By trawling through the AirBnB database, The Chronicle found 4,800 properties for rent in the city to glean a great deal of information that the company is not keen to share.
A key point from the survey is that over 80% – 3200 – of the properties are householders renting out spare rooms or their places while they are away, which is exactly what AirBnB claim their service is designed for.
The other, professional hosts are what’s attracted the wrath of regulators in cities like New York, where it appears unofficial hotels are skating around taxation and safety regulations.
A new breed of middleman
Catering for these professional hosts has seen another group of middlemen service pop up and The Chronicle features Airenvy, a service that helps landlords manage their properties.
Airenvy is now the biggest San Francisco host, managing 59 properties on behalf of its clients and charging 12 percent commission for dealing with the daily hassle of looking after guests. Since launching in January it employs twelve staff.
Unlike many of the internet middlemen, Airenvy does seem to add value to the renting process above being a simple listing service. For absentee hosts, the fees would seem to be worthwhile in reducing risks and problems.
For non-convention visitors, particularly those visiting family or friends, AirBnB is an opportunity to get a place out of downtown.
The price ranges reflect the service’s diversity as well; from $18 a night for a couch through to $6,000 for a mansion. The average though is close to a typical hotel rate of $226 a day.
The effects of AirBnB
What the survey shows is AirBnB has diversified San Francisco’s accommodation options without the problems being encountered in New York.
Taking the long route between Newcastle and Sydney via the Broken Bay ferry
Newcastle, a 160km north of Sydney is a drive easily done in less than two hours but for masochists and commuters there’s the three hour train trip affectionately known as the shitkansenby the locals.
The train trip itself has parts that are genuinely spectacular as it winds through the hills and rivers of the New South Wales’ Central Coast, albeit at speeds that are slower than in the 1933 timetables.
One of the reasons for the slow and spectacular trip is the Hawkesbury River and Broken Bay and that presents a natural barrier between Sydney, the Central Coast and Newcastle.
That natural barrier also presents an opportunity for a third, prettier route between the two cities using the private ferry service that runs between Central and Sydney’s northernmost suburb of Palm Beach.
Catching the slow train
Starting from the original Newcastle Railway Station, the trains run twice an hour during the day with one ‘fast’ service taking two-and-a-half hours and slow trips taking three.
Inside the trains things are relatively comfortable although quite grubby. The purple colour scheme are the refurbished older carriages, the original 1970s ones being in a fairly awful green. The news trains feature a modern vandal proof colour scheme although the seats are more uncomfortable for a three hour journey.
Another weakness with the train service is the spartan facilities, apart from graffiti covered toilets there are absolutely no passenger amenities so bringing your own food and drink is essential along with fully charged electronics as there are no power outlets available.
Amazingly, rather than improving the railway service to the state’s second biggest city the government plans to abandon the last five kilometers and replace the trains with buses. If there was one example of the 1960s thinking that dominates Australian politics, this venal and ill-thought out proposal is a wonderful example.
The Central Coast
While the parts of the ride between Sydney and Newcastle are spectacular, the stretch south to the Central Coast are the boring parts featuring little more than housing estates and low grade scrub until arriving at Gosford where the train runs alongside Brisbane Water until Woy Woy.
On alighting the train at Woy Woy, the immediate impression is a town that won’t win any heritage awards with its neglected main street and an anonymous shopping mall. All of which is a pity as its location between the hills and waterways is sensational.
Sadly there’s little reason to hang around so getting a bus to Ettalong is the best thing to do.
From Woy’s Woy’s dismal transport interchange – a fate that waits Newcastle’s truncated railway service – buses leave every few minutes for the 15 minute journey to Ettalong. If you have a Sydney transport travelpass then your ticket is valid on the private bus service.
Ettalong
If you’re stopping for lunch or a break during the journey, Ettalong isn’t a bad choice with a lot more coffee bars, restaurants and bakeries than the rather depressing choices at Woy Woy.
Since this writer’s last visit to the town three years ago when its centre was struggling with many empty shops; its fortunes have improved dramatically and it’s gone back to being a good destination for a day trip in itself.
Catching the ferry
The ferry itself is a twenty minute trip including a brief stop at the village of Wagstaffe. Its route winds through the sandbanks of Brisbane Water before getting to the open water of Broken Bay.
Midway across the bay, the ferry passes Lion Island and the mouth of the Hawkesbury River before entering Pittwater and the Northern Suburbs of Sydney.
