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From the monthly archives:

November 2007

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David Ourisman

When I noticed 5 Star Luxury Hotels Blog I thought: “A star is Born, just what I missed: An easy to access repository of 5 Star Luxury Hotels”.

David J. Ourisman of Travel Horizons started this Blog somewhere in May 2007.

Oops and I thought he was from Down Under, but actually he is from the US.

Enjoy!

{ 3 comments }

T-List

Inspired by Guillaume’s Unofficial Travel / Hospitality Blogs Ranking I spent blood sweat and tears to get the T-List more up to date and used Technorati Authority as ranking method. Please do not hesitate to comment for any errors made. Also there may still be some differences with my T-List Page. They will be weeded out in a later phase (I have square television eyes now).

Funny to note that some heavyweights like Lonely Planet and others have not claimed their Blogs on Technorati (last column is “n” or “no”) If there are question marks in the last column I wonder whether the Blog is abandoned. With the “!!!” I indicate something is not entirely clear with the Technorati claim.

Finally I wonder of this work has been done already by the Spanish University researchers behind nr 199 of this list. I would like some of my Spanish language friends to look into this matter. They seem to use a much more modern approach than the old fashioned cutting and pasting I did here.

Nov
Blog Name Subject Lng Cntry 1/>1
Auth
Favs
OK?
1
Gadling Travel En US More
1615
0
y
2
Gridskipper Destination En US More
1554
41
y
3
Japan Probe Destination En Jap More
1399
26
y
4
Jaunted Destination En US More
611
7
y
5
Hotels and City Blogs Hotel Reviews En Can More
439
1
y
6
Vinography: A Wine Blog Wine En US One
421
38
y
7
World Hum Travel En US More
420
17
y
8
Diario del Viajero Travel SP SP More
416
5
y
9
My Marrakesh Destination En Mor One
407
25
y
10
HotelChatter Travel En Us More
359
7
y
11
Brave New Traveler Travel En Can More
334
14
y
12
Viaje na Viagem Destination Port Brasil One
239
5
no
13
Newyorkology Destination En US More
230
12
y
14
Blog de Viajes Travel 2.0 Sp Sp One
225
8
y
15
Buenos Aires Daily Photo En Arg One
224
8
y
16
locuraviajes Travel Sp Sp More
215
0
no
17
Les Explorers Travel 2.0 FR/En Fr More
207
8
y
18
Vagablogging Travel En US One
170
9
y
19
The Delicious Llfe Food En US One
162
13
y
20
Intelligent Travel by Nat Geo Travel En US More
161
3
y
21
Living with Legends: On Site En US One
159
2
y
22
Wandalust Travel En UK One
159
3
y
23
Bajo Coste Air Travel En US More
158
2
y
24
TravelBlog.it Destination It It More
152
6
y
25
The Lost Girls Backpackers En US More
145
20
y
26
Marriot on the Move Hotel Reviews En US More
144
0
!!!
27
Brief Blog Marketing Sp NL One
140
2
y
28
The Hague Daily Photo Blog Photo En NL One
140
2
y
29
Hotelmarketing Com Marketing En US More
138
1
y
30
A Luxury Travel Blog Luxury Travel En UK One
135
10
y
31
Albert Barra Marketing Sp Sp One
128
10
y
32
Family Travel Family Travel En US One
123
5
y
33
Hotel Bed Jumping Bed Jumping En Can More
121
0
y
34
Travel Rants Travel En UK One
120
8
y
35
Blog on Travel Travel 2.0 En UK More
117
15
y
36
Fasten Your Seatbelts Marketing Ger Au One
115
2
y
37
Foreign Perspectives Destination En Fr One
113
219
y
38
Travolution Blog Marketing En UK More
109
14
y
39
DondeViajar.es Travel Sp SP More
107
2
y
40
Restaurant Girl Rest. Reviews En US One
106
6
y
41
Hotel Blogs by Guillaume Hotel Reviews En UK One
98
11
y
42
Foodaholic Food En Aus One
97
4
y
43
The Cranky Flier Air Travel En US One
97
2
y
44
Buenos Aires Argentina Destination En Arg One
91
7
y
45
Hotel hotsheet Travel En US More
91
5
y
46
Hotels of the Rich and Famous Hotels En US One
88
5
y
47
Geeky Traveller Gadgets En US One
