.

We have new property - RESIDENCE BREHOVA

2010-05-11T03:33:00.000-07:00

We are happy to annouce you that we increase the number of our properties in the centre of Prague. Let me introduce Residence Brehova. Six new apartments will be available for booking from the 1st June.

Apartments in the Brehova 8 residence feature a unique combination of style, spaciousness and state-of-art equipment and fittings. Each of six apartments is fully furnished and equipped to the high standard of living to provide immediate housing solution for high demanding guests.

Wonderfully spacious living rooms and bedrooms with two bathrooms as a standard in larger apartments are a perfect choice for those requiring maximum flexibility and intimacy even when travelling with friends or a family. Fully sized kitchens with all the appliances, 24/7 concierge service, Internet connection at no extra cost and daily maid service upscale the value provided. One bedroom, two bedroom or three bedroom apartments vary in size from 76 to 220 square meters. Some bedrooms are especially designed for families travelling with children.

We are looking forward to accommodate you in Residence Brehova soon. Take an advantage of special summer rates...

Prague City Apartments Facebook Profile

2010-03-25T07:42:00.001-07:00

We are really to announce you that we have launched our new Facebook profile. We are aware of new trends in social media and we would like to be closer to our clients and fans as well.

In the end we would like to connect four different media - starting with our Facebook profile through our Blog and our Twitter account and ending with our Prague City Apartment website.

We believe our new stragery on the field of social media will increase client´s satisfaction and on the other hand it will atrack new ones.

Link for Prague City Apartments Facebook profile

Top Value for Residence Karolina by Tripadvisor

2010-03-11T06:13:00.001-08:00

We are more than happy to announce that Residence Karolina has been rewarded by Tripadvisor. It has gained mark of Top Value. We are proud to offer you stay in one of Top rated properties for such price. Please check, what does it mean exactly by Tripadvisor: "A great deal for the price, as judged by millions of travelers."

Top Value award is not just about price but it is the result of outstanding services and great location.

Although the credit was assigned to Residence Karolina other residences are placed on the top positions on Tripadvisor as well.

We would like to thank you for your the trust you gave us and we will to our best to continue in making your stay easy and enjoyable.

Exterior of our residences in Prague (using Google maps)

2010-02-10T05:28:00.000-08:00

I am sure that you have seen nice pictures of our residences and I would like to show you the exterior of our Prague City Apartments properties. To be really precise I have used the help of Google maps, respectively Street view. As you will see, all of our properties are located in quiet street in real centre of Prague. Therefore, each of important sights is in walk distance.

Residence Masna ****

View Larger Map

Residence Karolina ****

View Residence Karolina in a larger map

Residence Rybna ****

View Larger Map

Pension Borsov ****

View Larger Map

Cosy Borsov Pension in Old Town/Pohodlný Boršov Pension ve Starém městě

2010-02-08T13:37:00.000-08:00

Note: This post is displayed bilingually (English and Czech)

In English:

Several monts ago I presented you new website of Borsov pension and since this time Borsov Pension has become our hidden gem. Borsov Pension is Bed and Breakfast with fabulous location in the centre of Prague and guests are always impressed by the location and how unforgettable and comfortable pension is.

To offer Borsov Pension to people we decided to create several listings of Borsov in booking across the internet and translate the website into Czech language. Therefore we would like to annouce that you can check website of Borsov Pension in Czech.

In Czech:

Před několika měsíci jsem Vás upozrňoval na nové stránky našeho Pensionu Boršov. Mezitím se stal Boršov malým a skrytým pokladem naší nabídky. Boršov Bed and Breakfast je znám díky své vynikajíci poloze v centru Prahy a hosté si jej chválí pro jeho nezapomenutelnou atmosféru a velmi pohodlné prostředí.

Rozhodli jsme se proto Boršov Pension nabídnou na více místech na internetu a zároveň jsme přeložili stránky i do češtiny. A tímto Vám oznamujeme že stránky Boršov můžete prohlížet nyní i v češtině.

Power of Flipkey

2010-02-01T04:54:00.001-08:00

What is Flipkey? Here is official definition: FlipKey™ is a leading vacation rental service featuring the world’s largest collection of verified vacation rental guest reviews.

And does it have anything common with Prague City Apartments? A lot. And does it have anything common with Tripadvisor? A lot. Let me start with Tripadvisor. Maybe you know that Tripadvisor offered three type of accommodation hotels, B&B and Specialty Lodging. Therefore, owner and managers of the apartments should listed their property under Specialty Lodging.

Tripadvisor has released new type of accommodation - Vacation Rentals and the apartment guys have the place where to put their property. And this category of accommodation is directly linked to Flipkey, where you need to register your properties. And Prague City Apartments has already registered in.

Find Prague vacation rentals on FlipKey

Residence Karolina and Tripadvisor

2010-01-25T04:12:00.000-08:00

For last several months we have recieved very good results with Residence Karolina on Tripadvisor. It is due to perfect reviews which we have recieved from our clients. Recently we moved Residence Karolina from the Specialty Lodging category on Tripadvisor to Hotel category. Maybe you know that Karolina was on the first place within the category of Specialty Lodging, nevertheless, within the Hotels Karolina has been placed on the sixth place.