Palm Beach
The wharf at Palm Beach is a classic wooden structure in a lovely location. Across the carpark and road is a general store, the Barranjoey House restaurant and a fish and chip shop.
For a takeaway meal, the fish and chip shop is nicer than the general store but you can enjoy either at the park alongside the ferry wharf.
For a sit down meal, Barrenjoey House has an expensive restaurant along with a bar with an outdoor seating area if you’re looking for a cold drink while waiting for a bus to Sydney.
The bus to Sydney
The bus back to Sydney takes about 90 minutes. It isn’t the most comfortable journey however the views of the city’s gorgeous Northern Beaches are worthwhile if you’re sittiing on the left side when heading south.
Once past Long Reef, the journey is mainly suburbia except when crossing the Spit and Harbour Bridges. A more interesting option that will add another hour to the journey is to switch buses at Warringah Mall and travel to the city via the Manly Ferry.
Taking the Slowkansen from Newcastle to Sydney isn’t the trip for anyone in a hurry with it adding up to two hours to an already slow three train hour journey but it’s a lot more interesting than the regular way to travel between the two cities.
It’s best to leave the tech at home if you want an enjoyable holiday, but sometimes you’re travelling for work.
During last week I spent the last two days travelling by train between conferences in Spain and the UK while trying to work, write and blog. The lesson is you need to leave the tech at home if you want an enjoyable holiday.
Some of us however are travelling for business so the option of leaving the technology at home isn’t an option. Here are some tips on how to work effectively while on the road.
Charge, charge, charge
If you want to be connected you have to charge your devices at every opportunity, you never know when the next opportunity will arise.
Three pin European power socket
One trap for players is the earthed adaptor plug as the third pin basically renders your equipment useless on most trains and bathrooms. So beg borrow or steal one that lacks the pin which will almost certainly leave you with dead batteries on a night train.
Get Connected
Don’t rely on WiFi, in many places it’s patchy and in France requires convoluted sign up plans. When you can get it, consider it a bonus.
If staying more than three days in a city buying a local pre-paid SIM saves money, but when travelling a lot in Europe it’s best to buy a European wide SIM which will cost more but won’t die at the border.
The dying on the border shouldn’t be understated. On the night train from Barcelona to Paris the service – which the salesman assured would work in France – stopped working the moment the train exited the tunnel from Spain at Cerbere.
Avoid night travel
Should you be intending to work while on the road, avoid night travel. You’ll get more work done in a hotel room or hostel than on a stuffy night train and be more productive than after an overnight flight.
Travel light
Keep things to a minimum, if you’re working that might mean laptops and big cameras but for leisure keep it simple. The less tech you carry, the fewer the power, security and other hassles you’ll encounter.
Forget a schedule
Work where you can and when you can. If you’re diligent then flight and train delays can be your friend in getting stuff done.
Get a room
Working in hostels is almost impossible and you risk having things stolen, staying with friends and relatives is great but their hospitality makes it hard get things done. Get a cheap room so you can work in peace.
An important thing about travel is that you are away from home to learn about and experience other places, spending your time stressing about finding a power socket or Wi-Fi access point is not why you’re on the road.
Overall, tech is a hassle when you’re travelling. If you’re on the road for pleasure keep most of it at home, if you’re working then keep it all to a minimum.
Barcelona’s Hotel Arts features friendly staff and a nice glass of cava in the evening.
Sitting next to Frank Gehry’s giant goldfish on the city’s waterfront and marina, Barcelona’s Arts Hotel was part of the city’s redevelopment after the 1992 Olympics.
Like the giant fish, the hotel is a quirky building with a strange layout including an entrance that requires guests to catch a lift to the lobby on first floor.
Once you find the lobby, the staff are an incredibly friendly bunch hailing from around the Eurozone, including Dutch, French and Icelandic workers among the Spanish staff.
If you happen to be in the hotel between five and six, the management puts on free cava and nibbles in the lobby.
Free Wi-Fi is available is available in the lobby which adds to it being a comfortable place to sit if you have time to kill after checking out.
The standard suites, known as Deluxe Rooms, are comfortable with all the features expected in a five star hotel.
Double beds are comfortable with a high tech bedside control panel with several pre-set lighting configurations, a built in alarm clock and electric blinds that do a very good job of keeping the sun out if you want to lie in.
