Brown Hotels houses war evacuees at its properties in Israel, the Michelin Guide expands into hotels, and Benjamin Moore unveils its 2024 Color of the Year. All that and more in this week’s Five on Friday.
The Michelin Guide to begin ranking hotels next year
Photo courtesy of Ricochet64/Adobe Stock
Hotels will soon be vying for the attention of the Michelin Guide. Last week, the publication, which has been analyzing restaurants for 123 years, revealed that it will start rating properties across the globe with keys, not stars, next year. Recognition will be based on the following: having a local character, individuality, excellence in architecture and interior design, top service and comfort, and a consistent value-for-price, according to Bloomberg. The first hotels to receive Michelin keys will be unveiled in the first half of 2024 from an already determined group of 5,300 hotels in 120 countries.
Israel-based Brown Hotels houses war refugees
A guestroom at the Theodor Brown boutique hotel in Tel Aviv; photo courtesy of Brown Hotels
With domestic and international tourism at a halt in Israel, Tel Aviv-based Brown Hotels is taking action and staff has pivoted to focusing on the crisis. After the brutal attacks by Hamas on Saturday, evacuees and stranded travelers have found themselves looking for housing at the company’s 24 hotels throughout Israel, writes Skift. “Around 150 of our rooms in Tel Aviv are hosting evacuees,” says Shahaf Segal, a spokesperson for Brown Hotels. “For example, at our 200-room Brown BoBo, we have 60 families of evacuees from the settlements around Gaza. We organized a donation room in our conference hall, where people come in and donate clothes and other necessities.”
The National Museum of Women in the Arts expands its horizons
Collection galleries at the National Museum of Women in the Arts; photo by Jennifer Hughes, courtesy of NMWA
The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) in Washington, DC has emerged from a $67.5 million revamp led by Sandra Vicchio & Associates, a Baltimore-based, female-founded architecture firm. According to Vanity Fair, the two-year renovation resulted in 15 percent more gallery space, a new Learning Commons for workshops, an upgraded research library, and a performance hall. “Through a close collaboration with the museum’s leadership and staff, our design brings NMWA’s mission to life in this stately historic structure,” Sandra Parsons Vicchio said of the project in a press release. “We focused on increased accessibility, greater flexibility to exhibit works of all types and sizes, seamlessly integrated technical capabilities for everything from digital artworks to interactive programming, and spaces to inspire and delight artists and visitors. At the end of the day, this renovation is about the art and the people.” The museum will reopen to the public on October 21st.
Cruise lines double down on private islands
The 268-acre Great Stirrup Cay island is owned by Norwegian Cruise Line; photo courtesy of Adobe Stock
Norwegian Cruise Line bought a private island in the Bahamas in the late 1970s and developed it into Great Stirrup Cay. Since then, more and more companies have purchased or leased land to have more control over cruisers’ experience, writes The Wall Street Journal. Many popular ports of call—like Cozumel, Mexico and Nassau, Bahamas—have become inundated with tourists and amenities are competed for, whereas these exclusive destinations offer a less crowded, more resort-like experience. While complex and costly, the feedback from cruisers seems to be positive. “The reason for these islands mainly is that the guests love them, and we need to sell cruises that the guests love so they come back,” Rubén Rodriguez, president of MSC Cruises USA, says.
Benjamin Moore announces its 2024 color forecast
Blue Nova 825 on display in a room vignette; photo courtesy of Benjamin Moore
Earlier this week, at an event held in partnership with Blue Origin (the aerospace manufacture owned by Jeff Bezos), Benjamin Moore named Blue Nova 825 its 2024 Color of the Year. The cosmic blend of blue and violet was described by Andrea Magno, the company’s color marketing and development director, as an “alluring mid-tone that balances depth and intrigue with classic appeal and reassurance.” The shade is part of the larger 2024 Color Trends palette of 10 hues designed to suit a wide range of design styles.