With regards to our competiotion within the Hotel category sixth place is wonderful place for listings. Note that first four listings of our competition have been placed in the top ten on the world within favorite hotels category. Therefore we can claim that our competition on Tripadvisor is really high and the sixth place is very nice results.

Furthermore, if you compare the price level of other hotels on the first Tripadvisor page you will find that Residence Karolina has one of the cheapest property and you can hardly find better price/quality ratio within Prague´s listings.

In other words Residence Karolina is offering very comfortable and top quality Prague apartments. The main partner of Residence Karolina is Prague City Apartments (PCA). Reason why Residence Karolina has been ranked very well on Tripadvisor is that PCA offers first class concierge servis and very trendy accommodation in Prague Old Town.

For more information please visit the web of Residence Karolina.

Prague City Apartments and E-travel went to countryside

2010-01-12T05:55:00.000-08:00

Finally I have recieved some photos from the last teambuidling of PCA and E-travel in Znojmo.

The story is following: Mr. Tomasek has private vine collection in Znovin (vine company in Znojmo) and he had forgotten to collect stored bottles since 2005. Therefore, it was decided to left Prague to help Mr. Tomasek with reducing his reserves.

We left on Fridays morning and four cars of thirsty people were heading towards Znojmo, nevertheless, three of these cars were ahead and the last car of Mr. Tomasek had a delay. Znojmo is 200 km far from Prague and even if the first car had an advance of approximetely 80 km, Mr. Tomasek managed to jump over this car before we reach our destination. No comment to his performance on the roads. Finally we reached Znojmo.

The trip was planned over the whole weekend. After our arrival in Znojmo we had to catch special bus which took us into six different wine celler where we had to taste over 25 samples of Znovin´s wine. First two bus stops were under control; however, from the third stops some of us gained certein level of alcohol in blood and it remained till the Sunday´s evening. (see the photos below). After our last stop we went to pizza and later on we went to after party in Znovin´s main cellar. Later on we moved into bar in the centre of Znojmo to celebrate the end of the first day.

Saturday´s moring we started with champagne and orange juicy. Then we followed Karel B. to begin our teambuilding game. We were divided into three groups; nevertheless, one group was disqualified because of using taxi instead of their feet :(. The goal of the game was to reach another Znovin´s cellar where Mr. Tomasek has private collection of moravian wine. Before we reached this cellar we stopped in pub called "U Fandy" where other competitions were held. In one competition of beer relay two competitors didnt succeed in holding the beer in their stomachs (guess what could happen). The rest of the day we spent in cellar drinking and tasting wine......

The Sunday was the day of returning and the day of searching for memories.

Finally, let me thank you for organization these event and together we are looking for next such teambuilding action.

Some pictures:

Our number one technician in front of Tomasek´s private collection :)

Girls in wine cellar

Front office manager won a bottle of wine

IT crowds

The level of alcohol has increased

Even the sales director was tired after several round of tasting

The wine is soooo goooood.....

This is Karel who organize this event and Martin who takas care of this event

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Prague

2009-12-23T01:14:00.000-08:00

I would like to thank you for staying with Prague City Apartments, we all really value you have chosen us. I hope you found your stay enjoyable and fully satisfactory.

I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Your sincerely,

Martin Tomasek
general manager
Prague City Apartments

Rough times of Prague’s travel industry continue...(crises in numbers)

2009-12-23T00:24:00.000-08:00

Czech statistical office released the data of Czech’s incoming travel industry for the third quater (Q3). And in comparison with the last two years the incoming travel industry is still falling. The hoteliers still dont see any light in the end of tunnel. Worse yet, a full recovery for tourism is not expected until 2013 according to Euromonitor International. On the other hand crisis in travel industry has revealed new markets like “funemloyment” in USA.

The focus of this paper is to demostrate continuing crisis in Prague. The third quater was choosen as the base for comparison with previous years.

Source: Czech Statistical office, 2009

The first chat shows that number of nights in Q3 has degreased in 2009 in comparison with 2008 and the same rule is valid for number of quest in Prague; however, the crises has started before 2008, so someone could expect degrease even in the year 2008. The point is that even if the number of west travellers was already significantly degreasing the number of east travellers was still increasing. In other words the traveller from countries like Russia, Poland, Ukrajine, Romania and other coutries were still coming to Prague in higher number than in 2007. Furthermore the big impact on this paradox had the residents of Czech Republic when the number of guests (app. 43 ths.) was higher than in 2007.

Source: Czech Statistical office, 2009

The confirm the hypothesis of progressing crises this chart would be used as an example. It is very vissible that since 2006 number of quests staying was degreasing. Even if the number of quests in 2007 reached the highest value the progress of overnigh stays per guests was already decling. There may be more factors then only crises, for instance, changing travellers behaviour – Prague is becoming very popular among European cities but it is becoming also as a crossroads for other travellers. The other reason may be in the travellers who are travelling to Europe to know more than Czech Republic or Prague but also Vienna, Paris and other European cities.

Source: Czech Statistical office, 2009

The most travellers are coming to Prague from Germany, Italy, Spain, UK and US. Therefore, they were chosen as a sample for this research. The full impact of crises is seenable in this chart. On one hand UK and Spain has been it by crises at most and on the other hand German tourists has produced similar level of overnight stays within last three years in the third quarter of last three years.

