I was so glad to hear that Richard Branson is planning to develop an eco-resort on Mosquito Island in the British Virgin Islands. Beside thinking that wind and solar power really should be a no-brainer in a place like the BVI, I’m just looking forward to seeing that place come back to life.

Photo courtesy of BareboatsBVI

We go sailing down there regularly, and just inside the reef by the former Drake’s Anchorage Resort was a favorite place to park for the night. It’s been really sad to see the place abandoned, the moorings deteriorating, the hiking trails empty. It’s been even sadder not to be able to eat at Drake’s restaurant, which was hands-down the finest dining we ever had down there.

So, while it might be useful mainly for super high-end meetings, similar to Branson’s other BVI retreat, Necker Island, for we sailors will welcome the renewal of the island with open arms. As long as Branson will, like the former owner did, allow our stinky sunburned feet to walk the trails and our ravenous appetites be satisfied on shore. Even if we can’t land our dingies there, I still am glad to hear plans are moving forward. I love that place!

This is day two of the Virtualis convention center grand opening in Second Life, and it’s going a little more smoothly for me than yesterday. First and most importantly, I’ve been able to actually hang out for entire sessions, instead of bopping in and out and all about like I was yesterday. I missed James Hogg’s session this morning on emergent technologies, which from what I hear was really good. But I did get to sit in on CMP Boot Camp by Bonnie Wallsh and Marianne McNulty, which was really informative–I somehow get the impression that they’ve done this topic before! There was someone there who had been doing events in Second Life for a long time (relatively speaking) who had never heard of the Certified Meeting Professional designation, and he sounded interested in it. Actually, this guy says he’s been earning a living putting on events in Second Life for a couple of years now, so if you’re looking for a job, you may want to expand your horizons outside of the usual desired city and state.
Here’s a shot of Joan Eisenstodt’s session yesterday in the Eisenstodt Learning Center, which is so cool.

Anyway, then Joe Pine did a keynote on the experiential economy that came off, I thought, much better than the session he did with his fellow Authenticity and The Experience Economy author Jim Gilmore at PCMA in January. It didn’t cover a lot of new ground for me, but it was really fun to see him talk about virtual experiences from inside a virtual experience. I wish he’d done something a little more experiential than the usual PowerPoint presentation, just to prove the point, but the content was terrific.

Taking a break now before heading back to the Virtualis main ballroom for John Foster’s international contract negotiation session in a few minutes. It’s still a little frustrating for me because my Mac seems to have some sort of firewall built in that won’t allow me to use the Second Life voice chat. So I’m using my PC laptop, which allows the voice chat, but is brought to its knees (ankles? toes?) by the Second Life program; everything (especially my avatar) moves jerkily and in slo-mo, and things take a long time to reach full resolution. But it’s still really cool.

One thing I’m enjoying is being able to comment via text chat as the session goes on. I don’t know if that’s distracting to the speaker or what, but the running commentary added another dimension to it for me. Especially the funny bits.

OK, back to the ballroom…

For those of you who have VIPs to pamper, or for the rest of us with hotel envy, enjoy these 10 Of The Coolest Hotel Suites In The World. I actually have seen the over-water bungalows at Le Meridien in Bora Bora pictured above; not so lucky on the rest. But there’s still time, right?

Not surprisingly, the new Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Prince George’s County, Md., is big. Really big. Or, as this reviewer in the Washington Post calls it, “ridonkulously huge.” I’m not able to make it to the grand opening celebration coming up, but I hope to get there at some point in the near future to check it out.

In the meantime, this review will have to suffice.

I am fascinated reading Jennifer Collins of Meet ‘N Dish’s preparations for holding a meeting in Africa. From her preparations for a site visit, to talking with locals in Ghana, to her most-recent post about relocating to another city, it’s a really interesting look into how it all works. I’m looking forward to reading more about this one!

No, not the Oscar winners–the hotels and restaurants who received a four- or five-star designation from Mobil Travel Guide. And the stars go to…nah, I’m not going to list them all here. Why should I, when Hotel Online does it for me?

Here’s to a star-studded year!

