Berlin City Breaks Include a Local Guide

Taking an overseas city break is a great experience, but somehow it always seems like the locals are having all the fun. If you’ve visited Berlin, Germany, and wished you knew where to find the best entertainment or the “in” places to eat, you can relax. Plus One Berlin has launched the city break with a difference – you not only stay in a modern studio apartment in Berlin’s trendy Kreuzkölln district, you get the company of a local resident who can show you where it’s all happening.

Plus One Berlin visitors have a choice of accommodation and a selection of local hand-picked guides who are chosen for their knowledge and passion of the city. When a guest makes their reservation, guests are given a login to enable them to browse and select their guide. Once they pick a local guide, they indicate if they wish to experience the local area by going to a restaurant or be taken to popular local hangouts.

Plus One Berlin is a great example of exceeding expectation by thinking outside the box. Hospitality entrepreneurs from around the world, here is a value add service idea to add to your offering!

If You Fancy One of Your Facebook Friends, SlipperFits is for You!

Ever had a crush on a Facebook friend and wished you had the courage to ask them out? Maybe the fear of rejection held you back and, before you knew it, the chance was gone? Way too embarrassing …

If that’s you, breathe again – with SlipperFits, a free app for PCs, tablets and smartphones, you now can use Facebook to find out anonymously if the object of your desire feels the same about you.

The idea is simple – using SlipperFits, you create a private HOTLIST of Facebook friends you’d like to get up-close and personal with. Each of them receives an email, telling them they have a secret admirer and encouraging them to create their own HOTLIST on SlipperFits.

If someone on your HOTLIST puts you on theirs, you have a match, and SlipperFits emails you both to let you know. So far, it’s all completely anonymous, and if you want to find out which of your friends fancies you, you pay a small fee for the privilege – it’s totally up to you.

Maybe you just prefer knowing that someone else has the hots for you … what would you do?

Flight Seats Going Social

We have all had one of those awkward flight boarding moments where we had thoughts such as "hope I don't sit next to …..". Well Dutch Airline KLM is now making flying more social and hopefully preventing these awkward moments for travellers.

KLM has launched the "Meet & Seat" program where travellers can select their "seatmate" by evaluating Facebook and LinkedIn profiles prior to take off.

The service is available to travellers who have confirmed their flight reservation and who have opted-in to the service by connecting their social profiles to their booking. After deciding on the amount of social profile information they wish to share, travellers are presented with seat maps showing where others that have shared their social profiles are seated. Travellers can then select a seat if available, next to someone they find interesting and in turn the other person receives a message with the other travellers profile details.

Currently the service is only available on flights between Amsterdam and New York and San Francisco and Sao Paolo.

With 500 million active Facebook users and possibly 8 million of those flying daily, there is a potential high take up rate for these types of social services. Great concept to explore for other types of markets where social media can provide a value add to customers.

52 Jobs In 52 Weeks

We all struggle with the question "What do I want to do with my life" at one point in our lives. Well Paul Seymour has decided to take a 12 month journey to discover his true passion by working 52 jobs in 52 weeks in Australia.

Working under the concept "One Week Job" Project, anyone can offer Paul a job for one week. Any money he earns is donated by the employer to the  Big Brother Big Sister charity. 

Mastermind and founder behind the One Week Job, is Canadian resident and University graduate Sean Aiken. In 2008, Sean completed his quest where he completed 52 jobs, covered 75,000km and slept on 55 couches throughout North America and raised over US$20,000.

Great concept for business and charities to affiliate with or initiate a similar concept and at the same time doing some greater good for the world.

Rent Your Stuff

We are seeing more and more examples of consumers moving away from the bonds of ownership to the "hire as required" model. On the other hand, owners of idle goods such as lawn mowers, power tools, bicycles etc are willing to share their goods for a price.

The rental and hire concept is obviously not new but this simple model of sharing or reusing goods and services online has been promoted to the status of a social movement called "Collaborative Consumption". Joining the likes of Zilok and Rentoid, Australian startup Open Shed launched its beta trial platform in October 2011, providing an online marketplace for Australian consumers to rent and share their idle goods for a price.

There appears to be no end in sight with ownership averse consumers and eager consumers monetizing their unused assets, in turn contributing to the growing trend of sustainability.