The Last Post

A candid pic from last night's Motella Xmas Party

So what's happening with the blog?

Have the writers become distracted? Has the blog run its course? Have we finally stuttered to an inevitable end?.....Maybe.

After a rapturous Xmas party last night celebrating an eventful year, the Motella secret lair now has an eerie silence.

We are about to lock-up and turn off the lights on this blog while we concentrate on the day-job that's about to get chaotic.

If you get bored or require some maternal guidance, there's over 1,700 posts to read in the "Blog Archive" section.

May you get what you deserve....have a profitable and joyous Christmas and Happy New Year!

"The best aspect of Christmas is that Christmas has been commercialized. The gift buying stimulates an enormous outpouring of ingenuity in the creation of products devoted to a single purpose: to give men pleasure. And the street decorations put up by departments stores and other institutions—the Christmas trees, the winking lights, the glittering colors—provide the city with a spectacular display, which only 'commercial greed' could afford to give us. One would have to be terribly depressed to resist the wonderful gaiety of that spectacle."
Ayn Rand

Jasons Travel Media - R.I.P ?

Apologies for the tardiness with the lack of updates.

I've been distracted over the last few months and have confined myself to the dark recesses of the Motella secret lair...

The following dramatic announcement has awoken me from my dazed self-imposed slumber.

We all knew it was coming, however it is still a shock to contemplate that a habitual long-standing default marketing solution for the motel industry may be no more...Even the writer of today's announcement to the NZX seems to have been somewhat stunned by including the incorrect date.

The Winds Of Political Change

Motel Pets

In the first few pages of the motel-manual, is a section on motel pets.

Apparently it's a compulsory requirement to own a pet of some description when you operate a motel and most moteliers seem to oblige. 

A one-night stay at the Capri Motel

As moteliers contemplate a where to focus their advertising dollar, they are frustratingly aware that they are trying to hit a moving target. Consumers are rapidly changing media consumption habits as media continues to shift and fragment.

There has been lots written in recent days about print verses digital and this has been prompted by the announcement that Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos has purchased the Washington Post - One of the biggest names in the digital world has purchased one of the biggest names in the print world.

Reading various media commentary about Bezos's new acquisition, it is unclear what he intends to do with it. Will print be saved or the existing media gathering assets be rehashed and redirected online?

The newspaper industry is clearly in trouble as consumers access current and dynamic news stories online and most pay nothing for the privilege.

Bezos has revolutionized American retailing, so is he able to save an American newspaper icon?

There is no doubt that digital is the future, however we are currently in a transition point from print to digital and even in a disrupted market there remains a passionate, robust market for print.

Whatever the news platforms of the future, newspaper companies need to change their business model and become multi-media companies with several easily accessible channels available to their readers. The trouble is that no one seems to have figured out how to leverage the (growing) popularity of online news consumption to support robust and expensive news gathering operations.

One aspect that some newspaper companies can still do very well is producing quality journalism that is compelling and exclusive...

A one-night stay at the Capri Motel

I enjoyed an investigative report compiled by a journo that works for a New Orleans newspaper company. This was a great example of a newspaper company producing unique content and using multi-media channels to tell a story.

The exclusive report was printed in the newspaper company's print edition and reproduced online with an accompanying video, photo gallery and a comments section where the journalist engaged with readers.

Check-out: A one-night stay at the Capri Motel

It pays to be nice...

100% Pure Treason?

I'm watching the Fonterra fallout with interest, especially as the blowtorch is applied to New Zealand's 100% Pure branding proposition.

As Kiwis, we constantly fret about what others think about us and earnestly dissect and examine any mention of New Zealand from overseas sources. And we have good reason to - as a large chunk of our economy is based on the perceptions of overseas consumers.

As overseas media seek sensationalist headlines by cutting-and-pasting unsubstantiated stories of environmental woe, much of this material can be easily found from the hysterical rantings of Russel Norman.

When he's not boring bewildered moteliers by a reading a political broadcast from his iPad at their motel conference, that nice, mild-mannered Russel Norman is promoting his own toxic brand by scaring the bejesus out of unsuspecting folk with tall tales of economic and environmental armageddon.

The grumpy Veteran over at No Minister muses:

WANTED FOR ECONOMIC TREASON

"Russel Norman, Male Australian, 46, ex-Communist (Australian Socialist Workers' Party) and co-leader of the Greens in the New Zealand Parliament.

For years the Greens have pedalled the canard that New Zealand rivers are too polluted to swim in. That has come home to bite with a vengeance as Fonterra works its way through the crisis of its own making with the Chinese media now picking up on the lie and using to discredit both New Zealand and our Clean Green image. This will cause major damage to our biggest exporter and to the New Zealand economy..." Read more HERE

And this reminds me of the post we published some time ago that's become rather topical again as Green-vandals feeding overseas media help ramp-up further emotive debate about New Zealand's 100% Pure destination tag-line:

Has Idiocy Hijacked 100% Pure?

"When making claims of the effectiveness of a product or service in the advertising world, it's very rare to include the phrase: "100 percent". Companies need to give themselves a bit of wriggle-room - any "new" wonder cleaning product will only ever kill up to 99 percent of household germs.