Yesterday, though I can’t find any news stories about it, I heard on the MeCo listserv that the front desk systems at some Las Vegas hotels went down for several hours, causing some pandemonium among those looking to check in and check out. Then today we heard that the Monte Carlo hotel and casino on the strip caught on fire and had to be evacuated. If anyone has a first-hand experience with either of these events, I’d love to hear the details.

In the meantime, be safe, Las Vegans (not sure what you call them, but I like the sound of Las Vegans!). Seems like your corner of the world is under attack by gremlins.

While some cities are pulling back on their convention center expansion plans, Corporate Planners Unlimited has no such qualms—at least not in cyberspace.

Pictured: Dan Parks and Joan Eisenstodt breaking virtual ground

In January Dan Parks of Corporate Planners Unlimited will launch the Virtualis Convention Center in the online world Second Life. (This is in addition to the MeCo mansion, a Second Life gathering place Parks helped to launch for the MeCo listserv that has so many interesting nooks, crannies, and meetings-related information that it’s worth saddling up your avatar and taking a gander around.) From the press release:

Virtualis is the largest public convention center in Second Life and boasts state-of-the art virtual facilities with educational breakout rooms, a grand ballroom, exhibition hall and the Eisenstodt Learning and Community Matters Center…

[Virtualis creator Dan Parks, CPU President/Creative Director, says,] “When our society is full of security and cost issues in the world of travel, this is the optimum time to expand into the safe and exciting new world of Virtualis. Virtual technology is not new to our younger generation and the transition of learning modules into the Second Life setting will be natural and expected.”

Click here for the specs, and more about the center. Sounds very cool to me!

P.S. This post has been updated: Shame on me for not paying closer attention when I read the release. I initially thought this was another MeCo endeavor a la the Mansion, but it’s Dan and his company flying solo on this one. The energy this guy is putting into Second Life just amazes me.

Looks like Boston got knocked off its top spot, walkability-wise, according to this article on the new Brookings Institute report.

A report by a venerable think tank, the Brookings Institution, declared yesterday that Boston is, in fact, not number one. Brookings instead bestowed top honors on the nation’s capital, saying Washington D.C.’s urban planners have created “the national model of walkable urban growth.”

Boston ranked second, ahead of San Francisco, Denver, and Portland, Ore.

The response from Boston officials was confusion, then indignation. (Some noted that Brookings is based in Washington. Coincidence?)

Other cities may be more walkable, but I’d be willing to bet more people walk in Boston than in other cities. Why? If you’ve ever driven in Boston, you wouldn’t have to ask, trust me!

From Alaska to Australia, quirky hotels abound, according to TripAdvisor.com.

Their top 10 list of 2007’s quirkiest hotels are:

1. Forget-Me-Not-Lodge The Aurora Express, Fairbanks, Alaska, where the rooms are old railroad cars. Sounds a little like a place my dad and I once stayed in Pennsylvania, which was duded up like a cross between a railroad car and a bordello. Wish I could remember the name of the place…

2. Icehotel, Marknadsvagen, Sweden, where the surroundings may be chilly, but the hospitality is warm.

3. Malmaison Oxford Castle, Oxford, England, “where lifelong dreams of becoming institutionalized come true.”

4. Dog Bark Park Inn, Cottonwood, Idaho, for those whose trips have gone to the dogs.

5. McMenamin’s Kennedy School, Portland, Oregon, a converted schoolhouse where you will never have to wear the dunce cap.

6. Gamirasu Cave Hotel: Ayvali koyu, Urgup, Turkey, a restored eighteen-room troglodyte cave house where you can cater to your inner caveman.

7. King Pacific Lodge, North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for those who always wanted to have their own barge party on a floating hotel.

8. Fur N’ Feathers Rainforest Tree Houses, Tarzali, Queensland, Australia, where you can share your tree house accommodations with parrots and platypus.

9. Wigwam Motel, Holbrook, Arizona, for some kitchy chic fun on Rt. 66.

10. The Witchery by the Castle, Edinburgh, Scotland, which is described as “an historic 15th century building that is only a stone’s throw from famous Edinburgh Castle, [where] visitors will enjoy an amazing array of antiques, and amorous ambiance.”