Where digital meets travel + lifestyle … A collection of can’t-miss news from this week. Sign up to get the TURNER Weekly Download in your inbox every Friday.
Millennial travelers are defining the future of the luxury hospitality industry, according to Travel Pulse. They’re increasingly looking for functional shared spaces. They want healthy, convenient food options. And they want their hotels to have easy-to-use mobile apps. Further, travelers are more interested in “green,” sustainable options – and hotels are listening. “As of 2018, 25 percent of all U.S. properties had received Green Certification, the gold standard for hotel sustainability,” writes Alex Temblador. “Comparably, only 16 percent of properties had that certification in 2016.”
Getting away with your best girlfriends isn’t just fun. It’s healthy, too. And now, there’s science to prove it, according to PopSugar. Katharine Stahl writes: “Research supports that taking a trip with your friends can actually improve your mental health and long-term happiness, and as parents, we know that maintaining mental soundness is more important, and more challenging, than ever.” Maybe you didn’t need an excuse to start planning a girls’ trip – but now you have one!
Have you ever fallen in love … with a canyon? The Grand Canyon, to be specific. Some hikers were finally able to tell this natural wonder how they felt a few months back. NPR reports: “For three days at the end of 2017 and early 2018, some of those visitors encountered something unusual after a 6-mile hike down to a scenic overlook: a $5 typewriter from Goodwill and a note: ‘Dear Hiker, welcome to Plateau Point. You've hiked a long ways. Please take a seat in the chair and relax. Look around. Take it all in. What does this moment mean to you?’” The pop-up concept was a hit, with dozens of heartwarming messages left by lovestruck visitors.
In other inspired travel activations, a Colorado ski area recently brought together two Rocky Mountain favorites: skiing and beer. The Denver Post has the details: “Spring skiing is going to be a little more hoppy for fans of craft beer when 10 Barrel Brewing brings its new ‘Beercat’ to three Colorado mountains in March.” If you need something to accompany your slopeside brew, don’t worry. This ski season in Colorado also saw the introduction of a roaming snowcat that served tacos.
Don’t care about March Madness? How about March Mammal Madness?