The bathroom has a spacious bath with a separate shower, bidet and toilet along with a generous range of toiletries, toothbrush and razor. The bathrobes are particularly comfortable.
The writing desk is good but suffers from a lack of power sockets with only a double, standard European three pin plug slot that’s already used by the desklamp and cordless phone. You’ll have to at least unplug the phone to get some work done.
Both ethernet and wireless access are available with a 25 Euro a day charge for access. It is possible to leech off the free hotel access as it appears to allow consecutive logins after each twenty-four period expires.
The inroom coffee machine is a Nespresso unit — the innovation that has change hotel coffe. One drawback with these devices is that management restricts guests to two free cartridges a day with additional ones charged at an extortionate four euro each. If you’re a coffee addict, it’s worthwhile buying a box of cartridges from the supermarket two blocks away.
While you’re at the supermarket it’s worth buying some drinks and snacks to get around the standard extortionate five star minibar prices, be warned though that the term ‘mini-bar’ was coined for the tiny fridges in the hotel so if you bring your own supplies don’t expect to fit in anything larger than a 600ml bottle.
A similar problem affects the room safe which is big enough to fit passports, wallets and phones but not a 10″ iPad.
One of the features with the Arts Hotel are the delightful roof top gardens with quiet nooks and crannies featuring various sculptures and architectural features.
The hotel’s swimming pool is 25m but is fiendishly cold, it’s good to wake up to but the idea of doing 40 laps quickly evaporates as any more than ten minutes in the pool isn’t comfortable.
Warming up after a swim isn’t so bad with some hammocks to relax in, these are popular with conference delegates killing time after checking out from the hotel, so grab one early.
Overall, the hotel is a good choice if you’re not travelling on a budget. While the location is a little way from Barcelona’s major tourist attractions it’s a 15 minute walk from the El Born district of Barcelona and two of the city’s tourist bus routes.
The most notable thing about the Hotel Arts is the friendliness of its staff – even if you can’t afford to stay there it’s worthwhile dropping around the lobby at 5pm for a glass of cava.
Singapore Airlines’ Changi to Barcelona service is nice if you can get a row of seats in economy to yourself.
The unusual Singapore Airlines service to Barcelona and Sao Paolo service is a long journey made easier by it not being very full.
Singapore Airline’s SQ 68 is a truly long haul flight with a 14 hour leg between Singapore and Barcelona followed by another nine hours onto Sao Paolo.
The Singapore to Barcelona leg departs just after midnight and arrives at dawn on the same day, for all but the last hour the flight is in complete darkness. It’s a flight made for sleeping.
Luckily for those of us in Economy Class, the flight was only one third capacity and sitting down the back of the Boeing 777 in seat 54A meant getting a full row of seats — perfect for stretching out on the three abreast seats.
Even without the spare seats, the Singapore Airlines 777 has the same seat dimensions as their A380 services which makes the seats reasonably comfortable with adequate rest room.
Being able to stretch out does make a difference and it was possible to get a fairly solid eight hours sleep by stretching across the three seats.
As usual with Singapore Airlines the food was good with a nice dinner of roast fish in white wine sauce shortly after leaving and a breakfast choice of barbecue pork noodles or a standard eggs and chicken sausage – the noodles are good.
With 14 hours in the air KrisWorld, the inflight entertainment system, gets a solid workout and in many ways the service is bizarre with a few informative business or news channels but an impressive collection of crappy reality TV shows including My Cat From Hell and the Totally Insane Guinness World Records Christmas Special.
Like the Sydney-Singapore flights, satellite Internet access is available on this service and coverage is constant through the flight.
A notable point for Australian travellers on Singapore Airlines’ 777 services to Europe is that the inseat power sockets are 110v and don’t support Australian plugs. So take a European or Asian adapter if you want to charge devices enroute.
Staff did have a habit of vanishing into the galley during the night, but they were obliging in providing water, juice and snacks during the long night time leg if you asked.
Were the flight full, this journey wouldn’t have been fun as the 777 economy class cabin would struggle with toilets and food service during the trip but when half-full it’s quite a pleasant way to fly.
It’s hard to see how the Singapore – Barcelona – Sao Paolo is going to be sustainable if the load factors on my flight were normal but in the meantime, getting a row to yourself means it’s a nice way of getting to Southern Europe from East Asia.
A travel review of Singapore Airlines flight SQ222 from Sydney to Singapore
The twice daily Singapore Airlines A380 flights between Sydney and Singapore is probably as good as economy class air travel can get if you’re able to snag a seat on the upper deck.