85
6
y
48
El Blog de un Hotel Marketing Sp Sp One
83
3
y
49
Megustaelturismo Air Travel Sp Sp One
82
4
y
50
Viator Travel Blog Travel En ?? One
82
4
y
51
Primera Clase Air Travel SP SP One
81
1
y
52
Social Media On the Fly Travel ? Il One
81
2
y
53
E Hotelier Com News En US More
80
4
y
54
Travel Post Insider Hotel Reviews En US One
80
5
y
55
Despegar Travel 2.0 Sp Arg More
78
2
y
56
Tim LeffelâWeb 2.0 Destination En US One
77
5
y
57
Vagablond Travel En US More
77
4
y
58
Vagablond Luxury Travel En US More
77
4
y
59
Tourism Internet Marketing Blog Marketing En Can One
76
5
y
60
Europe String Destination En NL More
74
7
y
61
Blog de Juan Sobe Marketing Sp Sp One
71
3
y
62
Aquela Passagem Destination Port Brasil More
70
2
y
63
CampingCoop.org Travel Stories En US One
70
141
y
64
The Sydney Morning Herald Backpackers En Aus More
68
1
no
65
Guia de Viajes Destination SP Arg One
67
1
y
66
Andrew Pascoe’s Marketing En Aus One
66
2
y
67
Buenos Aires, City of Destination En Arg One
66
4
y
68
BootBlog Travel En US More
65
2
y
69
de viaje a Brasil Travel Port Brasil One
62
2
y
70
Chileno – Life in Destination En Chile One
61
1
y
71
Line of sight Photo En Arg One
61
4
y
72
The Lobby from SPG Hotel Reviews EN US One
61
5
y
73
Happy Hotelier Hotelier En NL One
60
37
y
74
TripCart :: The Travel Blog Destination En US One
60
3
!!!
75
Web 2.0 Travel Tools Travel 2.0 En ?? More
60
8
y
76
Europe A La Carte Blog Destination En UK One
59
34
y
77
New York Traveler Destination En US One
59
3
y
78
Rolling Rains Report Travel En US One
59
8
y
79
Marketing TuriBlog Marketing SP Sp One
57
2
y
80
Kulinarisch Reisen Marketing Ger Au More
56
6
y
81
Pasa en Buenos Aires Destination Sp Arg One
56
1
y
82
Escapadas Europa. Destination SP Sp More
55
3
no
83
Absolut BCN – Blog de Barcelona Destination Sp Sp One
53
2
y
84
De Viajero.com Destination Port - One
52
0
y
85
La Coctelera: ZuHause Photo Sp Sp One
52
1
y
86
Notes from the Road Photo En US One
51
4
y
87
inFlightHQ Air Travel En US More
50
3
y
88
m-Travel.com Air Travel En US One
50
0
no
89
Toni MascarÃple Destination Sp Sp One
50
0
y
90
Globorati Luxury Travel En US More
49
0
y
91
Viajar Asia. Destination SP Sp One
48
3
y
92
Bità Travel Sp Arg More
47
1
no
93
Travel Weekly Blog Marketing En UK More
47
4
y
94
Air France Mexico Air Travel En Mex One
46
0
y
95
Online Travel Review Air Travel En US -
46
0
y
96
The Informed Traveler Hotel Reviews EN US One
46
11
y
97
Opus Hotel Hotelier En Can More
45
1
no
98
Killing Batteries Hotel Reviews En Eur One
44
3
y
99
Radaron Travel 2.0 En Can One
44
1
y
100
Rick Seaney Air Travel En US One
43
0
y
101
Brazil Travel Blog Destination SP Brasil One
42
1
y
102
Exposed Planet Photo En NL One
42
1
y
103
Zeitgeist Marketing En US One
42
0
y
104
Bird to the North Destination En US One
41
1
y
105
Explorando Peru Destination Sp Peru One
41
0
y
106
Hotel Blog Marketing Sp Sp One
40
2
y
107
Tourismus – Zukunft Travel 2.0 Ger Ger One
40
2
y
108
Touristikblog.de Travel 2.0 Ger Ger One
40
3
y
109
TravelerWIRE Hotel Reviews En US More
40
4
y
110
Buenos Aires through my eyes Destination En Arg One
39
7
y
111
The Travel & Hospitality Diaries Hospitality En US More
39
5
y
112
Road Gladiator Air Travel En US One
38
3
y
113
Dot tourism Travel En Can One
37
2
y
114
France This Way Destination En Fr One
37
80
y
115
Living in France Destination En FR One
37
80
y
116
Relactions blog Travel En US One
37
2
y
117
Vacant Ready Hotel Reviews En Can One
37
4
y
118
The Travel Cooler Photo En US More
36
1
y
119
The Travel PR Blog Travel 2.0 En Uk One
36
2
y
120
Travel Horizons Destination En Aus One
36
5
y
121
Kiwi Viajero Photo Sp Sp One
35
0
y
122
Me-go: Around-the-World World Travel En US One
34
0
y
123
Travel and Web 2.0 Marketing En US One
34
4
y
124
