It’s just lunch: “In Norway, you’re not supposed to look forward to your lunch.” In the hotel industry, where everything is an experience – and where offering bigger and better and more glamorous and exciting “experiential” offerings has turned into an occasionally overwhelming arms race of overstimulation (especially when you are on the receiving end of endless press releases on the topic), this story from the BBC about how the average Norwegian approaches the midday meal was refreshing. It’s simple, nourishing, straightforward and “it should be a disappointment.” What a relief. —Barbara Bohn
The danger of Costa Rica for this group: Female tourists. Costa Rica took a big hit over the holidays with this demographic, according to The Costa Rica Star. The Costa Rica Tourism Board cites that more than three million tourists visit Costa Rica each year, of whom over 50% are female. Says Tourism Minister Maria Amalia Revelo, “We are very worried, the situation we are witnessing is crucial. We’d all like more police, but all know the government’s fiscal situation.” Murders have been on the rise in Costa Rica since 2012, with a record of 603 people killed in 2017, a few less in 2018. Something to be aware of for hotel companies already in the country or looking to enter the market. —Chloe Riley
Social media spin: A British furnituremaker commissioned a poll of millennials’ hotel booking habits: Of 1,000 18- to 34-year-olds who had booked hotels in the past two years, 73% check the company’s social media feed before booking and 33% would be put off booking altogether if a hotel had no social media presence. It’s about ease of use and access with mobile devices, and although the focus of the survey was on the younger set, this speaks more and more to how people in general expect to reach your business wherever they are, and primarily on a mobile device. Let’s hope that in 2019 we can start swapping out the word “millennial” for just plain “modern.” —B.B.
Pod hotel of the future: We’ve all seen this one circulating, but really, think about it. It’s everything I know I like concerning both travel and hotel stay…that is, both of those things combined into one. Toronto-based design studio Aprilli has cooked up the “Autonomous Travel Suite,” a pod-like sleek looking hotel on wheels. It’s still firmly in concept mode, but ultimately the can summon it with an app, and the company sees the idea as part of a much bigger “network of hotel facilities” where individual pods can dock to offer clients even more amenities. Pretty cool stuff. If this is the future, count me in. —C.R.