Hotels that do it differently

by Padraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua The Sharing Economy The advent of the sharing economy has been game-changing for the hospitality industry with legions of global travellers abandoning what they consider the bland consistency of hotels for the bright “welcome home” of Airbnb. But this denizen of the sharing economy hasn’t been the only game-changer… Read more »

The Nature/Nurture debate and Brands: lessons from Paris

by Padraic Gilligan, Vice President, Industry Relations, MCI and Vice President, Destination Services, Ovation Global DMC Paris has featured, like bookends, at either end of my travel schedule in 2012. On both occasions, in January and November, the city yielded up that timeless sense of refined urban living, unique to great cities like Paris, London… Read more »

How do you market a destination? Lessons from Memphis

by Padraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Tourism-Review.Com recently ran a piece by David Whitley (http://www.grumpytraveller.com) entitled “A Destination Marketing Dilemma: How do you sell a city like Sheffield?” It’s a well written, mildly strident rant about what he calls the “cack-handed, hope-over-reality marketing” that many destination organisations are guilty of. He insists that destination marketing… Read more »

Paris for Meetings and Events: Not down and certainly not out

Padraic Gilligan, VP Ovation Global DMC and VP Industry Relations, MCI Behind me a guitar was being tuned. The tuner then addressed the crowd and launched into the Rod Stewart version of “Sailing”. He was truly terrible and gave the lie to Tanenbaum’s thesis that music on the underground leads to a decrease in crime…. Read more »