Source: Czech Statistical office, 2009

The number of guests is almost in the same line as number of overnight stays. Why almost? Because in the case of Germany the number of guests is even ingreasing (remember still in Q3) since 2007; however, the number of overnight stays are at the same level and it meas that German market. It could be stated that German travellers like to spend their holidays in near Prague instead of further destinations but the crises has left the impact on them with regards to lower number of overnight stays. Furthermore Germans tend to stay in lower rated accommodation. The habits of UK, Spain, Italy or USA tourists have remained same but either the number of overnight stays or the number of guests has been degresing significatly. It the case of UK the number of guests degreased from 130 ths. in 2007 to 90 ths. in 2009.

Source: Czech Statistical office, 2009

Finally, room accupancy has confirmed our previous words of hoteliers problems. Overall in Prague room occupancy has degreased from 68% (2007) to 60% (2009) in quarter three. The five stars hotels in Prague was hit at the most. As you see, their occupancy has degreases from 72% (2007) to 53% (2009). Degrease in four stars hotels was notably lower between Q3 in 2008 nad Q3 in 2009, moreover, these hotels seems fall slower than luxury hotels in Prague.

And it is obvious that the buying power of west countries is live blood for the hoteliers. The equation of Prague’s hoteliers is:

Lower number of quests -> Lower occupancy -> Higher level of competition -> Lower prices -> Lower earnigs -> ?

Hoteliers have to react. Some degreased the prices, others cut their costs (marketing, personal etc.). They have to find new markets, worth every penny, come up with new customer’s programs becasue regular customers are worthy twice.

If the assumption of European monitor is right and they claim that full recovery will be in 2013. In other words next year 2010 (and 2011) would be the year of higher numbers in overnight stays, numbers of guests or rooms occupancy in comparison with year 2009.

Way Back

2009-07-20T02:02:00.001-07:00

We are going to run new website soon; therefore, we were wondering how much was the site changing since its beginning. If the site is from 2007 or 2008 it means that the site is old.

In following lines you can find the layouts of our past Prague City Apartments websites. Please take into the account that some of the images are missing. These screenshots we have been obtained from web archive.

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

Prague City Apartments survey

2009-07-15T01:47:00.000-07:00

Dear Sir or Madam,

We would like to deliver the best possible service to our clients. We are going to launch a new website of Prague City Apartments soon; however, we would like to make it user friendly as much as possible. Therefore, we are very interested in your opinion and we would like to ask you if you can spare one or two minutes with our survey.

Survey is focused on layout of new website and it is composed of two questions. If anything is unclear please let us know.

Please follow this link to complete the survey.

http://www.eSurveysPro.com/Survey.aspx?id=79d082fb-023e-4102-b490-ce5e5f8e2092

Thank you in advance,

Best Regards,

Karel Parizek
Marketing executive
Divadelni 24
Prague, 110 00
Czech Republic
Tel.: +420 224 990 996
Fax: +420 224 990 999
Web: http://prague-city-apartments.cz/
E-mail: kparizek@prague-city-apartments.cz

Borsov Pension has a new easy site

2009-07-13T06:19:00.000-07:00

One of Prague City Apartments property is called Borsov Pension. It is small but very nice bed and breakfast in Prague. Its main advantage is in a great location because it is situated in the heart of medieval Prague.

This is the historical heart of town, which, due to original architecture, preserves the grace of old Prague. By a few steps from there you can reach a natural centre of the Old Town and the Charles Bridge with connection to the Prague Castle. It is also an area of souvenirs shops, cafés and bars.

Newly reconstructed small pension right in the historical centre offering comfortable accommodation in tastefully furnished double rooms with the possibility of extra bed. Reception is located around the corner from the pension and the keys need to be collected there.

Recently we have decided to create its own webpage of Borsov. It should serve to incease demand of Borsov Pension. You can find rates, location, pictures or breakfast opinion on the site.

See the pictures of Borsov bed and breakfast below:

10% Discount for our Apartments

2009-07-08T01:20:00.000-07:00

Dear travellers,

we would like to inform you that Prague City Apartments is providing 10% discounts to booking of our apartments. It is very easy to obtain that discount. Actually, you need to have Facebook account and you have to become our fan. Please visit our Facebook profile here:
http://www.facebook.com/pragueapartments

The procedure is very simple, just book your apartment, then become a fan of PCA and we will send you promocode which represents 10% discounts and you can use this code fo applying your discount. The best way how to deal with your code is to contact our operators via online chat.

Please note that you have to fulfill a few condition:
-promocode offer is time limited
-the minimum number of nights when you can apply the code is three
-code is valid for one apartment, one-time and for one e-mail address
-codes cannot be multiplied
-the latest time of using the code is 10 days before your arriving to PCA
-code is not valid for last time offers

For more information, please visit:
Prague City Apartments - Facebook discount
Prague City Apartments - Facebook profile
Prague City Apartments - Facebook extended info

Reviews of Residence Masna on Tripadvisor

2009-06-16T06:06:00.000-07:00

There is no doubt that more and more travellers rely on personal feedbacks of other travellers. Therefore I would like to present you serial of selected reviews of Prague City Apartments which were presented on the web of Tripadvisor.com. Our first rated property is residence Masna, see pictures of Masna residence.