Hostel Buenos Aires Hotel Reviews En/Sp Arg More
33
2
y
125
ADV Italia Travel Agents It It More
32
2
y
126
Brasilien Destination Ger Brasil One
32
1
y
127
Chronicles of On The Road Travel Destination En Arg One
32
3
y
128
My Travel Backpack Backpackers En Can One
32
1
y
129
Trabber Noticias Air Travel Sp Sp One
32
0
y
130
Intermundial Travel Insurance Sp Sp One
31
1
y
131
Rumboperdido Destination Sp Aus More
31
1
y
132
City-Guide.cc UGC En - More
30
14
y
133
Los viajes de Jota - - - -
30
0
y
134
BuhlerWorks by Joe Buhler Travel 2.0 En US One
29
0
y
135
Entreprendre dans le e-Tourisme Travel 2.0 Fr Fr One
29
0
y
136
Hawthorne Hotel Hotelier En US More
29
0
no
137
Nos vamos de turismo! Destination Sp Arg One
29
0
y
138
Erin Julian Travel En US One
28
1
???
139
eTourismus.info Marketing Ger Ger More
28
1
no
140
En Trancision Destination SP AR One
26
0
y
141
Bull City Muttering Mice En US One
25
0
y
142
eurotrip Travel Sp Arg One
25
1
y
143
They Let Her Travel Travel Stories En US More
25
0
??
144
The McCluskey Blog Marketing En US One
24
2
y
145
Top viajeros Destination SP Sp One
24
3
???
146
Two Dog Zoo Travel Travel Stories En US One
24
0
no
147
Weekendhotel Weblog Hotel Reviews Dutch NL More
24
2
y
148
Airport Blog Airports En UK One
23
0
y
149
Holiday Pad 2.0 Accomodation En UK One
23
0
y
150
Blog.rydges.com Destination En US More
21
2
y
151
E-hotel Destination En Latvia One
21
3
y
152
Es Mi Peru Destination Sp Peru One
21
0
n
153
Ibiza a pie de foto Photo SP Sp One
21
1
no
154
Kirkland Weblog Destination En US More
21
2
y
155
The Wine Camp Blog Wine En US One
21
1
y
156
Travel & Tourism Technology Technology En US More
21
1
y
157
Travel Stuff Aggregator En - One
21
1
y
158
ComercializaciÃrismo! Marketing Sp - One
20
0
y
159
Vuelos Baratos en Internet Air Travel Sp - One
19
0
y
160
MACO Caribbean Living Destination En Carrib One
17
2
y
161
Tango Diva Travel Blog Solo Woman En US One
16
1
y
162
The Cottage Lake Placid Hotelier En US One
16
3
y
163
The Front Desk Travel En US One
16
0
no
164
The Materialist Travel En US One
15
1
y
165
VibeAgent Blog Hotel reviews En US More
15
4
y
166
Focus Barcellona Destination It Sp One
13
0
y
167
Mike Wylie Marketing En US One
13
1
???
168
The Trippist, Amsterdam Destination En NL More
13
0
y
169
aaron dalrymple Marketing En US One
11
0
y
170
Passions of a Zealot Hotel Property En US One
11
1
y
171
Discover the French Riviera Destination En Fr One
10
1
y
172
Vintage Tees - En US One
7
17
y
173
Canadian Tourism Destination En Can More
5
1
y
174
Hotel Warrior Hotelier En US One
3
0
no
175
The Suite Life Hotels En - One
1
1
y
176
Adirondack Base Camp Destination En US More
0
0
n
177
Argentinaân Destination En Arg One
0
0
no
178
AviaciÃtor Air Travel En - -
0
0
no
179
blog.entornao Travel 2.0 Sp - -
0
0
no
180
Brand Canada Blog Marketing En Can -
0
0
no
181
Chanters Lodge Hotelier En Kenia One
0
0
n
182
Diane Clarkson Marketing En US More
0
0
no
183
Farecastblog.com Air Travel En US One
0
0
no
184
Gourmet Station Blog Food En ? 0
0
0
no
185
Grub Street Restaurants En US More
0
0
no
186
Guardian Travel Travel En UK More
0
0
n
187
Hoteles Hotel Reviews SP Sp One
0
0
no
188
Hotels , Friends and more Marketing Sp Sp One
0
0
no
189
La Descripcià Blog de Barcelona Travel - - -
0
0
no
190
Lonely Planet | Travel Blog - En - More
0
0
no
191
New York Hospitality Hotelier En US One
0
0
no
192
Notas do Turismo Destination Sp Arg One
0
0
no
193
Randy’s Journal Air Travel En US One
0
0
no
194
Real Travel Travel En - More
0
0
no
195
Travel Blogdig Aggregator - - -
0
0
no
196
Travel Start-Ups Startups En US One
0
0
no
197
Travelvice Air Travel En - -
0
0
no
198
TripAdvisor: Not Making Up Hotel Reviews En US More
0
0
no
199
TurismoNet : Biblioteca digital Research Sp Sp More
0
0
no
200
Wine Goddess Wine En US More
0
0
no

