Et non je ne rêve pas ! Tout cela sera peut-être possible grâce à la vente flash de Best Western !

Best Western organise une vente flash le 20 et 21 Novembre. Vous pourrez vous offrir des nuits en hôtel 3 ou 4 étoiles (et oui rien que ca!) à partir de 49 euros pour 2 avec petit déjeuner partout en Europe (Vienne, Prague, Amsterdam, Milan …) ! Alors, pour vous concocter un week-end en amoureux ou un road trip européen à prix abordable, allez sur le site : www.bestwestern.fr !

You know it's the best because of the crown. Photo: neato_coolville (flickr)

by Mars Riley

Best Western has an identity problem that has been 60 years in the making. Simply put, each of their hotels is an independently owned and operated franchise—each one unique. Considering they have 4,000 hotels in 80 countries, that may be too much uniqueness. It is impossible to predict what kind of hotel you are going to get when you book a room at a Best Western. It might be high-end, low-end, or somewhere in between. There is no way of knowing until you get there. Once when I was in Venice, Italy I was surprised to come across a 3-star Best Western. This unpredictability might be fun on a road trip, but people typically don’t like to roll the dice with hotels. Some internet research probably will help, but the “Best Western experience” is inconsistent to say the least.

To remedy this issue Best Western President and CEO David Kong is considering adding a marketing tag to the name of the hotels. Nothing has been officially announced yet, but early suggestions have been for Best Western, Best Western Plus and Best Western Premier.

Unfortunately for Mr. Kong, many of the franchise owners don’t seem to like his plan.

“When you do this you have what I call a Less Western,” said David Francis, owner of the Best Western of Lynchburg, VA. “I don’t want to be associated as an economy hotel.”

Many of the franchise owners are worried that their hotels will be unfairly labeled as a lesser hotel simply because they don’t have the same amenities (pools, restaurants) the other hotels do. They also don’t want the higher rated franchises to receive more corporate attention and advertising dollars.

This could cause trouble for the potential name change. Unlike some of the other franchisors like Marriott and Hilton, Best Western is a nonprofit membership association with each franchisee paying a fee for advertising, reservations, a frequent-guest program and other support. As a result of this arrangement, they also have a big say in the direction the company takes.

To help convince the franchisees and help shape its new image, Best Western has hired well-known consulting firms Boston Consulting Group and Booz & Co.

“Our consultants have told us that our customers view us as risky,” Kong told franchisees at a recent convention.

“We’re trying to just let the people know what we are and what they can expect—what their experience is going to be no matter what Best Western they go to,” said Rich Schnakenberg, owner of a Best Western in Tempe, AZ.

If they do change to the proposed names, about half of Best Westerns will remain “Best Western” while 45 percent will become Best Western Plus and 5 percent Best Western Premier. Kong believes the altered names will result in new business at all levels, some from new customers, others from roadside regulars and vacationers who might book at the higher-end locations. It will also allow for travel-agencies and tour-companies to better match the hotels with the appropriate customer or tour.

“By better describing ourselves, we hope to get slotted into more programs, and more hotels will get to play,” Kong said. I guess the reason this doesn’t make sense to me is that usually when a company splits off into a high-end and low-end version of themselves, they really try to differentiate the two. It seems like Best Western vs. Best Western Plus doesn’t seem to help on either side of the equation. If they created two different experiences with two distinct names, the chance of survival would be much higher.

Si vincono sei weekend a settimana nelle capitali europee con Best Western e il nuovo Whatyoulove.it, il blog delle passioni.

Six Rooms (six-rooms.com è il minisito dedicato), questo il nome della competition, online fino al 12 novembre 2009. Invita gli utenti a giocare scegliendo una camera buia legata a una delle passioni del blog e a indovinare – grazie ad una torcia “virtuale” – l’identità del misterioso ospite attraverso gli indizi sparsi nell’ambiente.

Ogni settimana, con meccanica instant win, si vince un week end, sei in totale, in altrettante città europee. Invitando a giocare tre amici si ottengono sconti esclusivi per soggiornare negli hotel Best Western in Italia.

Il concorso festeggia il rilancio di Whatyoulove, il blog di Best Western Italia online dopo un restyling dedicato a layout, contenuti e applicazioni. Del progetto è stata incaricata Simple Agency, agenzia di marketing e comunicazione digitale nata nell’aprile 2008.

Il blog delle passioni di Best Western Italia si rifà il look per assumere pienamente il ruolo di risorsa “social” del gruppo alberghiero in Italia.

Il progetto di restyling ha coinvolto innanzitutto il logo ridisegnato con uno stile attuale e semplice sulla scorta delle elaborazioni grafiche 2.0. Il nuovo logo è così oggi più legato al titolo del blog stesso e sposta l’attenzione al soggetto principale cui il blog si rivolge: il tu – you diretto all’utente appassionato.

Whatyoulove conserva la sua natura di luogo ideale delle passioni ma cambia nell’approccio decisamente più diretto presentando fin dall’home page tutte le preview, complete di foto, dei post dedicati da oggi a sei tematiche di grandi passioni: Food, Style, Sport, Musica, Cinema e Cultura.

La riorganizzazione dell’home page pone in maggiore evidenza anche la tag cloud e le applicazioni: Facebook Connect, Twitter, feed RSS per “passione”, Trova-Eventi e Trova-Cinema. I contenuti e i post sono a cura dei Lover, appassionati blogger che lavorano in Best Western Italia.

L’iniziativa sarà promossa con banner su Libero e sul circuito AdRemedy, sull’affiliate network Tradedoubler e con Social ADS su Facebook.

Informazioni su Best Western

Ufficio Stampa: Monica Sicorello – Best Western Italia – monica.sicorello@bestwestern.it – 02 83108504 – 334 6396102

Informazioni su Simple Agency

(Originally written on August 24, 2009)

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As the post title implies, today was my first day on the job at B&B!  Although, the guy who’s supposed to be training me is out of the office closing on a house and they didn’t really know what to do with me in lieu of that fact.  But I think I’m really gonna like it here.

•     •     •     •     •

I sat in on a flu meeting today that covered both the seasonal flu and the swine flu and how they’re trending (B&B is in the over-the-counter drug industry).  HOLY SHIT – it’s really scary.

•     •     •     •     •

I awoke yesterday morning only to find a late-night text from Mario:

I miss you already. : (

Ugh!  Why does he have to do that?

