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Peek at the Future of Hotels

Turn down service and the nightly chocolate on your pillow at hotel rooms across the globe may soon be a thing of the past.

Five-star hotels around the world have a variety of changes in store for 2018, according to Bloomberg, which recently gathered predictions for the coming year from a panel of industry experts.

Among the panel members who provided insights were executives from Marriott International Inc., Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. and Deloitte LLP’s travel, hospitality and services group. A professor from NYU’s Tisch Center for Hospitality and Tourism also weighed in on what can be expected next year.

Here are some of the top changes travelers will begin to see.

No More Turn Down Service – Cost savings and privacy are the driving force behind the movement to scale-back turn-down service in hotels. “We go through cycles when people are more private and more open, and right now people are feeling more private about their personal space. Some people don’t like their toiletries straightened up,” Bjorn Hanson, clinical professor at NYU’s Tisch Center for Hospitality and Tourism, told Bloomberg.

In-Room Technology Improvements – With technology being top of mind nearly everywhere these days, Marriott is experiment with an “Internet of Things” room that is being created with the help of Samsung and Legrand SA. The room includes showers that remember a guest’s preferred temperature, digital wall art that can be replaced with family photos and mirrors with embedded displays that can play such things as on-demand yoga videos, according to Bloomberg. These futuristic rooms are scheduled for a soft-launch in 2008, with the W hotels being the likely first place to offer them.

Hilton has also recently announced teched-out rooms. Their version includes a mobile app that controls the television, lighting, thermostat and digital art. “2018 is going to be the year that the rubber hits the road with technology,” Deloitte’s Marcello Gasdia told Bloomberg. “It took a while for this technology to mature, but now personalization can happen in real time.”

Front Desk Makeovers – It seems 2018 may be the year that luxury brands follow the hipster brands and do away with the traditional front desk completely. Hanson, from NYU, predicts the check-in desk will slowly fade into oblivion. The change is a reflection of traveler’s desire for intimacy rather than formality. The front desk space of year’s past will be replaced with living room-like check-in areas.

“Fifty years ago, people didn’t have credit cards and bad guys would come jump the desk and steal the cash,” said Hanson. “But that’s not the case anymore, and hotels no longer need that type of tall, wide barrier.”

An Emphasis on Wellness – Wellness is where it’s at, and hotels are increasingly realizing that fact. “Wellness is going to be the next trillion-dollar industry,” Guy Langford, also of Deloitte, told Bloomberg. “Everyone wants to capitalize on the huge swell, but every brand is making a different play. Nobody has figured it out yet.” Examples of hotels incorporating wellness offerings include JW Marriott partnering with the Joffrey Ballet for on-demand barre classes and Four Seasons developing wellness rooms with de-chlorinating showers and Deepak Chopra meditation videos.

Going, Going, Maybe Obsolete by 2020

Devices that have only one use like calculators, alarm clocks and digital cameras are being replaced by smartphones. Phone chargers and headphones with cords are also fading out in favor of wireless models.
Paper is going digital, from magazines to maps to regular paperwork.

Technology develops at a staggeringly quick pace in today’s world – even watching movies from a few years ago can provide opportunities to snicker at characters’ outdated cell phones.

Here are some things that will probably be obsolete by 2020:

Alarm clocks – Most phones have an alarm clock, stopwatch and timer built in, too.

Analog watches – Smart watches may not be ready to overtake smartphones yet, but it’s looking like they’re going to replace analog watches.

Buttons on phones – The iPhone X, released on November 3, 2017, was the first iPhone to ditch the home button, and some Android models have already gotten rid of them.

Calculators – Most phones have a calculator built in, reducing the need for this clunky device that only does one job.

Car keys – BMW already has an app that allows car owners to unlock their doors without using a key, and they announced in September that they’re considering completely replacing car keys with mobile phone apps.

CDs – People rarely buy music anymore, much less in any physical form. Streaming services are the way of the future.