Updates:

  1. Tim’s The Boot should have been here with an authority of 56 and 4 favs. at place 83. I Mixed it up with BootsnAll that I can’t get correct on their Technorati ranking.
  2. Vagablond should be once, not twice on the list.
  3. In one way or another I missed Vicky’s Tracking Tourism with an authority of 12 and rank of 169.
  4. And there he was on my link list all the time: My favorite waiter of Waiter rant with a – Wow – impressive rating of 917 and 121 Favs…..Should have been number 2 !!!
  5. And looking for the ranting Waiter’s authority I realized that I also forgot my friend Ken Burgin of Hot and Cool with an authority of 4

    { 19 comments }

    Frontal Naked

    Warning: if you follow links of this post you will be confronted with pictures of nude persons.

    Blogging can be costly.

    Peter Breedveld publishes a Blog Frontaal Naakt which means so much as (Con)Frontal Naked or more semantic: The Naked Truth. Each post starts with a nude picture. That may have influenced the judge in this basically Christian and hence puritan little country. Both links point to the same Blog.

    Peter is a journalist. In a rant going on in several posts [I erased the links, see update below] he describes his unfortunate encounter with a saleslady of Dutch Telecom provider Vodafone’s call center. I will describe her as Miss X. To be fair he was a bit personal, but the point he wanted to make was that employees of a big company should not be allowed to con a client under the protection of the deep pockets of the big company.

    Both Vodafone and Miss X sought a court order against Peter to erase the infamous posts and Miss X felt harassed by the posts, claimed damages and specifically wanted to have her name erased from the Blogs.

    Last wednesday the verdict was published.

    The Judge dismissed the case of Vodafone entirely

    However, the Judge honored the claim of Miss X, the Vodafone call center employee:

    • Peter has to pay Miss X damages of Euro 500,- (she had asked Euro 1,000,-), because Peter had been much too personal in his rants.
    • In additions Peter has to pay the costs of the court proceedings and the Lawyers which is in total Euro 1.203,55.
    • Finally he has to erase the name of Miss X and is not allowed to post any combination of letters that could be interpreted as a link to her name from his Blogs, lacking to comply with the order he will forfeit a fine of Euro 1.000,- per diem (oh, sorry that means per day) with a maximum of Euro 10.000,-.

    Note: He had already erased her name before the verdict.

    I’ll tell you why this is hilarious.

    Simply go to this link on Web Archive Org and there you will see the full name of Miss X in an older version of Peter’s site. No way, I presume, Peter can take her name away there. Then you Google on the full name of Miss X, and you’ll find this link: Dokter Lutser, look for the October 6 post [alas the site has been removed since].

    The court order solves nothing: Miss X, who claimed in court that she was harassed by telephone privately at home, because everybody could Google her name, still can be harassed and Vodafone ends up with a lot of egg on its face.

    The sad part of this all is that there are so few hits for the rather unusual name of Miss X. on Google that probably she had to create her own 5 minutes of fame.

    By the simple count and tone of all the comments this little affair generated, I believe Peter did a good job pointing these practices out. Nothing so frustrating as to try to get contact with a Telecom Moloch. The other Dutch Telecom companies are no better in this respect I can assure you from some experiences myself.

