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日本旅行第十一日 - 秒速五センチ「聖地巡礼」ロケハン, エヴァストア, 東京都庁舎
秒速5センチメートル 日本旅行
申し訳ありませんが、この記事は和訳がございません。
It was our last day in Japan before we fly back to Scotland tomorrow. So, being a big fan of Makoto Shinkai's 5 Centimetres per Second (5cm) I just had to visit some of the locations that were located around Tokyo.
Note: The location hunting wasn't done in order and this wasn't a full day dedicated to 5cm location hunting. You will see the local areas too. Photos are also cropped to match the way they're depicted in the Anime but if you click on them, you can see the uncropped photos.
After spending the morning packing up properly to see how much space I had left in my luggage, I left the hotel around noon and headed to Harajuku which was going to be the starting point of my little adventure.
But first, breakfast! No conbini food this time.
It was quite quiet in the lobby. Mostly Japanese people.
The buffet was quite a modest one actually and there was no one to collect your coupon. There was just a basket for you to drop your own in.
Again, a great level of trust and honesty amongst the Japanese people.
A selection of bread was available every day while the two hot dishes were different each day. I thought the food was quite good.
The new Tokyu Stay hotel in Kamata was nice and quiet compared to the one in Shibuya even though the room was smaller.
Even the local area was very quiet compared to Shibuya.
I wouldn't have minded staying longer if they had self-service laundry facilities too.
The preferred IC Card around Kamata south of Tokyo seems to be the Pasmo. Not sure what its mascot is.
Trains in Kamata felt a bit older than the ones in the city. It was around a 30 min ride to get into Tokyo.
There are plenty of blogs around the web that visit places Anime is based on and are usually called "Anime Pilgrimage 聖地巡礼". Personally I think "Anime Location Tour" would be more appropriate.
Anyway, a lot of those blogs are quite comprehensive and even gave you the exact locations on Google Maps - you can import one to the My Maps app. Saves time because it made it much easier to find the locations but, I also made my own map which were the places I should be able to visit for the afternoon.
Apparently there's a separate Google app called My Maps that lets you place markers and name them... You can use it to import a map if you ever decide to visit these spots yourself.
Some of the locations were too far away for me to visit and I didn't want to dedicate my trip to visiting 5cm locations so, I went to the places that were closest around Tokyo.
One of the 5cm places was in Harajuku, famed place for cosplayers - or at used to be. I read they no longer hang out there because they got harassed by photographers and tourists too much.
Very busy the moment you reached the station. The station itself had a nice design to it. This was the Omotesando exit where a lot of brand labels are sold apparently. You have to walk a bit further to get to Takeshita for cheaper brands and where the young people hang out.
So, the first location I wanted to find is from the third episode when Takaki is out walking on a bridge. You can see it in the PV or you have to pause the episode at 09:48 to catch it.
Reason I like 5cm so much is partly because of its beautiful artwork while the other reason was because there's a lot I could relate to in the movie.
There was a nice view from one of the walkways but doesn't look like the one Takaki walked on...
I spent quite a while walking back and forth on this walkway from one side to the other, trying to find the same spot because someone else had managed to find it.
I walked from one side to the other so many times the workman there must have thought I was some crazy person, lol.
On the bright side, I did find an interesting building... A "castle". Wonder what it was for? Hotel? Amusements? Restaurant? Didn't spend time to find out since I had lots of ground to cover.
From this photo, you can see the iconic NTT Docomo tower on the left which is one of the major mobile network providers in Japan. Guess the tower matches the company's status. On the right are the block of white flats that cascade over each other like a stair case so, there must have been a walkway somewhere right outside the station. Maybe it was removed... It's been over 9 years since the movie was made after all.
Sure enough Google's Street View shows the walkway was still present in 2013 but then disappeared in the following year. That's why I couldn't find the same spot from this scene ^^;
Well, since I was all the way out in Harajuku, I thought I'd explore the area some more before continuing my 5cm location hunting.
Looks like the Olympics took place here before back in 1964. Now it's going to happen again in 2018.
Which reminded me of these guys... "World Order" should probably be in the opening ceremony, lol. From pro wrestler to dancer. I like how they just let people join in instead of editing them out xD
So here was Jingu Bridge or it used to be "cosplay bridge".
Funny thing happened here... A mainland Chinese tourist asked me to help take a picture of him in Japanese. My parents are from Hong Kong so my mother tongue is Cantonese and I've never learned Mandarin so I couldn't talk to him in his language.
It was quite weird for us, two Chinese people communicating in Japanese when nationalists still hate Japan for hiding their war crimes.
But, lets not get into that here.
Right next to the bridge was Meiji Shrine, a Shinto shrine dedicated to Emperor Meiji and his wife.
Impressively sized gate but not as big as Toudai's.
Apparently this is one of the differences between shrines and temples. If there are purification water and gates like these then it's a shrine that belongs to Japan's Shinto religion. Otherwise the place would usually have the Kanji "ji 寺" in it which means a temple dedicated to Buddhism.
Was tempted to go all the way in to the shrine but time was ticking. 5cm locations and a few other places were my priority today so just wanted a peek.
Meiji Shrine doesn't let you go through to Yoyogi Park and vice-versa apparently so all the more reason why I didn't want to go all the way in since I'd have to spend the same amount of time back-tracking.
That said, you didn't have to walk in far to see this impressive wall of barrels which were "sake wrapped in straw" apparently.
And on the opposite side were barrels of wine showing how Japan started to meet Western culture.
If you don't have time to visit Nara, the first capital of Japan then you could visit Meiji Shrine because the architecture looked very similar even though the religions are different. If you do have the time though, I highly recommend visiting Nara because of its grand Buddha Hall and views.
Well, time to move on.
Yoyogi Park
The next set of 5cm spots were near Yoyogi-Hachiman Station which was on the other side of Yoyogi Park. There was an impressive looking building opposite the park which you can see on the left here.
Think it was some exhibition place.
I could have taken a train but since I was right next to the park and have yet to experience the cherry blossom festivities, I decided to walk through the park to the station instead.
Clean entrance full of tulips. It's not all about cherry/peach blossoms.
Since arriving in Japan, the itinerary I made was so packed I hadn't factored in much time for food like today ^^;
Was so hungry I bought something at the store near the gate. Again, it was quite an efficient shop. Order and pay at one window then go round to the other side to wait for your food.
More Yakisoba and a skewered chicken. There were no English signs and I didn't know how to pronounce skewered so I had to lookup how to pronounce it on my phone - 焼き鳥串, "yakitori kushi". It was "kushi".
Very yummy.
While I sat eating there were these little birds right next to me. Back in the UK they would have flown away as soon as you were a few metres away from them... Not to mention they don't eat human food. Maybe different here in Japan...
Sure enough there was an area in full bloom and people were out having picnics. Locals were joining in the photos tourists were taking.
From the TV programmes your image of Japan would probably be cherry blossoms every where but...
Interesting thing was only a small section of Yoyogi Park was filled with cherry blossoms. Most of the park was just regular trees.
Crowd control and areas for everyone I guess.
And you should see the rubbish bins... Back in the UK, the bins would be stuffed with litter all around wherever there were festivities. Here, there was a giant dump area marked in blue for people to throw their rubbish away.
Crows didn't seem scared of people and just freely scavenged away as people filled the giant blue container with trash ^^;
5 Centimetres Per Second Locations
Well, back to the location hunting.
After strolling through Yoyogi Park and leaving through the Western Exit, you come across one of the railroad crossing points on the Odakyu Line.
And just up ahead a familiar yellow building is in sight.
This was one of the areas where Takaki and Akari lived when they were little. Actual place was around the Yoyogi-Hachiman area.
This yellow apartment block appeared in the movie in the first episode, 07:14 and is still around although the yellow isn't so apparent. Shinkai might also have taken the liberty of changing the order of the floors since it looks different but similar at the same time.
The area around the place was very tranquil and there were a lot of interesting structures.
Don't know if it was intentional but the walls had different patterns on them. Back in Scotland, most residential areas look the same.
Not quite the area where young Akari called Takaki but the phones are very similar. Always the green phone. Wonder if there's a story behind the phone's colour?
The next 5cm spot wasn't that far away. Probably could have just gone up the stairs by the yellow building judging by the map but, I wanted to explore the surroundings a more.
Here was the entrance to Yoyogi Hachiman Shrine, one of the places they ran through.
Didn't exactly capture the same angle but these were the stairs that appeared in the movie. Should have been from the other side.
All the photos taken at this temple can be found from episode one, 06:52 onwards. They have also been cropped to match the framing from the Anime but again, if you click on the photo, you can see the full photo.
May it indeed. Wonder if people doing mischievous things to entertain themselves count as disturbing the peace? Like playing a prank on someone which we think is fun but isn't for the person involved. I don't think we can ever get away from that =P
Spot where Akari is petting Chobi was just to the left after you climbed up the stairs. Suddenly I think of "Chobits"...
And yes, there really were cats. There were cats everywhere... I think we know why Makoto Shinkai chose to use this place in his movie. He's always posting photos of cats.
Who needs a cat cafe when you can come here? =P
The shrine was quite a big place.
