Novotel X LUCA | A love letter to Italy, youth, friendship and the young guests of the chain

29-6-2021

Novotel, a leading brand within the Accor group, recently announced its latest collaboration with Disney and Pixar’s LUCA – a family-friendly original feature film about an unforgettable summer for two best friends in the Italian seaside town of Portorosso – which was released on June 18 on Disney +. Novotel X LUCA does celebrate the launch of the new movie with special offers and delightful surprises for its guests, fans and followers, across more than 40 participating countries, including the United Kingdom, France, South Korea, Canada, China, Mexico, India and many more.

We have seen many more releases of special offers and surprises by hotels and restaurant chains in collaboration with new movies but we love the social media part of this collaboration. Novotel has created a co-branded advert featuring clips from the film (shown in this article), and they invited guests to capture memories using their Luca-inspired Face Lens. Inspiring way to use Instagram!  

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Trends we spotted | Week 25

28-6-2021

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 articles about amongst others Wolfgang Puck, a world-famous celebrity chef, who is opening his first restaurant in his country of birth Austria. And McDonald’s is still working towards a greener future worldwide and on local level, a new initiative in Switzerland is set to make a nation wide rollout.

El Pollo Loco is launching a pilot programme where they use their Air Loco Drone Delivery to deliver food into customer’s backyards. And some more sustainable projects; a collaboration between Mizuiro Inc and designeer Naoko Kimura led to the creation of crayons made from fruits and vegetables, safe for children to use.

A lot is happening in London this summer, with a magical afternoon tea being served at Aqua Sharp consisting of Peter Pan inspired treats and décor! And the Taste of London Festival that will be held from July 7 – 11 and July 14 – 18 in Regent’s Park.

Click on the title if you like to read the full article. Enjoy reading!

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Trends we spotted | Week 24

18-6-2021

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 some news from France; the Louvre Hotels Group is working together with Decathlon and the coaching application Trainme to transform a classic hotel room into a private gym. And the Logis Hotels Group is again partner of the 108th edition of the Tour de France.

Spotted in London; 11 outdoor cinemas popping up this summer! As both restaurants and cinemas have had a tough year, it might be a great idea to work together! Spotted in Paris, 60 restaurants and Deliveroo offer the reusable containers by barePack to create zero waste delivery.

Another Spritz Bar in combination with a Pizza Parlour; Piazza by the Pier in London. Will the Spritz Bars al fresco be the hit of this summer? And Lay’s chips opened a non-existent restaurant to introduce Amsterdammers to a menu consisting of three iconic Lay’s flavoured chips with names like the fast food giants KFC, Subway and Pizza Hut.

A Pop-Up Bike Experience of WeWatt X Ovamo was held in Antwerp on the Grote Markt. It might be a great idea as a bar or coffee bar to place a few WeWatt cycling tables to encourage exercise? And Vapiano’s Germany will go #Pinsa. They will gradually eliminate the classic pizza from its menu. The dough of the Pinsa is fluffier than the conventional pizza dough and also more digestible.

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Mariposa Negra Bar in Barcelona | A new disruptive cocktail bar concept

16-6-2021

The first cocktail bar in the world to use 3D printing and laser printing technology recently opened in Barcelona, Spain. They take the word ‘artisan’ to another level, as they created almost everything in the bar by themselves, like the bar, back bar, tables, decorations, lamps, signs, plates, ceramic picks and more. They even have their own molding techniques to create their own ceramic glasses. Each drink has a really long process of preparation because many liqueurs, juices, bitters and other drinks are made by the bartenders. Thus creating cocktails with very unique and balanced flavours. The name and place are inspired by the mysterious fantasy world of Marina’s novel, written by the great Spanish writer, Carlos Ruiz Zafón.

A spot in Barcelona to visit if you’re a cocktail lover! It’s located in Plaça de les Olles, in the heart of the Born Quarter, a neighborhood known for its gastronomy, art and its streets full of life.

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BARDEUM app by Museum Edutainment | Step inside the stories of a historical site

15-6-2021

With Museum Edutainment’s new mobile app BARDEUM: “don’t just see the sites; step inside their stories”, visitors can go beyond dry boring facts on tiny plaques at museums & historical sites and step inside educational & entertaining stories. Guided by the world’s best storytellers, users become part of intrigues, deceptions, and fascinating events of the past. The BARDEUM app by Museum Edutainment is free on iOS and Android. Experiences range between $3.99 and $4.99 per download.