    Another aspect of the case is that sales peoples’ phone calls are notoriously taped in this little country and the tapes of the telephone calls in question were not made part of the court proceedings. I suspect on purpose, as Vodafone doesn’t want to admit this practice. Such tapes, the X Tapes, could have demonstrated the way the actual telephone conversation took place and whether Peter or Miss X was a bit over the top. I hope time will learn.

    Update November 29, 2007:

    Peter Breedveld has erased all Blog posts regarding the Vodafone affair, as in the comments section people were trying to get the name or a letter combination referring to Miss X into his Blog with as a consequence he could be hold responsible.

    He admits that in the end the Telecom Moloch Vodafone won.

    Long live freedom of speech!

    { 3 comments }

    Le Meridien Des Indes

    Pehac, Pan-European Hotel Acquisition Company N.V., is a blank check company recently formed under the laws of the Netherlands as a public company with limited liability (naamloze vennootschap or N.V.) to serve as a vehicle for an acquisition of one or more operating businesses in the hotel industry in Europe. It is AEX listed since spring 2007.

    According to a press release dated 16nd November 2007:

    PEHAC announced today that it has signed a stock purchase agreement with sellers Lehwood Vienna GMBH, Starman Deutschland Holdings GMBH and Lehwood Netherlands Holdings B.V. to acquire a freehold interest in Le Meridien Grand Hotel Nuremberg and leasehold interests in six additional hotels, including Le Meridien Park Hotel Frankfurt, Le Royal Meridien Hamburg, Le Meridien Stuttgart, Le Meridien Munich, Le Meridien Vienna and Le Meridien Hotel Des Indes in The Hague. Further, PEHAC announced that it is in final negotiations regarding the proposed acquisition of a leasehold interest in Le Meridien Barcelona, a 229-room hotel, from Starman Hoteles Espana. Assuming the successful completion of each of these transactions, these hotels will continue to operate under a license and management agreement with Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc.

    PEHAC believes that this combination of acquisitions offers a rare opportunity to acquire a platform of high-quality hotel properties in key-European cities, enabling it to pursue a successful buy- and build strategy.

    The portfolio, excluding Le Meridien Barcelona, represents an aggregate of 1,819 hotel rooms and is expected, based on performance year-to-date, to generate approximately €102 million in revenues in 2007. Under the terms of the stock purchase agreement, the total purchase price, excluding Le Meridien Barcelona, will be € 49.25 million, and is expected to be closed in cash, without the use of debt financing. PEHAC will commit to spend an additional € 10 million for necessary capital expenditures, which amount is expected to be used primarily for the refurbishment of the freehold property in Nuremberg. Each of the other hotels subject to the stock purchase agreement as well as the Barcelona property have been extensively renovated in recent years.

    Based on operating results in 2007 and estimates it believes to be reasonable for the coming year, PEHAC expects the portfolio of hotels, excluding Le Meridien Barcelona, to achieve approximately € 8.0 million in earnings before interest, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, in 2008.
    Given the high-quality assets in the portfolio, and assuming the successful implementation of a pro-active asset, property and project management strategy and the continued implementation of Starwood’s respected management system and favorable market conditions, PEHAC believes that there is significant potential for further operating improvements for the portfolio.

    Well…what will happen with the name now?

    { 1 comment }

    Happy Hotelier's WTM Press Card
    A proud member of the Press :-)

    Yes I succeeded to get the press card and I am proudly showing it here as proof. It is my first, but definitely will not be my last. Maybe the idea of applying for a press card will inspire fellow Bloggers to do the same for other venues, fairs, or whatever.

    I hopped over to Londen City Airport from Rotterdam with VLM. This was very convenient time wise and legroom wise.

    I was lucky to have some dear friends who had a bed and a breakfast for me, but the route door to door from The Hague to Excel took the same time as the commuting to my friend’s address in a little suburb North West of London (half way to Luton).

    During my tubing around in London it surprised me how many Londoners are leaving their papers and big paper coffee cups in the trains where cleaners collected them by the sacks full.

    WTM has the same problem: Almost all food is offered in paper or carton and they produce tons of waste: An idea for WTM 2008: Back to porcelain and glass as reportedly green conscious organization?

    More to follow.

    { 0 comments }

    ROM CRYSTAL NAPKIN SKETCH
    ROM CRYSTAL napkin sketch

    On june 2, 2007 The official opening of the ROM extension was celebrated. The what extension? The Michael Lee-Chin Crystal. Who’s Crystal?

