buds! Hospitality insiders already predicted it.. 2014 will be the year of hybrid foods and I would say, this is a great kickoff!^Leonie van Spronsen
Dutch chef-kok Ron Blaauw opened the ‘Ron Gastropub‘ in April with affordable dishes of high gastronomic level. Ron Blaauw will open his new concept ‘The Fat Dog’ in Amsterdam in April. The restaurant will serve handcrafted hotdogs with diverse toppings in combination with a glass of bubbles, wine or gin tonic. The new concept is inspired by Bubbledogs in London, a champagne bar that serves bubbles with hotdogs instead of caviar.
Shepherd Ham is made from sheep that are taken to graze on moorlands, dikes and other natural grazing and they are accompanied by a shepherd. Shepherd Ham is a local product of Limburg and is soft and full of flavor, available with or without bone. The meat is massaged with fine sea salt and then dry-cured for a length of time. Each Shepherd Ham has its own story: every shepherd has a UBN number that can be traced through the website. So you can see the information about the shepherd and the grazing locations.
We already have seen a number of vending machines, but mostly with unhealthy products. The vending machine of Farmers’s Fridge sells healthy, fresh packaged salads, fruits and breakfast. The company prepares the salads made of organic, local en fresh produce early in the morning and delivers the packed salads to the vending machines by 10AM. The unsold salads from the previous day will be donated to the local food bank. The vending machine has a touchscreen and is made of wood and recycled materials. Farmer’s Fridge currently has vending machines in the Chicago area.
Sofitel Luxury Hotels organizes a design contest in collaboration with the Wallpaper magazine. Designers, artists and students worldwide can submit their bed design inspired by MyBed (the Sofitel bed concept). The winning design will be displayed in the lobby of Sofitel München Bayerpost and the winner gets a free night at a Sofitel Hotel.
During the Winter Olympics in Sochi, fans can send their favorite athlete a personal message. Via the site ‘Cheers to Sochi’ or Twitter #cheerstosochi messages can be sent and McDonald’s will deliver them to the athletes in a special way. McDonald’s ensures that the messages are projected on a screen in the Olympic Village and athletes can print their favorite posts on a wrist-ribbon and respond to their fans through Twitter.
The ‘Volkshotel’ will open its doors in Amsterdam in May 2014. The old building of the newspaper ‘de Volkskrant’ undergoes a renovation to a multidisciplinary building with a hotel of 172 rooms. Existing elements with a creative character remain and a part will be converted into a creative space. The ‘Volkshotel’ will also have a restaurant, a cocktail bar with a ’20s New York look, a club, a theatre bar and a lobby with co-working space. On the roof there are hot tubs and a sauna with a view of the city of Amsterdam. The result is a combination of hospitality, work, art, music and culture.
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
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Ever thought of the way we network in the real life and how this differs from the online way of connecting…? Watch the movie!
This lightweight sauna is designed by H3T Architects, homebased in Prague. The funny thing is that this sauna can easily assembled to a bike, to bring it everywhere you want. This device consists of plywooded benches, plastic and textile and can accommodate 6 persons.
Having a nice ‘old school’ evening with fellow artists; that is the idea behind Slideluck Potshows. This event has come over from the United States and refers to ‘slideshows’ and ‘potlucks’; watching photo’s while eating homemade dinners. In June, the first Slideluck Potshow took place in Amsterdam. Over 200 people showed interest. The next event will take place in October.
Sex sells, even in the recession. This so-called ‘breastaurants’ are very populair in the United States and it even seems to be one of the fastest-growing restaurant categories. These are restaurants that features scantily-clad women as waitresses.
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Funny beer commercial of Hahn Superdry beer. Brewed for real men.
The international hotel chain Marriott launched a game for Facebook. You become the General Manager of your own hotel. With this game, which is similar to games such as FarmVille and CityVille, you earn points when your guests are satisfied, but you lose points when your guests leave your hotel unhappy. With this game, Marriott tries to increase interest in careers with the group and in hospitality in general.
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The Argentinian beer Norte came with ‘the Best Excuse Ever’. For every ordered beer, Norte donated 1 minute to a good deed, such as restore monuments and schools or cleaning up the park. For men an excuse to drink a beer, and for women to be proud of their husbands. Watch the movie!