Charger cables – Chargers are also going wireless with charging pads entering the scene.

Checkbooks – With innovations like online banking and Apple Pay, writing out checks is already a chore. The future of finances is definitely digital.

Delivery workers – In 2016, the White House predicted that nearly 3.1 million drivers in the workforce could have their jobs automated. Already, Amazon’s Prime Air drone delivery service is bringing packages to customers in 30 minutes or less.

Digital cameras – Now that phone cameras can shoot pictures and video in HD (there are even iPhone photography awards), clunky digital cameras will fade out of style.

DVD and Blu-ray players – Movie streaming services like Netflix are turning DVD and Blu-ray players into dust-collecting devices.

Fax machines – Let’s face it – fax machines should have disappeared long ago. Once paperwork goes, these dinosaurs are going, too.

Getting bills in the mail – Getting bills in the mail is already becoming a thing of the past with online payment methods and apps. Soon, you’ll be able to pay all of your bills through a few clicks on a computer or taps on your phone.

Hard drives – Soon, everyone will keep their information in “the cloud” and there will be no need for physical storage devices.

Headphones with cords – From Apple’s AirPods to Bluetooth headphones, the headphone jack’s days are numbered.

Landlines – 2016 was the first year that a majority of American homes did not have a landline, according to the Center for Disease Control, and more than 70% of all adults aged 25-34 were living in wireless-only households. Home phone numbers are on their way out.

Newspapers – Print newspapers will likely meet the same fate as magazines.

Paper maps – With step-by-step directions on Google Maps, paper maps are hardly necessary anymore.

Paper receipts – CVS receipts are so long they’ve become a meme. But even they have begun offering digital receipts. Many vendors already send receipts via email, so it won’t be long until it’s the new standard.

Paperwork – With Google Docs and digital signatures becoming the norm, contracts, medical forms and other documents will cease to exist in paper form.

Parking meters – Parking meters are being turned into art since paying for parking can be done via app in many places.

Passwords – Apple debuted FaceID this year, while Microsoft’s Windows Hello facial recognition system has been in place since 2015. Forget letters, numbers, and special characters – biometric passwords will be the norm.

Pay phones – AT&T announced that it was leaving the pay phone market back in 2007. Everyone has cell phones these days anyhow.

Reference books – With the internet at our fingertips at all times, dictionaries and encyclopedias are no longer necessary.

Remote controls – You won’t have to search for the remote or replace its batteries when voice commands and smartphone controls become widespread ways to operate your devices.

Standalone GPS devices – Same goes for GPS devices. Your phone can perform all the same functions, plus text someone that you’ve arrived.

Textbooks – Paper textbooks are expensive and heavy, not to mention they often become obsolete after a few years when new discoveries require updated editions. According to Scholastic, higher education has already begun to pivot to e-textbooks.

Thumb drives – Thumb drives may be a convenient way to carry data around in your pocket, but thanks to cloud computing you won’t have to carry anything at all.

Travel agencies – There were 124,000 full-time travel agents in the US in 2000. In 2014, that number went down to 74,000. While a human touch definitely makes booking travel less of a headache, the convenience of the internet is narrowing the field.

Words of Wisdom, Source Unknown

Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, died a billionaire at the age of 56 in 2011. Four years later, the essay below began circulating on the internet with the claim that it represented Jobs’ deathbed speech.

There is no verification that Jobs ever spoke or wrote the words in this essay. In fact his sister says his final words were “Oh Wow, Oh Wow, Oh Wow.”

But whoever did pen the essay below, gave all of us plenty of food for thought.

Here’s the essay:

I reached the pinnacle of success in the business world. In others’ eyes, my life is an epitome of success.

However, aside from work, I have little joy. In the end, wealth is only a fact of life that I am accustomed to.

At this moment, lying on the sick bed and recalling my whole life, I realize that all the recognition and wealth that I took so much pride in, have paled and become meaningless in the face of impending death.

