A midnight snack in 140 characters? Guests at a new Maastricht hotel won't have to leave their Twitter stream if they're feeling peckish—they can just tweet their requests to the front desk, @townhousehotels. (Correction: It turns out that the hotel doesn't offer room service, but serves breakfast, soup and light snacks for guests who are unwilling to make their way to one of the city's many restaurants.)

Offering Twitter as an in-hotel communication tool is just one of the innovative elements at the Townhouse Hotel Maastricht, which is set to open in September. We previously covered the venture when it was still mysteriously known as Hotel X and piqued our curiosity by buying armchairs and alarm clocks from consumers. Building and decoration are still in progress, but the hotel's identity is taking shape, and it appears to be a timely combination of technology, affordability and personality.

As boutique hotels have become near-ubiquitous, the appeal of their polished design is losing its lustre. No surprise, then, that a counter-trend is building: hotels are aiming for a more memorable stay by combining style with personality. As indicated by how it sourced vintage furniture from local homes and attics, the Townhouse Hotel is choosing idiosyncratic charm and playfulness over showroom finesse, while keeping the technological perks that travellers have grown accustomed to. Adding to its sense of realness, Townhouse Hotel will recruit 'citizen models' for their premier ad campaign.

Like the similarly quirky Mama Shelter in Paris, Townhouse Hotel Maastricht is priced for high occupancy rates: prices at the 69-room hotel will start at EUR 75.

Website: www.townhousehotels.nl
Contact: info@townhousehotels.nl — @townhousehotels

Members of Hyatt's Gold Passport loyalty program already enjoy numerous benefits when they visit one of the company's hotels. Soon, however, they'll also benefit from a new initiative at the company to deliver random acts of kindness.

Hyatt's mission is to provide what it calls "authentic hospitality," defined—in the words of CEO Mark Hoplamazian—as "making a difference in the lives of the people we touch, including guests, employees and others." As part of a new effort to take better care of its Gold Passport members, the company will soon begin targeting those guests with pleasant surprises designed to delight them during their stay. "We will be empowering hotel employees to perform what we’re calling random acts of generosity," Hoplamazian wrote in a recent blog post. "So, don’t be surprised if Gold Passport picks up your bar tab, comps your massage or treats your family to breakfast. It’s part of bringing authentic hospitality to life and making you feel more than welcome."

Not only does the effort stand a good chance of boosting the authenticity of Hyatt's service delivery, it's also a shining example of the kind of corporate generosity that's increasingly being sought by disillusioned consumers and offered by clued-in brands. (A similar example from our sister site's briefing on Generation G: Wings, a credit card brand owned by one of Turkey's largest banks, partnered with five upscale restaurants in Istanbul to offer a random selection of lucky cardholders a pleasant surprise. After having dinner at one of the restaurants and paying with their Wings card, the customer was notified that Wings would foot the bill.) Time to start spreading some kindness of your own? (Related: Clothing brand asks its wearers to be kind — Online game focuses on real-world kindness.)

Website: goldpassport.hyatt.com
Contact: goldpassport.hyatt.com/gp/en/contact_us.jsp

Spotted by: Judy McRae

Consumers suffering from an excess of online oxygen and a shortage of the old-fashioned kind have long been able to rediscover life's natural rhythms in a farm camping vacation. A network of working farms in the UK and beyond offers a decidedly compelling twist on the classic notion.

Feather Down Farms are small-scale, working farms that offer cottage-style tents with "traditional interiors" including feather beds, wood-burning stoves and flushing toilets. A far cry from a rustic tent, the spacious accommodations feature master and bunk bedrooms along with an extra canopy bed—sleeping up to 6 in all. There is no electricity in Feather Down tents, but oil lamps and candles are provided for lighting and hot showers are available nearby. Children can get cosy with the barnyard creatures, and a farm store provides locally grown produce and necessities. Guests can also gather fresh eggs in the farm's henhouse each morning—or, at some UK farms, a private chicken coop is even available for rent, as are recipes, ingredients and implements for select farm-style meals. UK rental prices begin at GBP 195 for a 3-night midweek stay, including firewood or coal for the stove; a private chicken coop starts at GBP 10 for a midweek stay. Bicycle rentals are also available.

Targeting double-income families with kids, Feather Down Farms just recently expanded into the Netherlands, France and the US, with additional nations in its plans for the upcoming future. Farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs around the globe: one to get in on now? (Related: Nostalgia for hire — Try-before-you-buy urban chicken farming — Boutique camping.)

Website: www.featherdownfarm.co.uk — www.featherdown.com — www.unlitaupre.com — www.boerenbed.com
Contact: info@featherdown.co.uk — info@featherdown.com

Spotted by: James Cohen

No-frills chic hotels have been around for years, offering guests a stylish stay without the bills to match. More recently, hotels and restaurants have been experimenting with pay-what-you-want schemes to attract budget conscious customers. And now San Diego's Rancho Bernardo Inn is taking yet another approach, offering travellers a rather novel pricing model dubbed the Survivor Package.

Rancho Bernardo Inn asks cash-strapped guests "How low will you go?", letting them set their price by excluding the amenities they can live without. The hotel's Survivor Package, valid through June 15th and promoted on Twitter by General Manager John Gates (@GMGoneMad), is presented as follows:

Deluxe accommodations with breakfast for two for USD 219 per night.
Or....
• $199 without breakfast
• $179 without honor bar
• $159 without A/C or heat
• $139 without pillows
• $109 without sheets
• $89 without lights
• $59 without linens
• $39 without toiletries
• $19 without bed

No word yet on whether anyone has been willing to pay USD 19 to sleep on the floor, but it definitely makes for an eye-catching price strategy ;-) (Related: Austrian village asks tourists to set their price.)

Website: www.ranchobernardoinn.com
Contact: RanchoBernardoInn@JCResorts.com

Spotted by: Matthew Cua

Längenfeld, an idyllic village in Austria’s Alps, is inviting 200 people to visit for three days during the first week of July. Visitors will perform a Live Quality Check, testing the village’s hotels, restaurants and leisure facilities. When it’s time to leave, they’ll fill out a survey and pay what they think their stay was worth.

When signing up for the Live Quality Check, people were asked to select their preferred type of accommodation, as well indicate the holiday activities they enjoy—rafting, hiking, climbing, swimming, biking, culture and a spa are on offer. Sixteen accommodation providers, four restaurants and seven leisure facilities are participating in the endeavour, and over 400 people applied for a testing slot. According to Martin Santer, the project’s initiator, “Längenfeld is a place of energy, both for locals and our guests, and it has become a thriving tourist resort; a place we’re very proud of. With Live Quality Check, we’re showing our pride by letting guests determine how much they pay.”

More than just a PR gimmick at the start of the summer season, the test should help uncover whether tourists feel they’re getting value for money in Längenfeld. By combining pay-as-you-wish with an extensive survey, the local tourist industry gains valuable information about the quality of their services, and useful feedback on their pricing strategy. Now, if they really want to go the full mile, they’ll add transparency to the mix and put all those reviews online… (Related: Pay-what-you-want hotel in Singapore — Pay-what-you-want ad agency — London diners pay what they want at Little Bay.)

Website: www.live-qualitycheck.com
Contact: info@live-qualitycheck.com

Spotted by: M.M.