Tag: hotel trends
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10 New Year's Resolutions We Wish Hotels Would Stick to in 2012
The New Year is practically upon us and once again, we are looking for ways to fix ourselves up in 2012 by making a lengthy list of New Year's resolutions. (#1. Attempt to stay in more hotels than last year, #2. Try not to purchase any more Selena Gomez songs, no matter how catchy they are).
But why should we be the only ones working on some self-improvements? Therefore, we thought we'd lend a helping hand to hotels by drafting a set of New Year's Hotel Resolutions. We know, we're too kind!
1. Working WiFi: That WiFi should be free is a given (see who has it free on our 2011 Hotel WiFi Chart) but this year, we've had numerous experiences with WiFi--sometimes free, sometimes pay-for--that just did not work very well, if at all. We know that many hotels will claim that maintaining a WiFi network is expensive, we get that, but no hotel would let their TV reception stay scrambled or let their minibar refrigerators stay broken, would they? To us, WiFi is just as important of an amenity as TVs and minibars. Probably more important.
Hotel Music / W Hotels / Aloft Hotels / Hotel Trends / Hotel News / DC Hotels / Rock n Roll Hotels / → All Tags
Are Hotels Becoming The Next Rock 'n Roll Venues?
Yesterday, the widely-read indie music blog Stereogum published a second installment of their new "Stereogum x W Hotel Suite Session" video series, which features up-and-coming bands performing at a W Hotel of their choice. No fans, no stage, not even any fancy lighting or effects. Just a regular old rock band taking over a regular old hotel room—and making you wish you could be snuggled up in bed for a front row seat.
But this isn't the first time we've seen this. Back in April, Aloft hotels were running a near identical partnership with Pitchfork called the Video Surveillance Series, where the "footage" was made to look as though it "caught" the bands in action. Same idea, different effect.
And while the trend is certainly proving a success, we have to ask: what's going on here? Is this the next generation of live music? Will bands eventually give up on the traditional venues and just embark on national chain hotel tours?
Concierge Interviews / Hotel Trends / Hotel Lobbies / Open Thread / Concierges / Manhattan Hotels / Historic Hotels / → All Tags
Is The Hotel Lobby Just A Fading Trend?
To stay on top of the hotel game, we find it useful to check in with people behind the Front Desk. For this week's Concierge Interview with John Williams, who is the president of travel planning service, New York Guest, we were curious about the changing nature of hotel lobbies. Some are spectacles, some are popular hangout spots. But are they actually useful?
To find out, we sat down with John in (where else?) a lobby. Specifically, The Algonquin, whose concierges are staffed by New York Guest.
To start things off, what are some good lobbies to enjoy during fall in New York?
Go to the Mandarin Oriental—watch the leaves change in Central Park, or go to Dizzy's Club. Royalton is pretty good.
What about newer hotels?
With the new properties, a lot of them don't have space [for those types of lobbies]. They're not built that way anymore. It's a lobby: get 'em in, get 'em up to their room. So you really have to go back to the old-style properties like [The Algonquin].
Hotel Trends / JW Marriott Hotels / Tuscson Hotels / Teen Lounges / → All Tags
Are Teen Lounges The Newest Hotel Trend?
This might be the perfect place for Rebecca Black's follow up to her mocked hit smash single, "Friday."
Over Easter weekend, the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort and Spa in Tucson opened their new Blur Lounge, a teens-only place where kids can socialize with each other and try out the latest cool gadgets like iPad2s, Playstations's 3Move game system and Xbox 360. There's also a movie area with a 46” LCD HDTV and a library of DVDs. We call dibs on High School Musical 1, 2 and 3!
Even though the place isn't quite as sexy as the Atlantis' teen nightclub, Crush, the Blur lounge will host a "Poptail Hour" every Saturday night from 6pm to 10pm where teens can make their own signature soda drink, play in Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 challenges and catch a movie in the theater.