Interesting thing was it was right next to a busy road but as soon as you walked in, it was so peaceful and quiet...
Here was the low angle shot of the stone path they ran on which lead to...
The gate outside the temple they ran by.
To the right of this gate was "Fukusen Temple" and you might recognise the statues.
Yup, they ran through here too. We are hot on their trail.
Seems Shinkai likes to obscure the background in light whenever scenes have short screen times. Works I guess and saves production time.
So, while we're here I thought I'd check out the place. I was curious to see the local areas of Japan not just the tourist spots.
Lots of patrons just like the other shrines dotted throughout Japan.
And we can't miss out the purification water... I think they put that vending machine next to it on purpose, lol.
I don't think they were expecting tourists around here. I got the odd look while I had my camera out ^^;
Not quite sure what these were at the sides... Containers for holding ceremonial fires?
Place looked well maintained.
And had your usual wishes on wooden Emas and unlucky knots of O-mikuji fortunes tied up.
DIY brooms and chopped logs. The monks must be partly self-sufficient here.
And yes, more cats. This one looked very sleepy.
Well, time to move on before it got too dark to take good photos by hand. This part of the city was very clean, no graffiti like around Shibuya.
Cycling was very common and despite these signs cyclists don't actually go by the signs. This guy was sticking to them though.
A lot of the buildings looked quite unique and stood out from each other.
I headed north from Yoyogi-Hachiman towards Yoyogi Station where a few of the other 5cm spots were scattered nearby along the Odakyu railway line.
These mirrors can often be seen in Anime and quite popularly used as a camera angle. Kind of reminded me of Initial D where they watch the racers drift round the corners.
Again, not something you see back in Scotland. Corner mirrors I mean =P
Every building around here looked unique. It was like they were all designed by different people rather than mass produced by one single company.
Not exactly the exact scene from 5cm but, you can see how the manhole cover matches the ones in the area. Every area in Japan has their own unique design.
You could always see the Docomo tower in the distance.
No garden but plenty of plants to help add some greenery.
As you can see, there's a lot of possible routes to get to the next nearest spot from Hachiman Shrine. Just depends how adventurous you're feeling.
Didn't note down the exact route I went but this is fairly close... I didn't rely on Google Maps really. Instead, I marked down the spot and followed the compass so I had a general direction to go in. Ended up following the main road mostly ^^;
I probably should have left this final scene last but, the photo trail in this post would have been messed up so, I'll just keep it here to keep the chronological order anyway.
Yes, the spot featured in the ending scene where grown up Takaki might have passed by Akari again and finally managed to let go of his past =)
The last episode was very short so I ended up buying the novel and translated it for fans since I had a lot more time back in those undergraduate days. It's been over 3 years since then and now it's circulating around the internet be it in torrent form, zipped or self-hosted ^^;
And not too far away was also the crossing point where young Akari ran ahead of Takaki.
Vending machines are still in the same spot despite the movie being 9 years old now. Notice there are still construction trucks in the back too... Must be constant construction work in this area.
There was an old man there when I took this... Must be Takaki in his old age, lol. It's a busy spot with lots of people walking by so I didn't want to spend time waiting for the perfect shot.
And this was what was sold at the vending machines. I blame Steins;gate whenever I buy Dr. Pepper to drink =P
The buildings around the area may not have a lot of detailed carvings like back in Scotland but, they had their own uniqueness to them like this barber place.
You probably don't want to know the story behind the "barber's pole" - that common red, blue and white coloured pole you see that marks a barber's place. Not a nice one ^^;
It's just one 5cm spot after the other in this area.
Here was Sanguubashi Park which wasn't completed yet when the shots were taken for the Anime. The scene appears in both the first and last episodes.
If the park was completed at the time of the Anime maybe there would have been scenes of Akari and Takaki playing here.
Not really sure if cherry blossoms were in full bloom or I had waited too long to see them but, Yoyogi Park was certainly busy with people blossom viewing earlier.
And not far from the park was the little downhill path. I'll use the third episode for comparison here since it's closer to the modern day area.
There was a guy busy on the phone so I couldn't take a better angle of this spot. Didn't want to disturb him either although you'll hear him in the video later ^^;
As noted before, most places in Japan don't have street names. Most of them are just numbered like this, "Shibuya, Yoyogi 4th District, 5".
Houses like these must cost a fortune in such a densely populated like Shinjuku.
So back onto the main streets there were two more spots that were almost right next to each other.
The phone booth Akari had called Takaki from when she broke the news they were going to be in different high schools. Notice the huge amount of ground you can see in this scene to make the viewer feel young Akari's loneliness and helplessness.
I didn't quite manage to reproduce the shot but you can see the highway arching above the phone booth. Either they edited out the bike stand or it was added there over the years.
The spot was near Sangubashi Bridge.
Which also happens to overlook the train running on the Odakyu line. All the crossings from the first and third episode are from this line, really. To the right you can make out a small shrine with its symbolic red "torii" gate.
Of course, I went over for a closer look. My 5cm location hunt was in the same direction anyway.
Not very familiar with this Tsushima Shrine but looked very new or well maintained since it appeared in 5cm that's almost 10 years old.
Think Japan's the only place where you'd see so many wires overhead. Probably because they're easier to maintain than underground when the country's prone to earthquakes.
"Like a boss"... Don't know where that saying came from. Metal Gear Solid?
It was getting dark which meant it was going to get harder to shoot sharp photos without bumping up the ISO. That would mean very noisy photos so I tried to pick up the pace towards Shinjuku Station with the Docomo tower in the distance.
And as we get further into the Shinjuku area, the streets remain free of litter but not graffiti.
Narrow pavements like this were also quite common... If you could even call it that. Instead of an actual pavement it was just a white line painted on the road to mark the area where pedestrians walked.
Buildings continue to change in design as I walked on.
Not far now... Photo looks bright only because I bumped up the ISO for these shots. Otherwise you wouldn't see much ^^;
So, I walked all the way from Harajuku Station, west through Yoyogi Park to Yoyogi-Hachiman and then north to here, Yoyogi Station. Wasn't quite tired yet but bit hungry ^^;
You probably could have just hopped onto a train from Sangubashi Station so that you didn't have to walk as much but again, part of this location hunt was to see the local areas.
Here was the spot at a Toei Oedo Line crossing where grown up Akari was shown during the music video part of the movie. Click to see the uncropped photo with the Docomo tower in the background. The tower is shown in the movie too but of course it pans from the sky down to where Akari is.
If you tried to record this place as it was, the amount of movement in the area wouldn't have matched the theme song, "One More Time, One More Chance". They would have had to seal off the whole area like they did with World War Z, hire extras and tell them when to appear etc.
Would have been much more expensive to pull off the same kind of effect and mood. Fortunately it was Anime so Shinkai could control what happens in the scene easily.
In this scene everything in the Anime is made neat, clean and tidy while Akari stands out with her bright coloured clothes. The "Golden Ratio" rule probably applies here. There's also a lot of bright lighting and colour in contrast to the sad song.
Beautiful dawn as I continued my hunt ^^
Towering buildings all around... Shows how densely packed Shinjuku is. Don't think I'd like living here. Especially if I could only afford a tiny apartment the size of the hotel rooms ^^;
Some of the 5cm spots were quite close to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building which also happened to be a free observatory. That's why I chose to visit these set of spots last - chance for some night skyline photography.
I found this subway called, "One Day Street" that said would lead to the building so I decided to go in.
Wasn't that long of a walk through.
There was an interesting Seiko clock sculpture once I exited the subway. Not sure what the building was so I popped inside. All I saw was "Western Shinjuku".
When I got inside there were shops but most were closed apart from the restaurants. There was also another Seiko clock that looked pretty much the same. Everyone was wearing suits while I was in a casual flannel shirt so felt a bit out of place, lol.
Wasn't intending to look for this sculpture but I ended up passing by it anyway which is why I didn't capture it at the same angle as in the Anime. I think it's supposed to be a sundial and I probably wouldn't have remembered it if I didn't browse all the other 5cm location hunting blog posts out there.
This is where Takaki was coming out of Shinjuku Station after finding how busy the taxi queue was on Christmas Day. Busy spot with plenty of people in formal attire.
The spot's actually closer to Tochomae Station, near the Shinjuku Mitsui Building and a Canon Service Centre but the subway leads all the way into Shinjuku Station too.
Unfortunately, I can't quite remember the route I took at this point. All I can say is head towards the Metropolitan Building and you'll eventually get to these spots.
Well, that's all the spots I intended to visit in the area. The other locations were just too far for me ^^;
Now that I had finished my "Anime Pilgrimage" as the Japanese Otakusphere likes to call visiting places featured in Anime, it was time to visit the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in the distance.
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
I arrived at the base of the building but didn't see an entrance so I walked around a bit and ended up in a kind of underground parking lot...
Eventually I found one of the entrances. There are actually two observatories - north and south. I found the entrance to the north one.
You had your bag briefly searched before you were allowed to go up the lift. It was a government building after all and the prime minister comes here sometimes although it would probably have been sealed off by then, lol.
One thing for sure there weren't huge long queues.
I was 202 metres above ground so very short compared to Tokyo Skytree and even shorter than Abeno Harukas but the view was pretty nice. I think this was about the right height - more interesting than being high up looking at little dots of light =P
While walking around the shopping districts of Shibuya and Ginza it felt very much like walking around in Hong Kong's Tsim Sha Tsui... Just lots and lots of brand shops and department stores.
Great for the fashion conscious I guess.
Funny thing I found was a lot of the shop assistants had tablets on them and when they were stuck on how to interpret something they'd use Google Translate, lol. My friend did the same apparently when he went shopping alone and it works.
So, if you have a smartphone with you, be sure to pick up a SIM from a vending machine at the airport. It's not that expensive really if don't need a lot of bandwidth to watch YouTube or upload media files to social networks.
It was hard to take photos with the reflective windows so everyone was leaning forward over the rails to stick the lens right up against the windows.
Not quite sure what the blue dots in this shot were... Might have been the blue illumination lights from outside the building reflecting off dirty smear marks on the windows ^^;
From here you can see the NTT Docomo skyscraper I passed by earlier. Then there's the iconic Tokyo Tower in the distance which most Asian people probably grew up with from watching J-dramas. I don't watch any myself. Most recent ones was "Andoloyd" and "The Woman Who Doesn't Compromise" because they looked hilarious.
I think Hong Kong's Victoria Bay night view in Tsim Sha Tsui is probably more impressive... I can kind of see why so many Japanese tourists go there and why Hong Kong is nicknamed the "Pearl of Asia". Small place but with some great scenery.
Manners, convenience, cleanliness and quality of goods wise I think Japan still has the edge though.
Can't go anywhere in Japan without seeing a drinks vending machine.
I managed to walk around with my Gorillapod out and some other tourists had a full sized tripod out too but, wasn't too long before an old staff member ran over panicking, "Sir, you're not allowed tripods in here," and pointed to a sign.
How was I supposed to see this tiny sign? =/
There really wasn't that many windows to look through unlike the 360 view offered by the other two taller observatories I been to. Guess it's free though ^^;
Most of the floor was taken up by these stalls offering a whole mix of things and a restaurant. Food smelled nice, lol.
On the way out back to Shinjuku Station I actually came across a few more 5cm spots that I didn't intend to find.
Here was that big building Takaki stood outside, gazing up sadly at the snowing night sky although not so lonely with all those windows lit-up and people eating outside.
In the movie there are fewer windows lit and you see a "Merry Christmas" sign next to him too as he walked up the stairs. "Merry" indeed. Drama, eh?
Streets of Tokyo might be litter free but man, there's a lot of graffiti. I guess graffiti encourages creativity in some ways but, definitely not cool defacing other people's properties.
Subway was a big contrast which looked pristine, lol.
Argh! Eye of Sauron! Oh, I mean Eye of Shinjuku.
I just made that up. I don't know what this is called =P
It seems you'll inevitably come across 5cm locations if you travel around Shinjuku even if you don't go on a location hunt like I did.
Here was the taxi rank where Takaki was going to take a taxi home but decided to walk instead since it was so busy.
If you've never been to Japan, you might want to note taxi doors are controlled by the driver. You wait for them to open before you get on and also before you get off.
I don't know why but they also don't expect tips. Might have something to do with honour and hard work. They are also amazingly clean compared to taxis back in Scotland and drivers are very polite too.
Anime fans will probably find it fun to be addressed with the suffix "-sama" and no, it doesn't mean you're Lord/Lady something. You go to a maid/butler cafe for that sort of thing =P
So anyway, my 5cm location hunting route went something like this... What a walk it was!
I explored a lot so it will definitely have been more than 5km and well over 1 hour... I left at lunchtime noon and now it's dark after all but it was fun! I think it wouldn't have been as fun if I had someone guide me around rather than trying to find the spots myself and spending time exploring the area at the same time.
Evangelion Store
So, since the 5cm locations were quite close to Ikebukuro, I had a chance to drop into one of the official Evangelion Store there which was again in Parco. Really wanted to visit last night but it was too late.
I kind of got lost because I didn't know there was a second Parco building named "P Parco". I ended up walking around a floor full of ladies clothes in the main Parco building thinking it was hidden away in a corner. Then I checked the guide and found out it's in a different building...
And here we were. It was quite small compared to the Mugiwara Store and Pokemon Centre.
This fitting room obviously wasn't in use, lol. Most of the clothing items were for ladies as usual. I remember one colleague made this meme image in the office - formal wear for guys, suits. Formal wear for ladies, a million dresses =P
Don't touch Rei. She has an AT Field.
Some of the more expensive items included a replica of Misato's cross cost 20,000JPY (135GBP excluding tax) and I don't think it's tax free for tourists here... The Lance of Longinus necklace next to the keys looked like it would have been interesting to have. Design not completely Anime themed and it's awesome when a fellow fan recognises the symbol while everyone thinks it's just another item you wore.
There were also Evangelion themed e-ink watches too which were slightly more expensive than the cross. I don't think it can beat the Pebble in terms of functionality though.
There was a whole range of other merchandise too such as bags, phone cases (iPhone only, booooo), mugs and figures.
I didn't buy anything in the end because I was thinking ahead of how I would have to dispose of items when I got bored of them as usual... And a lot had art I've seen before, re-used art. Hate it when companies try to "milk" as much money as they can ^^;
Was kind of tempted to get a postcard or two featuring the posters from the Rebuild movies, though. Studio Khara did an awesome job with the remakes. Can't wait to see the final movie and see what direction they take it!
If you can read Japanese (or Sino characters at least), you'd probably have noticed this was where Nico Video, Japan's "YouTube", main office was located. So, I dropped down to see what was there.
There was a big butler cafe on one side (think maid cafe but butlers for the ladies) and Nico Video on the other with some merchandise on sale. Was very tempted to get the cute Nico mascot, lol.
Whole bunch of Nico Video Gatchapons too.
I think there was also some event going on. They were setting up a stage for an idol but I didn't stick around to find out.
Lots of 2D guy merchandise for the ladies in P'Parco. Guess that's why there's a butler cafe here ^^;
Aaand since there was a Bic Camera store in the area and there was still time before it closed, I dropped in to see if there were any more games I wanted to pick up.
They were really pushing promotions for FFXV. Going to be a big year for PS4 as far as JRPGs are concerned with Persona 5 coming out too.
One Piece was promoting razors too... Get a free One Piece toy when you buy one. Shows what a wide audience the show appeals to.
Electronic dictionaries seems irrelevant in this age of smartphones but they still sold them. Despite TV programmes building up an image of how high tech Japan is, a lot of companies still work the old way such as using fax machines instead of scanning documents for emailing according to one penfriend I used to write to.
Back in Scotland? Nearly everything is scanned and emailed unless your personal signature was required.
These Mount Fuji candy looked fun. Too bad I couldn't see it on the Shinkansen =/
Quick browse around the toys section to see if anything interesting to get. The Doraemon figures matched the modern day Anime designs so a bit different from the older ones Nakano Broadway had. Character designs have changed a bit over the years.
Now video games section, that's my floor!
There were some new retro game consoles that let you play old cartridge games again I think. Lots of 3DS face plates and video game trading cards.
Not going find an entire floor this size dedicated to video games back in Scotland.
This Bic Camera store had free leaflets to take away which I'm sure people who appreciate game art will like.
Well, been a looong walk today. Didn't get much apart from this 3DS XL faceplate protector. Tired of the big case I've been using to keep my 3DS free of scratches and what not.
公開日時 2016年 6月 26日
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Music » Sound Stories & Interviews
Out of Town3/6-3/13
thursday 6
Art-metal band Tool kicks off its first North American tour since 2012 in the Pacific Northwest, with Portland and Eugene occupying spots no. 2 and 3 respectively. The iconic band, known for its ever-shifting time signatures and progressive approach to the genre, is expected to release its fifth album—the first since 2006—sometime this year. Timing for the Portland show couldn't be much better. 8 pm. Moda Center. $40-$75.
Malt Ball
The aptly named Malt Ball—the music/beer fest sponsored by the Portland Mercury with Widmer Brothers Brewing and the Oregon Brewer's Guild—has grown to two days in its third year, and that's a good thing. With all these bands (and all that beer), there's a little something for everyone. The celebration of local bands and craft brews starts Friday with the Genders, Thanks, Grandhorse and Night Mechanic. On Saturday, the weekend-long event continues with Red Fang, the Woolen Men, Hot Victory, Campfires, Summer Cannibals, Your Rival, St. Even and Melville. 7 pm Friday, 2 pm-midnight Saturday. Wonder Ballroom. $50 for a two-day pass and 12 tasting tokens, $20-$40 otherwise.
Still not sure why Arrested Development's Tobias Fünke was so obsessed with a group of men resembling miming Smurfs? The Blue Man Group's upcoming tour stop in Portland may answer that question. The internationally acclaimed group uses performance art to explore how people connect with technology, and looks at other social relationships, including the role of the "outsider." The show features original percussive music, audience interaction, and a chance of blue paint smudges and splatters. 2 pm and 7:30 pm (additional times Friday and Sunday). Keller Auditorium. $35 and up.
Indie jazz/soul band Lake Street Dive may take its name from some of Minneapolis' seedier establishment, but the New England Conservatory of Music alums are making a name for themselves in the halls of late-night fame, with recent appearances on The Colbert Report and The Late Show with David Letterman, to support Lake Street Dive's recently released Bad Self Portraits—a collection of selfie-inspired love songs. 8 pm. Neptune Theatre. With special guest The Congress $18-$20.
Out of Town 6/25-7/2
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Harry Styles is bringing his music to the BBC show for a one-off show.
The TV special - called 'Harry Styles at the BBC, funnily enough - will be hosted by his longtime friend and BBC Radio 1 host Nick Grimshaw.
The 'Sign of the Times' singer will film the show in front of a live audience in Manchester and it'll be shown later this year in November.
"Harry is a great performer and full of so many wonderful stories about his extraordinary career, which he'll be sharing with us," Grimshaw said of his pal's show.
After taking some time out to promote his first feature film Dunkirk, Harry is back to the music and has announced 'Two Ghosts' as the second single from his self-titled album before he goes on tour next month.
The special is the perfect platform to showcase his solo debut, although we can't help but wonder if he'll pay tribute to One Direction by playing a song or two?


On Thursday, Nvidia released a new GeForce Game Ready WHQL driver for its GeForce graphics cards, version 375.57. As always, the driver can be obtained through the company's GeForce Experience desktop client, or by heading to the GeForce website to download and install manually. This new driver is optimized for Battlefield 1, Titanfall 2, Civilization VI, Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope, and Eagle Flight. Yep, that's quite a load!
According to Nvidia, Titanfall 2 developer Respawn Entertainment suggests that PC gamers use the GeForce GTX 1080 card for the ultimate experience, as it's capable of running the game at a 4K resolution at 60 frames per second. If customers can't afford the card, Nvidia suggests the GTX 1060 (starting price $250) given it can run Titanfall 2 at a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution at 60 frames per second.
More specifically, the Ultra specifications for running Titanfall 2 with a 3,840 x 2,160 resolution calls for the GTX 1080. The Recommended specs require a GTX 1060 running the game at 1,920 x 1,080 while the Minimum specs require the GTX 660 to run the game at 1,600 x 900. Despite all the talk about the GTX 10 Series cards, the game appears to be quite playable on older, lower-end models.
As for Battlefield 1, Nvidia recommends the GTX 1060 3GB card as well if customers want to run the game at a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution at 60 frames per second. The official recommended specs provided by Electronic Arts lists that very GeForce product along with the AMD Radeon RX 480 4GB graphics card. The minimum specs call for the GeForce GTX 660 2GB or the Radeon HD 7850 2GB.
As for what the new driver fixes or changes, there are three resolved issues with Windows 10 and only one resolved issue with Windows 8.1 and older. On the Windows 10 front, Nvidia addressed an issue caused in Mirror's Edge Catalyst running on more than one installed GeForce GTX 980M chip in SLI mode. Also listed is a fix for corrupt decals in Overwatch, and a fix addressing a refresh rate change on BenQ ZOWIE monitors.


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Embracing the Female Orgasm
Guest: Dr. Lisbeth Roy
in Girl Talk, Health
http://adviceforlifewithlynn.com/podcast-player/8159/embracing-female-orgasm.mp3
ORGASM.
Even writing it feels wrong.
But we're gonna get over that real quick, here.
When I told a few friends I was doing a podcast on the female orgasm – how to get it and how to keep it – EVERYONE had questions. The women would say, "Interesting. What kind of tips do you have?" The men would say, "Oh. wow! Tell me more! When can I listen to the podcast?"
I wanted to do this particular podcast after I met one of the most intriguing doctors ever. I met Dr. Lisbeth Roy in Boca Raton, Florida on a story I was doing about a new procedure that helps women have better orgasms. (It's called the "O Shot".) I personally came into the interview with my own catholic girl sexual hangups; the nuns taught me sex was for creation and certainly not to be enjoyed, especially by a woman. I didn't know what an orgasm was until my friends told me at 16 years old!
During this interview, Dr. Roy gives us a completely different perspective on sex, pleasure and intimacy. In this podcast, she gives women permission to find joy in sex and orgasm. She also gives men a tremendous amount of insight into the female sex drive… and how to keep the engine running! But more than anything, she goes into great detail about how a woman can have more pleasure, more joy, and ultimately, more intimacy — which is just as great as the orgasm itself!
I hope you find pleasure in this one!
Dr. Lisbeth Roy
"I believe that everyone has the choice to harness the power of their "human machine" and create habits that support optimal function and the realization of their full wellness potential." – Dr. Lizbeth Roy.
Lisbeth Roy, D.O. is the founder of Doctors Studio, a unique medical and aesthetic practice offering the most advanced non-surgical techniques for anti-aging, skin and body rejuvenation and sexual wellness procedures using all natural platelet rich plasma technology (PRP). Roy is also the founder and chief medical officer of Studio PRP, a turn-key training and business solution designed for physicians to successfully implement innovative regenerative medical therapies and techniques using Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP).


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Some clouds. Low near 10F. Winds light and variable..
Some clouds. Low near 10F. Winds light and variable.
Artycation students waiting for their waffles during cooking class this fall. Students return to Artycation in late January with music classes added to the lineup of art and cooking classes at CNY Arts Center. The group is seeking donations of good used guitars, ukuleles and recorders. For more information, visit CNYArtsCenter.com or email Mary Simmons at msim621 gmail.com.
CNY Arts Center's Artycation looking for donations
FULTON — CNY Arts Center is setting plans in place for the winter session of Artycation, a program of arts education for grades kindergarten-12 that will run for six weeks starting Jan. 28. Organizers are asking the community for help in gathering items for classes that will include music, art, cooking and more.
The full day program on Thursdays will serve up to 40 students in rotating classes from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The music class is looking for guitars, ukuleles and recorders for students to learn on.
"We're asking the community for donations of good, used guitars and/or ukuleles," said coordinator Mary Simmons. "We're hoping for 10 of each, guitars and ukuleles, so we have time to wipe down and sanitize between classes, but any donation is greatly appreciated."
The group is also looking for recorders for younger students. "We have long wanted to start a basic music program for our art kids," Simmons continued. "With more and more kids out of school on remote learning, we are the bridge to the arts to supplement their education. We could really use the community's support for this program."
The program, like all arts programming at the center, is also seeking scholarship sponsors to offset the cost of delivering the programming to struggling families.
"We have a scholarship fund named for Don Gillespie, the Fulton native artist who is now an aerospace artist for NASA and taught during Arty Camp for several summers," said Nancy Fox, Executive Director. "We are asking the community to consider donating to that fund, or sponsoring a student directly, so we can help students young and old access the rich art experiences we offer across all our programming.
"Art and music are natural escapes in these troubling times, " Fox continued. "We will continue to deliver this quality programming all year long. If our winter session is cancelled, we will try again in the spring, then follow with Arty Camp in the summer and be right back at it in the fall. There is so much good we can do for the children. We appreciate the support for getting our Center open. We're asking for your support now as we turn our focus to programming that will have a direct impact on student's lives."
For more information, visit CNYArtsCenter.com or email Mary Simmons at msim621@gmail.com.
Oswego News
Massena school district working to establish school vaccination clinic


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Medipol Mega University Hospital
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Prenatology is available at Medipol Mega University Hospital
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You care for pregnant women, gynecologists team Vithas Xanit International Hospital develops comprehensive care to women, including all gynecological processes throughout their life. Giving coverage from adolescence through menopause.
Prenatology is available at Vithas Xanit International Hospital
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Hospital San Jose Tec De Monterrey
A JCI accredited hospital, located 150 miles from the border with Texas, United States. The hospital is a full range tertiary care hospital, with five areas of excellence: Cardiology, Oncology, Neuroscience, Organ Transplant and Liver Disease.
Prenatology is available at Hospital San Jose Tec De Monterrey
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Prestigious destination that conducts first class medical procedures.
Prenatology is available at Hospital Médica Sur
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Hospital Quirónsalud Torrevieja is an ISO-certified private hospital located in the north of Torrevieja, championing excellence in cancer treatment and management.
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Prenatology is available at Hospital Quirónsalud Torrevieja
Hospital Ruber Internacional
The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology is committed to providing the highest standard of care for our patients and their families. Comprehensive care, including access to specialty trained physicians as well as the latest treatment modalities, offers patients the greatest opportunity.
Prenatology is available at Hospital Ruber Internacional
Hospital General de Catalunya
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Prenatology is available at HGC
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Mitera hospital is a specializes hospital for women and children, with comprehensive pediatric, gynecological and maternal healthcare services. It is affiliated with Harvard's Mass General Hospital for Children and Yale Children's Hospital.
Prenatology is available at Mitera Hospital
Hospital Universitario de San Vicente Fundación
The Department of High Obstetric Risk, led by the University of Antioquia, operates in the Department. Its objective is to perform high-complexity prenatal care for pregnant women with significant risks or diseases that may complicate pregnancy
Prenatology is available at Hospital Universitario San Vicente
Hospital Quirónsalud Malaga
With more than 36 medical specialties, 200 physicians and surgeons of the highest level, Hospital Quirónsalud Málaga is one of the most pertinent hospitals in Spain.