    Okay okay I’ll try to explain.

    The ROM is not Read Only Memory, but the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada. The Piano is not Renzo Piano, but a real piano (see below). The ROM extension is a new building designed by Polish born, USA raised and Berlin Based Architect Daniel Libeskind who is also responsible for rebuilding Ground Zero.

    Inspired by the ROM’s gem and mineral collection, architect Daniel Libeskind sketched the initial concept on paper napkins while attending a family wedding at the ROM. The design was quickly dubbed the ‘crystal’ because of its crystalline shape.

    “Why should one expect the new addition to the ROM to be ‘business as usual’? Architecture in our time is no longer an introvert’s business. On the contrary, the creation of communicative, stunning and unexpected architecture signals a bold re-awakening of the civic life of the museum and the city.”

    – Daniel Libeskind

    ROM CRYSTAL

    Michael Lee-Chin is a Canadian businessman who donated $ 30 mio to the ROM and hence the new building got his name.
    The Piano
    Via The Globe and The Mail I learned that Liebeskind, whose first vocation was to become a virtuoso pianist designed a Grand Piano.

    The idea for the piano arose in 2002, when Toronto piano dealer Robert Lowrey arranged a meeting between Libeskind and Nicholas Schimmel, head of Schimmel Pianos, one of the few remaining companies to make pianos mostly by hand. Libeskind had initially wanted to be a concert pianist, Lowery said, and Schimmel has already produced instruments with designs by the likes of German artist Ottmar Alt.
    ‘It’s a piano to be played, but also to be admired as a piece of architecture,’ piano dealer Robert Lowrey says.

    Libeskind Limited Edition Piano
    Rendering by Studio Daniel Libeskind

    Three 16-foot-long (five-metre) specialty models will be made, as well as a small number of seven-foot (two-metre) grands based on the same design.

    Libeskind designed only the exterior case; the interior works will be essentially the same as in a normal grand.

    “It’s a piano to be played, but also to be admired as a piece of architecture,” Lowrey said.

    Like the Crystal, the Libeskind piano poses stiff engineering challenges. The enormously long lid, for instance, must be light enough to be raised by an ordinary person, and strong enough not to warp or bend. Lowery said Schimmel is experimenting with titanium as a material for the cabinet. The case for Schimmel’s playful Alt piano, which looks like a gigantic child’s toy, employed steel, glass and fibreglass.

    “It’s taking longer to make this piano than to build the Crystal,” Lowrey said.

    Thorsell said he expected the piano to emerge from Schimmel’s factory next year. But the head of Schimmel’s American office, to whom the German office referred questions, said he had “no idea” when the piano might be completed.

    Lowrey said Schimmel hopes that the publicity value of the large instruments will help sales of the limited-edition models, which will probably number fewer than 120. One of the other long models may be displayed near the ground zero site in Manhattan, he said.

    I wonder whether this will revive the classical piano.

    { 0 comments }

    Too Sexy to Fly Update

    November 17, 2007 · 0 comments

    in News, Photos, Travel, USA

    Kyla Ebbert
    Photo © Playboy

    Remember Kyla Ebbert? Probably not, but you may remember my earlier post Too sexy to fly?, about the girl that was told by a South West flight attendant to cover herself to appear more decent to the other passengers while her ensemble was no more revealing than the average summer outfit of any college girl.

    It now appears she has been posing for a Playboy photo shoot and appears on Playboy’s website.

    Playboy:

    After the incident Richard Branson told Kyla she was welcome anytime on his Virgin Airlines. “I definitely have a new airline of choice,” says Kyla, who had been a dedicated Southwest traveler before the incident.

    Thankfully, there were no incidents when Kyla flew American to Chicago for her Playboy shoot. Kyla says her whole experience posing for Playboy was a dream come true. “I’ve wanted to do it since I turned 18,” she says. “The Playboy shoot was amazing.”

    Given her troubles in the skies, we felt obliged to ask a final probing question. “Yes, I am a member of the mile high club,” Kyla says. “And no, it was not on Southwest. It was on a private plane.”

    Getting kicked from a flight proves to be a nice promotional move…and she wants to become a lawyer!

    Link: Thanks for the update, I’d rather be a Bear!

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    Julian Prentice Reviews Villa D'Este
    VibAgent’s youngest Hotel Inspector Julian P. reviews Villa d’Este
    Photo © Anne P.