•     •     •     •     •

I’m definitely going to stop drinking after tonight (I’m finishing off the two mix-six packs that I bought yesterday:  mostly local microbrews that I’ve never heard of before – I had to give ‘em a try!).  When I got dressed this morning, I couldn’t fit into a pair of dress pants that I’ve never had a problem fitting into, which knocks out half of my “temporary” clothes to tide me over until I find an apartment because all of my other pants are from the same store in the same size, just in different colors.  Beast told me that it’s probably from all the beer I’ve been drinking.  Well, my wardrobe is reason enough to take some time off the sauce!  Besides, of my two favorite coworkers (so far, that is), one of them is pregnant and the other one has a six-month-old baby, so neither of them drink…

•     •     •     •     •

So, as I referred to above, until I find an apartment, I am residing in the Best Western – which from-here-on-out will be referred to as the B-Dub.  Oh my god, when I worked out in the hotel exercise room this afternoon (this was my first time; I just checked in yesterday), they had absolutely no air-conditioning on!  I had to turn it on myself when I came in, which really didn’t do anything on my behalf because even at full blast it would probably take longer to cool the room than the 30 minutes that I spent on the treadmill.  AND there was no door on the hinges of the entry to the exercise room (which was so conveniently located directly in front of the air-conditioning unit across the room)…and everyone in the hall seemed to make an effort to stare at me as they walked by.  It made me really uncomfortable, especially since I was sweating more intensely than usual due to the lack of AC.

6 Stanze, 6 passioni…scopri l’ospite misterioso dagli indizi lasciati nella stanza, puoi vincere un week end a Londra, Parigi, Dublino, Berlino, Madrid o Venezia.

Una volta giocato al concorso torna su whatyoulove.it – il blog delle passioni, e tieniti aggiornato su tutte le novità e le curiosità su musica, cinema, cultura, cucina, sport e style.

Avete tempo fino al 25 novembre 2009.

Neverland – Un sogno per la vita

Greener Hotels for a Healthy Planet!
The Hotel and Lodging “giants” and “empires”, major hotel chains like Hyatt, Westin and Starwoods, Marriot and some more others offer world-class, superior accommodations in their all environmental friendly hotels all over the world.
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The funny thing about vacations is that you anxiously await them, spend your time fixating and agonizing over the minutest of details, then wish they would never end. Once you’ve done that, seen that, been there and bought the post cards, you look forward to getting back home. Two weeks later it seems like your last vacation was last year, or something like that.

My wife and I took a 10 day trip out to the high desert Southwest. We flew to Vegas, ( hey it was a vacation right? ), spent a day and left a town I didn’t recognize, even though I was there only three years ago.
The first stop on our 1500+ mile roadtrip was Springdale, UT and Zion National Park, we took our rental ( Hyundai Accent – no power anything, but great gas mileage ) and made the two hour trip. We planned on spending about a day and a half sightseeing at each stop and a half day driving to the next location.
The weather in Zion was so so, certainly better than what we had left back home in Minnesota ( snow in early October ), but not great for photography. We rode the shuttle, after purchasing our annual pass for all of the National Parks in the US ( $ 80 is a great deal ), all the way to the Temple of Sinawava and a nice trail which leads back to the Narrows where you actually hike in the Virgin River.

This is from second day, we had a few breaks in the clouds and repeated the shuttle ride of the day before, getting off at the Temple stop and hiking back to where the Narrows trail starts. Make sure to eat at Oscar’s Cafe in Springdale – the food is awesome, especially the Garlic Burger and sweet potato fries.
The third day was overcast to start and saw us off to Monument Valley Tribal Park on the Arizona / Utah Border in southwestern Utah. To get out of Zion heading east, you must drive up several switchbacks and head through a tunnel that is amazing since they had to build it back in the 1920’s. The tunnel is small by today’s standards and is sometimes closed to two way traffic, so that a taller vehicle ( RV ) can come through by driving down the center where the roof is taller. After passing through the tunnel the drive was amazing, the scenery had changed from that of being at the bottom of a canyon several thousand feet deep to something that looked more like the Badlands of South Dakota.

The colors were just starting to change and we happened across several patches of trees where the colors ranged from green to yellow to orange or red.

While on our way to Monument Valley, we made a side trip to the Antelope Slot Canyons just outside of Page, AZ. They are not well marked but definitely worth the stop. Because they are on tribal land, you pay your entrance fee ( $ 5 per person ), pull into the parking lot and walk over to another building to pay for your tour ( $ 25 per person ) and wait until your tour time. They take you back to the Upper Canyon entrance in the back of tricked out pickups ( safari seating in the rear bed ) with seat belts to keep you from bouncing out.
It takes about fifteen minutes to go the two and a half miles, because they are driving through loose sand the entire time, but it is definitely worth it. We were to late in the season to see the light beams that happen during mid day, but it was impressive none the less. Here are a couple of my attempts to capture the canyon’s twists and turns.


We made the rest of the dash over to Monument Valley in the afternoon and arrived just in time to see the sunset on some of the rock formations around the park. We had originally planned on staying at Goulding’s Lodge just outside of the park, for two nights but opted to stay for only one ( my recommendation is to try the new lodge in the park, The View or stay about 15 miles south in Kayenta, AZ ). We spent the next day hiking and driving around the park and torturing our rental car. We made the 17 mile drive twice, once around mid day and the second time at about 4 pm. I don’t think we violated our rental contract by “off roading” since we were on the “road”, if you chose to call it that. But, let’s just say that we might have left a little metal on a couple of rocks in Monument Valley and came to think of our rental car as “the little Hyundai that could”, even chanting “I think I can, I think I can” in a couple of places.

If you want to see some of the more remote and private spots you must sign up for one of the tours that Goulding’s offers. I managed to get a few good pics, here they are.


As we wandered over to the new Visitor’s Center and The View, I ran across this sign and it got me thinking about how long it had been up or more appropriately how long it should have been up. It wasn’t up twenty years ago when we last visited, but in the geological sense coud have been up for at least the last 65 million years.

We managed to catch the sunset from the other side of the mesas before we headed north to our next and as yet undetermined stop. Let me just say that when it gets dark out there it gets DARK. You know the kind of dark where you need two hands AND a flashlight. I know that there is a cow near the little town of Mexican Hat, UT that must have very good karma, because it was so dark that I missed it by less than six inches on the passenger side of the car.

I was doing at least 40 mph, and it was just walking along the side of the road. We came up on it so fast that I never even saw it, until it was right next to the car, just a big dark blob. If it had been a cat it would probably have one fewer life left.

WIth no moon out, it did afford us the ability to see lots of stars, once the sun had fully set. We pulled over so that I could show my wife the Milky Way, I don’t remember ever seeing it so vividly and it left her in awe. We finally made it to Blanding, UT, which was about halfway to our next destination, Moab, UT. I was surprised that at almost every stop, the number of tour buses. With the exception of Moab and St George, UT, every place we stayed had a tour of some sort or another staying there as well.

The next day we proceeded north on our way to Moab, taking a side trip into the southern section of Canyonlands National Park. It was about 30 miles back in to the park entrance but a drive that was well worth the time. We stopped at a Petroglyph display called Newspaper Rock and grabbed a few snapshots and resumed our drive back to the park entrance. Most of the drive after our stop followed a small stream, and because of the stream, lots of Cottonwood trees had sprung up in an otherwise barren area. We caught them as they were turning a vibrant yellow. Take a look.