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Ob-Gyn centers abroad (Page 1 of 2)
About Prenatology
This information is intended for general information only and should not be considered as medical advice on the part of Health-Tourism.com. Any decision on medical treatments, after-care or recovery should be done solely upon proper consultation and advice of a qualified physician.
What is Perinatology?
This is a branch of medicine that is a subspecialty of obstetrics and it focuses on the care of the fetus and the mother before during and shortly after pregnancy. It also deals with high-risk pregnancies that are complicated. Perinatology is also known as maternal-fetal medicine (MFM).
Who is a perinatologist?
Medical doctors who practice perinatology are known as maternal-fetal specialists or perinatologists. They are specialists in the field of obstetrics and may perform any prenatal tests required, provide necessary treatments and perform relevant surgeries. Although it is highly advised to consult with a perinatologist in high risk and complicated pregnancies, you can consult with one during a low-risk pregnancy. They closely work with neonatologists and pediatricians after birth. They also assist the mother with complications caused by the pregnancy and pre-existing health conditions or concerns.
What services do they provide?
Complications can arise during pregnancy and maternal-fetal specialists provide the best care and management to the mother and fetus.
They can do a consult or be the primary obstetrician.
They also follow up with the patient postpartum and monitor any arising health issues.
Perinatologists strive to improve mother and fetus health by preventative measures, diagnosis, treatment and management through education, training and research.
What training do perinatologists have?
Perinatologists are medical doctors who have had four years of residency training in gynecology and obstetrics. They also have an additional two to three years training in the diagnosis, treatment and management of disorders affecting the mother and fetus.
Perinatologists have to train in invasive prenatal diagnosis, obstetric ultrasound, and management of high-risk pregnancies. Some have additional training in the field of prenatal therapy and fetal diagnosis.
Some of the tests perinatologists are specialists in performing include:
Amniocentesis: This test is used to diagnose fetal infections and chromosomal abnormalities such as Down's syndrome. It is also used to determine the sex of a child. The test is also known as the amniotic fluid test.
Chorionic villus sampling (CVS): This determines the genetic or chromosomal disorders in the fetus. It involves sampling of the placental tissue (chorionic villus) and then testing it for any chromosomal abnormalities.
Cardiotocography (CTG): This test is used to record uterine contractions and the fetal heartbeat during pregnancy. This test is also known as the nonstress test.
Ultrasound: This test is used to visualize the fetus during routine and emergency prenatal care.
Fetoscopy: This is an endoscopic procedure that allows access to the fetus, umbilical cord, amniotic cavity and the fetal side of the placenta during pregnancy.
Open fetal surgery: This involves opening the uterus completely so as to operate on the fetus.
Fetal blood sampling and transfusion
Who does a perinatologist treat?
Pregnant women who have conditions such as heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes, hypertension, and thrombophilia
Pregnant women who are at high risk of pregnancy-related complications such as pre-eclampsia, preterm labor, and multiple pregnancies
Pregnant women whose fetuses are at risk due to congenital or chromosomal abnormalities, infections, maternal disease, growth restriction and genetic diseases
Pregnant women with drug use before or during pregnancy
Women who have difficulty conceiving
Learn more about Prenatology
Maternal-fetal medicine on Wikipedia the Free encyclopedia
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Hotel Design and Project Management
Sales + Marketing
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'Ohana' In Action
Is the industry heading toward a profit recession?
Hoteliers have struggled to raise rate for many reasons
Tips for yielding the best rates on each channel
3 Denver hotels share lessons learned as they hit major milestones
Executive Voice: Navin Dimond built a hotel empire, now he urges 'courage' through giving
6 Strategies to help recruit, retain hotel employees
In hotel-crazy Denver, transformation of historic Emily Griffith campus into lodging, retail space begins
Checking in #49: Why Some Hoteliers Can't Get Some Things Right
How hoteliers strategize for 2019 US calendar shifts
Denver's Stonebridge Cos. grows its Colorado hotel empire, welcomes Gaylord competition, exec says
Courtyard by Marriott Loveland/ Fort Collins Opens in Colorado
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Originally appeared in RED MSU Denver in July, 2019
Bryson Cayaban brings the Hawaiian tradition of treating guests like family to his career in hospitality.
Growing up on the island of Kaua'i, Bryson Cayaban received an early introduction to the Hawaiian tradition of treating others like 'Ohana' – family.
"My family is deeply involved in the hospitality and food-service industries on Kaua'i – from engineering to housekeeping," he said. "Both of my grandfathers also worked on sugar plantations for most of their lives."
In addition to a family history of hospitality, Cayaban's grandparents were determined to give their children and grandchildren access to higher education. "My grandfather called education 'the golden key' – the key to success," he said. "It is important for me to continue my family's legacy of education and honor their sacrifices."
After graduating from high school in 2013, Cayaban searched for a city on the mainland where he could attend college and build a life. Denver's diverse population, active city life and weather proved a perfect fit for the Hawaii native. Originally a political-science major at the University of Colorado Denver, Cayaban got involved in student government, which gave him the chance to plan events around campus.
"My interest in hospitality was becoming an undeniable passion," he said. "I even started working in guest services at a private country club when I returned home on break."
During a trip home for Thanksgiving break in 2015, Cayaban spent time considering the possibility of turning his passion into a career. After returning to Denver and meeting with Chad Gruhl, Ph.D., professor of hotel management with the School of Hospitality, Events and Tourism (HEaT), he chose to transfer to the Metropolitan State University of Denver hotel-management program the following spring.
"The School of HEaT faculty hooked me on MSU Denver," he said. "They have years of real-world experience to share, and they want you to succeed."
Two years later, talking to a classmate about their experience as a Dimond Fellow alerted Cayaban to an unexpected opportunity. He had enough credits to graduate in December 2018, and his family was flying from Kaua'i to join him, but he was tempted to apply for the Rita and Navin Dimond Fellows Program.
In 2014, a generous gift made by Rita and Navin Dimond – founders of Stonebridge Companies, a Denver-based, privately owned, innovative hotel owner, operator and developer – established the Rita and Navin Dimond Fellows Program. The program allows recipients to gain hands-on experience at select Stonebridge Companies properties across Denver. The Dimond Fellows Program accepts students twice a year, selecting among applicants who have completed a minimum of 60 credits toward any School of HEaT degree program.
With a fast-approaching deadline, Cayaban quickly completed the application. "I was not confident I'd be selected," he said, "but a voice in the back of my mind told me to apply."
While waiting to learn his fellowship fate, Cayaban continued his daily routine of attending classes, followed by walking to his job in guest services at the Four Seasons Hotel Denver. Right before graduation he was invited to become a Dimond Fellow. Acceptance meant taking one more class and staying at MSU Denver for an additional semester.
"It was a personal decision to extend my academic program," he said. "I felt like I wasn't done."
As planned, Cayaban's family joined him in December to watch him achieve his dream of earning his degree – five years after dropping him off at a dorm room over 3,000 miles from home.
"I was proud to bring my family to MSU Denver," he said. "They were in awe of Commencement and President (Janine) Davidson's speech, and amazed by my fellowship site and the HLC facilities."
That spring, Cayaban began his fellowship at Stonebridge Companies' Renaissance Hotel – Denver Downtown City Center, housed in Denver's historic Colorado National Bank building. Stonebridge Companies purchased the space, which had been slated for demolition, in 2011 and renovated it in a way that honors the history and architecture of the original building – keeping murals from 1925 in the lobby and bank vaults in meeting spaces.
"Every Stonebridge Companies property is unique," Cayaban said. "The Dimonds do an amazing job of honoring the past while building the future."
The fellowship taught Cayaban how to run a successful hotel. He built relationships with hotel staff and came to understand the ins and outs of the hotel's major departments – including engineering, housekeeping, guest services, marketing, operations and more.
"It is a privilege to provide guests with a sense of home while they are away," he said. "In Hawaii, we refer to that as 'ohana.' Ohana means family."
With his fellowship complete, Cayaban continues to work at the Four Seasons, with plans to attend graduate school. He is proud to have been able to connect his family's commitment to education with the missions of MSU Denver and Stonebridge Companies.
"When I got to Denver, I was all alone – I am grateful for the warm welcome I received," he said. "The cherry on top was my Stonebridge experience. I will always be an ambassador for my MSU Denver and Stonebridge families."
By: Lynne Winter
Originally appeared in Hotel News Now in July, 2019
By: Danielle Hess
Executives at the recent HSMAI Chief Revenue Officer Executive Roundtable in Minneapolis discussed how they're thinking about rates at a late point in the hotel industry cycle and the possibility of a profit recession. They also talk on video about the transition from revenue management to revenue strategy.
As the hotel industry cycle continues to show signs of age, raising rates has been more of a challenge for hoteliers, but revenue experts said they're not ready to throw in the towel just yet.
