Hotels on social media: we’re trying!

by Tom Johansmeyer on

For the properties using social media, the effort seems to be paying off. Guests are using tools like Facebook to score discounted rates all over the country. This shouldn’t exactly be shocking, but since the travel industry lags other businesses, there’s a sort of novelty to the impact of promoting in these emerging online environments.

What’s interesting is that the greatest benefit may not be the booking itself, or the attendant revenue. Rather, it’s the subsequent online chest-puffing involved in telling the world you scored a great deal. Why? It’s electron-based word-of-mouth, which sends people over to the property’s Facebook page creating the potential for more clicks, bookings and braggadocio … to kick the cycle off again.

Virgin America hooks up with Joie De Vivre Hotels

by Melanie Nayer on

It’s not quite the hotel announcement we were hoping for, but this news is pretty cool, too.

Virgin America will partner Joie de Vivre Hotels to allow Virgin America’s Elevate members to earn points when they join the boutique hotelier’s Joy of Life Club loyalty program.

To celebrate the new partnership, Joie de Vivre is allowing members to “double dip” and earn both Elevate and Joy of Life Club member points now through the end of 2010 when they stay at a participating hotel. For every eligible $1 spent on the hotel room rate during a 2010 stay, Elevate members will earn one Elevate point as well as Joy of Life Club points. In 2011, members will be asked to choose which program they want to accrue points.

But there’s more…

To celebrate the partnership, Virgin America and Joie de Vivre are hosting a digital promotion to award one stylish traveler a roundtrip flight for two to either San Francisco or Los Angeles from anywhere Virgin America flies and a two-night hotel stay at a Joie de Vivre hotel in California. To enter, tweet your idea of the “perfect match” using the #JoieDeVX hashtag to @VirginAmerica and the airline will select their favorite answer to win.

For full contest details click here.

Vail: Eight free ways to rock snowless slopes

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Your skis are jammed in the closet, and you’re more concerned about traffic en route to the beach than you are about getting out to the Rockies. Well, it’s time to change your thinking. Dash off to Colorado this summer, and you can escape the heat and find some exciting ways to recharge away from home. Oh, and you won’t have to pull out your wallet when you get there.

Check out these free ways to have a blast in Vail this summer without dropping a dime:

1. Music: Enjoy the Hot Summer Nights Tuesday Free Concert series

2. More Music: Tuesday isn’t enough? Get greedy and hang out until Thurday for jazz concerts outside the Arrabelle at Vail Square. If you can’t get enough jazz, linger at the Vail Farmer’s Market on Sunday, too.

3. Ride: Stick your kids on a gondola. It won’t cost you a thing, and you can get them out of your hair for a bit.

4. Play: Try your hand at horseshoes or bocce (among others) at Adventure Ridge.5. Hike: Walk the trails of Vail Mountain with a guide.

6. Serve and volley: Are you into tennis? Pick up a match at the Golden Peak Tennis Courts.

7. Learn: Take advantage of free admission to the Colorado Ski Museum.

8. Park: Yeah, it doesn’t sound like much, but anyone who lives in a city, especially, will appreciate this one. Vail Village and Lionshead offer free parking all summer long.

And if this isn’t enough for you, there are some deals to be had. Both the Arrabelle at Vail Square and The Lodge at Vail are kicking in solid discounts, with rates at the former starting at $199 a night and the latter at $149 a night.

First look inside the Diane von Furstenberg hotel guestrooms

by Melanie Nayer on

Diane von Furstenberg, the iconic designer of the wrap-dress, has taken her designs from the catwalk to Claridge’s. Now, one of the world’s most revered fashion icons is collaborating with one of London‘s most glamorous hotels to design a series of 20 guestrooms and suites, the first of which were unveiled on June 23, 2010.

Each guestroom features contemporary prints, Chinese florals and animal prints – a few of the patterns synonymous with DVF designs. In addition, each bedroom will have a Diane von Furstenberg custom designed cashmere blanket and feature light fixtures created exclusively for the rooms using Murano glass. Boxes and trays positioned throughout the suites were hand-crafted in Bali and all the handcrafted rugs are from The Rug Company, a long time design partner Diane von Furstenberg’s.The window dressings, inset wall coverings and upholstery, are all part of DVF’s exclusive textile collection and will be made available to interior designers and consumers in September 2010.

According to Claridge’s, each room was inspired by Diane von Furstenberg’s travels. For example, the dressing table recalls trips to Italy, the traveling trunk evokes images of caravans and stylish steamer trunks, and the cocktail bar resembles jewelry boxes found in the Middle East.
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Gaddafi’s kid on the hook for half million dollar Italian hotel bill

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Have you ever stiffed the hotel on the bill? They might be able to slap it on your credit card while you’re making a getaway, but a few thousand dollars is easy to recover. When the tab starts creeping toward half a million dollars, though, courts start getting involved … especially in Italy and especially when your father is a Libyan dictator.

Saadi Gaddafi, whose dad is Muammar, dropped €392,000 for a 40-day stay at the Grand Hotel Excelsior, near Portofino. In fairness, he also had his entourage with him – personal trainer, bodyguards, secretaries … you know the drill. It takes a lot of people to keep a dictator’s son on the go. Instead of making things right at the front desk on his way out, Gaddafi left a black SUV in the parking lot. According to local media, it’s still there.

This may seem like irresponsible behavior for a world leader’s son, even if he is only from Libya. At the time, though, he was wrapping up his career as a soccer player in Italy, so he had to party in a manner appropriate to his profession. And he did have his fun. According to the Guardian:

After signing in 2003 for Serie A side Perugia, Gaddafi joined Udinese in 2005 and Sampdoria in 2006, playing in a total of two matches in Italy and failing a drugs test. When not in training, he made the Italian gossip columns when he reportedly crashed a yacht into a harbour wall in Sardinia. He is now reportedly forging a new career as a film mogul.

The hotel didn’t rush into court. Rather, it worked the usual channels with a country that has solid relations with Italy:

Corriere della Sera reported that prior to taking legal action, the Grand Hotel Excelsior contacted the Libyan embassy in Italy which had paid previous bills on behalf of Saadi Gaddafi, only to be told that it would not cover the cost of the stay until it was told to do so by the Libyan government. On Friday, an Italian judge ordered Gaddafi to €5,000 in legal expenses in addition to his bill.

Time to sell some more plutonium, I guess. I’m sure there’s someone out there with half a million dollars and a flux capacitor to feed.


[photo by StartAgain via Flickr]