Editor Frank Corr gives his views on the hospitality and tourism industries, shares anecdotes and gossip and welcomes your contributions.
You can make a comment, share a story or provide news by sending an e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Met any "connected families”, “footloose socialisers” “indulgent romantics” recently?
Can't say that I have- but Failte Ireland seems to come across them every day- so much so that they are specifically targeting these amorphous groups in a major marketing campaign.
According to the marketing boffins in Amiens Street, "Connected Families" put their heart into finding out everything a destination has to offer and like to have a carefully planned itinerary before they leave home. Their aim is to create shared memories with all of their family. That presumably is after they have returned home from Naas because they forgot to put out the cat and after they have threatened the kids with smashing their PLS if they don't stop fighting in the back of the car .
Footloose socialisers like getting away with their friends on short breaks as much as they can. They are value-conscious, independent travellers, who attend cultural and sporting events or engage in pursuits such as hillwalking during their short breaks. My guess is that they are also a group that likes to get pissed and get laid.
Indulgent romantics – consider the hotel to the most important factor in their choice of destination. They prioritise finding the perfect, romantic hub for their couples getaway, somewhere they can soak up luxury, reward themselves and be well looked after – and tell everyone on TripAdvisor about it if they’re not.
That bit I can believe.
An overly-handsome waiter, a snoring girlfriend and the sea being too blue are among some of the complaints made to hotel staff, according to a recent survey.
Travel search engine Skyscanner quizzed 400 international hotel workers to draw up a list of the top ten unusual grumbles and diva-like demands.
Other complaints included sheets being too white, ice cream being too cold, the bath being too big and no steak on a vegetarian menu.
One customer asked for a discount after his sleep was disturbed by his snoring girlfriend, while another asked for a refund as his dog had had an unhappy stay.
Staff in a hotel in London's Mayfair were taken aback when a client bemoaned the lack of an ocean view. Equally eyebrow raising are some of the requests, including one for a dead mouse.
One guest asked for a bowl of crocodile soup, another for a bath of honey while one hungry punter demanded 15 cucumbers a day.
A group of cruise tourists spending a day in Dublin, took home some memorable pictures after they watched a swordsman breach security on the Dail plinth.
As I was emerging from the National Libraray I spotted the visitors snapping away busily outside the gates of Leinster House as a brawny young man was being 'escorted' by Gardai into a squad car.
A few minutes earlier he slipped into the Dail plinth when a gate opened to allow access to a truck. Brandishing a large sword, he waved it about theatrically, much to the delight of the visitors who also saw the intruder being rugby tackled by Gardai.
It sure beat the usual images of intense-looking politicians talking into media mikes.