After stopping in Moab, for lunch and to find a room for two nights ( not easy if they are having a half marathon that weekend ) we drove over to Deadhorse Point State Park to see the famous gooseneck river formation. I have to admit that it was the only real dissapointment of the trip, I had seen pictures of it and could not for the life of me figure out where they had been taken from ( try Page, AZ ). We hiked around looking for the magic spot and could not find it, the light also happened to be coming from the wrong direction, so I just got frustrated. In retrospect, this shot did manage to convey the feeling of the land and the way the river winds around on itself.

After stopping at Deadhorse State Park, we drove over to the northern part of Canyonlands National Park to see the photographically famous Mesa Arch. It is amazing that after all that I have seen and done in this business of smoke and mirrors, that this arch was not nearly what I had expected. First of all, being an arch, I would have expected it to be across the road in Arches National Park and secondly, it was much smaller than I expected. Smaller meant that I might be elbow to elbow with other photographers, while trying to get my own “magical” shot of it, when we went back – before sunrise – two days later.

Oh well, not everything is as it seems. Compare that Mickey D’s ad to the burger you get from the drive through, next time. Here are a couple of my “magical” shots, and yes I was elbow to elbow.


Back in Moab, we ended up staying at the Redstone Inn, which touts itself as being the “Best Deal in Moab”, for $ 79 it wasn’t to bad. It caters mostly to the adventure crowds that seek out Moab in the spring and fall. It offers a hot tub, laundry facilities and even a gas grill if you want to cook your own steak, not five stars, but hey we were on a roadtrip. The next day we went up to Arches National Park and did some hiking that we missed the last time we were there ( the trail around Park Avenue, okay only part of it was trail, the other part was the road ).

The weather and temperatures were much more conducive to hiking this time around. The last time it was the 4th of July and 115 degrees, but the elevation was still tough to get used to. We skipped Delicate Arch because of the crowds and opted to go see Landscape Arch instead. It’s a longer trail, but was less crowded and in my opinion more magnificent. This was shot on the trail going back to Landscape Arch.

Our last stop in the park was the Double Arch, it is truly amazing that this is still standing or that it even got the chance to form in the first place.

Dinner that night was a real treat, we ate at Eddie McStiff’s, where we had stopped for lunch the day before. We both had salads ( try their Miso dressing ) and split the best pizza that I have tasted in a long time. It was the Dosie Doe, with big cloves of roasted garlic and boy was it good.

The next day, after doing the pre-sunrise thing at Mesa Arch, we took another quick drive through Arches and then headed north to pick up Interstate 70 West for a little while. This would take us over to Highway 128 South and back into Canyonlands, Escalante National Monument, Dixie National Forest and finally, we hoped, down to Bryce National Park. My wife called it a long roller coaster ride, normally she’s a fan of them, but not this time. We drove up and down and round and round, topping out at over 10,000 feet several times in Dixie before working our way back down to the 6500 foot mark near Bryce.

Along the way we stopped to see another set of Petroglyphs in the Freemont National Monument area and to check out the displays in the visitor’s center. It seems that we weren’t the first to consider a roadtrip through the area, the Freemont people had settled here or traveled through here some thousand years ago.

We finally made it down to the Bryce area and decided to stay at Ruby’s Inn, which I had seen listed online. Hey it was a Best Western motel and they offered the AAA discount. Ruby’s isn’t just a motel, it’s a whole complex. They have two hotels with something like 600 rooms ( spread out in over 8 buildings ). Shopping for food, souvenirs, art and camping gear. Gas and car repair facilities as well as a fantastic restaurant. Don’t even think of skipping the buffet, the Pot Roast alone will make you want to keep coming back. OK, I think I’ve put in a pretty good plug for Ruby’s. There are two or three other places to stay close by, but do yourself a favor and stay at Ruby’s.

Bryce National Park was probably the smallest of the parks we visited and easy to see in half a day. We took the ranger’s advice and drove to the south end and highest point, and then worked our way back, stopping along the way for pictures like these.


( Yep that’s me and my wife almost getting blown away. Our son-in-law, Nick, does this self portrait thing much better than I can )

It was the windiest it had been during our whole trip and we felt very exposed up on the ridgeline, which is where the road is, as well as some of the paths out to the lookouts ( almost watched my wife get blown off, at one of the lookouts ).
Bryce suffered a forest fire earlier in the summer that claimed about a two mile portion of the drive. All that was left in the swath where the winds had whipped up the fire, were these charred tree trunks and gray ash on the ground, it was still to soon for any new plant life to have started growing.

The park service had however put picnic tables and garbage cans back out for people to use, just a little erie dining amongst the ashes.

On the way out we stopped to watch a small group of antelope grazing in one of the meadows along side the road. The wildlife quotient for the trip was a small herd of antelope, two deer and a bunch of chipmunks, oh well at least the deer and antelope got to play.
Once we were out of the Bryce area, we meandered back into the Dixie National Forest and it’s roller coaster roads, after stopping to watch a couple of camera shy guys working on a new power transmission sub-station. Here’s a quick shot minus the guys of course.

Time to start thinking about heading back to civilization, we had a flight to catch the next day, as well as dropping off our messy little rental car. The Vegas airport warned us to be at least two hours early “because”. So we’re heading down Interstate 215 towards Vegas, with my wife searching the internet for Vegas accomodations on my Iphone 3GS at 80 MPH. Ah, welcome back to reality.

No really reasonable rooms in Vegas, so we opted for the LaQuinta in St George right off the freeway ( if you don’t count the roundabouts ). If you need a very nice place to stay with reasonable rates, you can’t beat this LaQuinta. It was less than two years old and still smelled new, had all of the ameneties that any business traveler could ask for and probably a few more. We could have stayed there a few more days, you know just to unwind from our vacation.

The drive back to Vegas was only two hours and we got back in plenty of time for the mid morning traffic congestion. We got off the freeway at Sahara and drove down the strip to the rental car center, traffic was moving better on the strip than it was on the freeway, go figure.
The airport was a breeze, we got to our gate almost two hours prior to departure and watched as the flight before ours deplaned because of air traffic congestion back home. Their flight was delayed for over an hour, but at least Northwest / Delta let them get off of the plane. We weren’t that hopeful that our plane would leave on time either, so much for being there two hours early. We actually left close to “on time”, turns out that they were down a runway back home, first we’d heard about it.

Oh well, back to reality. At least we weren’t scheduled for the next day, when the pilots overflew into Wisconsin.

We have been telling you about Oasis of the Seas for months and, as it is only 7 days from its home port of Fort Lauderdale, we thought we would bring our loyal readers an extra special offer.

Take a look at this Oasis of the Seas deal for Autumn 2010.

Siden 15. oktober har Choice vært utestengt fra de to store hotellbookingsløsningene Expedia og Hotels.com.

Uenighet om avtalevilkår førte til at verdens største bookingselskap dumpet Choice, som er verdens sjette største hotellkjede. Choice Hotels Scandinavia har betegnet Expedias handling som uprofesjonell.

