Air NZ's Latest Safety Vid

Air New Zealand is the undisputed king of Kiwi promotion across all media channels. One of their many successes is making the pre-flight safety videos a must-see.

Not only do passengers stop what they're doing and watch, the quirky videos are widely viewed outside the planes via social media channels and this helps build the brand.

The new safety video gives us a welcome rest from Hobbiton and features internationally known British adventurer and television personality, Bear Grylls along with a few familiar Kiwi faces and iconic natural scenery.

An airline company taking the p*ss and providing entertainment during what used to be a somber pre-flight safety briefing risks ridicule...but Air New Zealand has managed to inject fun into this process and does it well.

Worth a look...

More Social Responsible Tosh

One of the many reasons we created this blog was to provide an independent lone voice that challenges and offers a different view from the non-producers and "Pollyanna" left-leaning mainstream tourism media.

Cue Tourism Business, a bi-monthly dead-tree publication that often cut-and-paste shrill, left-wing slogans that are far removed from the realities of running a tourism business. I generally devote some time to flick through the contents, however this month's magazine was binned earlier than usual after the following tirade leaped from the inside-page editorial:

"A living Wage

Just as this magazine was heading to press a group of community and faith-based organisations and unions launched The Living Wage Aotearoa New Zealand campaign, to promote the goal of achieving a living wage as a necessary step in reducing inequality and poverty in New Zealand.

The group says that more and more New Zealanders don't get paid enough to meet their needs, enjoy their lives and participate in society.

The campaign's website describes a living wage as "the income necessary to provide workers and their families with the basic necessities in life. A living wage will enable workers to live with dignity and to participate as active citizens in society".

They are calling upon the government, employers and society as a whole "to strive for a living wage for all households as a necessary and important step in the reduction of poverty in New Zealand".

A report in the NZ Herald says that the living wage rate of $18.40 an hour, has been calculated by researchers at the Anglican Church's Family Centre.

And the truth be told parts of the tourism industry are amongst the lower payers across employment groups.

As a small business owner I am very aware of the pressures on any employer to ensure their business is sustainable. But it seems to me this campaign is very well worthwhile and something that the tourism sector as a whole could get behind and even promote to international visitors as something that tourism businesses are doing for the greater good...."

Not surprisingly, Mana, the unions, Labour and Greens would tend to enthusiastically agree with this sort of tosh out of misguided ignorance.

Disappointingly the editorial also seems to be parroting the sentiments of the Tourism Industry Association (TIA) that claim to be the voice of over 1,500 businesses.

We are predicting a new licensing regime that offers a badge to "responsible" businesses sucked into this propaganda so they may smugly display to the world that they are a feel-good social adjunct.

Tourism businesses operating in the real world that need to improve productivity, lower compliance costs and increase quality levels need to be better served than this... 

Travellers' Stress Tested At Airport

It is well known that travel can be stressful for many people. Airports (and motel receptions) can be ideal locations to witness a range of human emotions.

Skin care company, Nivea recently upped the ante at a German airport in an attempt to tip the stress levels of random travellers over the edge for a new multi-media marketing campaign.

Many of us obviously enjoy other perople's discomfort, as Nivea's video has been watched by almost 4.5 million voyeuristic viewers in just over a week.

Naked Man Locks Himself Out Of Hotel Room

Security cameras in public areas can catch some amzing scenes...including every travellers' worst nightmare.

Watch this viral video as the hotel guest room door locks behind a hapless man as he stands in the corridor naked.



The highly embarrassed guest seems to gain confidence as he makes his way to the reception desk.

What interests me is the reaction of the reception staff. Instead of quickly summing up the situation and using initiative, they default to script and ask for ID - hilarious!

Hat tip: Whale Oil

Buy The MOTELA Personalised Plate

We've managed to secure a pair of personalised plates that shows the world that the car owner is proud of their respected profession: "MOTELA"

Dictionary Definition
Motella or Motela
Pronounced "Mo-tell-a"
More commonly known as “Motelier”
Noun - New Zealand colloquialism.
Origin: est 1973–93; origin uncertain.
A manager or owner of a motel, motor inn or motor lodge.

