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Cooper Square Hotel Jumps on the Hotel Graffiti Bandwagon

Graffiti wall in progress at the Hotel Erwin in Venice, Calif.

The Cooper Square Hotel, a giant modern glass building that popped up in the Bowery of NYC, is now trying to fit in with the gritty feel of neighborhood by hiring graffiti artists to paint the wall of an adjacent building.

But their "We're cool, we promise" plan has been met with some resistance from the neighbors, who have expressed their displeasure with the hotel before. The NY Post reports:

In a wacky attempt at earning street cred, the swanky Cooper Square Hotel has commissioned four graffiti "artists" to tag the Fifth Street wall of an adjacent building it recently bought.

One of the taggers, Joyce Pensato, was going to town yesterday on her section of the mural, which the hotel owners hope will be finished by Nov. 10, and then updated annually.

Pensato and three others -- who go by Nick 1, Vizie and Shinique -- were each paid to fill one quarter the wall.

"All the work is going to be different," Vizie said. "The only real unifying theme is the colors, black and white."

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Tags: Hotel Trends / Hotel Trend Watch / → All Tags

Today Must Be Hotel Trend Day

Or at least it just seems like that to us as we scroll the hotel news. Some trends are new ones like illegal hotels in NYC and some are old like hotel fitness (seriously, we get it--you can work out when you stay at a hotel.)

But here at HotelChatter we are proud to announce that everyday is hotel trend day.

Some hotel trends to think about:
· Luxury hotels are mixing in local "flavors" [SF Chronicle]
· More hotels have 24-hour gyms [CNN]
· Manhattan's illegal hotels "trend" is gaining more steam [WNBC]
· Across the pond, hotel fire safety is a big issue [BBC]
· China still a hot hotel market as Accor plans 62 hotels there [Franchising.com]

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October's Hotel Trend Watch

Trends come and go (slap bracelets, anyone?) and the hotel industry is no different. Here are some things that we will be keeping our eyes on this month but with no guarantee we'll be talking about them in November.

· Insane Hotel Packages: The Sales/Marketing teams at hotels are coming up with the most outrageous hotel packages to draw you in like mancations or the W Hotels' Chaka Khan package but just remember there's a difference between a hotel package and a hotel deal.

· Concierges Under Siege: There's been a bit of news about "fake" concierges at hotels that actually work for third party booking sites like Expedia. So what are the real concierges doing for hotel guests?

·Hotel Germ Crisis: Already we put you on watch about cold viruses lingering in hotel rooms. So it will be interesting to see what hotels will do about it. (Our suggestion: instead of sex kits in the mini-bars, what about anti-bacterial kits?)

· Hotel Restaurants: There's no end in sight to hiring celebrity chefs to run the hotel restaurants.

· Celebrity Hotels: Nicky Hilton is set to open her very own hotel this month in Miami. Aside from sister Paris, which celebrity is next?

· Hotel Spas: Spas have been big in hotels for a few years but more and more hotels (not just luxury resorts) are expanding their spa treatments and services. Could a Holiday Inn Spa be on the horizon?

Anything else you wanna see more of? Let us know.

Tags: Hotel News / Hotel Trend Watch / → All Tags

Unwanted Hotel Phone 'Calls'

There's a new annoying hotel trend on the horizon. Budget Travel talked about newest type of in-room advertising in their latest email newsletter filed under Pet Peeves.

For the most part, in-room advertising is not that new. Hotel have been encouraging you to hit up the hotel restaurant, spa, bars, fitness centers and whatever else the hotel may have on site for quite some time.

We see this all the time in Las Vegas. Our last experience at the Venetian was during the marketing/advertising promo for the Phantom of the Opera. The music played in the elevators which we plastered with ads. Your key card was an ad for the show. There was a reminder on the coffee table and the television remote for the show (and Blue Moon Group).

Of course, standard hotels and resorts can't get away with this in-your-face type of advertising for their tiny hotel spa, so they found a new way to reach you: on your in-room voicemail. Budget Travel recently experienced it at the Fairmont Scottsdale:

A few hours after checking in, [the mag's editor] saw that the message light on his room phone was blinking. He called in to get the message, and it was a generic prerecorded message--like those ones you get from politicians around election time--from the resort's spa, urging him to get a treatment. (The worst part was that he had to listen to the whole thing before he could navigate the system enough to figure out how to delete it so the light would go out.)

If you've experienced this at other hotels, send us an email. Or if you want quicker results, leave a comment below.

Related Stories:
· Pet Peeves [Budget Travel]
· September's Hotel Trend Watch [HotelChatter]

Tags: Hotel Trend Watch / Hotel News / → All Tags

September's Hotel Trend Watch

Trends come and go (slap bracelets, anyone?) and the hotel industry is no different. Here are some things that we will be keeping our eyes on this month but with no guarantee we'll be talking about them in October.

· Indoor Water Parks/Hotels: Sure, these monstrosities have been the rage throughout the spring and summer in the Midwest but as winter approaches and people really can't swim outside, we expect these things to take off. Or else, be burned to the ground.
· Curbing Hotel Porn: No one except the Conservative Christians really seem to care about hotels offering porn movies but porn is the hotel industry's secret shame and big-time money maker.
· Boutique Roadside Hotels: aloft hotels may just be starting a new wave of hotel construction where those old, unthinkable roadside inns get an Extreme Boutique Hotel Makeover.
· Designer Hotel Uniforms: As more and more fashion designers agree to do hotel uniforms, we think Marc Jacobs-designed housekeeping outfits for a big hotel chain is not that far off. And you might even be able to buy your own in the hotel gift shop!
· Wireless check-in: Marriott is testing it and we expect more hotels to offer easier ways to check-in from the road. But it still doesn't mean the room will be any nicer.
· Elusive Hotel Deals: As hotel prices continue to go up, deals may get scarce but we'll do our best to find you the ones to book.

Anything else you wanna see more of? Let us know.