e-scooters trend

Sales numbers have risen dramatically in the past couple of months and are prone to increase even more in the future: E-bikes and e-scooters are the current trend in city life mobility.

It is incredible how eco-friendly one can actually move around if one only wants to. E-bikes have become more and more popular. Austrias society for transport systems (VCÖ) stated that the number of e-bicycles sold last year was 20,000 and the number is expected to double to 40,000 sold e-bicycles this year, due to the high gas prices.

E-scooters also become more and more interesting to Austrians. An increase of 57% was recorded last year and hopes are high that these numbers will keep on improving.

But what exactly are the advantages of an e-scooter and what is it that you need to keep in mind when thinking of buying one?

We did a little bit of research for you to help you buy the most suitable e-scooter tailored to your needs.

-        Keep in mind that e-scooters are much cheaper than real scooters in terms of “gasoline”. While an e-scooter needs roughly 4 kwh on 100km, calculated with an electricity price of 21cents per hour, 100km roughly cost 84 cents ordinary scooters normally need around 3 liters on 100km which means roughly around 3.60€.

-        You can invest from 800 to 4,000€ into buying an e-scooter therefore always make sure you compare prices, because there are often great differences. The price will mostly depend on: the battery and the operating distance.

The better the battery, the higher the price, but also the higher the number of charging cycles; The battery but also the motor of the e-scooter influence the operating distance. If you buy a bike with an energy-saving motor and a good battery you will have a great operating distance. For occasional usage a scooter with an operating distance of 50-70km will probably suffice, but if you plan to use the scooter as your main means of transportation you will probably need to think of buying one with a larger operating distance.

All in all you will probably need to think of investing around 1,000€ if you only plan to use the e-scooter in the city from time to time. If you wish to go further and plan on roughly 150km of operating distance, you will be wise to invest 2,500€ and more.

Vienna has already got around 40 e-charging stations spreading throughout the city. You can find out online where you can charge your scooter: e-charging stations

If you want to give it a first try: come by and  rent our e-scooters and velos at Boutiquehotel Stadthalle for a day or a half day.

sources: http://www.elektroroller-aktuell.de/electric-scooter-en.html and http://www.vcoe.at/

Pop-festival Vienna

From the 5^th of May to the 8^th of May 2011 the Pop-festival Vienna will take place in front of the Church of St. Charles (Karlskirche). 41 young and individual musicians will show their music projects. For this year’s opening they have invited a special guest: Skero. He is famous in Austria for his song “Kabinenparty”. This year he will perform with a big band of 15 people and he’ll present a new musician from the Austrian pop-scene, Lylit. 

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Lucky winners

On April 27th 2011 we picked the winners who had participated in our drawing for a free weekend at our Boutiquehotel Stadthalle. We had collected around 300 guest feedback questionnaires over the past months and the lucky hand of our colleague picked a winning questionnaire. Our guests: E+M. Flößer from Germany are the happy couple that won a free weekend: 2 overnights for 2 people in a double room with garden view; including breakfast!

Congratulations!!!!

So, you see, not only do we appreciate our guests’ valued responses, it can also be worth the while to take 5 minutes of your time and let us know what you think.

ÖGZ Sterne award

Last week the fair “Hotel &Gast” took place in Vienna. It is a large fair that becomes a meeting point for hotel and restaurant owners, chefs and catering businesses. The ÖGZ Sterne Award (engl: Austrian newspaper for Gastronomy stars award) was presented on Sunday the 10th of April 2011 at Courtyard by Marriott Vienna.

There were around 80 applicants and only 17 were awarded a prize in one of the various categories referring to “the hotel of the future”.

We won the ÖGZ Sterne Award for sustainability because of we are the first city hotel worldwide with a zero-energy balance. We are very happy and proud of this wonderful award!

Congratulations to Michaela Reitterer, from the all the team

Vienna City Marathon

This weekend is the weekend of the 28^th Vienna City Marathon. 30,000 participants, 100 nations, UN to Heldenplatz. These are the hard facts. This year’s Vienna City Marathon’s theme is:“MaraDonne”, focusing on women and running.

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Children’s museum ZOOM

“Hands on, minds on, hearts on!” is the idea of Vienna’s children’s museum ZOOM. Interaction is what makes learning an individual and a creative process.

On 1,600 m² the museum offers various exhibitions, suitable for children of different age groups.

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Argus bike festival 2011

On the first weekend of April the biggest Austrian bike festival – the ARGUS BIKE FESTIVAL will take place in Vienna. On Rathausplatz you will find a bicycle exhibition. The exhibitors have got something interesting to show and to try out for everyone: professionals, beginners, children AND e-bikers .

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Madame Tussauds’ in Vienna

On April 1^st you will be able to visit a new attraction in Vienna: Madame Tussauds’ will open its doors. Located in Prater – Vienna’s famous amusement park, it is the 11^th location around the world that displays Madame Tussaud’s famous wax figures.

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International Women’s Day

Today is the official International Women’s Day! It was originally founded in times of the first world war to fight for women’s rights and especially for their right to vote.

It was first suggested by the German socialist Clara Zetkin in 1910 to create such an international day after the women’s movement in the US had initiated a successful day of protests for women’s rights in 1909. The first international women’s day was celebrated on March 19^th in 1911 in Denmark, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Switzerland.

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Earth Hour March 26th 2011

On Saturday, the 26^th of March 2011 the annual “Earth Hour” will take place once again. From 08.30pm to 09.30pm the lights around the globe as well as all unnecessary electrical appliances will be switched off to emphasise that people do care about their planet. This environmentally friendly activity was launched by the WWF in 2007. Together with roughly 2 million residents of Sydney who joined this activity in its first year, the WWF managed to turn it into the biggest climate awareness campaign ever.

Last year 128 countries participated and made this an absolute record; A record which will hopefully be broken this year. From private households to large businesses a great number of people came together to celebrate this event and honour our planet. Even landmarks and iconic buildings such as the Sydney Opera House, the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building, the pyramids in Egypt and the Tower Bridge remained dark in order to join in.

Watch the current TV commercial for this year’s earth hour:

Convinced? Be responsible and join us on March 26^th between 8:30pm and 09:30pm. Light some candles and have a chat with your dear ones. Instead of watching the telly with lights on, take a walk in your area and see if you can spot some stars.