About three months ago we decided to revive a proposal from 2007 hold dear by many of us: the idea hotel.

After quite some back and forth we agreed to meet on 25 june in Utrecht at seats2meet to take the initiative a substantial step further.

It is now time for everybody to get back up to speed with the original vision. Today I suggest to read what Stefan Hermann wrote in 2007 about the Idea Hotel:

"People from all over the world express their ideas and thoughts, meet people with other ideas and return home with new ideas.
The idea hotel is a place where new ideas emerge, where creativity is fostered and people get challenged.
The idea hotel is a home base for people who love to explore future oriented ideas, creativity and innovation.
The idea hotel is a rich source for new ideas, a place for the use of methods and techniques, a combination of face to face and virtual community.
The idea hotel changes constantly and the concept is continuously developed with the help of the guests."

The metaphor of the "hotel" and the notion of "place" however have to be taken with a pinch of salt. Place could also be a u-topia, a non-place. And hotel certainly stands for the service-mentality of top-quality hotels where no wish is too exotic to be fulfilled. At the same time it stands for the cosy relation of the hotelier with their clientele in a family run countryside hotel. And it stand for an institution where you will meet the most unexpected fellow travellers who can cause quite some irritation to your view of the world -- but in a save environment where you don't have to fear this irritation but can hopefully enjoy it and grow your visions.

more tomorrow ...

PS: have you already registered for the event at http://www.mindz.com/events/Idea_Hotel_meet-up?

1949: Carl Auer, philosopher

Universitäten sind die Orte, wohin sich die guten Ideen zurückziehen, um in Ruhe sterben zu können.

Universities are those places to where good ideas retire to die in peace.

Hotelicopter

The site is a marketing gag ... but there are some people who seem to believe the story.

Have fun! -- more pix here

Idea Hotel -- what is it about

The 'Idea Hotel' is a home base for inspiration and creativity.

According to its inventor, '[at] the unique idea hotel, people from all over the world express their ideas and thoughts, meet people with other ideas and return home with new ideas. The idea hotel is a /// place /// where new ideas emerge, where creativity is fostered and people get challenged. The idea hotel is a home base for people who love to explore future oriented ideas, creativity and innovation. The idea hotel is a rich source for new ideas, a /// place /// for the use of methods and techniques, a combination of face to face and virtual community. The idea hotel changes constantly and the concept is continuously developed with the help of the guests.' (see http://ideenhotel.ch/e/idee.html).

On this blog we begin to develop the concept of an idea hotel further to bring it closer to realization.