In the darkness, I look at the green lights from the life supporting machines and hear the humming mechanical sounds, I can feel the breath of god of death drawing closer.

Now I know, when we have accumulated sufficient wealth to last our lifetime, we should pursue other matters that are unrelated to wealth.

Should be something that is more important. – Perhaps relationships, perhaps art, perhaps a dream from younger days

Non-stop pursuing of wealth will only turn a person into a twisted being, just like me.

God gave us the senses to let us feel the love in everyone’s heart, not the illusions brought about by wealth.

The wealth I have won in my life I cannot bring with me. What I can bring is only the memories precipitated by love.

That’s the true riches which will follow you, accompany you, giving you strength and light to go on.

Love can travel a thousand miles. Life has no limit. Go where you want to go. Reach the height you want to reach. It is all in your heart and in your hands.

What is the most expensive bed in the world? – Sick bed.

You can employ someone to drive the car for you, make money for you but you cannot have someone to bear the sickness for you.

Material things lost can be found. But there is one thing that can never be found when it is lost — Life.

When a person goes into the operating room, he will realize that there is one book that he has yet to finish reading — Book of Healthy Life.

Whichever stage in life we are at right now, with time, we will face the day when the curtain comes down.

Treasure love for your family, love for your spouse, love for your friends.

Treat yourself well. Cherish others.

Price of ’12 Days of Christmas’ Gifts

Have an extra $35,000 or so sitting around? Terrific! You have enough to purchase each of the whimsical items in the “12 Days of Christmas” song.

PNC Financial Services Group has done the research for the 34th year to provide a rundown of the cost of all 12 days of gifts. The bottom line, you can buy them all in stores for $34,558.65 (US dollars) or online for $45,096. Online costs more largely due to travel and shipping costs. This covers the cost of buying each gift once. However, if you include the cost of all the repetition throughout the carol, it would cost $157,558 in-store or $204,848.65 online.

To put that in perspective, “The PNC Christmas Price Index predicts true loves will be on their merry way to a more robust and satisfying holiday shopping season this year,” PNC said in a news release.
The slight increase of .6 percent from last year was mostly due to higher prices for the pear tree, increased demand for golden rings and wage increases for the Lords-a-Leaping.

Here’s the breakdown of each item:
DAY 1. A PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE: In-store price: $219.95, online price: $269.00.
DAY 2. TWO TURTLE DOVES: In-store price: $20.00, online price: $ 95.00.
DAY 3. THREE FRENCH HENS: In-store price: $181.50, online price: $281.50.
DAY 4. FOUR CALLING BIRDS: In-store price: $599.96, online price: $370.00.
DAY 5: FIVE GOLD RINGS: In-store price: $825.00, online price: $899.75.
DAY 6: SIX GEESE-A-LAYING: In-store price: $360.00, online price: $1,488.00.
DAY 7: SEVEN SWANS-A-SWIMMING: In-store price: $ 13,125.00, online price: $ 15,165.00.
DAY 8: EIGHT MAIDS-A-MILKING: In-store price: $58.00, online price: $377.28.
DAY 9: NINE LADIES DANCING: In-store price: $7,552.84, online price: $8,322.55.
DAY 10: TEN LORDS-A-LEAPING: In-store price: $5,618.90, online price: $13,373.35.
DAY 11: ELEVEN PIPERS PIPING: In-store price: $2,708.40, online price: $2,475.00.
DAY 12: TWELVE DRUMMERS DRUMMING: In-store price: $2,934.10, online price: $1,620.00.

For Some, It’s SAD Season

Some folks are deeply affected by the change in seasons. Enough that they may be suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder. SAD is a type of depression that begins and ends about the same time every year, with symptoms often starting in the fall and continuing into the winter months. Tjhe disorder saps your energy and makes you feel moody. Sometimes, though less often, SAD causes depression in the spring or early summer.