Det er gjennom en avtale Choice Hotels International i USA har hatt med Expedia, at Choice i Skandinavia har vært tilstede på bookingsplattformene til Expedia og Hotels.com.

Etter bruddet har en rekke mindre hoteller med franchiseavtale med Choice, ønsket en direkteavtale med Expedia.

Choice Hotels Scandinavia, som styres av investoren Petter Stordalen, får rundt én prosent av totalomsetningen sin gjennom bookingløsningene til Expedia.
 
Torsdag 22. oktober var salgsdirektør Sven Jensen i London. Under sitt opphold der hadde han møter med Expedia.

Dagen før møtet sa kommersiell direktør Roar Ingdal i Choice til Reiselivsavisen.no at det kunne være aktuelt for den skandinaviske delen av hotellkjeden å inngå en egen avtale med Expedia, uavhengig av Choice Hotels International.

- Hva gjorde Sven Jensen hos Expedia i London, Ingdal?

- Vi har fra tid til annen møter med Expedia for å oppsummere vårt forretningsforhold og for å informere om våre produkter, sier Ingdal.

Han sier møtet ikke kom i stand etter at Choice i Skandinavia ble dumpet av Expedia.

- Men, dere har sagt at en direkteavtale vurderes. Var det et tema på møtet?

- Choice Hotels International er de som har dialogen med Expedia om en ny avtale, og det er de som fører forhandlingene. Når det er sagt, så må jeg si at vi klarer oss utmerket uten en avtale med Expedia, sier Ingdal.

I går skrev Reiselivsavisen.no at også Best Western International har takket nei til en sentral avtale med Expedia, fordi vilkårene er for dårlige.

Men, kjedens hoteller er ikke kastet ut fra Expedia, da bookingselskapet allerede har direkteavtaler med medlemshotellene til Best Western.

Hotellbestillingsportalene Expedia og Hotels.com kastet ut Choice fra sine systemer nylig, etter at verdens sjette største hotellkjede nektet å godta en ny forretningsavtale med Expedia.

I Choice er man oppgitt over Expedias framferd og måten de dikterer sine krav i forhandlinger på. Nå ser det ut til at Choice kan ha fått en mektig alliert med seg mot Expedia.

Best Western-kjeden har aldri hatt en sentral avtale med Expedia, men hvert enkelt hotell har inngått sine egne avtaler direkte, noe Best Western sentralt har støttet.

I motsetning til Choice, så driver ikke Best Western egne hoteller. Kjeden er en medlemsorganisasjon for selvstendige hoteller. De kan benytte Best Westerns merkenavn, reservasjonssystemer, sentralt forhandlede avtaler, markedsføring og kvalitetskontroller.

For en stund tilbake startet Best Western forhandlinger med Expedia for om mulig få på plass en sentral avtale hotellkjeden kunne anbefale sine medlemsbedrifter.

Daglig leder Hege Ramm i Best Western Hotels Norway var i forrige uke i USA i møte med sine kolleger internasjonalt, og ble orientert om forhandlingene med Expedia, som nå har strandet.

- Best Western har valgt å takke nei til en sentral avtale med Expedia og Hotels.com, på grunn av betingelsene vi ble forespeilet i avtaleutkastet, sier Ramm til Reiselivsavisen.no.

Hvor mange Best Western-hoteller i Norge som har avtale med Expedia har ikke Ramm oversikt over. Det er opp til hver enkelt hotelleier å inngå avtaler på egenhånd. Ingen Best Western-hoteller er stengt ute nå, slik Choice er, siden avtalene er lokalt forhandlet.

- På det internasjonale møtet var det enstemmighet om at vi ikke kunne akseptere de betingelsene vi ble tilbud, og da er ikke Expedia interessant for oss, sier Ramm.

Hun berømmer samtidig Expedia for å ha vært tidlig ute med gode reserverasjonssystemer på internett, men at kunnskapen om dette har blitt mye bedre i de enkelte kjedene de siste årene, og at man derfor kanskje ikke er så avhengig av Expedia fremover.

Scandic Hotels er best i test på nett i en undersøkelse Internetworld har gjennomført: Faksimile: Scandic Hotels

En omfattende test av en rekke hotellkjeder i Skandinavia kårer Scandic Hotels til det selskapet med best nettsider.

Testen er utført av fagtidsskriftet Internetworld, og omfattet selskapene Best Western, Choice Hotels, First Hotels, Scandic Hotels, Radisson Blu og Elite Hotels, som er store i Sverige, men fraværende i Norge.

Testerne har vært opptatt av hvilke selskaper som lykkes med å utløse kjøp, samtidig som man fremhever sitt varemerke og profil.

Internetworld mener Scandic og Choice er best på dette, men at Scandic er en anelse bedre og dermed utropes som vinner.

Uavhengig av det, mener samtidig Internetworld at alle hotellkjedene har mye å gå på for å bli enda bedre enn hva de er i dag.

Blant annet trekker testpanelet frem muligheten til å ha dialog med kundene sine gjennom blogger, forum og andre sosiale tjenester.

Scandic som vant testen, sammenlignes med Volvo. Det er trygt og sikkert, litt småtrist og byr ikke på noen overraskelser. Men, samtidig er det som finnes på siden solid og det innbyr til trygghet for kunden. Les mer om vurderingen gjort av Scandic hos Internetworld.

Norskeide First Hotels får pluss for lekre nettsider med store bilder, men samtidig mangler det substans, mener Internetworld i sin anmeldelse av First Hotels nettsider.

Best Western er styrt av utlandet i layout og tjenester. Kjeden er kjent for sitt store nettverk med mange forskjellige hoteller, men nettsidene er svært standariserte. Testerne i Internetworld mener at Best Western burde utnytte muligheten til å skille seg ut på nett, i og med at de har så mange forskjellige hoteller.

Choice får pluss for selve bookingløsningen som går raskt. Samtidig synes testerne i Internetworld at Choice’ nettsider er upersonlige og ikke så trivelige, selv om de er fine å se på.

Radisson Blu er best kjent for forretningskunder, og akkurat det har testerne i Internetworld også merket seg. Sidene skaper reisefeber, men byr ikke så mye mer på hva hjemmemarkedet har å tilby. I tillegg trekkes det ned at man må krongle litt for å finne frem hoteller på bestemte destinasjoner.

De fleste av tjenestene som er testet stemmer godt for det norske markedet også, da nettløsningene i de skandinaviske landene i stor grad er like.

There’s a Best Western in Bay Ridge; ONLY ten miles from Manhattan, the sales info says. The hotel first opened in 1926 as the Hotel Madrid, went through a few incarnations, and now it’s the Hotel Gregory (Best Western Gregory). An average room goes for around $150 a night, and it has three stars. It is one of the few hotels in the five boroughs not crawling with European tourists. They must have read about the R Train’s reputation for slowness and checked in somewhere else.

Best Western International is set to expand its presence in Vietnam with the opening of a new property in Hanoi and the announcement of new developments in Dalat, Lao Cai and Nha Trang.

