Chopstick straw
30-12-2013
Chopsticks are made in various sizes and designs. Not everybody can use these utensils properly, and you’ll have to drink from the bowl if you’re eating for instance a noodle soup. This will be history with the chopstick–meets-straw design by Julian Lechner.
Happy holidays
24-12-2013
We wish you all the best for the holidays.
Best wishes from Laura Stoter, Marjolein van Spronsen and Armand Sol of the Van Spronsen & Partners Group.
Written in the stars
24-12-2013
A revolution in Christmas-cards. Write it in the stars with an iOS device via stars.akqa.com.
A Christmas tree on your plate
17-12-2013
Inspiration for on the Christmas plate. Do you have special ‘Christmas’ dishes that you want to share with the visitors of Horecatrends? We love to hear from you! Send pictures to tip@spronsen.com.
Turn off your smartphone and get discount
12-12-2013
You go out for dinner with some friends but before you even know it everyone is playing with a smartphone, recognizable? Restaurant Abu Ghosh in Jerusalem started a campaign to reduce the use of smartphones during dinner. The owner Jawdat Ibrahim noticed that his guests were talking less with each other and were constantly distracted by their smartphone. Therefore guests are asked to turn off their phone during dinner. When they put off their smartphone they will receive 50% discount on their bill. Earlier we saw the ‘My phone is off for you’ campaign.
Christmas pop-up
10-12-2013
This recent year we have seen more and more pop-up stores that have made it go from hot to mainstream. Empty retail spaces fill up temporarily with stores or hospitality formulas. We also saw hotel lobbies that supported diverse pop-up formulas. So why not a pop-up Christmas store or Christmas village in your lobby? Why doesn’t your hotel collaborate with the local gardening center? They usually offer the most beautiful arrangements for the holidays and can use some extra exposure! Think of those beautiful snowy Christmas settings as in the picture that mesmerize your junior guests. This creates a win-win situation as you have great decoration and it will encourage guests to stay just a little longer, buy an extra cup of coffee. The first hotel that creates a collaboration like this will definitely earn a mention on horecatrends.com. Download our booklet ‘Christmas gestures‘ with more easily usable Christmas gestures.
Dressing up the Christmas tree
9-12-2013
Pizza slices and boxes in the tree, spotted in New York and easily to recreate golden cutlery. A tree full of fortune cookies in a Chinese restaurant or golden chopsticks in a Japanese tree, all easy to execute ideas to customize your tree! Just consider what you sell (ice cream cones in an ice cream parlor or espresso cups in a coffee bar) and spray it in a Christmas color, easy and stylish! Download our booklet ‘Christmas gestures‘ with more easily usable Christmas gestures.
Phototherapy at Bagels and Beans
6-12-2013
It’s winter again. Fatigue, decreased energy and concentration problems are signs of a winter depression. On average about 600,000 people in the Netherlands suffer from winter depression. To give more relief, Bagels and Beans offers fifteen minutes of ‘sun’. Bagels & Beans has decided to introduce the phototherapy glasses again in collaboration with phototherapy specialist Goodlite. Guests can use the glasses for fifteen minutes and it will give them a better mood and more energy.
Deposit on company outfits
3-12-2013
It’s hardly avoidable to prevent company outfits in the hospitality industry from being stained, burned or teared. Although it isn’t representative to keep wearing them, it’s a waste to throw them away. Next to that, the clothing sizes of personnel often differ and clothing that’s to wide of tight isn’t representative either. Horecahemden.nl thinks it has the solution for company clothing with a deposit for the shirts. For used items the entrepreneur gets € 10,- off, even if the blouses are stained or teared.
Christmas gestures
2-12-2013
Recently the Dutch paper ‘NRC Handelsblad’ published an article about what makes people happy. The writer, psychologist Sonja Lyumbomirsky gives as point number 1 that money can make happy sometimes, but focus on buying experiences (vacations, food and courses) rather than things. Things will get old quicker and are easier to compare to things of others or newer versions that come out later, this leads to more disappointments. This gives precisely the importance of hospitality, a good experience in a restaurant, bar or hotel contributes to the happiness of guests. As restaurant owner, you and your team contribute to creating a memory, especially with the holidays! The season makes it simples to create lasting experiences because your guests will already be in a merry mood and this can only be strengthened by dishes, decorations and hospitable gestures. This booklet will contain more photos than you are used to, but the images speak for themselves. Beautiful, simple examples of easily usable Christmas gestures. Download ‘Christmas gestures’ here.