2010 › May

Follow chef Jamie Oliver through culinary Stockholm

by Grant Martin on

One of our favorite cities over at Gadling is Stockholm, Sweden and one of our favorite chefs, Jamie Oliver. So imagine our glee when discovering that Mr. Oliver had put together a slide show and narrative from his recent journey into Scandinavia.

Fully available over at the Guardian, Chef Oliver’s slideshow is a love story written to the city, where he meanders in and out of lush, cultural descriptions and delicious, gastronomic profiles in his trademark, boyish tone. All of this is set against the backdrop of a beautiful series of Stockholm photos, from the striking, colorful waterfront to food and families strewn across the country.

Your grandparent’s slideshow, this is not.

It’s almost enough to encourage a wayward blogger to drop his belongings, jump on a 767 and fly directly to Stockholm, just in time for the Midsommar festival and for the long, sunny nights of summertime in northern Europe. Or perhaps that’s some not-so-creative foreshadowing.

New Wyndham hotel opens in Miami’s South Beach

by Melanie Nayer on

Wyndham Hotels and Resorts is continuing its Florida hotel expansion with the opening of a new 133-room-and-suite Wyndham Garden Hotel Miami South Beach. The new hotel, located at 1050 Washington Avenue in South Beach’s entertainment district, sits two blocks from the beach and is a short drive from Miami’s International Airport and the Port of Miami.

The hotel sits on the site of the historic 1922 Coral House, which was preserved by the Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board and recently underwent a $5.5 million renovation before joining the Wyndham family. On the grounds is Catch 10 Seafood Bistro, which offers outdoor seating, room service and poolside dining, as well as Starbucks coffee and the hotel’s signature mint lemonade.

The Wyndham Garden Hotel Miami South Beach offers the typical Wyndham amenities: BeWell bedding, room service, concierge services, valet parking and free high-speed wireless Internet access. In addition, each guest room and suite offers large work desks and ergonomic chairs, as well as marble counter-tops, white lacquered vanities with vessel sinks and spa teak benches in all showers. The Wyndham South Beach property has lush gardens surrounding an outdoor pool and a state-of-the-art 24-hour fitness facility.

The hotel is across the street from the Wolfsonian Museum, a short walk to the Lincoln Road Mall and the Versace Mansion (now the Villa by Barton G) on Ocean Drive.

Staybridge Suites Times Square giving one guest a spot on Broadway

by Melanie Nayer on

Admit it, you’ve always wanted to see your name in lights. Well, you just might get the chance to live out your Broadway dreams, thanks to Staybridge Suites.

Staybridge Suites Times Square, New York City, is hosting a “Big Broadway Break” contest that invites wanna-be stars to express their talent for a chance at getting their name in lights.

Aspiring Broadway stars simply need to submit a video of themselves performing one of two classic Broadway songs, “Give My Regards to Broadway” and “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows” to the Staybridge Suites Times Square Facebook page. The entries will be narrowed down to 10 finalists by public vote, and the winner will be selected by a panel of Broadway industry judges including Seth Rudetsky from Sirius/XM Broadway radio; Adam Feldman, the associate theater and cabaret editor from Time Out New York and award winning Broadway casting director, Stephanie Klapper.

The winner will receive:

  • A six-month hotel stay at Staybridge Suites NYC
  • A series of personalized Broadway Classroom workshops from Broadway.com
  • A session with noted Broadway casting director, Stephanie Klapper
  • An interview with Time Out New York theater and cabaret editor Adam Feldman
  • An interview on the weekly show, Seth’s Broadway Chatterbox on broadwayworld.com
  • $5,000 for living expenses and Staybridge Suites’ signature complimentary services and amenities throughout the length of their stay.

Videos can be entered on Staybridge Suites Times Square’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/staybridgesuitestimessquare) from May 10 – June 18, 2010. From June 19 – 25, a public vote will determine the final 10 contestants. The winner will be announced on July 1.

A conversation with Joe Diaz, co-founder of AFAR

by Grant Martin on

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last year you’ve heard of AFAR media and their new magazine that’s currently making waves around the travel industry. As one of the few companies to risk starting a print publication in a transitioning media landscape, there’s plenty at risk in this endeavor, but the strategy runs deep at AFAR and the innovation is plenty.

Earlier this month, Gadling’s Editor in Chief sat down with AFAR co-founder Joe Diaz to catch up on new developments at the startup.

Grant Martin: Congratulations on the success of Afar to date — how are things settling in for you as the co-founder of a major publication?

Joe Diaz: Things are going well. We have the opportunity to work in media in such an exciting and evolutionary time. AFAR has entered the game at an opportune time. Others call this the “bottom” or “worst time ever” to start a media company. Obviously, we see it another way and believe that the demands of today’s consumers were not being met in the travel space. Judging from the success of our launch it looks as though AFAR is fulfilling the desires of today’s experiential travelers. Our magazine launched with much success and I’m really excited about the upcoming launch of AFAR.com

GM: Right, your magazine is only a small part of the Afar portfolio with a large portion of Afar Media set to unfurl on the web in 2010. How is that progressing?

JD: The entire team is really excited about the launch of AFAR.com, a social network meets social search site that gets people like you to answer questions you have about travel. We are headquartered in San Francisco for a reason and that reason is AFAR.com. We plan on entering our beta in late June of 2010. We are now beginning to invite well-heeled travelers and members of the tech community to join us in shaping and improving the site. I encourage you to “try out” for our beta at http://private.afar.com.

Although we see our site as a revolutionary progression in the online travel space, our platforms always drive back to our company’s core values. In this case, it’s all about connecting travelers to other travelers, locals and businesses in ways that fit their individual way of traveling.
GM: So upcoming components of AFAR.com will be socially interactive. How will it be different from, say, Facebook or Dopplr?

JD: AFAR.com will differ from Facebook in terms of the approach. Facebook is effective when you want your “friends” to answer questions that you might have about anything in particular. When traveling, how many of your “friends” have been to the places you’re thinking about going? Then take the number of friends that have been there and ask yourself, “How many of them like to travel the way I do?” Probably not that many. We think there is a whole community of like-minded travelers that you should be able to tap into to give you recommendations that fit your psychographic.

GM: AFAR events is another branch of AFAR Media that’s kicking off this summer. What have you guys got planned around the country?

JD: We are planning an AFAR.com launch party in San Francisco for late September/early October. Stay tuned!

GM: Going back to the magazine that we all know so well, you recently made some editorial changes at the top. What motivated these changes?

JD: Things evolve and change over time and as a company we need to adapt to those changes. The initial launch of our company required a different approach than the stage we are currently in. AFAR is a media company and although the magazine is an important part of our strategy, it was time to move away from magazine-centric thinking and really embrace an audience of experiential travelers rather than any one single platform.

GM: And you’ve been getting some pretty big names in that industry involved — we just saw our friend David Farley off the Belarus on a top secret mission for you guys. Who else have you got coming down the pipeline?

JD: Yes, we’re acquiring top-notch creative talent for the magazine. It’s exciting to see writers like David Farley, Susan Orlean, Andrew McCarthy, and Tim Cahill working with us. I think it speaks to the uniqueness of AFAR and this magazine’s ability to talk about travel in a real way. Photographers who get shunned from other travel magazines because they like to photograph clouds hanging over those white, sandy beaches…no problem. AFAR likes clouds.

Flexjet members get extra bump on Korean Air

by Tom Johansmeyer on

This is a first: a fractional jet provider and an international airline are partnering up. Flexjet’s fractional owners can now access premium services when they fly overseas on Korean Air. Under this new arrangement, the Flexjet Connect program, members will receive incentives to buy first class tickets on , not to mention elite status for a full year, dedicated check-in and luxury concierge services in select airports. And, Korean Air passengers can reach more than 5,000 U.S. airports with as little as 24 hours’ notice on high-performance Bombardier business jets.

According to Fed Reid, President of Flexjet, “This first-of-its-kind collaboration with Korean Air adds value to our program offerings, while further expanding our global reach.” He adds, “For our discerning fractional customers, this strategic partnership between two industry leaders obsessed with excellence ensures they will experience the same level of comfort and high-quality travel they have come to expect from Flexjet.”

Walter Cho, Senior Vice President, Passenger Business Division, Korean Air, says, “Now our customers can fly privately from a local airport to catch their Korean Air flight, or get closer to their meetings by flying to regional airports, knowing that our partners at Flexjet and Jet Solutions will provide a seamless and convenient travel experience with impeccable service.”