During an HSMAI Chief Revenue Officer Executive Roundtable in Minneapolis, Raul Moronta, SVP of revenue strategy at Crescent Hotels & Resorts, said the industry is close to a "profit recession."
"We're probably about a month away from having a profit recession, meaning there's a number of hotels that would actually have two consecutive quarters of negative growth on the GOP line," he said. "So when you're sitting at a 2% growth in the revenue mark, no average rate growth and every other expense is growing faster, you're going to have a hard time making your profit grow on a year-over-year basis."
To overcome rate struggles, hoteliers should focus on total profitability and find ways to grow ancillary revenue, said Priya Chandnani, VP of revenue management at Benchmark.
"We still have a hotel and we still have a space that we can (use) to generate revenue," she said. "Now (we can) push our boundaries and say, 'How do we leverage function space? How do we leverage food and beverage? How do we invest in spa?' to be able to bring up that ancillary revenue that we would have otherwise liked to get from robust rates."
Planning for a downturn
The Great Recession took many by surprise, but revenue experts said their teams are more prepared for a downturn this time around.
"We are a lot smarter than we were 11 years ago when things went south," said Kerry Mack, EVP of revenue and distribution at Highgate Hotels. "There are a lot more revenue executives and professionals and staff and analysts, so I think we're in a better foundation to deal with that and to not panic."
Chandnani added that her company has its "fences in place" to get through a recession.
"We know that we're not going to drive demand through some of the high-cost distribution channels," she said. "We put fences in place to be able to drive demand through some of those low-cost channels, and we're starting to think about that already and we're implementing strategies now, which will help us in the future, so I think we're definitely better prepared at this point."
While many revenue managers experienced the last recession and know what they would do differently the next time around, Chris Cheney, VP of hotel performance and analytics at Stonebridge Companies, said he's not sure how revenue technology will react.
"We don't know what the AI is going to do differently … and a major concern I have is what's going to happen with pricing strategy when a system is geared toward driving every dollar of (revenue per available room) it can realizes the fastest way to get RevPAR is to sell another room, even if it's at a garbage rate," he said. "That's not the approach we would take, but currently, that's the approach the system would take. I don't know how fast they can get it to evolve before it starts spiraling out of control."
Originally appeared in Hotel News Now in June, 2019
A laundry list of issues have combined to erode hoteliers' abilities to increase rates even while the industry fundamentals have remained strong.
By many measures, the current U.S. hotel cycle has been a great one, in part because of its exceptional length and durability.
But if there's one area where the current cycle has fallen short, it's been hoteliers' continued inability to increase rates even as they've enjoyed record high occupancies, sources said.
The rate issue has been the subject of serious study, said Carter Wilson, SVP of consulting and analytics for Hotel News Now's parent company STR.
"There has been some pretty comprehensive analysis of why we've seen record-high occupancies and rate has effectively stayed at zero when you take away inflation," he said. "That's in stark contrast to the late '90s when there might have been high occupancies, but it wasn't as high as it is now."
So what was the broad takeaway for that analysis?
"There's no silver bullet to what the problem is," Wilson said. "It's a combination of many different things."
And there is no one type of hotel or segment in the industry that has been immune to the phenomenon, he noted.
A crisis of confidence
To raise rates, hoteliers have to believe they have the power to do so. For most of the current cycle, that belief has been in short supply, sources said.
Wilson noted the Great Recession of 2008 and 2009 took a mental and emotional toll on hoteliers.
"People were still freaked out by 2009 and more hesitant to push rate," he said.
Helga Buszta, VP of revenue management for Filament Hospitality, said at least part of the issue is a generally young and inexperienced workforce that didn't recognize exactly how much pricing power it should have had.
"Revenue management is not in its infancy, but we're cycling through so many individuals who have been minimally exposed to past events," she said. "Some lack that confidence."
While lack of confidence or inexperience wouldn't be universal, one hotel's ability to drive rate is dependent on whether its competitors are also driving rate.
Buszta noted this underscores the importance of industrywide education.
However, the problem isn't simply that the industry isn't sophisticated enough with revenue management, Wilson said.
"You can easily find many instances of effective revenue and yield management all the time, especially around special events and markets with high compression nights," he said.
Sources agreed that many instances during this cycle highlighted the fact hoteliers have prioritized driving occupancy over rate.
"There are many theories on why operators are incentivized to sell out properties at the expense of cutting rates," Wilson said.
Chris Cheney, VP of hotel performance and analytics for Stonebridge Companies, said one of the drivers of this has been the structure of loyalty program reimbursements for properties, which often made big jumps if hotels could achieve certain occupancy thresholds.
"So that put you in a position where you had to focus on that occupancy to get that reimbursement rate," he said.
He noted hoteliers are often able to rebound more easily when missing on rate targets than with occupancy.
Both Cheney and Buszta noted many of the automated revenue-management systems being deployed by brands or third parties have the impact of de-emphasizing rate as they're more driven by revenue per available room.
"Those tools, depending on how much we can influence them and rely on them to be in autopilot, also have the potential to hurt us," Buszta said.
Cheney noted they are "entirely RevPAR-focused," which often can be out of line with what owners really want.
"They're not (ADR-), GOP- or NOI-focused," he said. "If the system can find more RevPAR by selling to groups you wouldn't normally, that's exactly what it'll do."
Wilson noted some hoteliers seem to have de-emphasized rate, believing higher occupancies can more than make up for a lack of rate growth in some circumstances due to increases in things like food and beverage revenue.
Supply overload
Like so many other issues in the hotel industry, the lack of rate growth can be somewhat attributed to supply growth, at least in some areas. That's becoming an increasing issue as the cycle ages, Cheney said.
"We're seeing supply growth match demand growth, which puts a damper on pricing power a bit," he said.
This has been largely an individual market issue, sources said, but Cheney noted some markets have been hit by the opening of especially large properties that can considerably shift dynamics within a market or submarket.
"Some markets have seen large chunks of supply come online with big boxes opening, and that has a ripple effect on group composition and rates," he said. "Some hotels (sacrifice rate) to try to gobble up as much business as they can get before those big boxes get there. And after they open, there's much more competition for large groups."
Distribution and transparency
One of the clearest differences between the current cycle and previous ones is the prevalence and dominance of online third parties in the booking process, particularly the online travel agencies.
Wilson said this leads to an overall more complicated landscape for hoteliers managing rates.
"There are so many more channels now in general that property managers have to understand the right balance of," he said. "If you're trying to think about all the potential combinations that can drive rate the most, that's a lot to learn and understand."
Buszta said one of the problems is the OTAs—while great at assisting in customer acquisition—are often built around the idea of luring in travelers with promises of deals and discounts, and that's only become more popular with the rise of sites with last-minute bookings and flash sales.
"That's what drives that audience now; they're going out there to search for a deal," she said. "In my opinion, many of the OTAS have changed guests' mentality."
Buszta noted it's driven many travelers to be less brand loyal, which presents opportunities for hotel companies with wholly independent portfolios.
Cheney said the effects of rate transparency "can't be ignored."
"I fully support what the brands are doing to make sure guests have awareness and see the value in booking the most direct channels," he said.
The rise of alternatives
Cheney noted the rise of alternative-accommodations platforms such as Airbnb can't be ignored when piecing together the puzzle of tepid rate growth.
"You don't want to overemphasize alternative lodging, but if you go back three or four years, you see a lot of studies saying things like Airbnb are not having an impact on the hotel sector," he said. "And I think today, broadly speaking, there's more of a recognition that there's an impact."
Quantifying that impact can still be difficult, but he noted at his company it's clear it has a corrosive effect on rates around events with a massive spike in leisure demand, pointing specifically at New Year's Eve in New York City, spring break in Florida and South by Southwest in Austin, Texas.
"At South by Southwest specifically, prior to the rise of that alternative supply, hotels had immense pricing power because there was more demand than the market could accommodate," he said. "That really let you drive price, but now there's a demand release valve since it lets you ratchet up supply. That's really reduced pricing power in key markets."
What's the solution?
Hoteliers hoping to hear there is a simple fix to all of these problems are set up for disappointment, sources said.
Buszta said one of the most important things hoteliers have to do is educate themselves and communicate across the industry.
"It's about communicating (across the industry) in general so we all know what's plaguing and benefiting us," she said. "Industry and (chamber of commerce) events are great for bringing in information and expanding your information base."
Cheney said one of the more positive recent changes from at least some of the major brands is a de-emphasis of occupancy tiers in their loyalty redemption formulas.
"There's less of a push now to get over that ledge," he said.
The current environment also underscores the need to establish base business, such as groups, early in the process, Buszta said.
"You should do whatever you can to build that base further out," she said.
But that doesn't have to only mean groups. Buszta noted she's a big fan of using advanced purchase rates to layer in base business.
"There some argument about whether advance purchase should be considered discounting, but I really don't think it is," she said.
By: Sean McCracken
Getting the highest possible rates from various booking channels still requires some human interaction, as well as continuing to educate a hotel's revenue-management team and its front office, sources said.
What's your strategy for getting the highest possible rates?
