When one thinks of vintage travel trailers, Airstream always comes to mind. That company has mined its history so much that a new version of a classic Airstream camper has been designed by Design Within Reach. But in recent years, as Airstream has become hip again, hipsters have sought theMORE HERE
What makes a brand stand out? Doing something different. Go to The Monkey Room at The Colony Beach and Tennis Resort on Longboat Key in Sarasota, Florida. There you will find: Monkeys painted on the walls doing funky things A piano lounge singer, right out of another groovin’ era AndMORE HERE
NEW YORK – The demolition of New York’s Hotel Pennsylvania looks a bit less likely with troubles on Wall Street, though it is still not safe. Merrill Lynch, the investment firm that would have occupied an office tower on the location, has other things to worry about. There is notMORE HERE
In London, The Crown Estate has sold the old Hotel Metropole to Malta-based International Hotel Investments Plc for £130 million. The once-successful hotel, built in the 1880s, will be renovated into a luxury hotel again. This came after worries of a possible demolition, as the building was not Listed. InMORE HERE
The question for companies with long established brands is always how to keep a brand fresh for new consumers all the while keeping old consumers happy. That question is sometimes asked wrongly; sometimes it is better to keep a product fresh for current consumers who have grown tired of aMORE HERE
QUEENS – Egad. This is weird territory, but kind of fascinating. There was an elderly Brooklyn man who, in the 1980s, driving in a Mercedes coupe on the Grand Central Parkway, crashed and turned upside down. His distraction? He spied the Unisphere of the Queens World’s Fair, and was soMORE HERE
It was a great year for old brand names. Dying brands were revived, and completely dead brands were brought back to life. Here are a few. 1. Greyhound. The company has spent millions spiffing up terminals, buses and such. It is beginning a new advertising campaign that will promote howMORE HERE
Good news on the Hotel Pennsylvania front since we first wrote about the issue of the hotel. The New York media is beginning to write about the controversy of tearing down the McKim, Mead & White hotel, which was once the largest hotel in the world. New York officials areMORE HERE
Would you believe that a major New York City preservation group would allow the tearing down of a McKim, Mead & White hotel? You heard it right. New York Municipal Art Society (ex) President Kent Barwick does not oppose the destruction of the McKim, Mead & White landmark Hotel PennsylvaniaMORE HERE
Are Howard Johnson’s subliminally seductive clam strips returning to a hotel coffee shop near you? Could it be that HoJo has momentum?We talked to the editors of HoJoLand.com, the website that tracks all things related to Howard Johnson under the banner “Serving up Warm History of an American Icon.” ItMORE HERE