moodboarding a hotel

We like designer Seung-Yong Song’s objects and believe...

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:07:24 +0200

We like designer Seung-Yong Song’s objects and believe it’s not for nothing that he won the 2013 W Hotels Designers of the Future Award.

More information on Dezeen and diarioDESIGN (in spanish).

Oasis Collections latest info-graphic shows a variety of...

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:38:32 +0200

Oasis Collections latest info-graphic shows a variety of advantages to staying in a short term apartment rental instead of a hotel. That’s why at yök we want to offer you a ‘casa’, not just a hotel room…

Check out Alemanys 5, a beautiful sixteenth century building in...

Thu, 16 May 2013 10:28:53 +0200

Check out Alemanys 5, a beautiful sixteenth century building in the center of Girona’s medieval quarter that has recently been converted into a very attractive rental option by architect Anna Noguera.

Its recent restoration integrates old and new, with sober, clean lines that celebrate essential elements such as space, light, shade, fire, stone, water and silence.

We like the way the old features have been brought to the forefront by clever details, making this a truly luxurious place to stay without it showing of.

We love Hotel Alma’s travel guide “Barcelona con...

Tue, 14 May 2013 13:48:38 +0200

We love Hotel Alma’s travel guide “Barcelona con Alma. Conversations between citizens of Barcelona “. In it, real Barcelonians share their favourite places to each other in conversations. For example designer Miguel Milà talks to journalist Rafae Vilasanjuan, and Pablo Juncadella, art director, chats to gallery owner Carles Taché. This is a unique book that gives insights into the real Barcelona, and not that of accidental and mass tourism.

The book is edited by AlmaHotels, designed by Mucho and under the direction of IT Comunicación. Where can we get one?

Voulez-vous coucher avec Droog? Now a few lucky couples have the...

Mon, 13 May 2013 10:57:55 +0200

Voulez-vous coucher avec Droog? Now a few lucky couples have the opportunity to try out Droog’s new hospitality experience in Paris next month, during Paris Design Week.

Hôtel Droog is based in Amsterdam, but the concept can pop up anywhere and will never appear the same. The audience can get an enticing glimpse of its fairy tale garden, mini fish restaurant and the One and Only bedroom, together with a magnificent view on the city of Amsterdam. Among the special features for Hôtel Droog’s Parisian residency are Thomas Lommee’s vehicle for multipurpose public transport, a tattoo parlour, and the chance to sleep right in the middle of the Merci store.

Certain places in Barcelona suffer from mass tourist. But...

Thu, 09 May 2013 13:30:00 +0200

Certain places in Barcelona suffer from mass tourist. But Barcelona is also more than la Sagrada Familia and Las Ramblas. So, the new plan is to divide tourists amongst more places in the city. One such place is Horta-Guinardó, also known as the “City of Water”. This lesser known area is uniquely green, and the Labyrinth, the modernist Hospital de Sant Pau and the stunning views from the Tres Turons are worth a visit!

Click here for a video and a leaflet (both in Catalan).

More information via Barcelona Turisme/Horta-Guinardó

Congratulations to Hotel Omm, the Murmuri Hotel, Hotel Àbac and...

Wed, 08 May 2013 16:00:22 +0200

Congratulations to Hotel Omm, the Murmuri Hotel, Hotel Àbac and the Mandarin Oriental for winning the first FAD Certification of Design Quality Award. And congrats to the FAD and Applus for initiating the recognition of design in the hotel world in Barcelona.

“The incorporation of design by hotel establishments leads to greater user satisfaction and contributes to an increase in the number of clients. Design is influential when choosing (choice at source) and a determining factor in client satisfaction (experience at destination). It is in this context that the FAD Certification of Design Quality has been created. This is a seal of quality that has the objective of fostering the use of design as a means to improving people’s quality of life and environment within the framework of hotel establishments.

Hotel establishments that obtain this certification will be pioneering the use of design, of good design, as a mechanism to improve the quality of their product and service.”

The best restaurant in the world is back again in Catalonia!...

Mon, 06 May 2013 17:38:18 +0200

The best restaurant in the world is back again in Catalonia! Congratulations to Celler de Can Roca in Girona.

+ info via the Guardian.

This morning, CETT Alumni and the Club de Biología y...

Mon, 06 May 2013 17:26:36 +0200

This morning, CETT Alumni and the Club de Biología y Biotecnología de Alumni UB organised a round table discussion around “virus, and climate change, and how it affects tourism”. Here we learned about One Health, ”the collaborative effort of multiple disciplines — working locally, nationally, and globally — to attain optimal health for people, animals and the environment” (via Wikipedia). It is clear that tourism can do its bit to obtain healthier planet and people.