GDS Bookings
Chris Cheney, VP of hotel performance and analytics, Stonebridge Companies:
"Really focus on the booking window and the pricing power you have within each booking window. Thirty days out, you don't have the same price elasticity as three days out. There are very different purchasing behaviors and different strategies deployed. Often consumer behavior is ignored when making pricing decisions and instead (revenue managers) look at how other hotels are priced."
OTA Bookings
Eric Gravelle, VP of revenue management, North America, Diamond Resorts:
"Working with the various OTAs is a partnership. We have found the best way to maximize revenue potential is by building an individual relationship with the market managers. With this in place, it is easier to be remembered and included in targeted promotions and initiatives. This will then help increase your placement and exposure. My team knows that OTA does not mean cheap."
Property-Direct Bookings
Tina Meredith, VP of portfolio revenue strategies, PM Hotel Group:
"It is crucial for our front-office teams to be part of the revenue-management process when it comes to property-direct bookings. In today's world, even though most hotels do not have on-site reservation departments … education for the front-desk team about upgraded room types, different package offerings and how to resist price-fading all play an important role in ensuring we consistently achieve the highest possible rates. How our hotels set their rate strategies, whether it be for day of or advance bookings, will always be based on demand in the market, among other factors. However, converting those property-direct calls to actual reservations at quality rates is directly linked to ongoing education and communication with our associates."
Meredith: "Group rate strategy needs to encompass several key factors to support achieving the highest possible rates. Our sales and revenue-management leaders use a multi-prolonged approach to accomplish this. It starts with being knowledgeable about the compression and demand periods in the market, which allows us to set retail, and therefore, group strategies appropriately. … Our hotels are also focused on selling retail and group rates by room type. This allows for higher group rates on the most demand room types. Additionally, minimal accepted group rates are adjusted on a regular basis in the sales system, adjusted for changes in group pace and evolving market conditions."
Wholesale Bookings
Helga Buszta, VP of revenue management, Filament Hospitality:
"Wholesale is very relationship-heavy. It's very much old-school sales. For me, a lot of this comes down to knowledge. Speak to your partners to get to know their customers and stay on top of how their customers mix and (how) feeder markets are changing."
Voice-Channel Bookings
Monte Gardiner, managing director, revenue management services, Best Western Hotels & Resorts:
"A strong brand ambassador who can guide the transaction is key. Consumers are more likely to buy and spend more when dealing with an individual who is considerate, empathetic and personable—making the human connection and customer relationship a critical element. Beyond that, the representative must be able to present our product in the best possible light. It is essential that they are well-versed on the value proposition of each brand, individual properties and key amenities. The most important asset in driving the highest possible rates from voice channel bookings is a well-informed brand ambassador who can connect with the customer."
Originally appeared in Denver Business Journal in May, 2019
In Denver's quickly growing hotel market, where some 7,000 new rooms have opened over the past two-and-a-half years, it's no longer good enough to just offer a quality lodging facility to attract and retain guests.
As three prominent hotels in and around downtown Denver — each of whom has gained national attention — reach milestone anniversaries this year, their operators each have stories to tell about how they have swerved, adapted and put forth their unique properties to get there. And their leaders all sat down with the Denver Business Journal over the past three weeks to offer some insight into their success.
Hotel Teatro — 20 years
In a city now teeming with boutique hotels, Hotel Teatro was the original — the former Denver Tramway Co. headquarters turned into an independently owned 110-room facility that quickly grew into a lodging spot for celebrities playing concerts or getting their time on stage in the Denver Center for the Performing Arts that sits across the street. At the white-tablecloth restaurant, Chef Kevin Taylor served up high-end meals, and locals and out-of-towners alike were drawn to this unbranded experience in the heart of a booming city.
But as independent boutiques became closer to the norm than an outlier in the Denver market over the past five years especially — think The Crawford, The Maven, Halcyon – A Hotel at Cherry Creek — leaders at the Teatro knew they couldn't rest on their original laurels or unique situation. Taylor closed his eponymous restaurant five years ago and the Teatro brought its food service in-house, opening The Nickel, a high-end restaurant known for experimental seasonal dishes and barrel-aged spirits. In early 2018, San Francisco-based owners Dinapoli Capital Partners funded a $2.5 million renovation that added amenities like 50-inch TVs in the largest makeover in hotel history.
Still, the Teatro has no loyalty-rewards program affiliation, and its event space is much smaller than many other downtown hotels, leaving it at a disadvantage for attracting group events. It doesn't have the marketing budget of competitors and, at 85 employees, is one of the smaller-staffed hotels in the Denver area.
General manager David Coonan, who took over day-to-day operations four years ago, has used the small size and the lack of corporate oversight policies to stay nimble and to experiment with draws that many name brands couldn't turn around so quickly. For example, when his food-and-beverage staff began seeing the rising popularity of CBD, a non-intoxicating compound extracted from cannabis, it quickly developed two alcoholic-drink recipes using CBD for The Nickel and saw them become wildly popular as the first such drinks available in the downtown bar scene.
"There was no chance we could have done that" if owned by a publicly traded company, said Coonan, who spent 22 years with Hyatt Hotels Corp. (NYSE: H) before coming to the Teatro. "If there's a trend in the market, we can get out ahead of it. … We have that freedom to operate here completely independently."
And while the sales team continues to pitch the historic nature of the hotel when they attend national conferences — it's on the National Register of Historic Places — they also seek out targeted smaller group business, selling organizations on the individual attention offered by the staff. Education and legal groups continue to frequent the space, and at a time when occupancy is on the decline at most downtown hotels because of the increase in rooms available, the occupancy percentage at the Teatro is actually on pace for growth this year.
"We have to work hard at it every day," Coonan said. "But just being a really engaged hotel is what gives us our advantage."
Renaissance Denver Downtown City Center Hotel — 5 years
While Stonebridge Companies' plan to open a Renaissance hotel downtown in 2014 wasn't even unique to Denver, its decision to convert the 98-year-old Colorado National Bank building into travel lodging drew all sorts of gawking attention. For several years, general manager Michael Damion said, the unique structure — lined with the historic work of muralist Allen Tupper True depicting Native American life at the turn of the 20th century — generated traffic almost by itself, whether from guests seeking a true Denver experience or tourists wanting to stop inside for a drink and meal.
But even as the hotel's revenue, profits and market share has grown every year of its existence — its revenue per available room (RevPAR) has been escalating at a steady pace of 2 to 2.5% and projects to continue doing so for the next few years — the leadership team knew they had to do something to keep the experience fresh. So, in addition to diving into some renovations before the usual seven-year window hit (they just added 55-inch TVs to all 230 guest rooms this month, Damion noted), they sought ways to accentuate far more than the overnight-stay experience.
Michael Gayle — the hotel's "lead navigator" or concierge — offers guided tours of the property, both for drop-in visitors and as part of deals that guests can purchase along with drink and food packages. The extensive lobby that features the murals now hosts weekly entertainment, a monthly artist series and a monthly "Learning Chef" event where cooks from the hotel's restaurant, Range, demonstrate their modern-western techniques.
And, as such, the Renaissance becomes more than just a hotel, offering non-monetary incentives for leisure travelers to choose it over nearby unique lifestyle hotels or to book it for a business trip.
To spread the word about such amenities, Damion has hired on a public-relations firm that provides the hotel an active presence on social media. And it's developed relationships with local businesses and even the Denver Center for the Performing Arts to bring in the lunch and dinner crowds — Range has no problem pulling in 100 to 120 covers for a mid-week lunch — and emphasize its service aspect.
Damion, who spent many years in the Washington D.C. market, is not hedging on his hotel's growth potential, even as the downtown market becomes fuller and national economists warn of a looming recession. He believes cultivating a unique place will help it weather any storms ahead, just as it has for the past half-decade.
"This market is exploding, and it's becoming a first-tier city," he said. "We don't really see that stopping for the next couple of years."
The Ramble Hotel — 1 year
In time, people may say it was a no-brainer that developer Ryan Diggins open a 50-room boutique hotel on the edge of the River North Art District neighborhood that had exploded with restaurants and breweries but never been home to a full-service lodging facility as of May 2018. But at the time he decided to move forward with The Ramble Hotel at 1280 25th St., he faced so many skeptics that the atmosphere practically dictated that he run the upscale hotel himself, so that he could put into place the details he believed would make the hotel stand out.
A big part of that came in the design of the building, allowing for it to reflect the urban-chic sensibilities of the neighborhood without being so spartan that people felt they were staying in one of the converted warehouses that surrounded it. While he thought the independent facility would be leisure-heavy because of this — and it nears 100 percent occupancy on most weekends — he's found a surprisingly robust mix of business clients that have taken to the technology and feel of The Ramble.
He also refused to drop room rates in order to attract guests in the early going, believing that he would not be able to create the long-term reputation of the hotel if he engaged in the same "race to the bottom" in which he sees other downtown-area hotels participating when their occupancy rates appear poised to dip. The average daily rate has remained around $259 even during leaner weekdays, and by the end of the second month of operations, revenues had stabilized to the point where management felt comfortable with the model.
Diggins also bet heavily the food and beverage amenities in the small hotel not only would be needed to add non-guest revenues to its bottom line but that they could be done in such a way that The Ramble would attract both local and national attention.
