Inspiration from 2008: Work-out rooms

15-8-2011

Spotted in august 2008, but until today still possible at some Westin Hotels, the work-out rooms. Westin offers the special option of booking a guest room equipped with a treadmill, a stationary bike, dumbbells, fitness DVDs, resistance bands, stability balls and bottles of water.

 

Find guests through a Twitter scan service

10-8-2011

Reach.ly is a new service focused specifically on finding potential new guests. Reach.ly monitors Twitter for mentions of planned trips and allows hotels to reach out to visitors who are heading their way. It’s a free service which begins when hotels register with the site via Twitter and indicate which cities they’re interested in. Reach.ly then begins to filter Twitter traffic for them, and presents it in a manageable number of tweets. Hotels can communicate with the potential guests at the Reach.ly interface. According to Reach.ly 9% did make a booking en about 20% indicated that they appriciated the contact. Interesting?

 

Dogs are welcome

26-7-2011

Chien Bleu Travel is, according itself, the first travel agent in the UK which is specialized in the real dog-friendly hotels, cottages and other stay accommodations. Dogowners can consult this travel agent for the several accommodations, but can request whole packages as well.

 

Music by the power of water

21-7-2011

An eco tip for hotels; use the water supply as an energy source. This radio gets its energy from built in micro turbine.

Treasure hunt with Repudo at Pinkpop festival

8-6-2011

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.

Self service soup

27-5-2011

Townhouse Designhotel Maastricht is nominated for the Dutch Hotel Award. The Jury gave the three nominated hotels an assignment. They have to use social medie to let people know they are nominated for the award with the message self (&) service added. Townhouse is serving free soup during check-in at the hotel. Because of that, the website Self-service-soep.nl is launched, here all the social media traffic about Townhouse is gathered. Hans van Wolde , star master chef is asking people to send in new recipes for soup.

SocialStay – build your own hotelapp

13-5-2011

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SocialStay is a platform for hotels for building, managing and growing a custom mobile environment. SocialStay lets hotels create their own branded mobile apps in minutes. These apps are fully customizable and also automatically integrated with several social media. Hotels can easily notify the guests of discounts or other related special offers, feature as well a “wall” and a “Who’s Here?” section to help guests to connect with each other.

App shows best spots alongside the Amsterdam canals

29-4-2011

A new, free iPhone application shows people the way on the Amsterdam canals. The application is called ‘Vaarwater’ (free translated as waterway) and is an initiative of Waternet. Besides eight channel routes, the app includes information about the opening of bridges and locks, water taps, places to spend the night, gas stations, bars, marinas and in the near future also hotels.

Share a table

15-4-2011

“Share a table” is an initiative taken for business guests who travel a lot, resulting in a lonely dinner. “Share a table” enables the guest to join a table for a simple conversation and sharing a meal, which is indicated by cards shown on the table.  A wide range of hotels in Spain, Andorra, Portugal and the Netherlands joined this concept.

 

Minibarbox

8-4-2011

A minibar is for each hotel a service with many disadvantages. It takes time and  money to maintain, and continues to rise questions. Empty the minibar, reduce products or replace minibar? Therefore, there is an alternative developed by hotel experts: the Minibarbox. A nicely designed box that contains a selection of beverages. Hotels can sell the box at the reception or place it directly in the hotelroom.

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