This is an incredible opportunity for a successful career motelier to secure ownership of these plates for a lifetime and affix them to their own motela-mobile.

We are running a simple tender process and have set a reserve that reflects the plate's uniqueness. If you have any questions please feel free to ask.

Simply send us your best bid to plates@motelnz.co.nz by the 10 March 2013.

Caravan Carnage

There is a common New Zealand psyche that dictates that when choosing holiday accommodation, Kiwis err on the side of...being miserable. That's why the number one preferred Kiwi holiday activity involves sponging free accommodation off friends and family.

Slightly higher up the food chain is a hard core of mean-spirited Kiwis that revel in clogging up the highways and visually polluting the scenery with cumbersome caravans and other assorted mobile motel-dodging camping paraphernalia.

Regular readers of this blog will appreciate my intolerance for caravans and any other form of camping. I'm not alone:

Jeremy Clarkson has been so outspoken about the blight of caravans that he has been stalked by disgruntled members from the the UK Caravan Society that have seen fit to protest outside his Top Gear television show

Fellow Top Gear host Richard Hammond has released an interactive DVD where the viewer is rewarded at the end with the chance to blow up a caravan. (Worth considering as a Christmas stocking filler for the kids).

Meanwhile in New Zealand we also have enlightened commentary on the scourge of caravan culture.

Media personality and car-nut, Paul Henry has been quoted: “Have you ever seen a caravan blow up? Oh, you can not get enough of watching caravans blow up. ..."

You just can't argue with logic like that!

Ex-W(h)anganui Mayor Michael Laws in one of his more insightful rants once said "Holiday parks are for people who can't afford motels."

In today's Herald On Sunday, I see that Jaquie Brown has joined the select group of insightful Kiwis dissing the scourge of caravan culture plaguing the nation. She has written the following succinct opinion piece in reaction to the reported trend of thieves stealing caravans:

"If I could get my hands on these people stealing caravans, I wouldn't be able to control myself.

I'd launch at them and savage them with ... hugs.

Yes sir, I'd kiss the living daylights out of them. They are doing what I've wanted to do for years.

I've often dreamed of forming a secret gang of vigilante motorists, clearing the roads of caravans and restoring peace and order to New Zealand highways.

The "Great Caravan Cull" is something I'd gladly get behind.

We all know you don't want to get behind an actual caravan on the road; holding us to ransom; dribbling along at 12km/h; swerving their big bottoms left to right; blocking the view.

I can't tell you how many summer road trips have ended with me sick and sweaty - spitting insults at the selfish road lump in front of us.

So whoever you are out there, stealing caravans: stand strong, be proud, and know you are doing right in the world".

Motel Fraud

Oh dear! It looks like a former Taranaki motel manager went off the rails.

I wonder if you can run a motel if you are sentenced to home detention?

"A former Stratford motel manager and prolific gambler was yesterday convicted of conning trusting elderly people out of their savings after pleading guilty mid-trial.

Steven Francis Younger, 45, also admitted changing the names on Antonio Mews Motel cheques to the value of $5530.

The money was paid to the motel by sports teams who stayed there in July and August 2011..."

To read more: Click HERE

Whalers 1, Sea Shepherd 0

Great to hear news of the Japanese Whalers stepping up to the plate early this year by making a preemptive hit.

Yes, the Japanese are pushing the boundaries of harvesting a resource under the guise of scientific whaling, however they are legitimately in the South Sea and playing by the rulebook of international law - Unlike the rag-tag team of hypocritical pirates, lead by pathological liar, Paul Watson.

While we agree that whales are incredible, mystical creatures, we question the uninformed hysteria from groups with selective morality on harvesting natural resources.

