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? for Jenni

community@ihg.com — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:37:50 GMT

Jenni,

Where ARE the answers, or at lease some response either video or thread responses to the questions we all posted so long ago.

I started a thread Where are Mr. Sickel's Answers?

You may want to read the comments..

What Inspires You To Travel?

community@ihg.com — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:57:40 GMT

Andrew over at The Brooklyn Nomad actually made a blog post about movies that make you want to travel. It's a good post and made me think, what inspired you to travel? Was it a scene in a movie you saw? Was it your parents or peers encouraging you to explore life outside your citiy limits?

If it was a movie that made you want to travel, please lets keep this conversation going. It be nice to see which cinematic classics made us who we travelers are.

Here are some movies from Andrew's list:

In Bruges: This Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe Award-winning 2008 film directed and written by Martin McDonagh stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson as two hit men hiding out in a small city in Belgium. Yes they are staying “In Bruges”, which is a small town outside of Brussels. The backdrop is perfect in my opinion, yet Colin Farrell’s character hates this city. It is too cold, quiet and boring for him. His character prefers the excitement and energy of Paris and London. But his partner absolutely loves the quaint city and takes in a river cruise, snaps pics of the architecture and enjoys many drinks at their local watering holes. If you can not have a good time in Belgium then something is seriously wrong with you. A place that is known for some of the best chocolate and beer on the planet? Perfect!

Vicky Cristina Barcelona: Who wouldn’t want to spend a summer in Spain with the likes of Penelope Cruz and Scarlett Johansson? This 2008 Golden Globe Award-winning/Academy Award-nominated movie, written and directed by Woody Allen, is filmed in beautiful Barcelona. Not only does it have a good storyline, but it also offers a lot of good looking cast. I’m sold.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: Based on the 1971 Hunter S. Thompson book, this film starring Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro is such a great flick. Depp and del Toro’s interaction throughout the film make for one **** of a ride to Sin City. A movie with so many desert scenes was never so entertaining. Highly recommend. But read the book first.

Under the Tuscan Sun: While this one is an “Uber-chick flick”, I could not turn away while my wife watched it. The Italian backdrop was perfetto. Definitely check it out with your partner…great date movie. If you are a single male then rent it, lower the blinds and cuddle up on the couch with your kitty. It’s okay, you are confident in your masculinity.

A Good Year: Set in both London, England and stunningly romantic Provence, France. This 2006 romantic comedy starring Russell Crowe seriously was not the best movie I have seen in recent years, but the location of Provence was good enough to keep me watching through to the end.

Bourne Trilogy: All three of the Bourne movies, while fast paced and fun to watch in my opinion, also make you want to escape to Europe ASAP. Some of the locations used in these great movies include Prague, Imperia, Rome, Mykonos, Zürich, Tangier, London, Paris, Madrid and Berlin (which was also used as a double for Moscow). Even New York City is used in this movie. That is some serious traveling Mr. Damon.

Other notable mentions:

Home Alone 2 (New York)
Sleepless in Seattle (duh)
National Lampoon’s European Vacation(England,France,Germany,and Italy)
The Da Vinci Code (Rome/Vatican City)
Lost in Translation (Tokyo)

Priority Club Widget

fayeken@yahoo.com — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:50:08 GMT

Has anyone signed

up for the Priority Club Widget?

Offers, US, (Priority Club Rewards Offers)

Just wondered if it is useful? Thanks for any replies.

I need quick reply on using points and dollars combos for room stays. Help!

community@ihg.com — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:58:39 GMT

At the Barclay, I have booked two rooms, four nights each, for my family who will be visiting for thanksgiving. This totals 8 nights in all and I am paying for 4 nights with dollars and 4 nights with PC points. I am registered for every PC promotional code on the planet.

To get the most points and qualifying nights

Is it better to put the four free nights on one room, and pay for the second room's four nights with dollars/

Is it better to pay for two nights for each room and use points for two nights in each room

It doesnt matter.

