Wombats and peeing in public

Instagram have launched a new standalone app called ‘Hyperlapse‘. Traditional time lapse videos require you to hold your phone/camera still whilst you film, however ‘Hyperlapse’ does this for you with the built-in stabilization feature and the ability to speed up the videos.Instagram said that they designed ‘Hyperlapse’ to be as simple as possible. And that is exactly what it is; you record a video, set a playback speed, save and then share the video to Facebook or Instagram. Instagram users have already shared their ‘Hyperlapse’ videos, from people walking around NYC to taking a train ride and even dancing around the airport.

It seems that some hotels around the world are finally investing in the marketing power of the ‘selfie’. Concierge desks and check in staff at resorts across the globe are now encouraging guests to take ‘selfies’ with official advice offered to customers on the best spots for a great photo. The Mandarin Oriental in Paris offers guests the ‘Selfies in Paris’ package which includes a Mercedes trip through the city (driver included), free Wi-Fi in the car and hotel room and a comprehensive list of the best ‘selfie’ spots in the French Capital. A free night in the hotel is up for grabs for anyone willing to tag the hotel in posts. Other hotels have designed ‘selfie’ spots around the property where guests can capture the best views.

An enterprising Czech hotel is hoping to deter public urination by threatening to post videos of offenders on YouTube. A sign warning peeing passers-by has appeared outside a hotel in the town of Mikulov, close to the border with Austria. The town is a centre of Czech wine-making, but it would appear that a number of oenophile visitors have been caught short on the doorsteps of the three-star Hotel Marcink, prompting the owner, Petr Marcink, to erect the sign. The picture appeared on Twitter yesterday, and was retweeted more than 850 times. Now if you’ll excuse us, we just need to pop to the loo to avoid any public humiliation…

Word on the web is that Australia  may be the new go-to destination for those holidaymakers wishing to experience all things techy. Whether you are ordering your coffee, planning a gluten free meal or just checking a size in the shops, Australia is an innovative leader in retail systems according to Stephen Borg, CEO of AOPEN Australia and New Zealand. One system already in place in 12 Melbourne cafes are interactive windows which allow customers to place their coffee order before they have even stepped foot in the café. These advances are set to take customer service to a whole new level of accuracy and efficiency, are you ready?

In another update from our friends down under, Australia’s oldest wombat Patrick has turned 29 years old this week! Tourism Australia sent the Ballarat Wildelife Park resident a birthday message on the Australia.com Facebook page which has attracted over 200,000 likes, over 40,000 shares and 10, 000 comments. That’s a lot of birthday love. Happy Birthday Patrick!

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