There's been a whole lotta drama out on the Gansevoort South's rooftop pool in Miami. Crappy conditions for extras on a TV show shoot. Criminals workin' the sushi bar. And oh, yes: a fire.
But just as we were about to write it off, reader F. dropped a couple of photos of his experience on the Gansevoort South rooftop into the HotelChatter Facebook Page's fan photo album.
And the view looks... cranelicious. Granted, the photo was taken in June, so we're not totally sure that all those cranes are still there -- so we've included another one of F's Gansevoort rooftop pics after the jump (from a different part of the roof). Enjoy!
And don't forget to become a HotelChatter Facebook Fan to get exclusive access to our fave stories, pictures and videos.
Oh, hey: HotelChatter has been so busy scrutinizing hotels' Facebook pages that we just now got around to arriving on Facebook ourselves! Heh. Funny how that happens, huh?
Become a fan of HotelChatter on Facebook to stay in the loop on cool hotel happenings, sweet deals, and gain access to a growing collection of pics and videos.
You can cruise the profiles of fellow hotel geeks, too, if that's your thing -- wink wink.
Something you wanna see on the HotelChatter fan page? Drop us a comment -- or, better yet, head on over to Facebook and write on our wall. Just don't poke us. No poking.
The Peech Hotel in Johannesburg seems to be going for all the angles. It's a boutique hotel, it's proudly eco-friendly, and it's a loud, proud member of all the biggest social networking sites. How much cooler could you get?
For a start, they've got their own Facebook page and for once, it doesn't look like the only fans are staff, because they've got (a few) fans from across the world. It's early days but they're doing all the normal Facebook stuff like adding photos and events; someone's started a discussion but we're hoping to see more.
The Peech also started Twittering a few weeks ago, giving a few updates on events and advertising links to special rates. And on top of all that, they offer a link on their website to call them by Skype rather than use actual money, so we like that too.
Of course, one day every hotel under the sun will be on Facebook and Twitter, but The Peech is one of the pioneers out there. Now we have to ask: Does this make you want to book a room there?
Remember how we told you about The Bryant Park Hotel's Facebook page last week? And remember how we wondered (aloud, as we tend to do around here) why anyone besides staff members would really be open to associating with hotels on social networking sites?
While we thought hotels keeping up with the "times" was cool and all, we decided it would be even cooler if we could get some kind of a discount as a reward for actually becoming Facebook fans of the hotel.
Well, turns out someone out there on the interwebs was listening to us. Specifically, the Bryant Park Hotel -- we asked for it and we got it.
We came across community and social media blogger Chris Brogan's discussion on social networking at hotels and we got to thinking about some of his points. Should hotels create their own online social networks? And what about hotels that carve out their own corner of social networking sites by creating MySpace or Facebook pages - what sorts of features do guests want to see from them?
First thing's first: hotels with their own social networks, a la Pod Hotel's Pod Community Blog where guests can post on a forum to find other folks to eat/drink/shop with during their stays.
What if every hotel had its own little social network like that? You know, an opt-in program for guests who are chillin' at, say, the X Hotel in Anywheretown who want to meet some other travelers? They create a profile and link up with people who share their interests or just want to grab a martini (or more, even). Cool? Or sketchy like a mom on Facebook? (No offense, Mom!)
New York's Bryant Park Hotel has got in with its own Facebook page while it's still early enough to be cool. We reckon any hotel who doesn't get onto Facebook this year will end up looking pretty slow.
As far as Facebook pages go, well, they all look pretty standard, and when we last checked the Bryant Park had just 21 fans (and since they're all based in New York we're guessing they're staff). They do have a good photo album of hotel pics up, though, and they've started writing about specials on their Wall, along with posting links to write-ups of the hotel.
The current "Facebook special"--well, it's mentioned there at least--is $289 a night plus taxes for summer rates. We're thinking there should be a discount if you become a Facebook fan of the hotel.
Combine "loft" and "hostel" and you have the pretty-tricky-to-pronounce Loftstel Philadelphia, a neat looking hostel that caught our attention because they have a Nintendo Wii you can use for free in the communal living room.
Beyond the Wii, there are other reasons to crash at the Loftstel if you're traveling on a budget. They cater mostly for long-term guests--the average length of stay is five weeks--so it's the kind of place you might want to stay if you're moving to Philly and looking around for a place to rent, or if you're interning there for the summer.
Seems more like "Hey, who cares?" Only 5 active users. (To be fair, the IHG Official Page has 176 "fans.")
At the page you gotta download the concept application to get started. So we did. A box with our Facebook friends came up first (yeah, we're all on Facebook), then another box with a bunch of reasons why we'd think to tell my friends to "get a room." Instead we thought about junior high. Among the reasons were:
·"It's fun to jump on the beds" ·"It's time for a pillow fight" · "Two words: mini-bar."
The one discussion topic made us chuckle. Bella in China wrote she was gonna try out the application. To which Greg in Atlanta wrote back, "Glad you like the concept. Spread the word."
Obviously Bella's no gossip. The discussion ended there. And get this. The page is rated 5 out of 5 stars. Hmm...who does that one reviewer works for?
What's sorta surprising is that the company's official website is pretty sophisticated with flash, some cool destination videos, even a Travel Advisory. So at Facebook, what on earth were they thinking?
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by Jenna
Like other hoteliers reaching out to a whole new Generation X, Y or Z of guests, 