You guys out there are so smart about this stuff, so your advice will be appreciated Thank you.

Hello, new to priority connect

community@ihg.com — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:42:48 GMT

Hi Ive been a priority club member since 2003. Scott Day introduced me to you guys. Any tips for a newbie?

What level are we?

community@ihg.com — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:56:28 GMT

It may be interesting to ask at what level are we and to what do we aspire?

I am a Platinum Royal Ambassador and I have a goal to stay at this level.

Do you try to conserve energy in your own home by adjusting the thermostat?

fred.mcseveney@ihg.com — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:36:38 GMT

Adjust the Thermostat -

You can reduce energy waste by lowering your hotel room thermostat in the winter or raising it a bit in the summer. Just a couple of degrees will make a big impact and help the environment all at the same time, while cutting home electricity costs, which can be used towards booking a stay at a great IHG property.

So, do you try to conserve energy in your own home by adjusting the thermostat?

Meet John Wood from the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Oxford

community@ihg.com — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:01:16 GMT

During the last 15 years I have mostly been working in Bolivia and currently manage a Darwin Initiative Project funded through the British government looking at conservation priorities in Eastern Bolivia. There are a lot of different native plants in Bolivia, some 15,000 by most counts, that is about ten times as many as in all the British Isles. There are two areas where the plants are particularly numerous, the Andes and the eastern lowland plains next to Brazil. There is such a diversity of plants that both areas are regarded as world hotspots of plant diversity and both, of course, extend into neighbouring countries.

Most people think of central South America as one great plain covered in forest. Yes, it is mostly flat and it does have, or at least had, a lot of forest. However much of it is actually grass-covered plain with scattered bushes and trees, a bit like an African savannah but without the lions. In this region, rains fall for only about four months a year and the area becomes bone dry in the winter season. Fires break out every year and sweep across the plains. It is only after fire and a bit of help from the rain, of course, that you really appreciate how many plants there are, as everything bursts into flower.

And it is only relatively flat. Steep-sided isolated mountains rise out of the plains, like little lost worlds – actually the original “Lost World” of the book and the film was based on one of these mountains in Bolivia. And they are still mostly unexplored and new plants can be found quite easily, and, just as in the fictional “Lost World”, these mountain islands are home to unique plants described by botanists as “endemics”, a term used to describe plants known nowhere else in the world. These mountains are the true hotspots for diversity compared with which the plains and lowland forests are decidedly cool.

In the picture above you can see one of the rock towers you find on the flat tops of these mountains. This particular one is honey-combed with crevices, which is home for some aggressive hornets, whose victim I have been several times. It is also home to half a dozen plants known from nowhere else in the world except for a few similar rocks in the vicinity. This must make this place one of the hottest points of one of the hottest mountains for plant diversity in the eastern lowlands of Bolivia. I have added pictures of one of the new plants we found here. In one you can see how it grows naturally and in the other you can see the details of its flower.

Its scientific name Blepharadon crabrorum, which refers precisely to those hornets that stung my companions when we first found it. These same rocks have at least two more species new to science.

With the help of generous funding from the InterContinental Hotels Group, scientists from the Department of Plant Sciences at Oxford will be able to continue exploring hotspots like these in collaboration with Bolivian colleagues.

Advance purchase rate question

community@ihg.com — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:24:27 GMT

I don't usually book advance purchase rates; however, an upcoming stay I am looking at is $20 less with this rate. When I view the conditions for the rate, it does not say anything about earning points. Am I correct in assuming that I will still receive points and any promos I'm signed up for when booking the Advance Purchase Rate?

Thanks for any info!

New Promo

community@ihg.com — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:02:24 GMT

This starts tomorrow (Sept. 15th) You should receive one 'web decoder' per stay.. and possibly get one free directions should be at the website below.

Each web decoder card has a value, don't know if all are winners, but you can win up to 25,000 points..

Don't know the particulars, or the odds... check out the website.

Remember to ask for your web decoder when you check out!

http://www.25000usa.priorityclub.com/