My Venice: Best pool in the world, and more
Why would anyone choose Venice in the height of summer? Veterans avoid it in July – too hot, too humid, too crowded. But I’m here and loving it. Because there’s a lifeline on the laguna to beat the heat. Well, sort of in it actually. Filtered sea water, lightly chlorinated with a splash of fr [...]
I can’t get no instant satisfaction; yet it’s possible
I was having lunch the other day with a hotelier who asked me, when was the last time a hotel swept you off your feet? Fortunately, I didn’t have to think too hard because the experience had only happened in January.It was at the Park Hyatt Dubai (left) when the IT manager came to fix my problem w [...]
It’s certified, I am an Airhead
Ok I cracked. I broke my first New Year’s resolution within three days. A record even for me. I bought the Mac Air. Super fast. Awesome light. Sexy as hell. For some reason, it makes me think of Cher but more of her later.So the first question I am asked now is, what about your iPad? Wasn’t it m [...]
Krabi for a day
My friend Doug from Vancouver was in Thailand for nearly 3 weeks, and wouldn't you know it that his schedule was completely clashing with mine. So the only way to really catch-up was to meet in Krabi for 24 hours. Better than nothing, right?So I grabbed my toothbrush and toothpaste, two T-shirts [...]
Letter from Japan, via Sydney
I have to admire our Japanese friends for their fortitude and resilience in facing what their Prime Minister said is their worst crisis after World War Two – and which is still unfolding.It was good to see so many of them at the Australian Tourism Exchange in Sydney (pictured is the opening lunch [...]
Wego goes local quirky in video commercials in Indonesia
It being 1.45am in the morning and nothing else to do but to go to bed, I decided to watch Wego’s new commercials on YouTube – six of them back-to-back takes 2 mins 15 seconds, I had been told by CEO Ross Veitch.It’s the first of a series of television and YouTube commercials the travel search [...]
Local Measure promises instant gratification for social hotel guests
Imagine you’re sitting at a pool bar at a hotel and you take a selfie with mojito in hand and place it on Instagram, saying, “What a grand way to celebrate my birthday.”You then return to your room and find a dark chocolate walnut cake with a card from the hotel general manager, saying, “Hap [...]
Coping with my absence of daily Grooviness
So, it’s Thursday - the day after 2 days of WIT and I’m on a a bit of down. For me the buzz, the atmosphere and the new friendships at WIT are a highlight of the fourth quarter of the year. I was just looking at some of the tweets around the hashtag #wit2011 and I saw this: “3 word [...]
Do I have your attention? I do? – OK, grab a sofa then – Listening to the chatter in China and optimizing Social Business.
Yesterday, in Singapore, I attended the last of 4 legs of the Dachis Group’sSocial Business Summit tour.The event was described as a day, focusing on Social Business with a community of practitioners, thought leaders and industry experts. It lived up to that billing and more.The day was kicked [...]
Do it for Me and Make it Look Beautiful
This morning I was reading a recent Forrester Report – ‘Marketing Technology Adoption 2011’They surveyed 137 ‘Customer Intelligence’ professionals with a view to understanding their priorities, plans and budgets.Previously identified issues and challenges continue to frustrate those surv [...]