Best Western Muong Thanh Hanoi

The new Best Western Muong Thanh Hanoi is the group’s second Vietnamese property and is located in Linh Dam district near the city’s bus and railway stations.

The hotel offers 168 rooms, including 22 larger suites to guests, which are fully wheelchair-accessible. Each room is furnished with comfortable bedding, spacious bathrooms, satellite television, direct-dial telephone with voicemail, workdesk with dataports, minibar and coffee-/tea-making facilities. Adjoining rooms are available to families or guests travelling in a large group.

For dining, there are 3 restaurants located within the property. Peppercorn’s serves western cuisine and grill dishes, while Basil and Cilantro offer a selection of Asian cuisine. In the vicinity, various restaurants offer Vietnamese cuisine and specialty food from the mountain regions, with numerous lounges and watering holes serving alcoholic/non-alcoholic beverages paired with live music entertainment.

Best Western Muong Thanh Hanoi also boasts an indoor swimming pool and the Savasana Spa & Wellness Center where guests can relax following a day of business in the city. Meeting and banquet facilities, including a spacious ballroom, can cater to events of various sizes and is supported by a fully-equipped business center.

New Developments

In addition to properties now open in Haiphong and Hanoi, Best Western International will open 3 new hotels in Vietnam in 2010. The group is focusing on the gateway cities of Da Nang, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, as well as Vietnam’s World Heritage areas of Halong City and Halong Bay, Hoi An and the ancient capital, Hue.

The Best Western Sapaly Hotel Lao Cai, Best Western Premier Nha Trang Plaza and Best Western Dalat Plaza Hotel reflect the group’s optimism on Vietnam’s growing tourism industry. When completed, the 3 hotels will add 460 rooms to Vietnam’s hotel inventory.

Best Western International currently operates more than 30 properties across Asia in Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.

For more information, visit www.bestwestern.com.

The World Wide Web is just brimming with useful information, neatly packaged in quickly digestible bite-sized morsels of information, tagged and labeled for easy finding with the superlatives we crave. In our fast-paced society you don’t just want a way to a trimmer tummy, you want the Fastest Way to Flatter Abs. Strapped for cash? What’s the cheapest way to get to Mexico? (Try deportation.) Sexiest celebrities. Most extreme car chases. Man versus Beast. (OK, I got carried away. I just wanted an excuse to link to this. And this. And this!) Moral of the story, we want the best and we want it now. We also want the worst.

No major surprises here. Best Buy and Best Western. Greatest movies and best iPhone apps. (Shouldn’t there be, like, an app for that?) BFF quotes, for collages and Bat Mitzvah song parodies. Overall, people are just looking for something, be it a deal, or a diversion, or the lyrics to some song by a Canadian rapper named Drake. I’m not hip and had to look him up. If you’re wondering, the chorus is, “I say you the fuckin’ best / you the fuckin’ best / you the fuckin’ best / you the fuckin’ best / you the best I ever had / best I ever had / best I ever had / best I ever had.”

And what are they looking for when they search for the worst?

The answer, in a word: Schadenfreude. One could conceivably argue that finding a list of the lamest pick up lines could actually be useful, if only to amuse your friends by making a jackass of yourself. But the rest of these searches, it’s pretty clear, are just vehicles for reveling in the mistakes and misfortunes of others. Worst tattoos and plastic surgery? Pure Schadenfreude.

For a quick refresher on the word, a condensed summary from Avenue Q, by way of Broadway:

Schadenfreude!

People taking pleasure in your pain!

Oh, Schadenfreude, huh?

What’s that, some kinda Nazi word?

Yup! It’s German for “happiness at the misfortune of others!”

“Happiness at the misfortune of others.” That is German!

Watching a vegetarian being told she just ate chicken

Or watching a frat boy realize just what he put his dick in!

Being on the elevator when somebody shouts “Hold the door!”

“Fuck you lady, that’s what stairs are for!”

Ooh, how about…
Straight-A students getting Bs?

Exes getting STDs!

The world needs people like you and me who’ve been knocked around by fate.
‘Cause when people see us, they don’t want to be us,
and that makes them feel great.

Sure!
We provide a vital service to society!

And speaking of service to society. Who, according to the Vox Cyberi, as aggregated by Google algorithms, is the worst band in the world? If you perform the search outright you’ll find this:A page of results for Creed. An LA Times article from 2008 explains that it’s been like this since at least 2006, and that it’s not some Googly pranksters’ doing. Rather, it is a product of the tangled intermingling of the questions we ask and the answers we provide. We look to the internet to tell us who the worst band in the world is, but we also feed the internet with information about who the worst band in the world is. Therefore, we’re asking Google to tell us that we think the worst band in the world is Creed.

Tell me, Google, what do I think about that?

First of all a massive thanks to you all for your messages, you really are all brilliant!

Now onto other news. Today I woke up early (still in Dublin mode). Got dressed and was in the kitchen contemplating whether or not to have breakfast when all of a sudden I noticed my kneecap moving….and could feel a tickle on my leg (lucky me I hear you all say). So I shook my leg a bit but my knee was still jigging about. In the end I decided to take my trousers off and the mother of all spiders crawled out. It was huge, with it’s long hairy legs and big ugg boots. It took one look at me and ran across the room, luckily I managed not to wake the whole house up.

I didn’t say much else about Dublin yesterday so I’ll tell you a bit more about it today. We travelled up on Wednesday afternoon because we had to be in the hospital early yesterday. We stayed the night in the Sheldon Park Hotel which sounds very posh but is a Best Western. It’s the nearest to the hospital. We had breakfast this time and it was lovely. Jono loves his food so he had a glass each of cranberry, orange and apple juice, a cup of tea, ham, cheese and chicken which he made a sandwich of and added tomato ketchup (at 8am!) followed by bacon, sausage and egg…..I don’t know where he puts it all. I’ve also never heard of a hotel serving chicken at breakfast!

When we got to the hospital the kids had their blood tests first. At every clinic you go to you have to take a number and wait until your number is called, it’s like a cross between Argos and the bingo
Anyway the blood tests went OK, both kids aren’t that impressed by needles but they were very good. Then we had to wait at Jono’s clinic…..I swear one of the staff members had died but nobody had told her, she moved so slowly. I was tempted to check the people in myself. In between the two and a half hours we had to wait to see Jono’s consultant we went off to get Lucys dressing changed and she’s fine now (thank goodness!)

After all the hospital appointments, we went to have a quick look around Dublin. There was a taxi drivers protest on so O’Connell Street was closed to traffic and there were lots of taxis parked down the street. We got back to the train station to find a queue of people waiting for the train, they pushed so much that the kids almost ended up down the gap between the platform and the train…..I really don’t know what the panic was. The train journey is three hours so it’s fairly boring. I had a coffee to try and keep me awake….I don’t know why I do because it tastes awful and it costs 2 euro 25! Here’s a pic of it….and this is with the milk added.