Good location, just minor things need to be fixed...

Spent 3 nights in Masna Residence and it was a great stay. Booked through the hotel website, which was easy. Also scheduled a car to pick us up at train station (300 czk). The residence only has reception from 8am to noon. We arrived in the afternoon so the driver drove us to their office first. (I think the residence was under the group of Prague Apartment Rental, which have lots of properties in the city). The girl was very polite, gave us the keys, maps and the driver took us to the residence.

There was elevator to our floor. But there was a flight of stairs before you get to the elevator (which I didn’t expect)!!! It was about 14-17 steps. It was ok for us (but prefer no stairs since we had big luggage…) but not sure for senior/ handicap…

Room was really quiet since it was facing courtyard. Spacious room with a small balcony. The room was equipped with modern furniture. Washing machine in bathroom was a great idea. We could pack light! (No dryer but they provided a huge hanger) There was kitchenette with microwave, cooking utensils, teapot and cups etc. However, the cups and teapot were not cleaned very well. The room was very clean when first day we were there. The daily cleaning service… Really depends. I found that the cleaning team didn’t clean the floor well. Especially bathroom. Last day of our stay, cleaning team did a better job.

Location was great: Bohemia Bagel across the street, which offers tasty breakfast in affordable price (I think they open till very late too). 10-15 mins walk to Power Gate, Old Town Hall and Black Madonna. There was a convenience store close by opened till 11pm. Also some restaurants/ pubs on the same street. Another PLUS was the free usage of WI-FI. It was not the fastest but reception was ok.

Overall a very happy stay. And price is reasonable. Will recommend to friends.

Beats staying at a hotel

My wife, 2 young boys (5 and 7 y.o.) and I stayed at Residence Masna Room 201 for 4 nights. Not having been to Prague before and lugging around several pieces of luggage and 2 not so cooperative little boys, sort of forced my hand to avail of the transfer service provided by Prague City Apartments (the company that manages Residence Masna with several other properties). For 500 Czech Crowns, we were picked up from the airport in a roomy mini-van, brought to the Prague City Apartments central office within Prague Old Town for an efficient check-in and ultimately brought to Residence Masna which was nearby. Given our circumstances, the 500 Crowns was well worth it and I availed of the transfer back to the airport as well.

The room was a studio type arrangement with a bed, sofa, dining table and kitchenette all together. The sofa also served as a second, smaller bed where my kids then slept. The bathroom was quite large, possibly because the washing machine was inside it as well. There was in fact only a shower rather than a bath inside but the room was large enough that you can lay out a clothes drying rack provided with the room. Everything was clean when we arrived and daily cleaning was carried out as well by staff.

The kitchenette had a small refrigerator, a 4-burner gas stove, a microwave oven, coffee maker and a hot water pot. There was sufficient cutlery as well as plates, cups and glasses but what we found lacking somehow were pots and pans. There was a fry pan and a small and large sauce pan. The large sauce pan was missing its cover and the fry pan's non-stick surface was already scratched away from misuse. This made cooking a bit of an inconvenience but since my kids were picky eaters, it still made more sense to do so rather than keep eating out.

There was a TV, DVD and a satellite receiver with hundreds of channels, though for the most part, most of the good channels (e.g. Eurosport, Cartoon Network, Discovery, Nat Geo) were encrypted and not viewable. Luckily, my wife brought with her a pack of DVDs so this kept the kids occupied those times we were stuck in the apartment.

The apartment was in a nice location. A quiet side street close to Republic Square and Old Town Square. Both were within a 5 to 10 minute walking distance of the apartment. At Republic Square there was the Metro station as well as a tram stop. Kotva Department Store and the new Palladium mall provided excellent shopping options. There were Albert Supermarkets at both Kotva and Palladium, while Tesco was a couple of Metro stops away at Narodni Trida. Next to the apartment itself was a Japanese Restaurant and a branch of Bohemia Bagel.

WiFi was available, but not sure if it was simply our location but the signal was quite weak at our room. So much so that I had to connect using the free WiFi service of the coffee shop located across the apartment. There was also an in-room safe that somehow had a defective keypad. It so happened that my code used one of the defective keys so I kept entering the wrong code until such time that the safe just went into lock-out mode and kept beeping. Luckily this happened when there was someone at the reception desk (only there 'til 12 noon) and she managed to sort things out quite swiftly.

Overall, despite the hiccups, Residence Masna provided good value. The price we paid was certainly quite cheap for Europe and prior to coming I had checked out several hotels in Prague and the Masna rates were fairly competitive. Further savings were of course realised by cooking our own meals instead of having to keep eating out.

Again and again, financial crisis in Prague

2009-06-11T06:07:00.000-07:00

With regards to progress of financial crisis we can measure the impact on travel industry in Prague. The hoteliers, travel managers and apartment owners are facing hard times. There is no doubt that the financial crisis has influenced many other industries as well; however, one of the first item what are cancelled in family budget are holidays and trips. Today, I am going to present you several statistical numbers of travel industry focused on Prague concerning accommodated tourist.

Source: CZSO

The first differences demonstrate that less than 130 thousands accommodated tourist came to Prague in the first three months of the year 2009. It just proves analytical warnings that the companies will face tough times.

Source: CZSO

This chart expresses the downturn of travel industry in Prague. It is visible that the first three months in 2009 are approximately on the same level as in 2006. Nevertheless the number of tourists was increasing in 2007 as well as in 2008. Therefore, hoteliers planned completely different budget for 2009 in the beginning of 2008. Now let’s have a look on incoming tourists to Prague.

Source: CZSO

Good news for hoteliers is that Turkey, Slovenia or Isreal have increased in the amount of tourists in comparison with 2008. However, the amount of their increase is less significant than in the case of losing travellers. In other words increase cannot be replace by degrease of tourists.

Source: CZSO

Here is the evidence. The numbers on axes of last two charts are on different level. Very bad news for Prague is losing serious amount of British tourists. These kinds of tourists are very valuable for hoteliers. On one hand hoteliers were counting on the as a loyal clients and on the other hand they always spend essential amount of their money in Czech Republic.

I have just presented simple data about accommodated tourists in Prague. Hoteliers and managers are searching for new distribution channels and loyalty is much worthy these days than ever before. But travellers are searching for new options how to save money and get higher value for their money as well. Therefore, new chance for Prague City Apartments has come. Staying in apartment offers saving money, e.g. by cooking for yourself, more space or higher privacy (see. Link). So think money, think space, think privacy – stay in apartment.

Prague spots for free

2009-04-27T06:14:00.000-07:00

Recently I have read very interesting article in the Czech newspaper. It suggested to visit several places in Prague which are for free. Furthermore, these places aren’t known as Charles Bridge or Old Town Square; therefore, you can enjoy in quiet and friendly atmosphere.

The most narrow Prague´s street

It is just half meter wide and the people are directed by traffic lights. It doesn’t have any name and it is situated near Charles Bridge. The map is available here.

Infant Jesus and his clothes

Do you have any wish? If yes, you have to visit Our Lade Victory Church. It is said that the statue of Infant Jesus in this church will fulfil your wish. In addition, you can visit his wardrobe. These clothes are used for Infant Jesus by nuns. For more information please visit the site of Church – here.

Second level of St. Vitus's Cathedral

This Cathedral is very famous, everybody knows how does it look like from the bottom view; however, there is change to get to the second level and get completely another view at cathedral. You have to ask the management of chathedral to see the second level for free. Additional information about cathedral are available here.

Petrin´s undergound

The Petrin is hill is full of mines. The entrace is in Lobkovic graden at the Petrin. See more information here (Czech only but with the map)

Safe of Czech national bank

Nowdays there is an exhibition of Money and People. You can find also the examples of fakes. Few information available here.

Facebook, Twitter and Prague City Apartments

2009-04-15T10:32:00.000-07:00

Maybe you have already seen our profiles on Facebook or Twitter but for those who have not I would like to introduce our profiles in mentioned servers. PCA has decided to come closer to our clients and we have become a part of these communities.

Facebook:

Recently we have launched a new facebook campaign for 10% discounts. The rules are pretty simple, just become a fan of PCA on Facebook and you will get 10% discount in any of our apartments. This campaign is becoming really popular. In addition, our clients are sharing their experiences on our profile with the other travellers on Facebook. You can see the photos and movies of Prague and Prague City Apartments. We would like to start serious discussion about Prague, Prague hotels and other Prague accommodation. Facebook offers unlimited options to make the profile very interesting.

For our FB profile, please follow this link

Twitter:

We are completely new on Twitter; however, we have already got some subscripers. Twitter is much easier to understand and to get more familiar with such social environment than Facebook. Our aim on Twitter is to come up with fresh, clear and interesting messages concerning news from Prague respectively from Prague City Apartments. We would like to share our hot news, offers and events. The potential of Twitter and Facebook is huge and we would like to use it.

For our Twitter profile, please follow this link

We would really appreciate if you can support us by becoming our fan of PCA on Facebook or you can follow us on Twitter. Thank you.

Apartment vs Hotel: 5 pros for apartment

2009-04-09T03:14:00.000-07:00

There has been always discussion about differences between apartment and hotel room and it is completely valid for Prague as well. It is no secret that Prague City Apartments is standing on the side of Apartment. I would like to show you five most important advantages of apartments today.

1. More Space

First imporatant advantage of apartment is space. In comparison with hotel room you will get more freedom and comfort. Next point regarding the space are separated bedrooms. That made it possible to have business meetings in the lounge area while someone slept in one of the bedrooms. In other words, you will get more freedom to entertain guests the way you want to.

2. Own Kitchen

Hotel room usually will have a fridge that is mostly filled with over-priced drinks and has no facilities for cooking and often no facilities for cleaning clothes. An apartment will ideally have a fridge which is entirely empty for you to use for storing food and ingredients for your own cooking; in addition, you will get fully equipped kitchen (including microwave, toaster, kettle, owen and so on). Cooking some of your meals in the kitchen instead of going out to eat for every meal is another excellent way to save money.

3. More Privacy

Apartments are sometimes located off the beaten path as well, and are more private than hotels. Hotels are typically louder and offer less privacy. Apartment have a greater ambiance to feel with amenities like DVDs, satelite TV, wi-fi internet, work space, safe box and much more.

4. Save Money

It was mentioned that you can save money by cooking for yourslef; furthermore, if you are going to stay for longer period of time then there is no more reasonable stay than in apartment with regards to money and your comfort. You can save big amount of your budget by staying in apartment.

5. Pet Free

Last but not least of advantage of apartments is in having your pet on your holiday. Prague City Apartments is offering the pet on request but usually there is no problem unless you are going to bring herd of dinosaurs. Most of the hotel prohibits to have your pet in room but pets are allowed in Prague City Apartments accommodation.

Finally, wherever are you going everything depends on travel situation and own preferences Both oportunities have advantages and disadvantages; the number of people on your trip, the vacation atmosphere you desire, and amenities are all factors that can influence your decision.

Prague City Apartments on Tripadvisor

2009-04-01T02:15:00.000-07:00

TripAdvisor.com is a free travel guide and research website that hosts reviews from users and other information designed to help plan a vacation. TripAdvisor is an example of consumer generated media. The website services are free to users, who provide most of the content, and the website makes its money from advertising, mostly from travel-related industries.

Recently, TripAdvisor enhanced the functions for accommodation owners. The owners can paste TripAdvisor’s recommendation banner of his/her property to website. According to Hotelmarketing. com travellers trust other travellers, so owners can benefit by displaying what they’re saying on their own websites. In a 2007 survey of 360 e-commerce companies, sites that added user reviews reported very positive results:

-- 56% lifted conversion
-- 77% raised traffic
-- 42% increased the average shopping basket

Therefore, Prague City Apartments is going to present its residences with regards to TripAdvisor´s recognition:

Residence Karolina Residence Karolina	Traveler Reviews for Residence Karolina
Residence Rybna Residence Rybna	Traveler Reviews for Residence Rybna
Residence Masna Residence Masna	Traveler Reviews for Residence Masna
Residence Karlova Residence Karlova	Traveler Reviews for Residence Karlova
Residence Cerna Residence Cerna	Traveler Reviews for Residence Cerna

Party by Prague City Apartments

2009-03-24T13:26:00.000-07:00

The boss of PCA, Martin Tomasek, prepared a great party for the employees to get to know each other better. Recently PCA has increased its number of employees and this party was a great oportunity to introduce them to the rest of the PCA family. Party was held in Wine club Monarch.

When I walked through the streets of Prague towards Monarch that evening, I was full of expectations. And then when I reached my destination all of my expectations were fulfilled, even outdone. I was shocked when I saw my boss wearing an apron with four stars of Michelin and cooking for all of us. The funny point is that the best restaurants awarded by Michelin stars can only reach three stars at maximum but Mr. Tomasek had to have four stars of Michelin.

I think he looks better with an apron then in a suit, doesn't he?

After a while I recognized his helper, our IT master (Martin) who was wearing just three stars of Michelin; nevertheless, without him we would eat at 2 am. The main cook was a little bit slower. To complete the picture of our management, Ivana took place next to them, as she was the main advisor and the guide through the party.

Our management: now guess who is the boss of the kitchen?

Great wine was chosen for our drinks and thanks to this liquid the evening went much faster than I expected.We did big cheers to our boss and since then we were cheering as much as we can. Because the wine was great and, moreover, it was free.

Prague City Apartments family

Very suprising point was meal. Most of us were expecting cold kitchen but MT and his group came with "foreign" cuisines. The entire menu consisted of nine meals! The time schedule was one meal per hour. The meal was delicious.

One of our nine cources

Later we discovered why the meals were so delayed. We found that MT was chatting with the receptionists and he didn't have time to cook. Evidently, he didn't that much of an interest to feed the male part of the company.

Somebody is hungry?

The party was brilliant at least from my point of view. I am including a few more pictures at the end. I hope the next party will exceed my expectation as well.

Prague flash game vol.3

2009-03-22T09:16:00.000-07:00

I have created new flash game from Prague. Today, I would like to show you front view of residence Karolina.

Enjoy the game.
Flash game - Residence Karolina

For more games please follow:
Flash game - Rybna
Flash game - Charles Bridge

No more hotels?

2009-03-15T02:52:00.001-07:00

The aim of this paper is to provide a brief insight into world of tourism, especially of accommodation with regards to financial crisis. Today’s financial problems are influencing the whole world. A lot of companies are on the border of bankruptcy, others already have bankrupted; unemployment rate is increasing, money is being withdrawn from the banks accounts and these aspects also influence the sector of tourism.

The world of travel is changing. Next one and or two years travel business will be influenced by financial crisis. There is no doubt about reducing family budgets. It makes sense that first what is going to be reduced are holidays, vacations or trips. tIhere is no wonder that according to report of PWC hotels are managing in a downturn. Niels Pedersen Managing Director (Supranational Hotels, November 2008) stated: “In 2009 hotel revenues typically will drop 20 per cent, with the five-star market hardest hit, four star properties down by a quarter, three stars dropping 10-15 per cent, and budget hotels remaining static”. A top executive with an international luxury hotel chain, who did not want his name used for fear of losing his job, stated recently that the dominoes are falling among full-service hotels frequented by business travellers in London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Paris, Prague and even New York. Until recently, hotel rates in New York were buoyed by robust demand by financial services executives and by foreigners lured by a favorable exchange rate (stated in The New York Times, November 2008).

Hotel business is going to challenge against poor periods. Therefore essential question is rising:

What will be the impact of financial crisis on accommodation services?

According to opinions mentioned above, there is serious fear of final output of financial crisis. I am not able to know all results in economy of accommodation providers. However I can bet that most of them will tell you that they can feel consequences of such crisis. But let me divide the question into two subquestions:

What will be the reaction of travellers to financial crisis with regards to accommodation?

What will be the reaction of accommodation providers?

The solution will be placed on the shoulders of accommodation providers. Travellers are searching for better offers. Travellers will be forced to stay longer with searching for offers because spending money will be more careful than before and travellers will require the same quality for lower price. It can be seen as two different approaches; however it is crucial to take into the account that in these times, people will think in the way of; if I am going to spend certain amount of money I would like to have appropriate accommodation for it. Moreover the travellers will be looking for other types of accommodation as an alternative of hotels. From this point of view the financial crises can be more profitable for alternative accommodation in comparison of hotel.

As I stated; travellers will try to find same value or quality instead of hotel. Therefore types of accommodation as apartments, bed&breakfast, hostels, pensions, hospitality exchange and so on may benefit from from increasing interest in other types of accommodation. However it is necessary to be aware of impact of financial crisis also for these alternative types of accommodation.

Without regards to accommodation types, what can an accommodation provider do with degreasing demand. "There's [been] nothing like this in history, in terms of falling demand" says Bjorn Hanson an industry analyst with New York University's hotel school (Time.com, 2008). I have succeeded in finding some examples, how hotels are dealing with degreasing demand.

“One is to cut services — closing gyms, shutting business centers earlier and no more 24-hour room service. Of course, this is easier for mid-price hotels to cut than luxury hotels, where customers expect a certain level of service.

One option most are rejecting is reducing the overall room rates, because hotels feel they got burned doing that in 2001. "They found that the math doesn't work," says Yesawich, CEO of Y Partnership, and a travel industry consultant; "you have to book too many more rooms to make up the lost revenue." What they are doing this time around is offering promotions and upgrades: Fairmont is offering third night free and $100 gift cards.

Discreet discounts, on the other hand, are all the rage. Priceline, for example is expanding its roster of top-flight inns. "Hotels that we've wanted for a long time, like five-star hotels, are coming in," says Chris Soder, president of North American travel. Yesawich explains that hotels are taking a portion of their inventory, maybe 20 to 50 rooms, and selectively discounting them in this opaque way. "Even a modest rate is better than no rate at all." (Time.com, 2008).

One group of traveller can benefit from such situation – business travellers. Due to decreasing prices for hotels their position as customers is improving. Hotels are directly bargaining with corporate travel managers, offering lower room rates than in the past, "I'm hearing that they're doing better in negotiating with hotel pricing," says Caleb Tiller of the National Business Travel Association (Time.com, 2008). Corporate managers are also in a good position to negotiate with hotels for add-ons, like free Wi-Fi, gym use and breakfast.

However (I don’t like to use “however”) some authors and experts in travelling are warning that discounting can be dangerous for the image of company. They are suggesting (HSMAI, 2008):
• Protect the brand when discounting
• Add value rather than discount if possible
• Reward the loyal guest rather than all guests
• Integrate marketing with yield to optimize promotion and marketing spend
• Make the best from what you get through up-selling and merchandizing
• Negotiate shorter corporate deals to provide flexibility in the recovery

And finally we are getting to marketing and other investments. “Many hotel businesses will be tempted to freeze infrastructure investments, mothball new growth hotel projects and defer integrating the latest acquisition. Advertising and recruiting investments are easily cut, as are loyalty programmes for customers and staff. However, some hotel businesses will take a different approach and selectively invest where others are cutting back. These are the businesses that will benefit“ (hotelmarketing.com, 2008).

From this point of view there are easy to cut marketing costs and investments opportunities, however, if you do this you can lost your way, how to recover from nowadays situation. Another output of these statements is to get closer to customer. Continue investing in relationship or leverage new media are two of many topics by Dorothy Dowling (hsmaieconnect.org, 2008). Very popular approach is social marketing. Sites such as blogs, forum, facebook, myspace and so on are really worth to travel companies.

Let me conclude this article. I hope it doesn’t sound too ambitious - Travellers are likely to cancel their trips and accommodation providers are more than aware of it. Therefore their prices are falling, services are upgrading, other types of accommodation are available, more benefits are offered and etc. In my opinion travellers don’t need to cancel their trip, they need to open their. And the oversupply is very favourable for travellers. Maybe in two years when the world will recover from the crisis these benefits or options will be reduced.

From the point of accommodation provider I can say that the fight for customers will be harder than ever before. It is crucial to convince travellers to travel, because it is worth for them. So my point is not to reduce marketing or investments but completely another approach – get closer to the customers. It is essential to be seen by travellers. Other point is to deliver added value to customers. Because world of mouth (social marketing) is very powerful tool for today’s marketers.

Resources:

Report of Price Waterhouse Coopers: “Hotels: managing in a downturn“, accessed December 2008, http://www.hotelmarketing.com/downloads/pwc_managing_in_a_downturn_nov08.pdf

New York Times: “Hotels Struggle, but Guests Less So“, accessed December 2008, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/18/business/18road.html?_r=3&ref=business

Time.com: “Hotels Try to Adapt to Hard Times“, accessed December 2008, http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1866717,00.html

HSMAI: “Leading Through the Economic Crisis and Preparing for Recovery“, accessed December 2008, http://eo2.commpartners.com/users/hsmai/series.php?id=798

HSMAI: “Back-to-basics marketing tips for today’s challenging economic conditions“, accessed December 2008, http://www.hsmaieconnect.org/file/152003601.pdf

Prague in the past and today - Charles Bridge

2009-03-08T01:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome back to our new part of Prague in the past and today by Prague City Apartments. Today, we are going to explore Charles Bridge.

Charles Bridge is a famous historical bridge that crosses the Vltava river in Prague, Czech Republic. Its construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV, and finished in the beginning of 15th century. As the only means of crossing the river Vltava (Moldau), the Charles Bridge used to be the most important connection between the Old Town, Prague Castle and adjacent areas until 1841. Also this 'solid-land' connection made Prague important as a trade route between east and west Europe. The bridge was originally called the Stone Bridge (Kamenný most) or the Prague Bridge (Pražský most) but has been the "Charles Bridge" since 1870.

The bridge is 516 meters long and nearly 10 meters wide, resting on 16 arches shielded by ice guards. It is protected by three bridge towers, two of them on the Lesser Quarter side and the third one on the Old Town side. The Old Town bridge tower is often considered to be one of the most astonishing civil gothic-style buildings in the world. The bridge is decorated by a continuous alley of 30 statues and statuaries, most of them baroque-style, erected around 1700. (wikipedia.org, 2009).

The first picture was drawn by Simon in 1908, called: "Ice Rink under the Stone Bridge". Picture represents right-bottom view to Charles Bridge. One of the bridge tower is visible at the end of Charles Bridge. Interesting point is, that it is no change to see frozen Vltava river for last several decades, because of built system of dams on Vltava river. Photos were taken by Zbyněk Svoboda in 2007.

Following pictures show the difference of Old Town tower on Charles Bridge. Picture was draw by Simon in 1914. Present picture demonstrates the features of modren times with regards to electric lamp and many of street artists.

Next picture by Simon is called "Charles Bridge and Hradcany in Winter" from 1917. However, these pictures by Novak usually represent earlier times than the beginning of 20th century. Again, you can see street artists and note, that there is no tram on bridge.

In the beginning of the 20th century, Charles Bridge saw a steep rise of heavy traffic. The 15 May 1905 was the last day of the horse-line on the bridge, as it was replaced with an electric tram until 1908 and with buses afterward.

On 2-5 September 1890, disastrous flood struck Prague and severely damaged the Charles Bridge. Thousands of rafts, logs and other floating material that escaped from places upstream gradually formed a huge barrier leaning against the bridge.

Three arches were torn down from the great pressure and two pillars collapsed from being undermined by the water, while others were partly damaged. With the fifth pillar, two statues - St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Xavier, both by Ferdinand Brokoff - also fell into the river (the former statue was replaced by a statuary of Cyril and Methodius by Karel Dvořák, the latter was replaced by a replica of the original). Repair works lasted for two years (the bridge was reopened on 19 November 1892) and cost 665,000 crowns.

From Charles Bridge visitors enjoy fairytale views of the Prague skyline. The wide expanse of the river flows beneath it, flanked on both sides by elegant buildings. Prague Castle towers above in its eminent position. Here you are truly in the centre of the city. Charles Bridge throngs with people during the day. Street artists sketch and musicians play; look out for the jazz band, who are particularly entertaining. But for a truly romantic and less crowded stroll, try early morning or any time in the evening.

I hope you have enjoyed our tour to Charles Bridge and its past and stay tunned for next batch of pictures Prague in the past and today.

References:

Culture during EU presidency, vol.1

2009-03-06T11:21:00.000-08:00

Czech EU presidency is backgrounded by many interesting culture events. Therefore, I would like to present one of them. In these days Musical Theatre Festival in Prague is running.

The OPERA Musical Theatre Festival is a festival of representative performances of Czech and Moravian professional opera ensembles complemented by independent opera projects. Once in two years, Prague becomes the place where one can see the best of the Czech opera theatres – the performances take place in particular on prestigious Prague opera stages (historical building of the National Theatre, the Estates Theatre, the Prague State Opera). The festival confronts on a regular basis both the direction of and level of individual ensembles and extends the range of opera offer in Prague - offering plays that have not been performed in Prague for decades (or even not performed at all) and also a different view of the plays that are currently staged in Prague theatres. It also presents remarkable personalities (directors, conductors, performers) from regional theatres.

Date: 21.2.2009 — 17.3.2009
Venue: Prague/Czech Republic
Category: Music
Website: www.eu2009.cz