Instead of tea in your teacup, wear these as a bracelet. The idea is pretty old, but it still looks nice. These juwelry are designed by Abigail MaryRose Clark and are available at the webshop Etsy. But be careful, these are some fragile bracelets.
The hotel chain W Hotels launched a free iPhone app for the guests. Through this app guests can search for hotel information such as photos, maps and weather information. But through this app guests can also listen to music, requesting the room service menu and contact the concierge.
Everything you want to know about Istanbul, you find out with Wizard Istanbul. This is a 24/7 crowdsourced online travel guide, where you can drop all your questions about Istanbul. Volunteers, like residents of the city or fellow travelers, can respond on your message and will give you nice and usefull tips.
The Amsterdam Okura Hotel developed an app for her guests. Through this app, the guests can contact the concierge, read the blog of Onno Kokmeijer (the chef of the restaurant), can collect suggestions for city trips en can even compose a jetlag program. This app is free of charge and available in the Apple iTunes store. A nice example of increasing the hotel service!
Easy to use at a gathering or reception; plate, glass and cutlery in one hand. So the other hand can shake hands or something else… The Mantara plate is designed by the Spanisch designer Gabriel Contino.
Repudo starts a digital treasure hunt for backstage passes and tracks at Pinkpop festival (the Netherlands). Together with Sony they place digital messages across the festival terrain that are only readable on the spot. The app for iPhone and Android combines GPS with a game element. Next to a variety of (sponsored) campaigns it’s also possible for users to leave messages for each other at any location. The platform is not mainstream yet but has potential for restaurants, hotels and other companies that want to introduce promotions with a game element.
McDonalds gives away free snacks with the pick ‘N play game. Smartphone owners in the neighbourhood of the interactive billboard could play the game directly online, so it’s not necessary to download an application. After choosing their favorite snack, they could play for a download with code that was refundable at the nearest restaurant.
At Hotel de Nymph in Brielle (the Netherlands), one could reserve a table for their “heavenly” 3-cours dinner between the first and fith of June (the days around Ascension day), and win a real “Ascension” in an hot air balloon for 2 persons.
Designed by Anagrama from Mexico, the interior from Theurel & Thomas Pâtisserie. A Macaron shop. At the websites from Anagrama and nsmbl some more inspirational pictures.
The Implanted Nature project was implemented in May 2011 by Luzinterruptus, a Spanish artistic group. The group created 50 tiny ecosystems, complete with plants, plastic animals, lovely lights and miniature greenhouses, and left them in the darkest and least plant-friendly parts of Madrid.
If home cooking fails, the pizza restaurant at the corner starts to get boring and you rather have fresh healthy food delivered, then it’s time for Gobble. This website shows all local restaurants and provides a healthy collection of neighbourhood cooks. A meal always costs ten dollars.
Sleeping in a cabin or caravan in a hotel in Berlin. The playground is only smaller than at the camping! For the die-hard camper? Or the one who can’t live without the luxury of a hotel?
Austrian chocolate maker Zotter offers products that are organic, fair trade, and very creative. Choco Shots are available on their website; syringes full of chocolatey liquid that comes in packaging designed to look like it’s real medicine. These strange but inventive chocolates come in seven different varieties including Raspberry Brandy, Mandarin, Whisky and Almond.
Honest Tea checked the honesty in America’s big city’s – watch the movie to see how they did it and the effect of the guerilla campaign.
In Sydney they thought of a special way to get everyone’s attention around World Enviroment Day. To show the people the impact of humankind on the environment they made a lifesize polar bear ice sculpture. The sculpture will melt away in several days and reveal a bronze skeleton. An interesting concept whereby the inner sculpture is revealed slowly.
The BabyNes made by Nestlé is a cup system for baby milk. Within a minute it produces a well temperatured bottle of nutritional milk. No more problems with dosing milkpowder and water. The cups won’t fit in any coffecup system, so you have to buy a new machine. An idea for restaurants next to highways?
Aude-vin introduced a new wine product, two types of wine sharing the name “Night Party”. Night Party comes in two tastes, “Pasonate Peach” and “Smooth Grapefruit”. The two drinks are based on the Viognier, Syrah and Grenache grapes, and are blended with natural grapefruit and peach aroma’s. Furthermore there aren’t any other additives and the percentage of alcohol is between 11 and 12%.
Spotted in a German Magazine, Der Feinschmecker, from the USA and simple but effective! Always the exact same slices!
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