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IAmSterdam, at least for another day

The popular tourist shirts say “I AM Sterdam” in all the shops. Well, I AM in AMsterdam for another day, thanks to a cancelled Continental flight. Continental actually sent a check-in notice, but when I tried to do so at the hotel computer, it said “gate only.” Not cancelled, Gate Only. Get to the gate, and then find out from the HUGE line that it is cancelled. And, btw, no more info. No one to speak with, just get on line.

The travel agent who helped us via the E-Factor said she managed to get Bill and I on a flight tomorrow, but no guarantees until we get to the counter. I’ve been on a line for 2.5 hours now. Hey Continental, you’re working with the kind of efficiency that the 1980’s Aeroflot would have admired. How long do I have to wait  to  confirm what I did on the phone? This is insane. What crappy customer care. And, this is just the start of the “new Airline industry.”

Hoping to get out of line soon and drop the bags so we can go enjoy another evening with dinner in Amsterdam.

Update:3.5 hours to get on the same flight tomorrow as I was on today. Only reason that happened was due to travel agent, otherwise I would have been playing the “Amazing Race” all day. Thanks again to CitizenM for making sure Bill and I had a place to stay again tonight that will be cozy and close to the airport. The staff is so accomodating and welcoming.

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blogging Business mobility Uncategorized

The Launch of the Citizen M Hotel at Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam

I’m currently sitting in the public lounge of CitizenM, which is a concept hotel for the mobile traveler. M is for Mobile, in this case. I’ve taken pictures, which you can see on Flickr, and will continue to blog and twitter about this. As we only arrived this morning, I haven’t had the chance to sleep in the 2 meter square bed, here modeled by NYMIEG’s Bill Sobel. (UPDATE: Quite comfortable!)
A Citizen M Bed - 2 meters sq.

The hotel room is designed for comfort, but is small, with a tube shower and tube toilet to save space. A futuristic Phillips controller manages lights, TV, mood music, and probably some other things I haven’t figured out yet.
The control panel for the room

The concept here is not to stay in your room, but to come down to the common areas and interact with fellow “Citizens.” Everyone in the lobby seems to have a laptop or a smartphone (ok, to be fair, this is opening week, with mostly journalists, critics and bloggers, but I expect this won’t change much when the press is gone.
Citizen M public Space

Elaine Ching, Citizen M’s PR and Marketing exec told me that the starting price is $69 Euro per night, which includes wifi, movies, lobby books (clarification: for you to read not to take :-). The cafe prices are reasonable based on the airport or other hotel food. The big concept here is a space for travelers to gather and work together, and for people to meet each other. The space invites interaction, as many people are just casually saying “hi” and the tables are such that you can’t help but join a group in progress in the cafe.Citizen M Cafe

More updates as I find them, and I’ll give a review of sleeping off of the runway tomorrow. Now, it’s off to see Amsterdam and then Eindhoven for the talk tonight.

Bonus links: UK Guardian Review of Citizen M.

Happy Hotelier Blog review.

Update: I realized I didn’t tie this concept in with Co-Working, but it has a simliar feeling. I had this discussion with Tara Hunt and Tony from New Work City. It also ties in with the EFactor plans to open business lounges in several cities.

2nd Update: MegaWhat.TV reviewed the concept room in late 2007. See it here from YouTube:

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=KnwxFOm1AeU[/youtube]

UPDATED 8/14 – Thanks to Happy Hotelier for pointing out how you’re supposed to spell “Schiphol.” Sorry, Dutch friends.