Treatment for SAD may include light therapy (phototherapy), medications and psychotherapy. In addition to professional medical treatment, there are lifestyle and home remedies that may help. Make your environment sunnier and brighter. Open the blinds, trim tree branches that block sunlight or add skylights to your home. Sit closer to bright windows while at home or in the office. Get outdoors. Take long walks, eat lunch at a nearby park or simply sit on a bench and soak up the sun. Even on cold or cloudy days, outdoor light can help – especially if you spend some time outside within two hours of getting up in the morning.
Exercise regularly. Exercise and other types of physical activity help relieve stress and anxiety, both of which can increase SAD symptoms. Being more fit can make you feel better about yourself, too, which can lift your mood.

Signs and symptoms of SAD may include feeling depressed most of the day, losing interest in activities you once enjoyed, having low energy, having problems with sleeping and experiencing changes in your appetite or weight. You also might feel sluggish or agitated, have difficulty concentrating, think frequently of death or suicide or feel hopeless, worthless or guilty.

It’s normal to have some days when you feel down. But if you feel down for days at a time and you can’t get motivated to do activities you normally enjoy, see your doctor. This is especially important if your sleep patterns and appetite have changed, you turn to alcohol for comfort or relaxation, or you feel hopeless or think about suicide.

Dog Owners Live Longer, Healthier Lives

A new study of more than 3.4 million people finds that owning a dog is linked to a longer life. The research, published in Scientific Reports, is the latest in a growing body of research suggesting that canine companions may be good for human health—especially for people who live alone.

To study the link between dogs and longevity, researchers at Sweden’s Uppsala University reviewed national registry records of Swedish men and women, ages 40 to 80. They focused on 3.4 million people who had no history of cardiovascular disease in 2001, and followed their health records – as well as whether they registered as a dog owner – for about 12 years. Dog ownership registries are mandatory in Sweden, and every visit to a hospital is recorded in a national database.

Researchers found that dog owners had a lower risk of death due to cardiovascular disease than people who did not report owning a dog, as well as a lower risk of death from other causes. That was true even after adjusting for factors such as smoking, body mass index and socioeconomic status.

The protective effect was especially prominent for people living alone, who have been found to have a higher risk for early death than those who live with other people. People who lived alone with a dog had a 33% reduced risk of death, and an 11% reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, than people who lived alone without a dog.

The study – with a sample size hundreds of times larger than any other studies on this topic – was not designed to show a cause-and-effect relationship between dog ownership and reduced risk of death or cardiovascular disease, or to determine why these factors may be related. It’s possible that people who choose to own dogs may simply be more active and in better health to begin with, say the authors.

But it’s also possible – and very likely, says senior author Tove Fall, a veterinarian and associate professor of epidemiology – that taking care of a dog prompts people to stay active and live a healthier lifestyle. “I have met numerous owners that are convinced that their pet has been instrumental for them, often in terms of social support,” says Fall. “As a dog owner, I also notice that the people I meet during walks are often other dog owners, especially in bad weather.”

Another possible explanation, he adds, could be a dog’s effect on its owner’s microbiome. Other studies have suggested that growing up with a dog in the house can decrease allergies and asthma in children, and Fall says that pets may provide immune-boosting benefits for adults as well. Studies have also suggested that dog owners have lower reactivity to stress and faster recovery of blood pressure following stressful events.

The study authors were surprised to find that people who owned dogs that were originally bred for hunting – like terriers, retrievers and scent hounds – were the most protected from heart disease and death. Because these dogs typically need more exercise than other breeds, their owners may be more likely to meet physical activity guidelines, they say.

Fall says the study’s results can be generalized to the entire Swedish population, and likely to other countries with similar living standards and culture regarding dog ownership.

Scientists can’t say that getting a dog will definitely help a person live longer, but Fall believes it’s not a bad idea. “I think that a pet brings a lot of joy and companionship into a house, so if a person has the capacity to take care of it, they certainly should,” she says. “There are numerous studies showing that dog owners get more physical activity, which could help to prolong a healthy life.”

Smile!

