What did I learn?

First thing is first, I learned that I can surprise myself. After first year I really did not know what I wanted to do. There were so many options. I didn't think I wanted to continue with journalism, I didn't think that I could do deadlines, I didn't think I was cut out for this. But the work for Advanced Beat Reporting made me change my mind. I did so well in this class and I didn't mind the work, and it made me decide that maybe I do want to continue with journalism if I am doing so well in this class. It's been rocky these two years with my decision on what career I wanted to do, but I think I may stick with it. Blogging, web design and social media are the three strengths I've found in my two years here and thanks to this class, I think that I should do it. Second thing is that I think I've met the greatest people here, whether it be teachers or students, everybody (mostly everybody) has made a difference in my life and I appreciate the way we have helped each other.

Thanks Alison for a great two years. :)

Cleveland Range releases The Convotherm ConvoSmoker Combi

Cleveland Range has released a smoker for their Convotherm combi ovens called the Convotherm ConvoSmoker combi. It features a built-in smoker box filled with flavoured briquettes to give fish, beef, pork, poultry, cheese and even vegetables a smokey taste. The unit has the ability to cold or hot smoke food, as well as barbeque or pit roast. Cold smoking can be achieved by placing a 4" solid pan filled with ice above your smoke box. The ConvoSmoker has faster cooking times than a traditional smoker, and has the ability to steam foods while smoking at the same time

www.cleavelandrange.com

OPUS Vancouver Hotel offers iPad 2 in every room

According to a press release on OPUS Hotel's website, they are the first Canadian hotel to offer an iPad 2 in every hotel room. Preloaded with popular apps and web links, the iPads take luxury hotel experiences to a whole new level.

“We have a track record of offering our guests the best in business and leisure travel,” said general manager Nicholas Gandossi.  “Our partnership with Travelvu has allowed us to introduce our newest virtual lifestyle concierge amenity.  It is the latest extension of our highly personalized services, a platform enabling our guests to enjoy the best of our city at any moment throughout their stay.”

 Instead of the hundreds of pamphlets that hotels usually carry, the iPad 2 in each room is also equipped with OPUS' favorite places to shop, dine, exercise, relax, to help guests decide where to visit during their stay.

Guests choose a muse according to their interests and lifestyle: modern & minimalist Mike, stylish & sophisticated Susan, artful & eclectic Billy, vibrant & outgoing Pierre, or daring & dramatic Dede. These concierge muses use the guests lifestyle choice to identify places to shop, dine, exercise, relax, to help guests decide where to visit during their stay. This is more environmentally friendly than the hundreds of different pamphlets that hotels usually carry.

OPUS encourages guests to travel through Vancouver with their iPad 2 as a GPS to make their stay in Vancouver a special experience.

Photo courtesy of OPUS hotel

Time to redesign your hotel's website in 2012

Technology is the way of the future, and has been for years already. According to a new study by The University of Portsmouth, if your hotel's website looks like this, you can expect a drop in bookings and profitability:

Poor web design is like wearing jeans and a t-shirt to a major job interview, it is a first impression that could make or break a booking. Customers want accessibility in a website in order to be able to navigate as well as learn information easily, because nobody wants to spend hours on the hotels website.

The researchers say the four key elements of good hotel website design are:
1. Promoting good website usability, including using ‘accessible’ typefaces, easy and intuitive navigation and key information can be found within three clicks of the mouse;
2. Providing a good user experience; should be visually pleasing and encourage users to return
3. Promoting trustworthiness; the website is safe and secure and ‘feels’ safe to customers.
4. Ensuring that reservations can be made online and an email system to facilitate customer queries.

Dr. Alice Good, a graduate from The School of Computing, says, “Hotels that rely upon web bookings are undoubtedly going to face a drop in bookings if they fail to keep pace with website design and the importance of it to customers. There is extensive research in how poor web design impacts upon both usability and accessibility in relation to e-commerce websites, with numerous examples of companies going out of business because of poor website design."

It should be clear, easy to navigate, and easy to read, and visually pleasing to the eye.

Hotel websites should have an option to book online, as well as have a security risk management plan to help keep customers' information safe, and give them peace of mind when they're booking a stay.

A hotel websites should also have tourist information for customers, a one stop website where customers can find information about the location they are staying at, and learn the local attractions and places of interest.

“People quickly form impressions of web security and a website that engenders a feeling of trust will inspire customers to be more confident about booking and paying online," said Good.

  Courtesy of Trapp Family Lodge

Hotelmarketingstrategies.com lists Trapp Family Lodge's website as one of the 15 Well-Designed Hotel Websites.

Three for you Rimrock, you go Rimrock!

Perched 750-feet above Banff, Alberta, Rimrock luxury Hotel has been awarded a "3 Green Key" eco-rating by The Green Key Eco-Rating Program. According to a press release on Rimrock's website, "A 3 Green Key eco-rating defines a hotel, "...that has made significant advances toward protecting the environment. Strong environmental programs which identity impact and the implementation of best management practices, training programs, and engineering solutions have benefited the environment and the local community."

Rimrock's 3 Green Keys is a result of supporting the Town of Banff's all-hybrid bus system, the free transport for Rimrock staff and guests, committing to environmental events such as Earth Day, implementing comprehensive training and education on eco-friendly practices, and switching to SCA Tissue's 100% recycled products (facial tissue, hand towels and napkins), along with much more.

Rimrock will soon be implementing a new line of toiletries from PHARMCOPIA in guests rooms. All are made from 100% certified organic ingredients, and the packaging will decompose in 2-5 years, which is more than most companies packaging.

Rimrock's Director of Operations, Trevor Long is proud of the fact that Rimrock earned 3 Green Keys, but he feels as if there is always room for improvement, "We've always been a strong advocate of the eco-friendly mantra, "Reduce, reuse, recycle" but now we are developing and official program to strengthen our efforts concerning environmental conservation, and for the Rimrock to become a benchmark in the "green" hotel industry."

The Green Key Eco-Rating system began in 1997 for the Hotel Association of Canada. It is an assessment of eco-friendliness for hotels, and according to Green Key is based on "cost savings, increased bookings from environmentally conscious consumers and meeting planners and responsible corporate citizenry."

Photo courtesy of Rimrock Hotel

(I hope you got the Mean Girls reference in the title. :) If not, oh well!)

Smartbox experimental gifting meets restaurants

Smartbox gift experience is an organization located around the world, which offers customers the options of special destinations and activities in the form of a box which is mailed to the consumer. Smartbox is now helping restaurants and hotels in San Fransisco, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C. by offering a sampling of gift cards in their gift boxes.

According to a press release on prweb.com:
"The Zagat Smartbox “Table For Two” premiere dining experience, offers a three-course meal for two people from over 50 Zagat-rated restaurants, and has been New York City’s most popular gift experience."

If you don't already know what the Zagat rating system is, according to prweb.com: "The Zagat rating system, known as the "burgundy bible," is the world's most trusted source for consumer-generated survey information. With a worldwide network of surveyors, Zagat rates and reviews restaurants, hotels, nightlife, movies, music, golf, shopping and a range of other entertainment categories and is lauded as the "most up-to-date," "comprehensive" and "reliable" guide, published on all platforms."

This honor to restaurants is great for publicity and to gain returning customers, especially with new Smartbox commercials being aired around the world.

Experimental gifting began with monthly boxes full of free samples, popular in the U.K. such as Glossybox (a monthly make up sample box) and Graze (a monthly healthy snack box).

Experimental gifting is so affective because it causes the customer to have a memorable experience with certain products, and now, restaurants and Smartbox is a way for companies to get their name into the public eye.

Tim Hortons in a War Zone

Restaurants are not always fine dining, Tim Hortons is one of Canada's most well known and loved chain restaurants. In an article posted on RestaurantNews, the Tim Hortons restaurant that was set up in Kandahar, Afghanistan for Canadian soldiers has been removed after serving after serving four million cups of coffee and three million doughnuts over five years at that location alone. Canadian soldiers have pulled out of Afghanistan last August, and so has the Tim Hortons. More than 230 Canadian Tim Hortons employees traveled to Kandahar to serve the soldiers, making 11 different work rotations in the span of 6 years. The company made no profit from it's Kandahar location, giving all their proceeds to military families and organizations.

Photo by Ethan Baron, Postmedia News

Soldiers even got to take part in Tim Hortons' Roll Up The Rim contest, which I feel is awesome for the soldiers, to give them a taste of home.
This just goes to show that some organizations and restaurants do care about something other than money, and care about their customers!