On the way to Barcelona to attend the Cisco Internet of Everything conference I took seat 71K in that upper deck economy section for what turned out to be a pleasant seven hour trip to Singapore before a 14 hour trudge to Spain.
Window seat 71K has the advantage of being just forward of the rear exit door so there’s no passenger behind, the upper deck economy section also has the advantage of only being a 2-4-2 seat configuration which makes relations with your fellow passengers a lot more comfortable if you’re in the window seat.
For someone just on six foot like me, the leg room is fine and there’s plenty of space to stretch the legs out under the seat. Power sockets are inside the ends of the moveable armrests so in the case of these seats, the single power outlet is shared.
If you choose the Window seat so you can sleep against the fuselage then A380 on all airlines is a disappointment as the cabin wall’s curve means there is a wide gap between the seat and the windows. The advantage of this is are the useful storage bins by the window
During the flight the crew were friendly and quite happy to keep the alcohol flowing to the more enthusiastic passengers over and above the three regular drinks services.
Being upstairs in the smaller economy cabin also means slightly better service and the toilet to passenger ratio is somewhat more friendly too.
The food was tasty with the Sydney caterers doing a good job with the Asian options.
Dinner service was a tasty Thai beef on rice with a Cornetto ice cream dessert.
Chicken Noodles were a delightful evening snack before landing, the vegetables in this dish were so good they’d have been a nice meal in themselves.
A nice touch with Singapore Airlines are the toiletries and complimentary tooth brushes and combs in the toilets. This something that’s largely been lost with most airlines.
The inflight entertainment is what you’d expect of a modern airline with several hundred channels offering everything from language services to recent movies.
Watching World War Z on the system was an interesting experience. The plane crash was edited out with a strange leap in the narrative as no doubt showing air disasters isn’t a good idea on flights.
The IFE also had a strange bug where the movies would be in different languages when you switched between them. It took five attempts to get Brad Pitt to speak English.
In Flight Internet
Singapore Airlines is now offering inflight internet which is nice but insanely expensive. An attempt to run Speedtest blew through the 15Mb limit and hit $20 US in twenty minutes. Choose the plan that disconnects you on reaching the limit to avoid nasty surprises.
For those looking at working online for the flight it’s worth noting the service wouldn’t have worked the whole route, while Australia has granted regulatory approval for inflight internet, Indonesia hasn’t so a third of the flight wouldn’t have approval.
This is an interesting problem for the on air service as approval hasn’t been granted by other large countries – most notably India and the United States.
One quibble with the flight was the cabin was quite warm and without individual air vents, there’s no way to cool yourself.
Apart from some minor quibbles, the Singapore Airlines Sydney to Singapore service is probably as good as it gets in Economy.
If you can snag a seat upstairs on an A380 it’s probably the best place for long haul travel in economy class.
Starwood Hotel’s Phil McAveety describes how tech will help hotel understand a new generation of customers.
Speaking at the recent ADMA Global Summit in Sydney, Starwood Hotel’s Phil McAveety described Generation LuXury – the changing hospitality expectations of Gen X and Ys.
McAveety sees the new generation of travellers as being more diverse, younger, female and increasingly from emerging economies making them very different from the middle aged Caucasian male from Europe or North America which seems to be the focus of most of the hospitality industry.
The lessons from McAveety’s presentation weren’t just for hotels, much of his message applies as to almost every other business sector.
3D printing featured heavily, with McAveetry seeing the technology as delivering the personalised experiences demanded by Generation LuXurY, as an example he cited a concierge being able to create a pair of running shoes for a guest in exactly the size and style required for a guest.
Big Data played a role too with McAveety illustrating how hotel managers used to watch for important, valued guests with hidden windows letting them see who was checking into their establishment, a role that’s now carried out by Big Data and social media.
McAveety though had a warning about social media in the risks of giving away business intelligence and intellectual property to the services.
The big risk though is in technology itself – that hotels treat it as an end in itself instead of tools to deliver better experiences to guests.
“It’s not about tech,” warns McAveety. “If so, we are going to lose.”
That’s a lesson all industries need to heed, that technology is a means to the end of delivering better products to customers. Understanding what Generation LuXurY perceive as a better product is one of those uses for tech.
Crown Metropole Melbourne is a convenient and comfortable business hotel, particularly if you’re attending conferences at the Exhibition and Conference Centre across the road.
