Miscellaneous

📖 Milton Glaser designed the iconic "I ❤️ NY" logo in 1976 to boost NYC tourism, earning tens of thousands in annual licensing fees. Ray Gotto created the New York Mets logo in 1961, uniting the city with a skyline emblem. IBM's logo, designed by Paul Rand in 1956 and later modified, symbolizes corporate identity. The Hollywood sign, initially "Hollywoodland," was established in 1923. Levi's, founded in the 1850s, introduced the enduring "two-horse patch" logo in 1873.

📖 Snarkitecture's installation "THE PLAYGROUND" is at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC until August 30, featuring nine play zones including a slide and a climbing wall. Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding had over 1,000 guests at Madison Square Garden on July 1, with a menu of chicken, lobster, and 30 cakes. Jim Henson's Creature Shop in New York now offers weekend tours. BDNY 2026 will be held at Jacob K. Javits Center, New York, from November 8-9.

⚽ England's World Cup journey boosts sales: On Wednesday, 1 July, sales in managed venues surged by 62.4% year-on-year during England's knockout match against the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This was followed by a 37.4% increase on Sunday, 5 July, before England's last-16 match with Mexico, as fans flocked to pubs and bars. The data comes from NIQ’s Daily Drinks Tracker powered by CGA intelligence.

🏖 Eleven UK holiday parks with over 2,500 caravan pitches and a £41.4m turnover in 2025 are on the market. Formerly part of the Cove group, they employ 450 people. Eight parks are in west Scotland, including Hunters Quay, acquired in 2022. The total potential capacity is 3,130 pitches. Colliers is marketing the portfolio, which shows positive trading prospects for 2026 despite 2024-2025 challenges. Offers can be made for shares or assets.

🏨 Cloudbeds, founded in 2012, is a leading hospitality management system used by tens of thousands of properties across 150+ countries. Recognized for eight consecutive years by Hotel Tech Report as a top Hotel Management System and Best Place to Work, it integrates operations, distribution, guest experience, and revenue marketing to enhance direct bookings and pricing strategies for ambitious hoteliers and large hotel groups.

🚀 In 2026, luxury travel at sea is evolving beyond traditional cruises, with iconic hotel brands making up 5% of future bookings. Branded voyages average $40,000, quadruple the cost of standard ocean cruises. Notably, these trips attract brand loyalists new to cruising. Global Travel Collection's yacht sales have risen by $3 million year over year. The U.S. cruise industry is projected to grow 5% in 2026, with GTC outperforming by growing 14% across all segments.

🍴 Peridot in Hong Kong, designed by Studio Paolo Ferrari, features 20,000 steel-capped frosted acrylic cylinders and a green marble bar. Limusina in New York showcases 1980s-inspired maximalism with a clandestine 12-person dining room. Motorino in London, designed by North End Design, seats 150 with a 1970s recording studio-inspired private room. Genso in Hong Kong, at Sha Tin Racecourse, combines Japanese street food with retrofuturism. Olia + Mimi in Edmonton spans 8,500 square feet, featuring dual concepts: an Italian eatery and a cocktail lounge.

📅 In 2026, 83% of people surveyed want to marry abroad, with 16% willing to cover guests' travel costs. The industry, worth over $1 billion in 2025, grows at 12.8% annually by 2033. Italy (23%) tops dream destinations. Ideal wedding budgets are £36,579, with five-star hotels preferred (32%). Honeymoons average 13 days, costing £9,610, influenced by weather (47%) and value (45%). Trend highlights include 'early moons' and 'buddy moons' with friends. Hyatt meets evolving needs with tailored experiences.

📅 July and August 2025 witnessed 31% of all EU tourist accommodation nights, with over 40% in Croatia, Greece, and Bulgaria. Events drove increased bookings, with two-thirds of accommodations reporting higher revenue per room; 66% adjusted staffing and 42% hired extra staff. Nearly nine in ten accommodations offer off-peak discounts. Online travel agencies are effective, capturing 38% of rural bookings. Half of hoteliers seek local collaboration on event-driven demand, aiming to mitigate seasonality and support local economies year-round.

🛳 Designed by Maxime d’Angeac, the Orient Express Corinthian project incorporates Martínez Otero’s expertise, with over 80 years in high-end joinery, into contemporary luxury maritime travel. Martínez Otero's work, involving 16 Mirror Suites, was completed in 43 months, in collaboration with Chantiers de l’Atlantique. Their precision involved 40 specialists and five facilities, notably tackling veneer matching in machiche wood. The yacht launched in May 2023, first appearing at the Cannes Film Festival, currently navigating the Mediterranean.