Hotel Books / Standard Hotels / Hotel Trends / Salman Rushdie / → All Tags
Salman Rushdie to Select the Books at The Standard New York
When it comes to hotel trends, the Standard New York always has to do things a little differently.
While many hotels offer guests a carefully curated selection of books to read during their stay, the Standard has employed Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie to choose the Standard reading material. The NY Post reports:
According to sources, the "Satanic Verses" author is in the process of selecting 10 "American classics," which will be in Standard rooms during the PEN World Voices Festival April 25 to May 1.
Boo. All that work and they will only be in the rooms for a week? This is actually one of the few cool amenities that the Standard has offered gratis to guests, no special membership required. Maybe they can bring in another author next month? Just not Snooki, please.
Peekaboo Bathrooms / Hotel Trends / Hotel Bathrooms / → All Tags
SmartGlass May Save Us From Accidentally Showing Off Our Naughty Bits
Dah, dah, dah, dah da...Nothing to see here.
We're starting to think that the only people who like those trendy, voyeuristic peekaboo bathrooms must be the hotel designers themselves. That's because we are constantly getting complaints about how these too-revealing bathrooms are a pain in the um...ass.
Now, most of these cheeky bathrooms do provide some way of obtaining privacy when doing your business. The one we liked the best was the automated shade that drops down at the touch of a button at James New York. But it did take a bit of time to drop down. What if we were in a hurry? Then our spouse/partner/boyfriend/girlfriend/work colleague (eek!) would have seen everything if the shade didn't drop in time.
Which is why hotels with peekaboo bathrooms should probably install something like LC SmartGlass.
Lists / New Year's Eve Hotels / Hotel Resolutions / Hotel Trends / → All Tags
10 New Year's Resolutions We'd Like Hotels to Stick To in 2011
The New Year is practically upon us and while we are furiously scribbling our own list of New Year's Resolutions (#1. Take down the Justin Bieber poster, #2. Learn to interact with people IRL, not just on Twitter) we thought we'd lend a helping hand to hotels with their own list of New Year's Resolutions. We know, we're too kind!
10 Resolutions We'd Like Hotels To Stick To in 2011
Free hotel WiFi on our iPad (#hotelgeekwetdream)
1. Free WiFi: You know how we feel about free WiFi--it should be free in all hotels, not just the budget motels, and it should be working. There's nothing we hate more than booking a hotel because it has free WiFi, only to find out it doesn't work. (Ugh and don't even get us started on pay-for WiFi that doesn't work.)
2. Reasonable Rates: There's been a lot of talk lately about hotel rates creeping back up after the economic crash down of 2008/2009 but we're hoping that hotels can restrain themselves from overeager price-gouging. After all, we've been having so much fun staying in hotels the past two years because rates were so doable. Please don't take that away from us!
3. Clean Rooms: Because we're getting tired of finding dark hairs in the bathtub. Really.
Keep reading for more New Year's Resolutions for Hotels!
Photo Gallery / Rubber Duckies / Hotel Amenities / Hotel Trends / → All Tags
Rubber Duckie, You're The One...Trend That Hotels Are Loving These Days
Rubber Duckies are timeless bath toys yet HotelChatter has been noticing more and more of them on our recent hotel stays.
Most of these rubber duckies are the traditional yellow ones we know and love well but some are personalized with the hotel's name, making them a bit more special. While some are free to use during your stay (and conveniently to pocket during packing), some are found in the minibar instead, meaning you got to cough up some bread crumbs for the bathtime fun.
The most expensive ones we've seen so far might be the princely ducks at the Le Meurice in Paris where just one "canard de bain" costs 20 euros.
As with all our other fun photo galleries (Do Not Disturb signs, Bathrobes, Coffee makers), we'll keep adding to it as we see more duckies in our hotel tubs. Until then, you know you can always send us your snapshots!