Here’s a beautiful renovation of a classic Barcelona...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:19:43 +0200

Here’s a beautiful renovation of a classic Barcelona apartment from 1910 where the traditional elements have been respected by its designers Anna and Eugeni Bach. For more information visit diarioDESIGN.

The boom of low-cost lodging, an interesting article in El País...

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 20:24:00 +0200

The boom of low-cost lodging, an interesting article in El País about how the number of hostels in Barcelona has doubled in the last few years, and about how for each legal bed there is 1 or 2 ilegal ones, according to Carles Gras, president of Acatur.

Happy Sant Jordi everyone, a day of roses and books in...

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 10:47:00 +0200

Happy Sant Jordi everyone, a day of roses and books in Catalonia! Our favourite initiatives this year are:

1010 Ways to Buy a Book without Money by Carlitos y Patricia and

“La vertadera història de Sant Jordi” eco-edition by Pol•len Editions and Maria Oliva i Monstruodoxa.

Lost in Time is an experience that takes tourists off the beaten...

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 10:08:00 +0200

Lost in Time is an experience that takes tourists off the beaten track. Launched in the Netherlands last month, this iPad app takes you back in history in real time. We met Karen, co-founder of Tempeest, at SI->C last week and hope that Lost in Time can help mitigate the impact of mass tourism in Barcelona soon!

“Lost in Time is both a location based experience and a cinematic tale, played on iPad and taking you through the city centre. It brings to life the richness of stories that cultural heritage, history, monuments and landscape have to offer. Through the ingenuity of your iPad, these stories become a thrilling adventure game that keeps you coming back for more.

An old town, a historic line of defence, a heritage site or a museum: Tempeest creates a location based experience to remember.”

Last week Petz Scholtus took part in the conference “How...

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 09:51:00 +0200

Last week Petz Scholtus took part in the conference “How to mitigate the impact of mass tourism in Barcelona?” by Upsocial.

Juan Manuel Ribera, tourism consultant, explained that “tourism is not one thing but the sum of many things like gastronomy transportation, health care, sports, art, etc. A tourist should just be one more citizen, and in Catalonia for example, the first tourists are the catalan themselves. For the Catalan Government, competitive sustainability is the model for tourism for Catalonia in 2020”.

The 3 Initiatives chosen by Upsocial to be integrated in Barcelona to fight mass tourism are:

Green Map System (Check out Open Green Map Barcelona!)

Lost in Time

inSitu Solutions™ Tour Guide App Generator

In 2012 Barcelona received 7,44 million tourists, 0,7% more than...

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 14:51:54 +0200

In 2012 Barcelona received 7,44 million tourists, 0,7% more than the year before according to La Vanguardia “Barcelona mantiene el número de turistas en 2012 pero caen un 6,8% los españoles”

Could this be our space? Fingers crossed people, yök is getting...

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 15:20:00 +0200

Could this be our space? Fingers crossed people, yök is getting more real every day!

TripAdvisor launched the GreenLeaders Program to help eco...

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 10:22:00 +0200

TripAdvisor launched the GreenLeaders Program to help eco business get the recognition they deserve and travelers plan more responsible trips. So far this is only for US-based hotels and B&Bs but we hope it will be global soon. Check TripAdvisor’s survey guide to see how to green your lodging business. Read more on Sustainable Futures and on responsibletravel.com.

http://green.tripadvisor.com/survey/guide

Very cool space-saving bike parking for small (but high) spaces!...

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:52:07 +0200

Very cool space-saving bike parking for small (but high) spaces! As seen by Mikael Colville-Andersen (Copenhagenize) at the W Hotel in San Francisco. Mikael says:

It’s like a museum the way they hang them up on the wall like that. You ask the valet for a bicycle and he walks over with a crank and proceeds to lower - slowly and ceremoniously - the bicycle to the ground. Now THAT is style over speed!

Here some ideas to save energy: An Overview of Energy Use and...

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 10:04:52 +0200

Here some ideas to save energy: An Overview of Energy Use and Energy Efficiency Opportunities, and also check out Energy Star’s guidelines for hotels.

Martí Guixé asks: How could we get tourists to explore more than...

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 20:18:00 +0200

Martí Guixé asks: How could we get tourists to explore more than the historic centre? Artist TOFA suggest going to the darkest place in the city and play with light! Very cool!! Check out the project via Bettery Magazine.

(Thanks Gustavo for the tip!)