Andy is still hobbling, poor fella. If anything he’s getting worse….I wonder if the back doctor will do a buy one get on free?

Hotellkjeden Best Western har fått mange nye medlemshoteller den siste tiden, og nå er det åttende nye skuddet på stammen i år klar.

Grand Ocean i Horten har vært en del av Norlandia-kjeden, men etter at den nå avvikles, så velger hotellet å tre inn i Best Western-systemet i stedet.

Hotellets nye navn blir Best Western Hotell Horten og vil ha 152 senger fordelt på 100 nyrenoverte rom. Hotellet ligger vel én times kjøretur fra Oslo og har nær beliggenhet til Sandefjord lufthavn og Vestfoldbanen. Det er fergeforbindelse til Østfold fra Horten, noe som gjør at Moss lufthavn, Rygge også er aktuell for tilreisende.

- Hotellet vil styrke vårt tilbud, ikke bare i forretning, kurs- og konferansemarkedet, men også i ferie- og fritidsmarkedet, uttaler administrerende direktør Hege Ramm i Best Western Norway i en pressemelding.

Event Name:	REignite Party
Event Date:	(Tuesday) 09/29/2009        6:30pm – 8:00pm
Location:	Best Western Common Area
Street Address:	5542 E. Hwy. 34 at I25
Apt. or Suite:
City:	Loveland
State/Province:	Colorado

REignite your skin, health, wallet

 6:30-7:00 - Mingle, order beverage

7:00-8:00 - Presentation                    

One stop for friendship, party hosts and guests. Arbonne shopping and business information.

FREE EVENT

Who do you know that wants to earn extra money for the holidays?

 RSVP AND/OR BRING FRIENDS FOR FREE GIFTS

RSVP: Leah Fike 970-412-1469

Best Western Hotels Deutschland GmbH

Aus Sicht der Gäste ist Best Western die grösste Hotelkette der Welt – nach Anzahl der Betriebe unter einer Marke.

Für Eigentümer und Betreiber von Hotels ist Best Western ein moderner Dienstleister, der weltweit im Eigentum der angeschlossenen Hotels ist. Best Western bietet eine partnerschaftliche Beziehung mit dem gemeinsamen Ziel, die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und Wirtschaftlichkeit aller Best Western Hotels durch die Entwicklung zentraler Massnahmen zu erhöhen. Dies geschieht durch innovatives Marketing, Kostenersparnis durch Aktivitätenbündelung, attraktive Einkaufskonditionen und Transfer von Know-how in die Hotels. Best Western stellt für alle relevanten Marktsegmente die Vertriebs-und Kommunikationswege bereit.

Als erste Hotelgruppe startet übrigens Best Western Deutschland im Herbst 1998 die flächendeckende Installation des Intranets, ein in sich geschlossenes, elektronisches Kommunikations- und Informationsmedium.

Als Sachbearbeiter Reservierungssysteme habe ich bei Best Western in 1994 angefangen. Dateieingabe sowie Datenpflege für die Deutschen Best Western Hotels im firmeneigenen Reservierungssystem, war damals mein Hauptaufgabenbereich. Aufgrund der Tatsache das die elektronischen Reservierungssysteme immer mehr an Bedeutung gewonnen habe, Mitte der 90 Jahre, wurde ich 1995 mit der Aufgabe betreut die Abteilung Reservierungsservice aufzubauen.

Der Bereich Reservierungsservice hatte folgende Schwerpunktmässige Aufgaben:

Support und Betreuung aller Best Western Hotels. Aufbau einer Support & HelpDesk Abteilung
Aufbau der Abteilung Customer Service
Beratung hinsichtlich optimaler Darstellung im Reservierungssystem, sowie in allen angeschlossenen Third-Part-Systems [ GDS und Internet ]
Weiterentwicklung des firmeneigenen Best Western Reservierungssystems
Schulung im Bereich Reservierung, für alle angeschlossenen Best Western Hotels und der Best Western Service-Zentrale
Konzeption des Trainingsangebots und der Trainingsabläufe, Entwicklung neuer Trainingskonzepte
Definition, Erstellung und Pflege von Schulungsunterlagen und Handbüchern
Teilnahme an Testrunden für neu entwickelte Releases
Konzeption des Software Roll-outs der neuen Reservierungssoftware, inkl. Schulungen und Installationen.
Erfassung und Abstimmung von den Deutschen Benutzern Wünschen mit der Nord-Amerikanischen IT-Abteilung hinsichtlich der Weiterentwicklung des Best Western Reservierungssystems
Auf- und Ausbau des internen Reportingsystems

In 1998 wurde mit der Entwicklung und Einführung des Best Western Intranets begonnen. Aufgrund meiner Leistungen beim Aufbau der Abteilung Reservierungsservice, wurde mir die Leitung der neu geschaffenen Abteilung “Neue Medien” angeboten.

Der Bereich “Neue Medien” hatte folgende Schwerpunktmässige Aufgaben:

Support und Betreuung aller Best Western Hotels. Besonders im Bereich der Installation und Einrichtung
Projektsteuerung und Zusammenarbeit mit den Entwicklern des Intranets
Schulung im Bereich Intranet Handhabung, für alle angeschlossenen Best Western Hotels und der Best Western Service-Zentrale
Konzeption des Roll-outs, des Trainingsangebots und der Trainingsabläufe, Entwicklung neuer Trainingskonzepte
Definition, Erstellung und Pflege von Schulungsunterlagen und Handbüchern
Teilnahme an Testrunden für neu entwickelte Releases
Permanente Pflege, Aktualisierung und Weiterentwicklung der Intranetkanäle
Inforedaktion – Informationsbeschaffung, Aufbereitung und täglicher Versand der Informationen
Erstellung von HTML Präsentationen und Formularen

Okay, a packed morning with lots of new discoveries about Seattle, what makes it famous and what we can learn from it.

After one of the worst breakfasts I have ever had in a hotel anywhere in the world, we set off to travel the Space Needle. Seattle’s landmark since it opened in 1962 for the World fair.

But back to the breakfast for a second. Have you ever heard of Sausage Gravy? Well if you see it, don’t rush to eat it. It’s a sort of sausage porridge and is so close to what I would imagine gruel to have been like in Oliver’s days it’s unbelievable. The breakfast was complementary from the hotel, the first we have seen so far. They shouldn’t have bothered. Serving vile regurgitated porridge, does far more damage to a brand than the goodwill of a free meal creates. It was Best Western by the way and everything else about the place had been fine. It’s an inappropriate use of porridge thing.

So onto the Space Needle. Reading the background to it, it’s clearly a project that nearly never happened. They seemed to miss every deadline they set themselves in order to get it built in time for the World’s Fair, but yet it still happened in time and is just as popular today as in the weeks it opened. Perhaps the world Cup bid for Nottingham could be the same sort of catalyst for the city if we were lucky enough to win the chance to bid with the country and then the country be lucky enough in turn to win the hosting.