    On November 14, 2007 VibeAgent was officially launched. Read the official Press Release here at their Blog VibeAgent Launches to The World.

    With much pleasure I have acted as a Beta tester for VibeAgent, see also my post VibeAgent: The Ultimate Web 2.0 Hotel Site? of June 13, 2007, because many of my comments and rants were taken very seriously and where possible used to enhance the quality of the site. The people behind VibeAgent have done a tremendous job at bringing it where it is now.

    I choose this lovely photo of Julian P.,”VibeAgent’s youngest Hotel Inspector”, to celebrate this official launch, because this youngster will undoubtedly see many more exciting changes the Internet will bring to the travelers than I, or many of you, dear readers, will live to see.

    His mom Anne reviewed Villa D’Este and graciously gave me permission to use this photo of Julian for a post. Since VibeAgent is out of Beta, I can direct my readers to her VibeAgent review of Villa D’Este without necessitating them to sign up or log in into VibeAgent’s site, although the experience of signing up is highly recommended!

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    The Hague Sculpture 2007 Message in a Bottle
    Suitcase in A Bottle by Ram Katzir
    Behind I O U
    Photo © Happy Hotelier

    I spotted her earlier – a great find – through Technorati tag “The Hague”: The Hague Daily Photo Blog, but I was a bit curious whether she would continue her venture on a regular basis as she started in September 2007 only.

    Lezard is a French girl who is new to photography, but shows a keen eye for photography and for the beauty of The Hague and even succeeds to pick up details that I, born in The Hague, didn’t know before.

    I do envy her as I simply don’t have the time to go around the city as she does.

    The Hague Sculpture 2007 Message in a Bottle 2
    Suitcase in A Bottle by Ram Katzir
    Photo © Happy Hotelier

    However she will envy me, as I have more photos of 2007 The Hague Sculpture taken on June 19, 2007 while testing my Sony Alpha: Two I post here. It is sad that two days after I took the picture the bottle was destroyed by vandals and later when a new bottle was made the object was placed in a conservatory to protect it from vandals. This year was the first year sculptures needed to be placed in conservatories.

    Lezard divulges little about herself, but from time to time she posts about some pieces of the puzzle: her:-)

    She works in accountancy…. I know an accountant or two, but seldom have seen the combination accountancy and photography.
    She has been lucky enough to live in Montpelier, Barcelona, Paris, London, Amsterdam and now The Hague!
    She has spent 6 months in Bogotá (Colombia) as a student, and would never ever forget that time…
    She loves cooking.
    She loves walking in the dunes in the early morning (when the sun is shining)…..actually this is not something new if you look at her choice of photos.
    She is am very new in photography, but loves this way of communicating….. she has an eye for it.
    She reads Dutch…

    Enjoy!

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    Olga and her Brother Rocco Forte

    This post, mainly about Olga, has been on the backburner for quite some time, as I had misplaced an interview with Olga Polizzi on my computer, but recently found back.

    The interview is by Locum’s managing director James Alexander and Locum’s non-executive director Tony Hodges for Locum Destination Review, a publication of Locum Consulting. It appears the interview can stil be easily found at Locum’s website under the title Olga Polizzi, an eye for individuality.

    I’ll start with Olga

    Olga Polizzi is a hotel investor, a hotel designer and a hotel proprietor: A real Hotelier.

    She is the daughter of famous hotelier Lord Forte. She was married to Count Alessandro Polizzi, an Italian marquess who died in a racing-car accident in 1980, leaving her to bring up her two daughters – then six and four -on her own. For 16 years she was responsible for building and design within his eponymous chain that I remember as Trusthouse Forte long before Granada raided it. More recently, Olga has been a co-investor and again responsible for design in the mini-chain being driven by her brother, Sir Rocco Forte. Finally, she is a hotel proprietor of Hotel Tresanton in St Mawes, Cornwall.

    The William part

    of this post is William Shawcross, according to his Profile born 28 May 1946 in Sussex, raised at Eton and Oxford. Son of Baron Shawcross. Married to Olga Polizzi, his third wife and her second husband. According to his own website William Shawcross

    is an internationally renowned writer and broadcaster. As well as being the author of several highly acclaimed books on subjects as wide-ranging as the Shah of Iran and Rupert Murdoch, he appears regularly on television and radio. His articles have appeared in leading newspapers and journals throughout the world.