Will these kind of mobile apps be the future of history? We really like the idea of walking around a memorial, a park or historic site and listening to stories from the past told by storytellers. Just think of all the beautiful stories one can write and tell about Amsterdam for example. And if told by influencers it might even be popular with very young people! The fact that you can download the app for free and only have to pay for the experiences is another great push to start listening to stories from the past.

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Pop-up boutique and restaurant ‘Dior at Alto’ in Selfridges London

14-6-2021

This summer, Selfridges London is showcasing the Dioriviera capsule in a pop-up boutique with a seaside atmosphere at their iconic rooftop restaurant, Alto by San Carlo. The pop-up is named Dior at Alto and the space celebrates the art of living dear to the House and is adorned with toile de Jouy, an emblem revisited by Maria Grazia Chiuri in blue, chartreuse or raspberry.

We always love collaborations and this is another example and if you’re travelling to London this summer, another great restaurant to visit with delicious dishes on the menu. Already open and it will remain open till September 30^th 2021. Check out where you can make a reservation further in the article. And as inspiration for restaurants and hotels, why not collaborate with local designers to create a pop-up?

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Trends we spotted | Week 23

11-6-2021

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’.

Since this month Harry Potter fans in New York can visit a real ‘Butterbeer Bar’ and The London Eye turned twenty-one in March, they’re celebrating their party with a Pub Pod.

The family-owned Tiffany’s Bakery created a donut that’s better tasting and better for you, the DOYO® and TGI Fridays is serving up a rainbow of pride with festive six-layered dessert to celebrate Pride month.

In Florence opened this restaurant: ‘Sophia Loren – original Italian food’, the first restaurant of a new Italian chain? The menu is mouthwatering! And in Singapore some lucky people had the change to taste cell-based lobster and shrimps meat at a tasting event last November by Shiok Meats.

Tesla is officially planning to enter the restaurant business, will their concept be the future of charging your car? Being entertained with food, fun, music or movies while waiting?

Heinz ketchup marketing has been busy: in Canada they partnered with Waze and Burger King to reward those in traffic, driving at speed of its slow pour ketchup, (0.045 Km/h) and in the US they started the competition to find the Heinz Head Burger Artist! Inspiration for the hospitality industry?

Click on the title if you like to read the full article. Enjoy reading!

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Kever Canned Cocktails | By the innovators of Kever Genever

8-6-2021

Cocktail bar quality cocktails made in an instant for your enjoyment at home, in the park, or on the boat. The innovators of Kever are ready to amaze and delight a new generation of cocktail connoisseurs with our new canned cocktail range. Simply close your eyes, take a slow refreshing sip and imagine being in your favourite cocktail bar.

You can pour five cocktails from one can, and the colourful appearance and playful names from the Kever Canned Cocktails such as Henkie Panky, John Lemon, Holy Negroni and Pinky Promise will put a smile on your face. The can is easy to carry and for 90% recyclable. The cocktails are artisanal made with natural flavours, vegan and gluten-free.

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The Ritz Paris Le Comptoir | La Boutique Gourmande by François Perret

4-6-2021

I must admit that I am a real Francophile, and reading the press releases about the opening of Ritz Paris Le Comptoir on the 7^th of June, really made me want to go back to Paris! High on my to-do-list would be picking up a croissant or a square piece of cheesecake with wild strawberries at Le Comptoir! François Perret has reinvented the croissant in the new Ritz Paris Le Comptoir store, this boutique gourmande is located at 38 rue Cambon a few blocks from the entrance of the hotel on Place Vendôme. With only a few seats (5 tables), it is mainly a takeaway boutique where, in addition to its ‘reinvented’ croissants, you can order luxury sandwiches, ‘les boissons pâtissières’, madeleines and lots of viennoiserie to go.

So if you go to Paris this summer, treat yourself to a visit to the boutique and enjoy your delicacies in a Parisian park! ^Marjolein

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Trends we spotted | Week 22

4-6-2021

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’.

Here in the Netherlands we’re allowed to dine inside as from the 5th of June! And a couple of restaurants in Utrecht are celebrating their opening with a ‘walking diner’ with a piece of cutlery with an inscription as the entrance ticket, Utrechts Bestek (cutlery).

McDonald’s Germany is testing grass paper, they serve their Deutschlandburger (German burger) and their McWraps wrapped in this sustainable paper. And also spotted the Fortuna Cooler, a nutshell cooler, made from coconuts that chills by nature.

A link to an article about the world’s largest NFT museum that is coming to New York and Logis Hotels wants to become European market leader in the flexible workplace market, they’re testing a new network in France.

Domino’s Japan created Pizza Rice Bowls and we wonder whether we will see them here in Europe or in the USA? And in the Japan Centre in London, ‘The Mochi Bar’ opened!

