Booking.com | Twenty epic unique places to stay to kick start 2020 New Year’s resolutions

24-1-2020

This holiday season, Booking.com, the global travel leader with a mission to make it easier for everyone to experience the world, is encouraging consumers to book a trip to help kick start 2020 New Year’s resolutions. In an effort to offer inspiration, Booking.com is custom designing 20 incredible experiences available for guest bookings, with each “Resolution Suite” themed to align with 20 of the most popular New Year’s resolutions for 2020. Booking.com has encouraged consumers to #BookYourResolution to help them come true.

Great marketing campaign by booking.com. Unfortunately only available in the US and hopefully the lucky ones that had the opportunity to stay in one of their resolutions suites are probably even more motivated to have their resolution come true! The suites were available for 2 nights as from January 17^th! It might be a great 2021 New Year’s resolution for Booking.com to create a likewise campaign in Europe, preferably in Amsterdam!

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Ferm Fatale l The world’s first zero sugar probiotic mocktail

22-1-2020

Ferm Fatale, the world’s first zero sugar probiotic mocktail, is kicking off the New Year with the official launch of a line of shelf stable, raw, vegan, organic, probiotic non-alcoholic beverages. At only 22 calories and zero sugar per bottle, Ferm Fatale’s mocktails offer an alternative to typical beverages loaded with sugar and alcohol, giving consumers the freedom to enjoy a healthier choice while socializing.

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Mirabeau Rosé Gin | Perfect to make pale pink cocktails

17-1-2020

Mirabeau Rosé Gin, a sophisticated dry gin with a category redefining spirit, created by Alex Ignatieff, the gin brand director of Domaine Mirabeau in France. The Rosé Gin is made with the scented grape alcohol extracted during the dealcoholisation process when making the lower alcohol and vegan rosé of Mirabeau, Forever Summer. Together with the chosen botanicals, this small batch gin stands out in the growing pink gin category. Mirabeau Rosé Gin is a true gin with juniper being a dominant component. The delicate signature flavours come from traditional distillation with no need for sugary additions.

Like all the light pink rosés and sparkling rosé from Domaine Mirabeau, the gin looks beautiful and might be an asset for cocktails like Mirabeau Rosé Gin Fizz Recipe or a festive Punch cocktail recipe, in the article you will find a video about how to make the latter! The Domaine Mirabeau also sells 5 distinctive rosés, rosé with low alcohol and vegan (Mirabeau Forever Summer Rosé) and prêt-à-porter cans of rosé to go!

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KINGSTAIRS | Burger King gave away free Whoppers in the Bronx

17-1-2020

To celebrate the DVD release of the movie Joker, Burger King gave away free Whoppers delivered to residents of the Bronx in New York City. This because they have been suffering through tourists from all over the world climbing the ‘Joker stairs’ on Shakespeare Avenue! Burger King said anyone living in the same borough as the now-famous stairs could get a free Whopper delivered by Uber Eats until January 12 if they used the code KINGSTAIRS.

Another example of a viral marketing campaign to promote a local happening. So if your city has its own special circumstances….. like a famous Instagram spot, use it to promote your product through social media. And we all know that residents in cities like Amsterdam, Barcelona, Paris etc. ‘suffer’ due to the influx of tourism. Play with it!    

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nhow Amsterdam RAI | Amsterdam has a new icon

13-1-2020

General Manager Hermann Spatt personally welcomed the first guests of nhow Amsterdam RAI on January 10, 2020. It is the second nhow hotel to be opened in the Netherlands. nhow Amsterdam RAI is located between the RAI Convention Centre and the A10 highway, making it attractive for organizers, exhibitors and visitors to national and international exhibition and conference markets. Schiphol Airport is a ten minute drive by car or train and the tram will take you to Dam Square within six minutes. The building was designed by the architectural firm OMA. nhow is the lifestyle brand of NH Hotel Group and the hotel in Amsterdam has 650 hotel rooms and nine multifunctional event rooms on the 23rd floor.

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The BrewDog AF Bar, the alcohol free beer bar & BrewDog’ ‘Drink All You Can Jan’

9-1-2020

‘The BrewDog AF Bar’ is the brewery’s first fully alcohol-free bar. Independent Scottish craft brewer BrewDog have opened their first bar dedicated to alcohol-free. The BrewDog AF Bar is the world’s first alcohol free beer bar and will offer 15 taps of draft alcohol-free craft beer. The bar has opened in central London and will be the first of the company’s global bars to feature a line-up solely devoted to drinks without alcohol. In addition to this, BrewDog will be running ‘Drink All You Can Jan’ across all bars. The initiative offers drinkers unlimited refills of BrewDog alcohol-free beers in all bars for the entire month. And with 24% of beer drinkers choosing more low or no-alcohol options (according to the Mintel, UK Beer Market Report 2018), the brewery are piloting a new concept for their bar division, with a view to rolling it out across the UK and into Europe.