    His profile, basically by Ed Vulliamy and published Sunday July 13, 2003 in The Observer notes:

    William the conqueror (which heading inspired me to the title of this post)

    As a radical young writer, he took on the US establishment over Vietnam. Now he counts American hawks as friends and has been appointed biographer to the Queen Mother. What will he do with the House of Windsor’s secrets?……

    Marriage to Olga Polizzi, Shawcross’s partner in the ownership and management of the Hotel Tresanton, gave Shawcross the surroundings he needed to both ‘gaze at the sea’ and pen his treatment for last year’s BBC series Queen and Country. It was three years in the making and denounced as ’sycophantic and fawning’ to the Crown, but it became the collateral for his forthcoming book.

    The marriage put the couple at the epicentre of Establishment entertaining: Prince Charles and Shawcross’s old friend Camilla Parker Bowles (her father was a friend of Sir Hartley) are regular guests.

    And it enabled the author of Sideshow to attain what he says, as a supposed joke, is his aim in life: to be ‘a Basil Fawlty to my wife – one who writes a bit’.

    From the Locum interview

    I noted some interesting thoughts of Olga:

    She likes:

    • Individuality,

      because the hotelier wants to distinguish the hotel from the one next door and make it more popular. And then the guest comes in and sees something different and likes it.

    • Service:

      Service is 70 per cent of it, really. Service is incredibly important, how you are greeted, hot water, is it friendly?, telephone calls ….’ Despite the new sophistication of the seasoned traveller, ‘we are still the same humans we always were … mainly we want comfort, good food, good service … you’re just playing around with the elements a bit.’

    • Comfy Design:

      ‘I like going somewhere really brilliant and new … I’ll notice the door handles … but most people, you ask them what colour the room was and they won’t remember … it’s just a feeling, it’s everything in its right place, everything really comfortable.

    • Sound Economics:

      ‘We are quite careful and budget-conscious. I can’t bear it when I see something like Sandy Lane where they’ve spent £80 million on it. We’re in there to make money and cannot spend that sort of money.’

    • Her first own hotel: The Tresanto

      ‘When I first opened it, the accountant down there said ‘You can’t make money on a hotel in Cornwall’, but I said ‘I haven’t put all this effort and money in not to make money, we’re going to make money’. Actually, we are doing incredibly well. This is my fourth year …. I broke even from the first year …

    She dislikes:

    • “The Designer Hotel”

      ‘The Designer hotel’ – ‘a designer hotel doesn’t look at comfort … it’s so often done
      too cheaply, everything breaks, you take a shower and the water pours out into the room, all the little things that drive you completely mad … design is not for its own sake.’

    • Establishing her own brand. Not so much in her own words but in the interviewers’ finale:

      She admits that she is in demand. ‘Practically every day I get someone writing to me. What
      colour paint is this in the room? Where did you get this bedspread or this material? Where do you get your handles, your basins, your baths? It’s extraordinary … someone came the other day and they’ve called their house Tresanton,’ she trills. Yet down in the family’s gift and fashion boutique in St Mawes – ONDA – for all the well-cut clothes and Tresanton iconography on towels and lavender sachets, and the £50 umbrella and £5 soap, there is no sense that Olga Polizzi is taking her potential brand strengths seriously enough. She should. She is a talented individual with a rare eye and a fine business brain. And she has something that ordinary mortals understandably envy. In all innocence, she defines this something simply and memorably when discussing good
      food and good design. ‘It’s true of both, design and food. There is a connection. It’s good taste at the end of the day.’ Precisely so, Mrs Polizzi. Now why not share your taste with a
      wider audience? Heroes make good brand stories, but so do heroines.

    A Telegraph article In Pollizi Custody describes her next project: The acquisition of the Grade I-listed Endsleigh House on Dartmoor and refurbishment into a five star hotel.

    In another Telegraph interview aptly titled Perfection is her Forte

    • “I’m completely obsessive-compulsive. I can never talk to anybody if a crooked painting catches my eye. And I tell myself, ‘Olga, do shut up,’ but I can’t help it. When I used to go to other hotels with my daughters [Alexandra, 33, and Charlotte, 31], I would be straightening all the furniture and they would say, ‘Ma, this isn’t your hotel.’ “

    Wow! What a designer!

    Update:

    I found the photo at another worthwhile interview with her last year over at the Artisans of Leisure Travel Blog

    Last edited by Happy Hotelier on March 3, 2010 at 2:54 pm

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