Sitting on Melbourne’s Southbank and tucked in behind the Casino, Crown Metropole is a convenient and comfortable business hotel, particularly if you’re attending conferences at the city’s Exhibition and Conference Centre.
In Sydney, the city’s casino is tucked on an old power station site in an inconvenient location so the locals can – and mainly do – ignore it. Melbourne’s Crown Casino on the other hand, has one of the best locations in the city.
While I’m personally uneasy about the role Crown seems to play in Melbourne’s social and political circles, that location makes the casino’s hotels a very convenient place to stay.
Networking vendor Cisco kindly flew me to Melbourne and put me up in the Crown Metropole hotel, part of the casino complex, for three nights to attend their Cisco Live! conference at the convention centre.
Attending a conference
While Crown Metropole isn’t attached to the conference centre like the Hilton South Wharf, in many ways it’s more convenient being just over the road from the other end of the Melbourne Conference and Exhibition Centre. If your exhibition is in the Eastern end of the building it’s a far shorter walk between the room and the event.
That convenience also translates to seeing the rest of Melbourne with major tram routes nearby and a short walk to Southern Cross Station. For Cheap Charlies, there’s a supermarket and liquor store across the road if you don’t want to partake of the expensive mini bar.
In room facilities
Nice choice of teas in the room
Along with the usual expensive mini-bar, there’s a good range of in room facilities including a nice range of Madame Flavour teas.
In the bathroom there’s also a pleasant range of amenities and very comfortable bathrobes. The bathroom itself has a full size bath to use some of the lotions in.
crown towers hotel room work desk
For the connected traveller though the most important thing are power points and there were plenty available including two easily accessible on the room’s desk. If you need more they are scattered around the room including under the bedside tables.
There’s also HDMI and component video connections to the TV if you want to stream feeds or practice presentations from your laptop. The TV has the standard hotel range of Australian Foxtel channels but lacks some of the international stations.
Wi-Fi is available at an extra charge but I didn’t use it and instead relied on a Telstra 4G hotspot. Some guests did report that they found the hotel’s network could get congested.
Hotel facilities
Outside the room, the hotel has the standard facilities of a five star hotel. The rooftop fitness centre is very nice though while it’s possible to do 25m laps in the pool, it will get crowded during the day. It also appears the gym is open to the public so there will be busy times there as well.
For eating, the first floor has the Mr Hive Restaurant which Cisco were kind enough to host dinner one night. It’s a nice place with good food at standard restaurant prices. Crown has dozens of eating establishments in the complex along with a somewhat expensive food court .
There’s no reason to eat in the Crown complex when its an easy walk into the city for cheaper dining options or down Clarendon Street to South Melbourne. The 96 and 112 trams which stop nearby will take you to St Kilda where there’s no shortage of pubs, cafes and restaurants.
Getting in and out
When it comes time to leave, checkout is easy and the service at all times was professional and courteous. Rooms were made up and cleaned properly. The beds were comfortable and the rooms quiet with very good block out curtains.
Overall, Crown Metropole is a good choice for business travellers attending the Melbourne Conference and Exhbition Centre, it’s also conveniently located for tourists. In all, it’s a good mid-priced hotel.
As a low cost carrier, Jetstar is the reality of flying’s present and a vision of travel’s future. For the Australian economy class business traveller it pays to choose carefully.
For the budget conscious business traveller, flying economy is an important way of saving money. In Australia, often that means the choice lies between Virgin and Jetstar.
When you’re self employed, you tend to watch your pennies and choose based on what you get for your money rather than just being focused on the perks when somebody else is paying.
Generally freelancers tend to be flying at the back of plane where it’s not so much worrying about whether Krug or Bolly to entitled executives but whether you’ll get slapped a $70 surcharge for your bag.
In Australia, affordable business flying tends to be between Virgin and Jetstar with Qantas being the best example of an Australian business exploiting its domestic market position while running down international operations.
Tiger doesn’t qualify as an airline suitable for anyone who needs to be somewhere at a given time so it isn’t relevant to business travellers.
Dollars please!
Much of the difference between Jetstar and Virgin are the underlying business models.
Virgin Australia was set up as a low cost carrier to compete against Ansett and Qantas but shortly after Virgin started operations, Ansett went bust and the startup airline found itself the nation’s number two airline.
Under CEO John Borghetti, any pretense of Virgin being a low cost carrier has been dropped and now the service competes on service against Qantas.
