Trends we spotted | Week 6
At Horecatrends we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the smaller trends we use in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’.
This week, amongst others about ‘female friendly Doritos’, the start-up Robomart and examples of how individuals and countries have responded to the fact that they’re called “Sh**hole countries” by Donald Trump.
Click on the title if you would to read the full article. Enjoy reading!
Airbnb | Three days and two nights on board the vessel used to film Blue Planet II
Airbnb is offering adventure seekers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend three days and two nights on board the Alucia, a world-leading oceanic research and exploration vessel used in the filming of Blue Planet II. The vessel is owned and operated by ocean exploration pioneer OceanX and guests will have the opportunity to explore the ocean in one of the Alucia’s two submersibles. Read more at Luxury Launches.
Pricing model for restaurant based on the model of the travel industry
One of London’s leading restaurants will today start pioneering a new pricing model based on the travel industry today, with different charges depending on the day of the week and time of your booking. Bob Bob Ricard, known for a luxurious dining room where each table has a call-button for Champagne, will offer exactly the same menu, only prices are 25 percent lower for off-peak times such as Monday lunch and 15 percent off mid-peak, including dinner on Tuesdays and Sundays. Book for Saturday night and it’s full price.
Note from the editors of horecatrends: Although we have seen similar initiatives in the past in the Netherlands we didn’t spot it for a while. If you’re still working with the system, would you let us know? We love to hear if it works!
Marriott Hotels Irvine tests touchscreen shower doors
After learning that over half of business travellers feel that their best ideas come while showering, Marriott Hotels is testing a one-of-a-kind technology that allows guests to scribe or sketch their brilliant ideas and send it to themselves before they get washed down the drain. The unique experience will be available to guests for two months at the newly redesigned Marriott Hotels Irvine, California. Although not received with many compliments, especially concerning the use of water, we wonder whether this idea might reach other hotels of the chain.
Robotics start-up robomart: the supermarket isle on wheels.
The ‘world’s first self driving store’, Robomart. Customers of robomart simply tap a button to request the closet robomart and once it arrives, they head outside to unlock its doors and shop for the products they want. The device tracks what customers have taken using patent pending “grab and go” checkout free technology and will charge them and send a receipt accordingly. Check out the model of the Robomart and the images on Designboom.
Sister City | Minimalistic zen atmosphere at the newest venture from the Ace Hotel Group
For its latest project, Sister City, Atelier Ace took another unique approach to hotel design. The concept behind the new hotel, which is planned to open this fall in New York, is all about minimalism.
Billed as “an experiment in essentialism,” the hotel draws its inspiration from relaxing sources like saunas, caves and plants. The website says it’s “a hotel distilled to its most beautiful working parts. It gives you shelter when you need it, but helps deliver you out into the wider world, too. Inspired by Finnish saunas, Japanese bento boxes, the rock-cut cliff dwellings of prehistory and John Cage’s 4’33”. Sister City considers what’s truly needed for the modern traveller. We hope to publish the images of the hotel when ready!
Who doesn’t want to visit these Sh**hole countries
President Trump’s comments referring to certain nations, including Haiti, as “shitholes” provoked anger and creativity! A couple of examples of how to use a negative remark in a positive way and humor always works!
Fabien Dodard, a creative director at Parkour Studio, has started a GoFundMe campaign to raise cash to run “shithole” themed ads for Haiti in the American capital. He wants to run out-of-home and print ads in Washington, D.C., that aim to use Trump’s words against him to boost the image of Haiti.
A bit like the Dutch ‘Zondag met Lubach’ video, you know the ‘Netherlands second’ one, Namibia made a great video a couple of week ago, presenting their beautiful ‘shithole country’! Their video with open air toilets has reached over 500.000 viewers already!
An ‘over the top’ Valentine’s Day dessert for $1,000
The people behind Beauty & Essex have created an extravagant special for this Valentine’s Day. Diners at their New York, Las Vegas, or Los Angeles locations will get a $1,000, over-the-top dessert from chef Chris Santos. Their guests will be served a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Rosé Champagne alongside three trays, each stocked with sweet treats. One will contain a jewel box filled with doughnuts accompanied by caramel, chocolate, and berry dipping sauces. The next treat will be a box filled with heart-shaped chocolates. The final tray contains amongst other a chocolate sphere. Guests will be requested to take their spoon and smash it and out will fly candy, painted to look like pearls, and buried in the middle will be a .10-carat diamond.
Another example to use in collaboration with jewellers, not just on Valentine’s Day but also for proposals in your restaurant!
CEO under fire after announcement ‘woman-friendly’ Doritos
Article from a Belgium website so unfortunately in Dutch but we think this item got a lot of attention in the USA and UK as well. Doritos launching a less crunchy, ‘woman-friendly’ version because women ‘prefer to eat polite in public’. That is the announcement that Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo (parent company of Frito-Lay, which makes Doritos among others), has come under fire. With great tweets like: “Good news, ladies. We got a female Colonel Sanders and Doritos that do not crunch, so feminism is canceled. We’ve achieved equality.”
