Hoshinoya smartphone app monitors onsen crowd size
Karuizawa, one of the 15 resorts where the new app is first deployed In response to the coronavirus, Hoshinoya Resorts has rolled out a new smartphone app at 15 properties, which monitors the size of crowds at their popular onsen, public hot springs. Onsen, which is one of the highlights of going to a […]
Maldives plans to open up July 15; Las Vegas says flights continue to increase
We’re not entirely sure about the wisdom of some destinations telling us they are reopening, while COVID-19 is still very much present in our world. In a regular analysis by Lucire publisher Jack Yan, where infections as a percentage of tests done are analysed—a figure not adopted by mainstream media—there are some countries still […]
Mannequins wearing the latest fashion help “social distancing” in Vilnius cafés and restaurants
With an easing of restrictions in Lithuania as the country gets its COVID-19 infection rate down into the 10s and single digits, bars, cafés and restaurants are now open, but with customers expected to be seated indoors only. Some business owners in the capital, Vilnius, have had an ingenious idea: instead of removing tables to […]
Alana aims to ‘save the high street’, offers fashion retailers an accessible e-commerce platform
Recognizing the impact of COVID-19, Alana, a start-up HQed in Cork, Ireland, offers high-street and independent retailers a virtual shop front, with a single check-out, a same-day delivery service and a flat delivery fee of €3·99. The company sees it helping retailers who have already developed a strong e-commerce offering. The start-up expects to […]
Letter from the Veneto, April 16, 2020
Top: Webcam view of Piazza San Marco, April 15, 2020. Above: Nature is taking back its territory. At left, the paper sign taped to the dock reads, ‘Caution! Duck eggs.’ In the background of the photo at left, you can see the controversial Calatrava Bridge. At right, a pair of germano reale (wild ducks) have […]
Oberoi One: a new loyalty programme
Word reaches us that the Oberoi chain is about to announce a long-overdue top-tier loyalty programme, something that’s been absent in the brand while competitors have refined the art over recent years. Following our stay at Oberoi’s Wildflower Hall property in Shimla last year, we acquired a rosy glow for the brand. The remarkable […]
Kylie Minogue leads ill-timed Christmas campaign to entice Brits to Australia
Tourism Australia’s Philausophy campaign might have got off on the wrong foot as far as social media were concerned in October, with its A$38 million price tag and a coined word, but as it kicked off in the UK for the winter, the expense becomes more apparent. Kylie Minogue leads the campaign for the […]
December 12 event at Pullman Bercy promises wild competition
Something definitely intriguing is afoot at Paris’s Pullman Bercy Hotel following the recent introduction of a performance programme dubbed Artnights. A sub-brand of the monolithic Accor chain, the property innovated weekly intersections with the young and avant-garde, aimed at seducing locals and hyperconnected international travellers. Twenty nineteen’s final Artnight happens on Thursday, December 12, well […]
Oaks Wellington Hotel opens on Courtenay Place, in the heart of New Zealand’s capital
Mauro Risch Photography Jack Yan The Oaks Wellington Hotel, which opened Monday, is located in an ideal spot in the capital city of New Zealand. Ask Wellingtonians which hotels spring to mind, and they’ll often be in the Featherston Street area—ideal for events such as the World of Wearable Art and the waterfront, but […]
Drinking in the arts décoratifs
Kirstin O’Brien Top: The exterior of Parkview Square. Above: Interior wall details at Parkview Square. Looking out of our hotel window while in Singapore I spy a beautiful déco-styled building and decide to investigate. Little did I know that this building would share two of my favourite things … There it stood: a tall, […]