It's interesting to read the media reports on the latest incident that parrot Sea Shepherd's claims that two of its boats were deliberately rammed. The more likely explanation is that Sea Shepherd illegally placed their vessels in the line of a powered-up Japanese vessel and faced harsh consequences - Diddums!

Funny how there is no video released by Sea Shepherd showing how those mean Japanese were at fault. Sea Shepherd, that heavily rely upon social media may have learned a valuable lesson from last season where video footage caught them out...

Will This Be Another Emerging Accommodation Sector?

I must admit having an unhealthy disrespect for motel-dodging, road hogging caravans and campervans. I consider them to be a blight on the landscape and generally inhabited by mean-spirited misers that are too tight to pay-up for decent accommodation.

So please don't tell anyone, but I think a new proposed startup company that plans to act as a catalyst for owners of unused caravans and campervans languishing in Kiwi backyards to rent them out to others is onto a winner.

No doubt the idea for the new start up company was influenced from the apparent success of AA's Bookabach and TradeMe's Holidayhouses that operate a similar concept by matching owners of private holiday homes with short term renters.

Judging by the growing web traffic generated by Bookabach and Holidayhouses (and the excitable buzz amongst my wife's 40-something friends), it would appear that there is growing demand for alternative accommodation such as holiday rentals. It doesn't seem to be such a stretch to expect a similar success with a web-based business reselling private campervans.

The overall concept seems to fit-in well with the Kiwi psyche of trying new holiday experiences to save a dollar: ie most Kiwis have short arms and long pockets ;-)

Kiwis with a campervan in the driveway can soon earn income from renting out the holiday-on-wheels to other travellers, while they are stuck in the office.

At "54 hour startup sprint" Startup Weekend in Wellington from February 16-18, local IT sales executive Dean Goble's idea for person-to-person motor home rental and letting service WagonShare won from 30 ideas pitched.

Startup Weekend is a global initiative where concepts for companies are tested during an intensive period of brainstorming, networking and business planning under the guidance of experts such as professional angel investor Dave Moskovitz.

WagonShare, where people can rent caravans directly from the owners, was just an idea on Friday but now Goble has won prizes including $10,000 of Trade Me advertising, a domain name and $500 cash from Hyperstart to get the business off the ground.

While touring California, Utah, Nevada and Arizona recently on the trip of a lifetime with his wife, Louise, and three children, Rosemary, Matthias and Charlotte, 46-year-old Goble found the rental process for a temporary RV overly sterile.

"When it came to dealing with the big corporate motorhome vendors, I just thought there has got to be a better way, a nicer way, for someone to rent a motorhome from someone else who cares about the person's motorhome experience."

Motorhome owners cannot list their own vehicle for rent in New Zealand without a Transport Service Licence to operate a rental service, which WagonShare deals with. It will also handle insurance, roadside assistance services and payment processing on behalf of consumers and vehicle owners.
At the Startup Weekend Goble got his ideas down on paper, formulated a business plan and was given some background about running a business. Market validation came back with results that three-quarters of people surveyed would use WagonShare's service and another 19 per cent would consider it.

WagonShare's main income would come from a percentage of the rental fee but vehicle owners would set their own prices, letting the market decide what renters were prepared to pay. The website would have a rating and comments system for owners and renters to indicate satisfaction.

Goble would require motorhome owners to meet certain standards to have their vehicles certified.

Source: Click HERE

New Bates Motel Teaser

A lot of new footage for “Bates Motel” has been released as a teaser before the TV show debuts on Monday, March 18 in the States.

“In “Bates Motel,” following the tragic death of her husband, Norma Bates buys a motel on the outskirts of the idyllic coastal town of White Pine Bay, seeking a fresh start. As Norma and Norman get ensconced in their new home, they discover this town isn’t quite what it seems, and the locals aren’t so quick to let them in on their secrets. But the Bates’ are done being pushed around and will do whatever it takes to survive – and will do whatever it takes to protect their own secrets.” 

Hopefully we won't have to wait too long for it to air in New Zealand - It doesn't look too bad: