360DigitalInfluence

What is couch surfing? No, it is not spending your vacation hopping from one friends house to the next to watch the new Gossip Girl or daily hot show on Primetime TV. According to their Web Site, “it’s a worldwide network for making connections between travelers and the local communities they visit” with 1,473,790 members.

Basically, you make connections with people online and they invite you to stay ‘on their couch’ (proverbial or literal) when you are traveling. The site is full of testimonials and the ‘CouchStories’ are both heartwarming and full of amazing couch surfing experiences. To date surfers have claimed 2,742,009 positive couch surfing experiences.

While it might be awkward to stay with someone you meet over the internet, think how cool it could be. Not only do you get to stay somewhere for virtually free – although I am sure it would  probably be proper etiquette to buy your host a dinner or at least a few drinks – you get the unabashed guidance of a local who’s willing, and free spirited enough, to let a complete stranger stay in their home free of charge. What more could you ask for?

I don’t know about you, but it makes me want to make a connection, buy a plane ticket and surf a couch!

Can you name the original Seven Wonders of the World? How about the Seven Wonders of the Natural World? There are many versions of this list (USA TODAY even has their own version!), but to put a new spin on it, a Swiss filmmaker and entrepreneur named Bernard Weber started the New 7 Wonders campaign “with the aim of promoting cultural diversity and preserving natural sites.”

From a marketing perspective, this seems like a great way to place these natural destinations in the news. And, if it’s not a place that is regularly included in travel articles, an interesting way to get consumers involved with the location and make it relevant.

Currently there are 28 finalists for the “New 7 Wonders of the Natural World”, chosen by a panel of experts, and voting is now open to the public! Click here to choose your favorites.

So, what’s it gonna be? The Maldives or the Mud Volcanoes?

Mud Volcanoes

Came across this on SpringWise.  It’s a self-cooling canopy bed called Evening Breeze, “a canopy bed with built-in air conditioner that uses only a fraction of that energy.”

We find no shortage of green and eco-related online content when it comes to tourism.  It no longer seems to be a differentiator, but rather the cost of entry.  Would love for you to share some of the eco-friendly products you’ve come across.

Full post on SpringWise here.  Excerpt below:

In the Evening Breeze bed, air is filtered and cooled to a set temperature and humidity level and then gently directed over the sleeper via an upholstered canopy ceiling. A built-in mosquito net protects the sleeper from uninvited visitors while also helping to contain the cooled air, meaning that no airtight insulation is necessary—rather, the room can be left to its natural state, with windows open for fresh air. The eco-minded bed is crafted from FSC-approved wood, and it uses only environmentally friendly R410A coolant. Perhaps best of all, however, is that whereas conventional air conditioners use between 1,200 and 2,000 Watts, the average energy use for the Evening Breeze bed is only 400 Watts, creating a reduction in energy use of 60 percent per room.