Jetstar on the other hand remains true to its roots as Qantas’ low cost operation and it plays firmly from the Ryanair book of screwing money out passengers at every opportunity.
While Virgin isn’t shy at trying to upsell you, booking a ticket though Jetstar involves twenty minutes of declining various options and additions. By the time you finish booking a Jetstar ticket, you’ll often find the price has gone up in the meantime and you have to start again.
Another irritation with Jetstar is its codeshare arrangement with Qantas which means the airline inherits its parent’s screwy seat allocation systems which block out availability based on a passenger’s frequent flyer number.
You will obey
A big difference between Jetstar and Virgin is the customer service, Virgin’s cabin crew tend to be helpful and cheerful while Jetstar’s seem to be on a KPI which encourages frowning and stern warnings.
Jetstar’s attitude to mobile phones is instructive. Unlike Qantas and Virgin who allow passengers to use phones until the cabin doors are closed, Jetstar order customers to shut down before boarding. This is a nuisance if you’re running your own business.
Another nuisance is the airline’s attitude towards laptops where Jetstar’s crew usually insist passengers have to shut down when the plane starts descending rather than when the pilot turns the Fasten Seatbelts sign on Qantas and Virgin.
This sounds trivial but just this alone should be a deal breaker for many small business travellers.
On a one hour Brisbane – Sydney or Sydney – Melbourne flight, this effectively gives a time poor business traveller twenty minutes work time from 90 minutes on the plane.
The Seventh Circle of Hell
The seventh circle of hell in Jetstar’s Melbourne terminal
While we’re on the topic of Jetstar’s Melbourne operations, a special mention should be given to their poorly signposted gates at the airport.
Situated at the most remote part of the terminal building – almost as remote as Tiger’s abysmal tin shed – Jetstar’s gates are disorganised mess that make boarding difficult. The airline advises getting to the gate half an hour before the flight and at Melbourne that is good advice.
For those arriving in Melbourne, getting off the plane involves fighting your way through queues, lost children, Bedouins building campfires and peasants clutching chickens. If you’re really unlucky you may find yourself accidentally trying to board JQ5749 to Wagga Wagga.
What’s good about Jetstar
Decent legroom on Jetstar flights.
Despite airline’s drawbacks Jetstar has some things going for it, the main one is the airline’s modern fleet compared to Qantas or Virgin. Jetstar’s A321s have better leg room than the 737s flown by the other carriers – Qantas’ 767s are comfortable like your grandad’s armchair and almost as old.
If you’re flying longer distances such as Melbourne – Cairns or Perth – Sydney, particularly the ‘red eye’ flights heading east from Western Australia, then Jetstar is the more comfortable choice for economy fliers.
Then there’s cost – usually Jetstar is cheaper than Virgin for most flights and at busy times the cost savings may be worth the irritations – but check fares from all three airlines before booking as sometimes the Airline Gods may decide Qantas has the cheapest fares for the time you want to fly.
As a low cost carrier, Jetstar is the reality of flying’s present and a vision of travel’s future. If you have visions of glamour when catching a flight, then shell out for a business class fare.
If you’re climbing Mount Warning or exploring the Border Ranges, staying nearby makes the trip a lot easier.
Nestled in the caldera of a long extinct volcano on the New South Wales – Queensland state border, Mt Warning is one of the spectacular and quirky geographic features of Australia’s East Coast which boasts being the first place on the continent to see the sunrise*.
Climbing Mount Warning is doable as a day trip from the Gold Coast, Byron Bay or even Brisbane but to get the best experience staying a few nights in the surrounding rainforests is a good idea, particularly in warmer weather when it’s not a good idea to climb mountains in the middle of the day.
Mount Warning Rainforest Park is a private campsite on the road to the mountain offering cabins, powered caravan sites and unpowered campsites.
Camping sites
Unpowered camping sites
We stayed in an unpowered camping site during the September school holidays. Despite it being a busy period, there was plenty of space available and each site had its own campfire. It’s up to you to get the wood.
The sites are comfortable and the ground isn’t too hard for tent pegs. Be warned that it can get cold at night depending on the season.
Beware of snakes!
As the site is in a rainforest, be prepared to meet some of the locals. There’s no shortage of brush turkeys, snakes, lizards and frogs around the grounds so tread carefully at night and don’t leave food lying around.
