Happy Hotelier

SA Blog Awards 2008

The Nominees for the Best South African blogs Featuring Travel Related Content:

mothercityliving.co.za
Jazz Kusche
southafricablog.co.za
capetowndailyphoto.com
africansurfer.com
Rob House
blog.travelstart.co.za
Kingsley Holgate
Alison Westwood
Tony Park

Source: Eish
Update April 16, 2008: and the winner is capetowndailyphoto.com. Congratulations!

The 2007 Travvies
Last year, more precisely on January 30, 2007, Upgrade Travel Better announced the 2007 Travvies, a first and very good initiative, awards for travel Blogs because:
Other blog “award shows” exist out there, such as the Webbies or the Weblog Awards, but despite there being thousands of travel blogs, the travel category […]

The organizers of the Travel Bloggers Summit at ITB Berlin have launched the site Tips from the T-List hoping that many travel and hospitality bloggers will join. I hope with them that a real community of travel and hospitality bloggers will be established through this group blog.

Istanbul Four Seasons Bosphorus Under Construction

Back in September, 2007 I was on a boat tour over the Bosphorus and our guide told us that this is the new (second) Istanbul Four Seasons at The Bosporus. I took this photo while thinking it would be an excellent place to stay once.
Through its website I learned that […]

Here we go again with my “Nothing Zen” series
A fellow TrendHunter, a very trend setting young lady from Down Under, younger than my 2 daughters (who, by the way, are two very trend setting young ladies themselves) is going to attend a conference at the VU university of Amsterdam in July and asks me whether […]

Titled Whitney Museum to Receive $131 Million Gift, Carol Vogel of The New York Times reports that Leonard A. Lauder, chairman of the Estée Lauder Companies and, according to Forbes magazine, with a net worth of $3.2 billion in 2007, said on Tuesday in a telephone interview that his art foundation would give the […]

Burberry Shop Istanbul Photo shopped

I am futzing around with Adobe Photo shop for quite some time now. Only after obtaining CS3 my computer doesn’t hang as much any more. Today I got a bit more grip on lens correction. The result is the above photo which is as I had it in mind when I […]

Amsterdam - Restaurant Freud: Mad Dish

If you don’t make a reservation, it may become a Madhouse!

Amsterdam - Restaurant Freud: Front

Their motto is aptly chosen, if you don’t make a reservation, chances are they are fully booked.

Amsterdam - Restaurant Freud: Interior

Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me last week when I had an excellent […]

Since I’m always working on too many things, and will only stop when I’m dead, I want my epitaph to read: “He was almost finished.”
Doc Searls

In a well written post the Guardian lists their 50 most influential Bloggers: The World’s Most Powerful Blogs. In a quick scan I see some travel related Blogs on the list:

The Cranky Flier,
Petit Anglaise,
Chocolate an Zucchini, and
Waiter Rant

This video, here in a version from a Dutch TV station, shows a promo of a southern province of the Netherlands by the name of Limburg. Traffic to the local tourist board site increased tremendously, but I would like to know the conversion rate.

The Finger of Suspicion by Lisa Roet

Fellow Travel Blogger Darren Cronian informs us in his Compulsory Fingerprinting to be introduced in UK Airports that soon to be opened Heathrow terminal 5 will have installed fingerprint taking machines and that more airports will follow suit.
Many of my posts are inspired by mere association. As soon as […]

Next to William Baker and Abbas Nokhasteh

After returning from ITB Berlin I needed some time to digest my experiences. Moreover I had to look after guests and address various social events.
I have a couple of observations. Some of them will result in separate posts.

Tuesday March 4, 2008:
Berlin’s more than 531 hotels were almost sold […]

Who is Tony Wheeler?
Tony Wheeler is the co-founder of Lonely Planet. And the link is to his blog.

When Tony and Maureen Wheeler arrived in Sydney the day after Christmas 1972 after a six month Asia overland trip from Europe they had 27 cents left between them. In late 1973 they started Lonely Planet Publications to […]

Very unusual: I am the first to find the meeting room where the first informal get together is taking place. I have seen some fairs.
I am not impressed by the way Berlin Messe provides road signs.
As to snow: Detlef comments this is the start of ITB and the first snow of Berlin this winter.
A huge […]