"For decades, Japan simply imported the wares of foreign cultures, but recession has led to invention. The country has begun creating the finest American denim, French cuisine and Italian espresso in the world. Now is the time to visit."

"During the robust economy of the '80s, Japan's exports ruled, and the country would import the best that money could buy from the rest of the globe, including Italian chefs and French sommeliers. Which made Japan an haute bourgeoisie heaven where luxury manufacturers from the West expected skyrocketing sales forever.

But now 20-plus years of recession have killed that dream. Louis Vuitton sales are plummeting, and magnums of Dom Pérignon are no longer being uncorked at a furious pace. That doesn't mean the Japanese have turned away from the world. They've just started approaching it on their own terms, venturing abroad and returning home with increasingly more international tastes and much higher standards…"

[See also Stateside: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/magazine/adam-davidson-craft-business.html ]

[via: http://speedbird.wordpress.com/2011/12/04/my-back-pages-what-is-hotel/ ]

"As an increasing proportion of our lives is spent in supermarkets, airports, hotels, on motor-ways, or in front of TV and computer screens, Auge investigates the profound alteration that has resulted from this invasion of non-places."

"Clerk is the perfect administration tool designed to fit your needs as an Hotel Manager."

"Called the "Ebay for space"…online marketplace allowing anyone from private residents to commercial properties to rent out extra space. The reputation-based site allows for user reviews, verification, & secure online transactions. Listings include vacation rentals, private rooms, entire apartments, bed & breakfasts, boutique hotels, castles, treehouses, & many other traditional & non-traditional accommodations.<br />
<br />
The open platform allows users to post listings of their space. Prospective travelers can search by city or country, utilizing filters such as price & room type…Travelers contact hosts directly through the web site, which includes user profiles & friend recommendations. Dates are confirmed through on-site messaging, & the traveler books directly online using their credit card or PayPal account. Hosts receive a reservation request which they can accept or decline. Both parties then receive an itinerary on accepted reservations, & are set to go."

"Partnering with different local independent organizers Creators Inn by Elvine has been offering visiting creators short-term accommodation during their stay in Gothenburg. Totally free. No hidden fees. The project is currently evolving."

"Hotel Transvaal uses the surplus of empty spaces in the neighborhood. In houses soon to be demolished, not yet sold newly built on derelict land and in unused spaces that have been refurnished by merchants from the neighborhood and artists into 1 to 5 star hotel rooms. The supply of rooms is very diverse in terms of furniture, luxury and price, so that anyyone, businessmen, students, tourists, residents and other guests can rent a place. When homes are sold or the torn down the hotel rooms move on."

"...Neo-nomads embody spaces remotely. Via the Internet they customize their hotel room in advance, bringing in the complementary piece of home, the last piece of the “home” puzzle, with them, their luggage, and transitional objects."

"For a few weeks in July and August, the Rihga Royal Hotel Tokyo ran a program for guests aged 3–12, employing them for a day. Children picked one of five different types of work: housekeeping, doorman, front desk, floor service and kitchen, with 72 dif

"The Bedbug Registry is a free, public database of bedbug infestations in the United States and Canada. Use it to check for bedbug reports before booking a hotel room or renting an apartment."

"hotel with a capacity of 40 passengers, staffed with 15 persons, on 3-day cruise in 170 km/h permits man to explore world without a trace: to re-experience travelling, timelessness and enhance the consciousness of the beauty of the world"

"Hotel Everland is a project by Swiss artist-duo L/B (Sabina Lang and Daniel Baumann). L/B are known for their Installations that deal with architecture and space and invite the viewer to get involved and become part of the artwork."

"The Best Western brand typically evokes two thoughts: boring and budget. But not in Japantown. The former Best Western Miyako Inn opened its newly etched glass doors in June as the Best Western Hotel Tomo, a haven for Japanese culture fanatics and videog

"For a 24-hour view of one of the most vibrant coral reefs on Earth, book a room at the world's first underwater hotel"

"Chang's most-loved finds are documented in beautiful photographs, his hand drawn floor plans, and personal texts in Hotel as Home. He presents thirty-five hotels from around the world in this wonderfully atmospheric book— from the Hotel 101 in Reykjavi