Humanitas, a nursing home in the Netherlands, is offering university students rent-free accommodation, in return for their daily interaction with  elderly co-residents.  The arrangement is mutually beneficial, helping young people who would struggle to afford their student rent, as well as improving the quality of life for elderly residents.  Students earn their keep by teaching residents how to email and use social media, as well as assisting staff and spending time with the elderly residents.

Is this perhaps something that could work here in the UK? And might someone make money by recruiting and placing students in appropriate homes? A lot of research would be needed, but this could be lucrative for someone while fulfilling a big social need.

As someone who hates planning trips and holidays (to the extent of never actually doing it) I can really see the appeal of this.

Trveler users pay a monthly fee which covers the cost of a trip every 90 days. The subscription includes travel to a surprise destination and a two-night hotel booking, with additional add-ons depending on membership packages. Users can choose their level of spontaneity by entering preferred dates and destinations in their profiles, or let Trveler pick for them. They then receive details of their trip two weeks prior to travel.  A social network hub for users to share stories and photos of their adventures is currently in development.

This is only available in the United States at the moment, and I can see a market for it here in the UK. With so much choice available to travellers with cash to spend, I can see an ‘I’ll just leave everything to you’ approach being very appealing to travellers who are indecisive, lazy, busy or just like surprises.com

www.trveler.com

Go to the Hiroshima city tourism website and you can view the city from an unusual angle – from that of a cat. Using ‘cat mounted’ video cameras, the tourism chiefs have created a fun way for prospective visitors to view the city.

Does this give you any ideas…

• How about a cats eye view of UK cities?
• How about a cats eye view of something else?
• What else could you strap a video camera too, to give a unique angle?
• How about a website dedicated to unusual viewpoints?

Plenty to take inspiration from and think about.

www.hiroshima-welcome.jp

I’m old enough to remember when you could pretty much pack the kitchen sink  for a flight and it wouldn’t cost any more. Budget airlines have changed all that and baggage often has to be paid for sep, Baarately now. I find that annoying, which is why I was interested to hear about Orion, an initiative from the US which allows passengers to avoid baggage fees by having ad’s on their luggage.

Orion is set to launch next year. When the programme is fully running, users will pay an annual subscription fee, buy suitcases subsidised by the sponsors, and then receive gift cards that cover the baggage checking costs of up to 6 journeys per year. Users are given a choice of skins with which to cover one side of their suitcases (ranging from film franchises to presidential campaign hopefuls), offering a level of baggage personalisation. Sponsor advertising then appears on the reverse.

I mention it for two reasons:

1. If this works, there will be opportunities to do something similar in Europe.

2. As an idea generator. What other services, which people currently paid for, could be offset by advertising or commercial sponsorship.

Website: www.oriontraveltech.com

For reasons I can’t begin to understand, having suffered it the first time around, vinyl is making a comeback as a music medium. I just read about London hotel ‘W London’ who are jumping on the bandwagon and offering guests a record player and free access to a comprehensive vinyl collection during their stay.

Now as I say, it’s not for me, but it does offer the hotel two things – an all-important point of difference from its competitors and some free publicity.

I’m not suggesting you introduce record players and vinyl into your business, but I am suggesting that you give some thought to how you might put clear water between you and your competitors and garner free publicity at the same time. As W London have proved, it needn’t cost a fortune, and may not even need to be something directly related to your core business.

www.wlondon.co.uk