We keep coming back to this thing about iconic or landmark buildings. The numbers are staggering. It cost $4m to build in 1962 (which was when the $ was at a 4-1 ratio to the £) so it cost about £1m. It’s 520ft tall (159M) and costs $16 (9.50) for an adult to go on it. Going on it, entails queuing for a lift that whizzes you to the top in 41 seconds. Very quick by today’s standards, lightning in the 60’s I would presume. It too 467 trucks full of concrete weighing 5850 tons, just to build the 30’ deep foundations (which doesn’t sound that deep for something 520 ft tall to me)

The entry to the Space Needle is a walk around a ramp and onto a lift

During the queuing, they nab you for a picture again. I didn’t fancy a picture against another printed background, so I took a picture of this family who had come from Texas as part of their holiday on a cruise and wanted to see the ‘Needle’.

Bud, Chuck and Candy do the Space Needle - or rather a picture of the Space Needle

At least this time it was fully digital, so they weren’t wasting print after print on non buying visitors. It’s not really a surprise if they didn’t buy it, as I didn’t see the place to get them on the way out anyway. Even more surprising was the fact that it was an Apple Mac based system that is being used in the home of Microsoft. That must Needle them.

At the top, it opens out into a large circular viewing platform with an unrestricted view of All Seattle has to offer, looking right out to the Olympic Mountains and beyond. It is a huge view. This is about 120 degrees of it showing the boats running in and out and the huge container port beyond.

It is a massive and wonderful view. Breathtaking and utterly simple as a concept.

the view from

Needle

the Space

The team who owned it, really struggled to get the money together in order to build it. They missed the deadlines because they didn’t have the cash and then even more problematic, they didn’t have the land. It was freed up just in time. The developers were paid back with $2.3m visitors by the closure of the words fair each paying their $6 to see it. They paid off their mortgage in 18 months.

They do have the advantage of 1m visitors per year, largely delivered via 3 cruise ships coming in 3 times per week, bringing 3,000 visitors at a time, but as Nick Hammond in our party pointed out, we also have away fans arriving for the football rugby, ice hockey, cricket, test matches (and hopefully the world cup) and all sorts of other visits coming too. We have 50,000 students who will all be keen to show their parents the best view of the city. If we have the ambition to do something on this scale, we can easily generate the footfall to make it pay.

The merchandise is very mixed. One real stand out was a very cheesy snow dome thing that had been made in China by a manufacturer who was clearly knocking them out for all of the US tourist attractions, based on their obvious confusion between the Space Needle and the Statue of Liberty.

A Space Needle Snow thing

Which is obviously easy to confuse with the statue of Liberty

The rest was a mixture of models, mugs t-shirts of varying degrees of wearability – from okay to a new level of awfulness. Glasswear, photo frames, Wine, hats, Space Needle Coffee, golf balls, Lego models, paper models, metal models, pewter models, glass models, pottery models, – In fact pretty much anything. And my personal favourite Space Noodles.

Space Noodles - The future of quality tourist related dining

So from one landmark to another. The Space Needle sits right above the EMP and it looks almost as weird/impressive from above as it does from floor level. It must hsve had to be part of the design consideration that it was a great looking building from the top of the Sky Needle. That can’t happen too often in design briefs!

From one landmark to another

It was back into the EMP for a more detailed look and the chance to go on the audio tour. EMP was completely funded by Paul Allen, one of the original Microsoft partners. A real life billionaire. It does seem easier to make a massive landmark attraction a reality with a billionaire behind you. If only Robin Hood had kept some of what he took, it may be worth that in interest now, but he probably wouldn’t be as famous if he robbed from the rich and sensibly invested it.

Paul Allen is the founder and the funder

with a little help from his mates such as Jeff Bezos of Amazon fame

The lobby area is huge and grand, with the exterior design, leaking into the interior and creating its reflections throughout the whole building. There is a giant screen that dominates one whole wall. It has to be 200ft wide and another 100 ft tall. It’s not a projector either, but looks like an LED screen like the ones you sometimes see at the footie or the races. Only this one is even bigger and is made up of strips about 1 ft wide, which creates a striking effect.

The Lobby with the shiny bits from the outside coming inside massive LED screen and odd floating unbrellas on the roof

The audio tour, was for me, less impressive. Again it was iPod based (you had to hand over id in order to be able to get it) and unlike the system at Alcatraz, it was totally freeform. You could go where you wanted. This made it a real pain to get into anything. There were hundreds up on hundreds of files, most of which seemed to be 15-30 seconds. It too as long to find them as it did to hear them. And that was after you had found the actual numbers it related to. Anyone over 40 would really struggle with this as the numbers were too small, the screen was too small and the whole process to fiddly. Oh for a bit of logical linearity.

Some of the interviews that you could sit and listen to were incredible. I sat through Jimmy Cliff, Kid Creole, George Lucas Grandmaster Flash and my favourite was Wonder Mike from the SugarHill gang, where it went on to play the whole 15 minute song afterward. Just the licensing must have been an amazing deal for this place, let along gathering all these extraordinary interviews. And the headphones were simply superb too. Everywhere, the sound quality was exceptional. But they should be if it’s a billionaire funding it.

The SciFi museum was far more traditional fayre, with a stamp on the left hand by the grumpy staff (as they’re not allowed to sit down at any point), giving you free movement between the two exhibitions.

If this isn’t Paul Allen’s personal obsession, I’m Hans Christian Anderson. It looks like someone who has been collecting Sci Fi memorabilia for years and can now play with the big boys. His collecting grew out of his home and he needed to move it into here to cope.

The Sci Fi museum has much more traditional but beautiful exhibits

The Robot from Space Family Robinson was my favourite, but there was little to lift it from the mundane other than the sheer wonder at how complete the collection is in the world of TV based Sci Fi programmes and films.

But jumping back a stage. What else is Seattle famous for?

I answered some of these yesterday, but we’ve found out another now. Jimmy Hendrix is one of its most famous sons as we should have guessed by the amount of material dedicated to him in the EMP.

And lastly about the EMP and the Sci Fi Museum, I have to mention the advertising and branding. I just love this simple ad, which is shown all around the place to show that it’s the meeting of music and Sci Fi. What a lovely simple piece of branding.

The advertising of music meets Sci Fi is brilliant

And so to Boston. We’re coming right from the West Coast to the East. Losing another three hours sleep and hitting another packed programme tomorrow.

See you there.

Na manhã de domingo fiz o checkout no Hotel Maione, um hotel familiar goiano, para fazer o checkin no Tamandaré Plaza Hotel, um dos hotéis da Best Western, a maior rede hoteleira do mundo com mais de 4 mil hotéis em cerca de 80 países.

Já no hall de entrada é possível notar o bom gosto e a tradição que o hotel tenta passar. Ao caminhar até a recepcionista percebi um belo restaurante no mesanino e ambientes confortáveis de espera. O checkin demorou menos de 5 minutos e logo me surpreendi com uma grande chave em um chaveiro com o dobro do tamanho de qualquer cartão-chave.