After convincing legendary New York bar Death & Co. to open just its second location in its facility, he invested in a press tour of New York City, generating articles about the hotel that have helped to bring in significant numbers out-of-state guests. And then he turned around and waited several months for the opening of Super Mega Bien, a pan-Latin dim-sum eatery from attention-attracting chef Dana Rodriguez that has solidified a local crowd while also giving visitors to the area a location that is attached to the hotel at a time he estimates that two-thirds of the incoming traffic to Denver is based around eating or drinking somewhere in particular.
"I have no doubt that's what's driving our weekends. People want to come and check this out. The hotel is just a part of the whole thing in Denver," Diggins said. "When you walk through the doors, there is a sanctuary of escapism."
Finally, rather than looking to grow partnerships or license the name of the hotel, Diggins has spent the first 12 months of its existence focusing on keeping the facility running at top shape. He paid attention to the website to make sure it is working, limited events at the facility (including its Vauxhall event space) in order to let the catering team get up to speed in the first few months and made sure the service and maintenance functions of the hotel worked perfectly before taking on new areas of growth.
As a result, The Ramble made it to U.S. News' annual Denver rankings during its maiden voyage. And it's primed for even more success in the years ahead — even as it keeps its focus local, despite calls to expand.
"All over, there's people now approaching us. But until we can say we're the best hotel in Colorado, why would I go learn another city?" he asked. "For now, we just want to water the garden that's here. There's no need to go plant elsewhere."
By: Ed Sealover – Reporter, Denver Business Journal
Navin Dimond wasn't supposed to be here — physically or professionally.
The son of blue-collar immigrant parents who worked as a bus driver and factory worker in London, Dimond viewed education as his way to move up in life, and he received three college degrees in his quest to do so. But it was only by chance that he came to Denver after receiving his undergraduate degree from Washington State University in 1985, choosing to sleep on a friend's couch as he looked for jobs and eventually ended up working as an intern in the University of Denver's executive MBA program while he used the tuition break from that job to get his master's degree.
Thirty-four years later, Dimond's Stonebridge Companies operates 60 hotels across the United States — two-thirds of which he owns — while managing more than 11,500 rooms and employing more than 4,000 associates. Roughly half that stock is in Denver, where he's transformed an old bank into the Renaissance Denver Downtown City Center Hotel and is getting ready to renovate the old Emily Griffith school across from the Colorado Convention Center into the city's first Tapestry Collection by Hilton facility, among other projects.
Dimond can talk at length about how to spot a good opportunity to develop or manage a hotel from New Orleans to Seattle — he says he probably accepts only 1% of the deals he is offered — and about why Denver is such a booming market. He also is willing to continue to bet big on the Mile High City, believing its attractiveness for both business and leisure travelers will continue to foment growth in the market despite a boom cycle that has lasted nearly a decade now.
But in addition to being known as one of the state's biggest hotel magnates, Dimond is growing a reputation as one of its most significant philanthropists as well. In 2014, he donated $1.5 million to Metropolitan State University of Denver to help it launch a hospitality fellowship program in which students compete for the chance to do intensive professional-development work in the industry for one year. Earlier this year, he broadened his university giving, offering $5 million from the Dimond Family Foundation to University of Denver to build a freshman residential hall.
Dimond and his foundation focus their giving on two areas: education and children's organizations, particularly those that help impoverished children who may have drug-addicted parents or who may need early-childhood education in third-world countries. The reason is simple: The 57-year-old married husband of two daughters understands what it's like to grow up poor, and he understands how education can change such a life.
"Between those two causes, I think you touch everyone in the world," Dimond said. "When you're born, you don't get to vote 'I want to be Bill Gates' child.' You are the most innocent human you can be. And you can be in tough places."
While Dimond has been a pace-setter for the local hotel industry with his historic renovations and wide range of investments, he would like to have more sway when it comes to corporate giving. Not only does he believe that more leaders in the Denver business community should be willing to donate time and money to charitable causes, but he believes there needs to be more collaboration among nonprofits to make more efficient use of community philanthropy and ensure that organizations are not overlapping in unhelpful ways.
"I think the notion of giving can take courage," he said. "I'd like to give more people the courage to give. There's plenty of wealth in this town."
That will become even more true as more people and companies move to Denver — a migration that is happening because people understand the town more than they ever have on a national level, he said. It took a bit of circumstance and luck for Dimond to get here and to make that connection, but he's using the love he's found for this place to employ people and to give them the hand-up they need to maybe do the same one day.
"I didn't think I'd be here. Sometimes I look and say 'Why am I sitting in this seat getting interviewed by you? I'm a kid who was born to two immigrant parents,'" he said from his company's Denver Tech Center headquarters. "No, I didn't expect this. But I'm happy it was here."
By: Ed Sealover
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Originally appeared in Hotel Management in May, 2019
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national unemployment rate currently sits at 3.6 percent, a 49-year low. While state unemployment rates may vary slightly, this overall number is the lowest level since December 1969.
A low unemployment rate is indicative of a strong economy. It is advantageous to individual workers because they can more easily secure employment to provide for their families. And when people are employed, they have more money to spend, resulting in a strong economy.
But a downside often overlooked during strong economic cycles is the accompanying difficulty in recruiting and retaining talent. The hospitality and tourism industry is no exception. In December, there were 978,000 current openings in the hospitality industry. This is a challenge for an industry already struggling with annualized turnover north of 70 percent.
A great statistic to watch is the U.S. job quits rate, which tracks how likely a team member is to quit his or her job. This number has doubled since its nadir in 2009. In a candidate-driven market, fewer people are actively searching for work and businesses must be relentless in their efforts to both attract potential team members to fill open positions and ensure current team members remain with the company.
Consider Commute Options
Many of our markets have experienced significant growth in recent years, and the costs of living and housing markets also have boomed. Employees across industries endure longer commutes, not only as the population grows but also as workers move farther away from the city center, where the cost of living is increasing most rapidly. Downtown properties often face the highest team member turnover due in part to the associated high cost of living.
Recognizing the importance that commutes can play in recruitment and retention, hotels ought to evaluate transportation options near the property and consider commuter programs. For example, to help alleviate any hurdles to successful employment that commutes may present, properties that sit along a bus route or rail service could support passes for team members or downtown properties could provide employee parking.
Do not underestimate the importance of a thoughtful onboarding and training process. When you are early in the relationship with your team members, these are critical times to both show them your compassion and properly prepare them for their duties. As a manager, do not be shy about asking about their career aspirations and their long-term goals. There is a strong possibility that their previous employer never asked those questions.
Regular Touch Points with Team Members in the Early Days
Identifying a new team member's aspirations—and potential work challenges—early on in the hiring process can make a significant difference in helping to curb any concerns that may hinder his or her retention at the hotel. By having check-in conversations with new team members, leadership at the property can help to provide team members with tools for success and make any course corrections in the early stages of employment.
Showing interest in a team member's workplace satisfaction also helps foster a quality team rapport, which can make a significant impact on retention. This effort can prove especially beneficial in cases when team members have been hired because they fit the culture and personality needs of the property, with the understanding that leadership can help teach the job skills. Building a strong working relationship with and displaying an investment in employees provide intangible benefits that can be rare to find in competing workplaces.
With the unemployment rate near record lows, companies are doing more to attract talent from a shrinking pool of candidates, meaning job applicants have more options and the risk of losing current team members to competitors or other industries has never been greater. In order to overcome this obstacle, hotels must strategically plan for team member recruitment and retention. Becoming an "employer of choice" does just that.
An employer of choice provides many features for its team members. The most obvious factor is competitive pay and benefits, which, while important, should be only a piece of a hospitality firm's larger retention effort. Other factors should include:
Performance incentives
Strong team member engagement and culture
Career development and advancement opportunities
Social responsibility and community investment
Incentives such as referral and performance bonuses, and perks ranging from provided lunches, free lodging options, English as a Second Language classes, flexible schedules and employee and family events go a long way in demonstrating care and concern for team members. Businesses and guests both benefit when team members are engaged and enjoy the work they perform.
Supporting the development and growth of team members is essential, not only for the retention of current team members but also in attracting talent to your organization. Internal initiatives such as apprenticeship and leadership training programs keep team members engaged and encourage them to stay with the company rather than being lured away by a competing offer. When current and potential team members see opportunities for promotion and career development, they become champions for your organization.
It should come as no surprise team members want to work for companies that invest in the causes and communities they care about. Giving, not only of money but also of time, to charitable organizations helps to attract potential talent while retaining current team members, separating your company from competitors within and beyond the hospitality industry. Activities with local charities also really help to foster a sense of culture within your hotel.
Low unemployment is a strong indicator of a robust economy, but with it comes the associated difficulty of recruiting and retaining talent. However, incorporating sound staffing strategies can help to mitigate that challenge. When strategic efforts are paired together, hotel properties will succeed in both attracting and retaining team members in an otherwise tight labor market—which benefits employers, team members and guests alike.
Chris Manley is the COO of Stonebridge Companies, a privately owned hotel owner, operator and developer headquartered in Denver.
By: Chris Manley, COO Stonebridge Companies