There are some less desirable locals as well and while the campsite does seem safe, the Mt Warning carpark does have a reputation for thieves. So keep valuables locked away and out of site.
Amenities
There’s plenty of powerpoints and free gas stoves at the camp kitchen, so there’s no problem with charging devices and cooking dinner.
The campsite kitchen with powerpoints.
Some large, ex-commercial fridges are available for residents to store food. Make sure you mark what’s yours and hide anything like chocolates, wine or beer as any communal storage is going to see those things walk.
The camping area toilet blocks are clean and pretty well maintained, although the hot water controls for the showers can be difficult to figure out.
Be prepared for a cold shower until you manage to get the buttons working. The buttons are also outside the shower cubicles so try and grab the stall closest to the controls so you can lean out and press them mid-wash.
Swimming pool and games room
Should the weather turn bad – the area is a rainforest – there is a games room has some basic arcade games ($2 a time), pool table and TV for shelter. Outside is a small, well-maintained swimming pool that’s handy for cooling off in the warmer weather.
It’s safe to say the wi-fi hotspot has become the modern campfire.
Outside the site’s reception is comfortable porch which has seats, coffee tables and free wi-fi. You can expect to find guests on their laptops and iPads at all hours checking email and Facebook posts. There’s also a couple of handy power outlets.
Mobile phone coverage is patchy in the district so don’t expect reliable phone communications or fast mobile data. The site has a Telstra payphone that’s accessible at all times.
Service
The site is family run and service is homely, the office isn’t always occupied so it’s sometime necessary to rouse some office help.
One of the missed opportunities is catering to the gathering of people accessing the wi-fi hotspot, offering drinks and snacks past the office’s 6 o’clock closing time would be nice.
Provisions
The office sells basics and snacks but for serious shopping it’s best to call in at Murwillumbah twenty minutes away which has all the major supermarket and shopping chains. There’s also camping supply stores if you’ve lost or forgotten anything.
Coming in from the West, Kyogle has a small choice of supermarkets while the local village of Uki offers a picturesque pub and general store.
Attractions
While climbing the mountain is the main attraction, there’s plenty of other things to see.
Being Australia’s capital of ‘alternate lifestyles’ there’s no shortage of yoga and healing centres. The hippy capital of Nimbin is picturesque 45 minute drive south.
The Border Ranges and the Gold Coast Hinterland are also worth exploring in their own right with some spectacular scenery and the campsite makes a good base for explorers.
Transport
Like most of rural Australia, there’s little public transport. There is a train service to Kyogle and frequent coaches to Murwillumbah from Brisbane, Sydney and the Gold Coast. A local bus passes the Mt Warning turn off once every weekday and its a fifteen minute walk to the campsite.
Rock sculptures in the creek on the way to Mount Warning
The best way of getting to Mount Warning is by car, taxi or to hire a bike in Murwillumbah. On the way to the campsite you’ll pass a creek where people have build various sculptures out of the rocks.
Costs
The cost for a family of four camping was $50 per night. There’s no extra charge for showers or cooking facilities.
Overall, the Mount Warning campsite is a good, economical place to stay for those happy to sleep out and enjoy the rainforest.
*While many say Mount Warning is the first place on the Australian mainland to see the sunrise, in the summer months parts of southern NSW see the sun earlier due to their latitude. If you count all Australian territories, then various small uninhabited rocks along with Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands see the sun first.
Smartphone apps are more than just a funky way of getting information. The combination of big data, social media and mobile insights offer businesses deep market intelligence.
Assuming the acquisition isn’t another example of the greater fool investment model, Avis’ purchase of Zipcar makes good sense in expanding the hire car giant’s footprint into the share car business.
Regrettably Avis use the 1980s term “synergies” four times in their media release but it does seem the businesses are a good fit both in fleet sharing and improving both company’s services.
Zipcar’s technology is another asset which Avis can use, with the car sharing service’s ability to track vehicle locations meaning better fleet management for the hire car business.
Car sharing logistics
The logistics angle of car share services is something that’s been highlighted by Uber’s CEO Travis Kalanick at various times, most recently at the service’s Sydney launch last November.
Another aspect of the car sharing and hire car booking services is their Big Data advantages which the online startups bring.
Historically, car hire companies have been reasonably good at gathering data on their customers with loyalty schemes, direct mailing and plugging into airline frequent flier programs. However they have been left behind by the Big Data boom in recent years.