Photo Gallery / Peekaboo Bathrooms / Hotel Design / Hotel Trends / → All Tags
These Hotels Make It Easy for Peeping Toms
The extremely controversial Peekaboo bathrooms have been all the rage in hotels for quite some time now. These bathrooms often have glass doors instead of solid ones or barely opaque shower glass instead of shower curtains. And there's always a few that have a window over the bathtub...looking out into the guestroom (and looking back!) Heck, some peekaboo bathrooms don't have any doors in general.
It seems as if hoteliers and hotel designers don't mind if one guest has to see their travel partner going to the bathroom or showering. Maybe they've done that to foster closeness between guests or maybe they assume two guests sharing a room are already close. But of course, there are exceptions to that--sharing a room with a work colleague on a business trip because the hotel is sold-out or four dudes crammed into one room on a bachelor party trip. And then there's always sharing a room with one of your parents.
Like we always do with hotel trends, we've put together a gallery! Here are bathrooms with the best peekaboo layouts--or worse, if you're that person stuck in a room with your work colleague.
Got any other peekaboo bathrooms we should know about? Send the hotel and photo to HotelChatter!
Hotel Trend Watch / Hotel Fun / Hotel Trends / Hotel Restaurants / Hotel Bowling Alleys / Steven Kamali / → All Tags
Forget Bottle Service and Private Clubs, The Hottest New Hotel Amenity is Fun
The most common gripe about boutique and design hotels is often their "cooler than thou" mentality that seems to waft throughout the hotel--starting with the part-time model/doorman and ending with a denied request for late check-out, along with an $8 charge for that minibar soda.
So it was not surprising when hotel guests, HotelChatter included, started to prefer friendlier options like Kimpton Hotels, JDV Hotels and boutique brands from bigger chains like Andaz, Hotel Indigo, Hyatt Place and Aloft and Element. After all, these places were giving us free WiFi, complimentary wine-tasting hours, free breakfast, fun games in the lobby like Wii and Xbox, fun treats for our pets and endless fun packages to choose from.
Ah, fun. That's what been missing from the boutique hotel scene for a long time. Instead, we've been forced to endure a seemingly endless stream of "hot" clubs that only accept models, modelizers and A-listers (and their wannabes), celeb-chef restaurants with no open reservations for the foreseeable future, private parties that take up the coveted public spaces at the hotel and the dreaded words, "bottle service only."
But if SPiN Ping Pong at The Mondrian LA is any indication, it looks like boutique hotels may soon be adding a rec room off their lobbies.
OpenThread / Room Rates / Hotel Trends / Luxury Hotels / Room Rate Increase Watch / → All Tags
Hmm...Have You Noticed Room Rates Going Up?
The Hotel Oceana is rather booked these days so don't expect those $399 room rates to drop.
We've been spoiled by hotel deals over the past year but could all this be coming to an end? BusinessWeek says it might.
Room occupancy rates may start to rise again later this year, followed by increasing room rates in 2011. But some of those rate increases might be taking place now, particularly at the luxury hotels.
Some luxury hotels have already been able to lift rates as demand for $600 rooms, butler service and poolside cabanas recovers in cities such as Miami, New York and London.
“Luxury hotels, especially, have some ability to raise prices again because they were hit the most last year,” Patrick Scholes [at FBR Capital Markets & Co.] said. “They are the ones that cut prices the most -- as much as 25 percent.”
Hotel Restaurants / Hotel Trends / Hotel News / Spain Hotels / Hotel Chefs / → All Tags
Spanish Chefs Are Hungry For Their Own Hotels
Usually you'll find your hotelier in a swank office or buzzing about in the lobby, but in the latest clutch of Spanish hotels making news, you'll find the owners are in the kitchen.
That's right, chefs are getting hungry for their own hotels. The New York Times has the story on this trend in Catalonia and other parts of Spain: the rise of gastrohotels.
Apparently these blend of Michelin-starred restaurants and high-end boutique hotels are "popping up like porcini mushrooms." While some are opened by the chefs themselves, most are owned by silent partners who let the chef stand in the spotlight.
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