It’s the time for alcohol free drinks: in the Netherlands we spotted amongst others the first pop-up Bar 0.020 in Amsterdam and the new menu for alcohol free drinks at NRC café in Rotterdam. With Dry January it’s wise to serve your guests at least the possibility to drink alcohol free. Our colleagues Robin, Nick and Leonie tried some drinks last week and they were kind of surprised on the sweetness of most mocktails! So if you’re buying or creating alcohol free drinks, not everybody has a sweet tooth!  

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Pulitzer’s #StoriesToStay | Pulitzer Amsterdam’s 50th anniversary

9-1-2020

This year Pulitzer Amsterdam is celebrating their 50th anniversary and 2020 is going to be all about ‘Stories To Stay’. The hotel which is located at the canals of Amsterdam, is famous for its unique design, inspired by the stories and history of the twenty-five historical buildings alongside the canals; timeless charm combined with historical elements and comfort of the modern age. Pulitzer Amsterdam is celebrating this golden year by bringing an homage to the stories that took place behind the doors of these houses.

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Collabs & Crossovers

3-12-2019

Enjoy the blog by our colleague Niek Timmermans from Van Spronsen & Partners hospitality consultants. He blogs about the trendy collabs & crossovers, how hip and popular are they in 2019?

Earlier this year, Leonie van Spronsen wrote a blog about crossovers, how she felt 2019 could have been the year of crossovers. She kicked it off with an example of the Emmy Cheeseburger Dumplings of Mimi Chengs in New York. Two hospitality entrepreneur comrades that created a dish out of their individual bestsellers. We also have an example of this in the Netherlands, the Taiko X FEBO authentic FEBO snack wall in Tunes bar with limited-edition langoustine frikandels and Wagyu burgers specially created by chef Schilo van Coevorden.

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SCRAEGG | From the fastest scrambled eggs to the smallest canteen in the world

3-12-2019

2018 was the starting point for SCRAEGG: Presented as ‘the fastest scrambled egg in the world’, the compact device with a steam nozzle quickly became centre of attention at trade fairs because using different flavors, a fluffy scrambled egg could be conjured up in seconds. Without a pan, without fat and without an unpleasant smell. Just one year on, SCRAEGG still supplies the world’s fastest scrambled eggs in a wide range of variations. But it also produces a tasty selection of other meals and snacks, such as quinoa cups, loose potato mash, soups, creamy porridges and even fine desserts and small cakes.

At the HOST international hospitality trade fair in Milan, Italy, SCRAEGG was recognized as the most groundbreaking innovation. The FCSI Start Me Up Innovation Award was awarded for the first time in 2019 by the Foodservice Consultants Society International and Electrolux Professional. The jury of experts honoured the SCRAEGG patented steam nozzle system, which prepares different meals in a matter of seconds.

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Fresh food robot ‘Sally 2.0 by Chowbotics’ will be rolled out worldwide

2-12-2019

The world’s first fresh food robot, Sally 2.0 by Chowbotics enters a new phase with a new user interface, hardware enhancements, and an expanded menu with meal options for any time of day. Sally 2.0, the newest iteration of its widely-popular fresh food robot, which first came to market in 2018 and is currently in action at more than 70 locations including offices, college campuses, hospitals, and more. The enhanced model features a larger tablet display, a stunning new user interface, wheels for increased mobility, and improved servicing features that reduce operator refill and cleaning time. In addition to Sally’s flagship salad and grain bowl offerings, Sally 2.0 now offers breakfast and snack options such as Açai bowls, fruit, yogurt bowls, and more.  Thousands of people can now experience these enhancements at several new deployments across the country and around the world.

We wrote about the Robot Sally back in 2017 and wondered when we will see the first fresh food robots like Sally in Europe. Stated at the website of Chowbotics is that they work with the Compass Group, Sodexo and in the press release it says that Bonduelle, the French international plant-based food company, recently ordered a first set of 50 robots for France. Earlier this year, the two companies joined forces to create the Cabaletta brand and set an exclusive partnership for deployments at foodservice outlets throughout mainland Europe. “We believe offering salads and other plant-based food through easy to access kiosks will be a key trend for the future,”  says Elodie Levrier, Project Director, Bonduelle. So anything for your food outlet or kiosk?

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