“Smile in the mirror. Do that every morning and you’ll start to see a big difference in your life,” Yoko Ono told us. Lots of other folks have things to say about a smile, too.

“Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love,” Mother Teresa.

“Nothing you wear is more important than your smile,” Connie Stevens.

“Lighten up. Just enjoy life, smile more, laugh more, and don’t get so worked up about things,” Kenneth Branagh.

At Dino’s, we are giving you something to smile about – free use of our moving truck!

“Smile, it is the key that fits the lock of everybody’s heart,” Anthony J. D’Angelo.

“Your smile will give you a positive countenance that will make people feel comfortable around you,” Les Brown.

Our Dino’s moving truck is available without charge for four hours to our customers moving stuff in or out of our facility. Now that’s worth a smile!

“A smile is happiness you’ll find right under your nose,” Tom Wilson.

“I wake up every morning with a smile on my face, grateful for another day I never thought I’d see,” Dick Cheney.

“A smile is a curve that sets everything straight,” Phyllis Diller.

There’s no deposit needed to use our Dino’s van. The truck comes with a full tank of fuel, all you need do is bring it back full. One more reason to smile.

“The main thing you have to remember on this journey is just be nice to everyone and always smile,” Ed Sheeran.

“If you smile when no one else is around, you really mean it,” Andy Rooney.

“If the world’s a veil of tears, smile till rainbows span it,” Lucy Larson.

“Wrinkles will only go where the smiles have been,” Jimmy Buffett.

There are three catches to using a Dino’s truck – you must be at least 21 years old, have a valid driver’s license and proof of insurance. Trucks, just like smiles, are available at all Dino’s locations.

“Real men laugh at opposition; real men smile when enemies appear,” Marcus Garvey.

“Everyone looks so much better when they smile,” Jimmy Fallon.

“Wear a smile and have friends; wear a scowl and have wrinkles,” George Eliot.

“Show me a smile, and I’ll show you one back,” Vanilla Ice.

Dino’s gives you more reasons to smile – our trucks come with appliance and furniture dollies and moving pads.

“Dare, dream, dance, smile, and sing loudly! And have faith that love is an unstoppable force!” Suzanne Brockman.

“Smile, it instantly lifts the face, and it just lights up the room,” Christie Brinkley.

Why Some Names Are Banned

Sometimes a name simply is not permitted because it is obscene, could lead to bullying, violates cultural norms or just doesn’t seem right to a bureaucrat.

In many cases, you have to wonder what some parents were thinking. Who looks at their child and thinks Lucifer, iMac or Hitler might be the perfect name?

Governments around the world have taken it upon themselves to outlaw certain offensive, confusing or downright ridiculous baby names to save kids everywhere from decades of embarrassment, confusion and bullying.

We found no banned names in Canada. Perhaps the government is more tolerant of unusual names, or perhaps parents in Canada are more sensible than elsewhere.

In the United States, we found a couple examples of odd names, numbers actually, that were disallowed. New Jersey would not allow “50″ because it is a number, not a name, and California would not allow “III”, meaning three or third, because it is confusing. California also requires both a first and last name and only allows names written using the 26 letters of the alphabets – that is, no special characters, numbers or accents.

Offensive names are often banned. “Adolph Hitler,” for example is banned in Germany, Malaysia, Mexico and New Zealand. Germany also bars use of :Osama bin Laden” and Australia takes issue with “Bonghead.” The meaning of that one seems to mean somewone with a water pipe for a noggin.

Names considered obscene are no nos in a lot of places.

“Anal” is banned in New Zealand, “Anus” is banned in Denmark, “Panties,” “Shithead,” and “Virgin” are not allowed in Australia and “Woti” – meaning sexual instercourse – is banned in Malaysia.

Some governments will not allow names referring to the devil, to God or to titles of royalty or leaders.
In Japan, “Akuma” – meaning Devil – is not allowed. “Prince” is a no go in Saudia Arabia as is “Malek” – meaning king – and “Prophet”. “Prime Minister” and “God” are out in the Australian state of Victoria, as are Saint, Jesus, Bishop, Christ and Satan. New Zealand says no to “Lucifer.”

