I wonder if there is a market for hotels that have nice amenities, yet are "south of the Haimish line". I for one know I would pay for that. Would you? Please leave a comment and let me know!
Monday, October 3, 2011
The Haimish Line
This article is similar to the post I wrote about why I love hostels. It's by David Brooks of the New York Times.
Monday, September 19, 2011
TLV --> YYZ --> YOW
Tomorrow I fly home to Ottawa... hopefully I'll have time in the airport to update everyone on the past few days of my trip. As much as I've enjoyed Israel, I am looking forward to returning home and getting back to my life in Ottawa!
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Built to Last
In the best selling business book "Built to Last" Jim Collins and Jerry Porras profile 18 "visionary" companies that have had sustained success relative to the market. They looked at companies at least 50 years old. It's just one example of how in North America our conception of time is so different than here in Israel and the Middle East, where history is measured in centuries and millennia, and not years and decades.
Two things in particular have stood out to me as being "built to last". Many of the ruins I have seen are two thousand years or older, yet they are still standing. I am talking about walls, structures, even columns. It just makes me laugh when I think about all the condo's in Toronto that were thrown up overnight in the past ten years. A friend of mine once commented to me that his condo was "old" when I asked it's exact age he said about ten years. I won't be surprised if some of these buildings don't even last fifty years before being knocked down due to poor building standards or materials.
The other thing that stuck with me was my visit to the Israel Museum earlier today. Some of the books and scrolls on display are over one thousand years old. In contrast I bought a brand new copy of George Orwell's "Homage to Catalonia" in Cambodia last summer and pages started falling out within days. Today we no longer "build to last". We build for cheap and now.
In a funny kind of way this relates to my interest in family business. Since most family businesses are private, they are not pressured to make long-term sacrifices to hit short-term profit targets like many public firms often are. It's easier for them to take the long view, which is something that appeals to me.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Why I love hostels
Once the group trip I was on arrived in Tel Aviv for our final two nights, I turned my attention towards finding accommodation for the next few nights. For me it was a no-brainer - I was going to find a hostel to stay in. This was even before I found out one extra night at The Carlton would set me back about $245 USD. Even splitting a room would be pricey.
48 Hayarkon, the hostel I am currently staying at had consistently good reviews across hostel booking websites. It also seemed to have good amenities, so I booked it. Aside from a couple small issues my stay here has been overwhelmingly positive. Yes, this is a nicer hostel than most, but the real reason I have so thoroughly enjoyed my stay here is because of the people I have met.
I have met a medical resident in radiology from New York, a recent journalism grad from Australia who has spent the last eighteen months traveling the world, a wide-eyed & bright-eyed Northern Californian who is fresh off her birthright experience, and a fellow Canadian who seems to be an aspiring polymath much like myself (we also have no less than six friends in common according the all-knowing Facebook). I really want to expand on this right now, but I need to get ready so I can go out with some of these very same people!
More to come on this soon...
Short rant about The Carlton Tel Aviv.
The group I was with earlier in my trip spent two nights at the Carlton in Tel Aviv. It is supposedly a five star hotel. Despite the high cost of a room wireless internet is quite costly (at roughly $20 USD), and the computers in their so called "business centre" are quite expensive by metred internet standards, despite being so old they may date back to the 1990's. There is also a sign giving directions about how to print from their computers even though you can't actually print from them.
Anyway, this is my way of saying if you can't do something well then don't do it. The Carlton would be better off not offering their own computers. I just hope their uber expensive wireless internet is faster than the connection on the computers sitting in their lobby. I actually had to go to another hotel (The Sheraton) to find fast & reliable internet.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)