Companies like Zipcar, Uber and taxi hailing apps like GoCatch have big data in their DNA, having been founded in the era of cloud computing and social media they have access to more information and a better ability to use the knowledge they gather.
Predicting the price surges
At Uber’s Sydney launch Kalanick described how Uber’s traffic volumes increase in San Francisco when the Giants win a game, the interesting thing is that the surge happens three hours before the match starts.
Insights like the traffic patterns around football games and holidays are gold to a high inventory business like hire car services. They are also important to the entire logistics industry.
This latter point is probably the most overlooked part of all with the current rush into social and mobile based apps – the market intelligence that these services gather.
While it’s tempting to dismiss that market intelligence as just monitoring who likes cats or cheeseburgers, the application of that data is transforming supermarkets, airlines and even concert venues.
Avis seem to have understood that it will be fascinating to see how they will use Zipcar’s data and whether their competitors will figure out the importance of what these services offer.
In downtown San Francisco, the Marriott Marquis is good place to stay for a conference, just be careful of the coffee machine.
San Francisco’s Marriot Marquis is a welcome place to rest after a tough flight or a long day at a conference, just be careful when you take on the coffee machine.
The first impression of the Marriot Marquis San Francisco when you step out of a cab is that it is a very busy place. Being situated next to the city’s Moscone Centre makes it is the centre for the convention trade which overruns the hotel when a big convention like Dreamforce is on.
Something all major conference destinations do well is dealing with crowds and the Marquis is no exception. The reception desk is efficient, fast and friendly – right down to having no problem with a check-in earlier than the stipulated 4pm. Exactly what a traveller needs after a cramped 13 hour flight.
The room
A standard room at the Marquis is a comfortable size with a genuine king sized bed. Beside the bed is a clock radio that is simple to set and actually works, this is something many other hotels should take note of.
There’s plenty of room to spread out with a good sized bath, plenty of storage space and a deep wardrobe. In the wardrobe is the standard digital safe for valuables.
On the TV there is the usual range of cable TV, free to air stations and in-house movies. Interestingly the cable selection included Russia Today but not the BBC World Service or Al-Jazeera.
Power sockets are plentiful including two mounted on the writing desk for easy laptop charging. Wireless networking, which costs an extra $14.95 a day, gives reasonable download speeds and is more than adequate for most cloud computing tasks.
The Coffee Machine of Doom
Unlike the user friendly beside clock the one cup drip coffee machines are quite possibly the most difficult devices ever installed in a hotel room.
The evil Marriott coffee maker
Thinking the first one was broken, I sent it back. It turned out it wasn’t but I never quite got the knack of figuring out how to work them.
Along with being horribly user unfriendly, the disposable cartridges in the thing are horribly environmentally unfriendly. Generally give the things a miss and visit one of the many good coffee shops in the neighbourhood.
Fitness Centre
The fourth floor fitness centre features the usual range of equipment but in a complex the size of the Marriott expect it to be busy at peak times, at 7am the place was packed.
The Marriott Marquis’ swimming pool
Upstairs on the fifth floor is a respectable 30ft swimming pool which doesn’t get too busy, however more than four lap swimmers at one time will be difficult. The pool is quite shallow at one end and enthusiastic tumble turners should take care at the end of their laps. Note the pool opens at 6am, half an hour after the rest of the fitness centre.
Location
For attending conferences at Moscone the location is unbeatable and being right on Market Street in downtown San Francisco with Union Square, Westfields and all the major shopping outlets close by.
Harbourside tourist attractions are some distance from the hotel although the Marriot is close to the Powell terminus of the city’s iconic cable cars to Fisherman’s Wharf. The vintage K-Line street car service also runs to Fisherman’s Wharf via the Embarcadero waterfront.
Both the BART and Metro are around the corner at the Powell Street Station – the BART takes half an hour to San Francisco airport but it’s unlikely you’ll need that if you can afford to stay at the Marriot. Cabs to the hotel are around $65 including a 20% tip.
Overall
It’s difficult to fault the hotel as the service is friendly and efficient while the rooms are comfortable with all the features required for a good business stay.
Overall, if you’re not on a tight budget and you’re attending a conference at the Moscone Centre or have business in the SoMA district then the Marriot Marquis is a good choice. If you’re in San Francisco for the tourist experience or you have business in the Financial District then you’ll probably find hotels closer to what you’re in town for.
Paul travelled to San Francisco and stayed at the Marriott courtesy of Salesforce to attend their Dreamforce conference.
