Who Turned Off The Lights?

This Saturday night the hotel is taking part in Earth Hour – the global warming initiative whereby you turn off your lights for one hour. If Australia’s commercial sector turned off lights when buildings weren’t in use and combined this with other cost effective technology there would be a reduction in lighting emissions by 70% or 2 – 4 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. That’s an amazing amount when you think about it. If all Australian households simply turned off unused lighting and appliances on standby it would reduce emissions by at least 5 million tonnes per annum. Now I just find that frightening. The amount of wastage by using standby instead of switching them off at the wall is shocking. So more importantly, let’s not wait for one hour of the year to do this, let’s make an effort to do this every day, I think it should be a daily habit, not an annual celebration.

Lights, Camera, Action

It’s been a busy few weeks in the hotel. We’ve had a couple of film crews shooting episodes for two forthcoming television shows. Stars shall remain nameless at this stage but it created some interest amongst our guests. The hotel is often scouted for film shoots both for the stunning façade that lends itself to many looks including both European and American cities and also for the contemporary neutral décor inside. With all the filming the hotel has been involved in over the years perhaps we should create our own “Hollywood walk of fame” on our footpath!

Live And Unplugged

No, I’m not referring to a band! It’s now easier to get connected when staying in the hotel. There is now 24 hour complimentary internet access and also wireless in every guest room. To me, this just makes life a little easier when travelling, a bonus if you like. A friend recently took a long weekend in Brisbane and was annoyed there was an internet charge, he refused to have to pay for the service. He lived in the US for a number of years and tells me it's standard for it to be free there, clearly not the case in Australia. I wonder how many others consider complimentary internet a plus and thus part of the selection criteria when choosing which hotel to stay at?

Howzat

Congratulations to the Australian Cricket Team claiming a 2-0 lead in the three match Test series in Durban. As a result the team has retained their No.1 ranking. In our ABX Bar we have a number of cricket bats signed by the touring cricket teams from the past couple of years. It can’t be easy playing a game with the hopes of a nation resting on your shoulders. When you’re up you’re cheered, when you’re down you’re fiercely criticized. To remain focused and humble under such media scrutiny certainly is an art.

I'll Have Wine With That

The Sydney Morning Herald Dine With Wine event has kicked off this month for its second year. I wonder how many people this event attracts? It’s a great opportunity to dine at restaurants around town for special prices and sample some of the new amazing wines from all over New South Wales making it to the market place. I must confess, I’m a bit of a restaurant connoisseur and do you know how hard it is to find chicken on the menu? For some reason it’s very few and far between, so I was a little excited when it made it onto the Bistro-Fax menu as the special dish for this event. No, I did not influence this one. Looking forward to tasting the wine from Cooks Lot.