Ao abrir a porta senti um cheiro característico de madeira, não chegava a ser desagradável, mas senti todas as vezes que entrei no quarto. Segundo a atendente, os quartos são todos iguais e eu me hospedei em um “Apartamento de Luxo”, mais tarde eu descobriria que também havia uma suite presidencial, que não foi oferecida para mim (por que será?).

O apartamento possuia duas camas de solteiro, uma mesa e uma pequena TV que contrastou com a de 29″ do Hotel Maione. No banheiro algo interessante, um chuveiro que desaguava em uma banheira que eu só havia visto em filmes americanos.

Como fiz o checkin no domingo e saí do Maione sem almoço, fui direto para o cardápio onde escolhi um Fettuccine ao Paillard (R$ 24,00). O serviço chegou cerca de 20 minutos depois e me impressionei quando abri a bandeija e vi o tamanho do prato, almoço para pelo menos duas pessoas. A surpresa foi ainda maior quando dei a primeira garfada e percebi que o sabor também era excelente! Recomendo.

Com minhas atividades limitadas ao meu notebook estragado, o jeito era ficar o restante do dia assistindo TV e passando horas com minha namorada no telefone (o que não é nada mau!).

Na manhã seguinte, fui até o café do hotel para saborear um ambiente muito agradável e uma pequena variedade de pratos quentes. Logo depois, resolvi usar o business center para verificar meus e-mails e me impressionei com a taxa de R$ 8,00 por hora de uso da internet, taxa esta cobrada também pelo acesso wi-fi do hotel.

Saí do hotel e fui procurar algo aberto que vendesse fonte para notebook. Como não encontrei nada aberto, achei mais barato ir até o meu condomínio e usar o business center de lá para fazer meus trabalhos da faculdade.

Na terça pela manhã liguei para o Address West Side Hotel Residence, o hotel vizinho, para reservar minha próxima parada. Fui muito bem atendido e a atendente até se ofereceu em mandar um mensageiro pegar minha bagagem no hotel concorrente. Muito legal =)

Best Western Tamandaré Plaza Hotel
http://www.tamandareplaza.com.br/
Rua 7 n° 1.123 St. Oeste – Goiânia – GO
Reservas online ou pelo número (62) 4012-1300

New to traveling on my own, I had to decide whether or not to get a hotel plus car after arriving in San Francisco after midnight.  Some of you have family in CA, like me, but don’t necessarily want to drive late night after flying for hours.

I decided to get a room at Grosvenor Hotel, part of the Best Western chain, a few minutes from the airport. There is a free shuttle departing in front of the airport every 20 to 30 minutes.  You simply have to look for the Best Western Grosvenor logo on the side. I got a rate of $89 (due to a mix up) for a Saturday night. The regular rate was about $95 a night on weekends. Not bad, considering I barely called a day before my arrival at the airport. Plus it comes with a free breakfast.

If you prefer, there’s an IHOP next door and a McDonald’s across the street. If your a chocolate lover, the famous See’s Candy is also next door (a box of mixed chocolates is only $15.60). All are within walking distance.

If you’d like to go on a tour departing from Grosvenor, book it with the hotel at least a day ahead, or call Super Sightseeing Tours at (415)353-5310.  Tours cost from $35 to $96 for adults.  It’s a great way to see the local sights.

Get a good nights rest and hope you enjoy your stay.

I haven’t had a need to stay in a hotel in Pottstown lately, but I have to tell you I’ve visited a few, and what a difference an address makes!

The Best Western right near Arm and Hammer Boulevard is a lovely place.  The lobby is well appointed and roomy and there are plenty of places to sit and chat over coffee or tea.   The lobby has a large screen television and it was very neat and clean when I stopped there the other day.

I also asked the man at the front desk if I could take a peek at the outdoor pool area.  I had no idea they even had a pool! It was lovely.  It was also empty on a day where the temperature was approaching 95 degrees.  I wanted to take a dip myself!

The Comfort Inn over on Shoemaker Road is a well situated hotel.  It has all the conveniences you”d need when you are away from home and it is right smack center in the middle of a  shopping district in Pottstown.   If you don’t want to travel far to go to eat you have Friendly’s and Red Lobster, Boston Market, Arby’s and Wendy’s and even a mini McDonalds within walking distance.

Pottstown is a lovely little town to visit and it is close to everything the city of Philadelphia has to offer as well as the Brandywine Valley and Lancaster County, and Berks County.  Come visit!

For Immediate Release

Contact: Manny Rodriguez

Title: Lawler Sports IRT Pro Am

Tel: (812) 264-2053 (Cell)
Office: (812) 235-3701 Lawler Sports

Websites: www.lawlersports.com, www.INSRA.org
Email: manny@lawlersports.com

2009 LAWLER SPORTS PRO-AM OPEN IRT EVENT

Terre Haute, IN – September 17-20th, 2009 – Lawler Sports will be hosting its first annual International Racquetball Tour (IRT) event at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, IN. The event will feature all of the world’s best racquetball players including #1 ranked Kane Waselenchuk who is coming off a dominant season where he lost one match all season going 49-1. Also looking to end Kane’s reign at the top is #2 Rocky Carson, #3 Jack Huczek, #4 Alvaro Beltran from Mexico who is the only player to beat Kane last season and #5 Jason Mannino.

Players from all over the country and other parts of the World (Japan, Mexico, and Canada) will be playing in this event as it is an International Racquetball Tour event. This will be the first time a Top Tier 1 event will be held in Indiana and I am very proud to host the Men of the International Racquetball Tour. “I have been a long time fan of Men’s Professional Racquetball and I am excited to bring it to the community of Terre Haute.” State event director Manny Rodriguez. The fans are in for a lot of action, fun and amazing racquetball. Trust me this is one event you will not want to miss.

Along with the entertainment value of pro racquetball we will benefit Autism by helping raise awareness and funds along with Autism Speaks in the Indiana area. Autism is the fastest growing developmental disability. Recent statistics show that one in 150 births result in a form of autism.

We will be hosting an amateur event for all skill levels, age levels, and doubles. Come enjoy the best racquetball you can find on the planet, play a lot of good racquetball, and make a whole realm of new friends while catching up with your old ones.

The Lawler Sports Pro Shop will be set up all four days of the event with a full line of equipment and racquet stringing as well as offering the expertise needed to help you in all your racquetball desires.

Pros and Amateur will all compete at the same location at Indiana State University. Next to the courts will be the player Village where you can meet our sponsors and what they have to offer in supporting their efforts to grow our game of racquetball. There are a lot of new instrumental things going on around this tournament towards the future of our sport and I hope to see each and every one of you there!

Our Host Hotel is the Best Western right off of Interstate 70. They have given us a discounted rate of $59.95/night. Mention the Lawler Sports Pro Am to get the discount.

For more information contact www.irt-tour.com or manny@lawlersports.com (www.lawlersports.com)