Governments draw the line at product names or brand names in some nations. Australia says no to “iMac” and “Ikea”, France tosses “Nutella” and Mexico’s state of Sonora boots “Facebook.”

Perhaps it would be easier for parents to stick with tried and true names like John, Mary, Joe, Jose, Maria and Ann.

Most Ubiquitous Letter in the English Language

This paragraph is abnormal. It contains an oddity, a linguistic quirk that you will find in no popular book or journal or script in any library. A crucial bit of vocabulary is missing (reading it aloud might help, but probably not). Can you spot our anomaly? And if you do, can you say what it is without spoiling it?

The answer is as plain as the nose on your face, or the cream in your coffee, or the vowels in your alphabet. The above paragraph is missing the most common letter in the English language: the letter E.

Readers Digest tells us that E is everywhere. In an analysis of all 240,000 entries in the Concise Oxford English Dictionary, OED editors found that the letter E appears in approximately 11% of all words in the common English vocabulary, about 6,000 more words than the runner-up letter, A. What’s more: E is the most commonly struck letter on your keyboard, and the second most popular key after the space bar. It’s one third of the single most-used word in English – ‘the’ – and appears in the most common English noun (‘time’), the most common verb (‘be’), in ubiquitous pronouns like he, she, me and we, not to mention tens of thousands of words ending in -ed and -es.

There’s a reason that scribes see composing prose without the letter E as one of the ultimate challenges in constrained writing. This hasn’t stopped masochistic wordsmiths from trying. Author Ernest Vincent Wright’s 1939 novel Gadsby, for example, contains some 50,000 words – none of them containing an E – while the 1969 French novel La Disparition has been translated into a dozen different languages, each edition omitting the most common letter in that language. The French and English versions successfully last 300 pages without the letter E; in Spanish, the letter A gets omitted, and in Russian, it’s O.

On the whole, most of the 5 full-time vowels (sometimes Y is a sixth) appear more frequently in English than most consonants, with a few exceptions. The most common consonants, Oxford’s analysis confirms, are R, T, N, S and L. The top ten most common letters in the Concise Oxford English Dictionary, and the percentage of words they appear in, are:

1. E – 11.1607%
2. A – 8.4966%
3. R – 7.5809%
4. I – 7.5448%
5. O – 7.1635%
6. T – 6.9509%
7. N – 6.6544%
8. S – 5.7351%
9. L – 5.4893%
10. C – 4.5388%

Haunted Places

Halloween is upon us, so it’s a perfect time to consider a few famous haunted places.

In Iowa, the Villisca ax murder house, is the best known. If you don’t know anything about this house, it looks like a normal old place on a residential street during the day. At night, however, when no lights or sounds can be seen or heard, you get a very different feeling. This is the “Murder House.” The walls still protect the identity of the murderer or murderers who bludgeoned to death the entire family of Josiah Moore and two overnight guests on June 10, 1912.

In Nebraska, the State Capitol building in Lincoln is said to be haunted by several ghosts as several tragic accidents have occurred there. Some have reported seeing a figure of a man falling. He is also heard screaming and crying. He is thought to have gotten sick and lost his balance while putting Christmas lights up. Other strange noises and mysterious voices have also been heard.

In Manitoba, the Fort Garry Hotel, particularly Room 202, has long been considered haunted. The old luxury hotel has been named one of Canada’s “most haunted” destinations by FlightNetwork.com, a travel website.
A woman apparently committed suicide Room 202 many years ago after hearing of the death of her husband in a car accident. Overcome with grief, she hung herself in the closet. Staff have reported seeing blood dripping down the walls upon entering the room, and guests have witnessed the apparition of a woman in a cloak hovering at the foot of their bed. The woman also is said to haunt the hotel lounge, where staff and guests have seen her, often crying in the corner.