Tips for getting featured: include the camera you used along with any other equipment or processing software that might help other photographers know more about your image.
Awesome Amenity: A Food Truck Concierge
No matter what you’re craving – ice cream, tacos, dumplings, or more – Thompson’s Food Truck Concierge can assist. They offer a special Food Truck Concierge application, letting visitors know the exact cooking times and locations of their favorite mobile eats. Thompson’s New York hotels are also offering special food truck deals, using code ‘FOODTRUCK’ when booking online.
Hotel Trends: Same Night Booking
Two years ago, we would have told you that the biggest trend in hotel booking was the flash sale. Now we’ll tell you it’s “same night booking,” a platform (often in curated mobile app form) that allows hotels to lower rates for unsold same day reservations. Jetsetter did it earlier this week, HotelTonight even tells you what they do in their name. HotwireTravelocity and Priceline all have web or application-based tools to allow travelers to book day-of reservations. The platforms all differ slightly. Some are opaque, meaning that they reveal details about the property but not its name until after booking. Others showcase the name of the property or its “type” to entice travelers.
We’re fairly confident that this development is a big one – and we’ll soon be seeing it migrate to other industries, such as fitness, spa and sports.
Hotels Get Social: Sofitel Launches Tumblr Blog
In an effort to engage better with guests of their nine North American properties, Sofitel has launched a new Tumblr blog, Life is Magnifique. The hotel chain says that the content, which is centered on an online concierge experience, will feature cultural activities, restaurant openings, key events and fashion updates by Sofitel staff in each city. We’re excited to see where this goes. Tumblr can be a fun and very interactive platform for hotels, but we have seen too many brands use blogs to push out PR content, leaving little value to the consumer. So far, however, the content seems fun and engaging, and the blog’s layout is easy to read.
Hotel Reviews: HotelMe
A new hotel review site is on the market. HotelMe is touting itself as an alternative to travel review sites like TripAdvisor that have recently been in the news for having fake or unverified reviews on their websites. This new site promises “verified” reviews by partnering with hotels to confirm the reviewer’s stay through a patent-pending method. We’re intrigued … would you use this website to scout out a potential hotel?
Sweet Suites: Diane Von Furstenberg’s Penthouse in Hayman, Australia
Acclaimed fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg has crafted a new penthouse on Hayman, Australia’s private island destination, and we’re already lining up for a stay. The two-bedroom is designed with DVF signature fabrics, freestanding tone bathtub and classic furnishings, but that’s not really what gets us excited. We’re coveting this space thanks to its prime positioning in the spectacular Great Barrier Reef, which can be viewed on the oversized balcony. Of course, Butler services and all meals don’t hurt either.
While Google Street View usually sticks to helping you explore land, users can now navigate Australia‘s Great Barrier Reef, right from their desks. Just launched, Google makes use of an innovative underwater camera that can record 360-degree images of the marine park.
The project is part of the Catlin Seaview Survey, which was launched today at Monterey, California. For the next three years, scientists will collect visual information on the world’s reefs to be shared on Google Maps, allowing people all over the world to dive without leaving home.
In a story at news.com.au, project founder and director Richard Vevers explains, “99.95 per cent of people can’t scuba dive, it allows so many people to access the oceans for the very first time.”
While at the moment only three sections have been mapped, by December it is expected there will be 20. Additionally, diving robots will be used to examine never before seen areas 328 feet below the surface. Along with broadening scopes of the world, scientists hope to discover new species and track changes in the reef related to climate change.
Next year, the project will expand to map reefs in Hawaii and the Philippines.
The world’s mostrecommended country to visit is Canada, says a study measuring public perceptions of countries around the world. The ranking is a component of the best overall country reputation that also considers employment, living conditions, investment potential and more.
Beating out Australia, Sweden and Switzerland for the second year in a row for the number one spot, Canada is one of 50 nations that will directly contribute to the $2 trillion tourism industry in 2012.
The annual RepTrak study was conducted by the Reputation Institute, a consultancy that measures the trust, esteem, admiration and good feelings the public holds towards 50 countries, by polling an online panel of 36,000 people representing the G8 countries.
“Beyond maintaining its top position, Canada has also improved its score by more than three points. Normally we don’t see such a large increase in a score from a top 10 country but Canada now stands head and shoulders above the other leading countries,” said Nicolas Georges Trad, Executive Partner, Reputation Institute in a statement.
Rounding out the top ten countries with the best reputations were Norway, New Zealand, Finland, Denmark, Austria and the Netherlands, all known for their stability, solid democracies, high GDP and strong social infrastructures.
The United States came in at number 23 but the study concluded that with a strong 5-10 point increase in the last four years, the reputation of the USA is trending towards more positive perceptions.
Dublin is known worldwide as the capital of Ireland, hosting landmarks such as the Spire of Dublin, Trinity College and St Patrick’s Cathedral. Along with the UK’s Edinburgh, Melbourne, Australia, Iowa City in the U.S. and others, UNESCO recognizes Dublin as a City of Literature, reflecting the city’s rich and varied history of writers and writing.
As the birthplace of James Joyce and Nobel Literature Prize winners William Butler Yeats, George Bernard Shaw and Samuel Beckett, Dublin pays tribute to its literary heritage in a variety of ways. Statues, streets, bridges, pubs and book stores that make for a grand tour that visitors can take in an organized way or on their own.
James Joyce Centre is dedicated to a better understanding of the life and works of James Joyce and has exhibitions, events and workshops.
National Public Library of Ireland has the most comprehensive collection of Irish documentary material in the world. Talks and major exhibitions are hosted throughout the year.
Dublin Yarnspinners invites visitors to listen as the Storytellers of Ireland spin an array of tales, tall and otherwise, from its members on the second Thursday of every month.Bewley’s Cafe Theatrehas lunchtime drama and one of the city’s most popular venues for evening cabaret, jazz and comedy every day by reservation. Sweny’s Pharmacyfeatures daily readings from the works of James Joyce in the original pharmacy where Leopold Bloom bought lemon soap.
Trinity College has an official, student-guided walking tour of the historic campus on a daily, scheduled basis. The 30-minute tours run from mid-May to the end of September.
St Patrick’s Cathedral, where writer/satirist Jonathan Swift was dean from 1713 to 1745 is open every day. Visitors to the cathedral can see his tombstone and epitaph on an escorted tour.
Marsh’s Library was the first public library in Ireland, opening in 1701. With over 25,000 books relating to the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, the collections covers medicine, law, science, travel and more. Open daily except Tuesday and Sunday.
Dublin City Bike Tours are an easy, eco-friendly way to see the sights with local guides along for the ride. Starting in the lobby of Isaacs’s hostel, the tours run three hours and begin at 10 a.m. daily.
The Dublin Literary Pub Crawlis a fun, walking tour led by a team of professional actors who follow the footsteps of literary greats on an evening filled with prose, drama and song as we see in this video: