Archive - Oct 2010
October 21st
Walk away your hotel bills
People staying at either the 34 Holiday Inn, the Holiday Inn Express or Crowne Plaza hotels in Spain and Portugal will get pedometers along with their keys when they check in. The hotel company has decided to encourage their guests to enjoy a healthier stay and walk 8km per day (10.000 steps) to improve their general health and wellbeing.
Why it matters
Hotels are not selling just rooms anymore but a period of time in which visitors are under their care. Could initiatives like these be linked back to prices for offering good practices whilst staying at the hotel?
My consumers are responsible: a new brand statement
The railway company SNCF has entered into a partnership with the beauty brand Yves Rocher to organize an operation called ‘Wanted: responsible traveller, an endangered species’. Voted for by the public, the winner will win the chance to help out at forest plantation missions in India, Amazonia, Mexico and Brazil.
Why it matters
Nearly all brands are now promoting their CSR actions but few are taking this a step further and tasking their consumers to live up to their ‘responsible’ standards. Good corporate practices are often advertised but could companies’ best consumers be celebrated in media too?
Camping is coming to the city
Our earlier observation where we talked of the coining of the phrase ‘urban camping’ has come to life. ‘Tentstation’ offers low budget stays on its camping site located in the middle of Berlin. The venue is based around a former open-air pool, that is now used as a a tango dance floor, as a volleyball court or as a skate park. For more convenience, guests can also sleep in rentable caravan trucks.
Why it matters
Previously, low-budget accommodation options like camping and caravans were exclusively rural experiences. Now smart entrepreneurs are taking this experience to the city on a large-scale. Will we see more companies in the hospitality sector expanding into this area, eventually offer a camping site on their roofs for the full city experience?