In 1999, Tourism New Zealand launched 100% Pure New Zealand with much fan-fare. When it comes to a tag-line in advertising, this is very powerful. If someone in the marketplace makes a claim that something is "100%" then this boldly stands out and makes you pause.

The 100% Pure New Zealand tag-line was never meant to measure anything that is quantifiable or tangible. It relates to a mystical Kiwi state of mind. It's a feeling, an attitude, a set of values or an aspiration that is unique to this country. This may seem to be somewhat wishy-washy, however if you look at the campaign in context, you will see majestic landscapes, unique people and exciting experiences that play out to the back-beat of an iconic Kiwi soundtrack. The tears will start to swell and all of a sudden the 100% Pure New Zealand tagline starts to make sense.

Back in 1999 the 100% Pure New Zealand campaign resonated as a message that the public understood. The tag-line could be taken at face-value or could invite a simple thought process to uncover a deeper meaning. As time has moved on, the tag-line has accumulated some baggage. For many, the ability to think for themselves and understand the meaning behind 100% Pure New Zealand has been lost.

Unfortunately there seems to be an increasing amount of people that suffer from the inability to view things in context. These uncreative, bland folk seem to have varying degrees of Asperger's syndrome and tend to take things too literally. They just don't get the 100% Pure New Zealand tagline and assume it's an overreaching environmental catch-cry.

Inevitably, these same mean-spirited, hapless folk believe 100% in the headline grabbing hysteria created by University environmental science lecturers, Green Party activists and Greenpeace vandals that get a kick from knocking New Zealand as a tourism destination.

Has idiocy finally hijacked 100% Pure New Zealand?"

Well, maybe it finally has?

Motel Gideon Bible Meme

 

 A meme dedicated to that quaint tradition of Gideon Bibles that are often found in motel rooms throughout the world...

Taunting Travellers by Twitter

I'm guessing that the person behind the fake Twitter site, @unitedairlanes has been frustrated and left scarred after doing time in the travel industry.

What better way to poke fun and inflict revenge on all those pesky whinging and whining travellers, than to set up a parody account that relies upon a stream of regular customer dissatisfaction with a major American airline.... then, sit back and start taunting angry, gullible customers by mocking and ridiculing them.

Sounds like some great therapy for anyone that is in the front line and regually grits their teeth while experiencing the sometimes rude and bizarre behavior of the travelling public ;-)

"Thinking they were contacting United Airlines, which has the Twitter handle @united, the passengers were left gobsmacked by the replies from the spoof account.

The lesson here: make sure you go via the airline's official communication channels!

Here are some examples: "

.@Raheelk You mean PROPHETIC service. Everyone at our Newark branch can see the future. #Powerball #16-45-32-9-29 #PB17
— United Airlanes (@unitedairlanes) August 4, 2013

.@_TROYCE Luggage closest to the rear of the plane gets top priority to be shoveled into the furnace. Gotta keep these planes warm somehow.
— United Airlanes (@unitedairlanes) August 2, 2013

. @iMattThrasher On top of that, there was NOTHING good in your luggage. Who the hell still uses a Zune?
— United Airlanes (@unitedairlanes) August 1, 2013

.@craigsmalley Our apologies - that flight is supposed to be entirely attendants, being served by two lucky random passengers. Opposite day!
— United Airlanes (@unitedairlanes) August 1, 2013

@bobenchik Welcome to the exclusive United Airlanes Luggage Distribution Club! You give us your luggage, we throw it everywhere. For free!
— United Airlanes (@unitedairlanes) July 31, 2013

Source: Click HERE

And of course any post about United Airlines and social media, we'd be remiss not to mention the viral media-storm that occurred after a passenger witnessed the special care and attention of their ground crew:

The Cruise Ship Hotel

Since Psy unleashed his madcap horse-riding Gangnam Style into popular culture, South Korea has attracted a whole lot of attention as a tourism destination.

Maybe it's because South Koreans live in the murky shadow of a rogue nation, run by a nut job boy-child that makes them appear to have such a bizzare sense of humour?

I've got a fetish for themed accommodation and when I first saw pictures of the Sun Cruise Resort, I assumed someone had gone crazy with photoshop - but the purpose built on-land cruise-themed resort appearing to be percasiously sitting on top of a hill is the real-deal and gives guests the experience of being on a luxury queen of the seas - but without the motion sickness.

From a distance, the Sun Cruise Resort and Yacht in Jeongdongjin, South Korea looks as if it's been beached on a cliff by a mega-wave.

But this spectacular hotel is one of the country’s top tourist destinations, boasting a restaurant, wedding hall, nightspot, volleyball court, fitness club and even netted golf range.

The mock-liner has 211 rooms, with an assortment of plush suites and self-contained apartments.

Guests enjoy sloping, nautical-themed rooms complete with wooden panelling and 'porthole' windows.

The sound of waves crashing against the deck is played over loudspeakers to give guests a further realistic cruise ship experience.

While, the revolving sky bar is said to boast the best views of sunrise in the country.

Other bespoke features include a sea water swimming pool and a karaoke bar. Rooms start at pocket-friendly £45.12 a night(80,000 South Korean Won).

Sea you there!

 Source: Click HERE