Click on the title if you like to read the full article. Enjoy reading!

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Trends we spotted | Week 21

31-5-2021

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’.

The public voting for the Impact Shakers Awards for sustainable and inclusive startups and scale-ups has opened and you will soon be able to play real life Mario Karts in London and in Utrecht (the Netherlands)!

Burger King will soon open a temporary meatless restaurant in Germany in cooperation with The Vegetarian Butcher and Belgian brewer Grimbergen will be brewing premium beers in its Brussels Abbey Monastery again, after 200 years.

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University may have found a solution for high pasta packaging costs with flat-packed pasta, without compromising on texture and taste! And an interesting article about the origin of Susumu Kakinuma’s ‘Tokyo Pizza’.

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The Munch platform in Hungary | Food, environmental and social awareness

28-5-2021

Munch is a platform that enables restaurants, bakeries, shops, and hotels to sell or donate their unsold but high-quality food at a discounted price, offering it to consumers, who can also make donations.

Here we have the Too Good To Go app which is highly popular, but 4 students in Hungary created the platform Munch, also to prevent a food waste and thus creating food, environmental and social awareness. They even made a strategic partnership with the Hungarian Food Bank, which makes it possible for them to help those in need. This project called MunCharity, connects Munch customers and the people in need with the surplus food of the restaurants. A contribution by Katalin Gecsei from Hungary.

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Zoku Copenhagen | Welcoming it’s guests as the world slowly opens up

26-5-2021

concrete is proud to announce Zoku Copenhagen is opening its doors, the second hotel to open following Amsterdam. The workmeetsplay hotel concept has been created for the global nomad. Zoku is a homeoffice hybrid, also suitable for long stays, with the facilities of a hotel and the social buzz of a thriving neighbourhood. A relaxed place to live, work and socialise with likeminded people while getting wired into the city.

Zoku Amsterdam opened back in 2016 and it was one of the first workmeetsplay hotel concepts we spotted. Last week we spotted an interesting article about the future of the technology in the hospitality world with examples like the more apartment proptech startups Mint House, Kasa Living and WhyHotel. It reminded us of  Zoku Amsterdam, a more compact concept, with now a second hotel in Copenhagen, Zoku Vienna almost ready to open and Zoku Paris under construction.

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Trends we spotted | Week 20

21-5-2021

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’.

To combat food waste IKEA is launching a free ScrapsBook cookbook in the USA and Coffee tech start-up Bellwether Coffee is going to commit to paying Colombian farmer 20% with the help of a new innovative tool.

Asda supermarket in the UK is launching cocktail-flavoured spirits to easily make cocktails at home, something we spotted before with Neon Zebra! And an interesting article about the future of hospitality technology with a lot of interesting insights.

Now that the pubs have reopened in England the brewers cannot handle the high demand for beer, and here in the Netherlands the NENT Group will be launching Viaplay in 2022, with the exclusive rights to broadcast Formula 1 and Bundesliga.

For the ones interested in technology, Google held their annual conference this week and announced their Project Starline, a new more realistic way to #videochat!  And in London a Chocolate Factory will be opening this year, in this article the link to the waiting list!

The Sutter Home Family Viveyards created sweet wines with fruit flavours like peach and pineapple! Would young people like to drink that in Europe as well? For beerlovers there is now a vacuum cleaner and beer cooler in one; the Brewmboni from Molson Canadian. Perfect for game-night.

The Higher Order Smokers created a way to simply smoke a cocktail or snack, their project at Kickstarter is already backed! And for when you are looking for an easy way to make a cup of coffee: also on Kickstarter, coffee in the form of bags! Just as easy as making yourself a cup of tea.

Click on the title if you like to read the full article. Enjoy reading!

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Opening this summer | the biggest London restaurant by the Big Mamma Group, Ave Mario

17-5-2021

The traditional osteria Ave Mario is London’s new place to pizza, cocktails, and good times. This 7,000 square feet of Italian heaven by the Big Mamma Group will open on the 25^th of June by an enthusiastic bunch of 120 Italians.

We first came across the Big Mamma Group in Paris, we even wrote about their enthusiastic use of Instagram Stories in 2017, the guys working at their restaurants we’re really Instagrammable. The Group now has 2 restaurants (soon 3 with Ave Mario) in London, Gloria and Circolo Popolare. In Paris they have 7 restaurants, 1 bar and 1 Food Market. They also have restaurants in Lille (Osteria tradizionale Bellazza), Lyon (Cucina popolare Carmelo) and Madrid (Trattoria & Terrazza Bel Mondo). This is a great restaurant chain to visit if you’re in the neighbourhood!  

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