Viscape will be meeting with resort real estate professionals and developers from all over the Caribbean and Central America at the Americas Real Estate Expo in Santo Domingo.
If you would like to meet while there, here is the schedule over the next week -
Tues., Jun. 30 - Travel day
Wed., Jul. 1st - Juan Dolio - coastal town East of Santo Domingo
Thurs. Jul. 2nd - Santo Domingo - Americas Real Estate Expo kicks off with Viscape presentation about “Social media for your resort real estate business.”
Fri., Jul. 3rd - Santo Domingo - Day 2 of Americas Real Estate Expo
Sat. Jul. 4th - Bus trip to Punta Cana & Bavaro to visit properties
Mon. Jul. 6th - Last minute meetings in Punta Cana
Tues., Jul. 7th - Travel day
I will be reachable on skype at caroline_allison or via email at info@viscape.com.
I look forward to a successful trip. I’ll be capturing much of the conference via video blogging interviews and on-location video recaps. I’ll be share insights about what is going on in resort real estate across the region - trends, activity, successes, hot up and coming areas, and projects on hold. So, stay tuned!
What a brilliant man! Great musician, entertainer, and lovely person! Through Michael Jackson’s music, the world will continue to discover, be entertained and love him throughout eternity.
My personal experience? I grew up in the eighties on M.J. and listened to ALL of his songs over and over and over again on my walkman. At summer camp (which was all girls) in Heart O’ the Hills in Hunt, Texas, Michael Jackson was “the man.” All the girls went ga-ga over him. We all attempted to do the moon walk in some form or fashion. But I don’t know anyone who really could do the moonwalk “Michael Jackson style.” .
My next experience with M.J. was 10 years later in Burma in the nineties. The Burmese were jamming out to M.J.’s “Thriller.” All I could think of is, “Wow, these people are stuck back in time!” Of course, by that time M.J. had more hits out, so “Thriller” and “Billy Jean” really were classics of times past.
What I did take away from Burma was this: M.J.’s musical reach was extensive around the world.
Think about it. Burmese speak Burmese. (Older generations speak English left over from the days of the British colonization.) Burmese’ music generally tends to be traditional, religious-type music. Amazingly, I did not hear any other pop music at all while there. None.
In fact, the Burmese playing M.J.’s music was a big deal since all pop music was outlawed by the ruling junta-military dictatorship. Playing M.J.’s music probably felt a little bit of rebel and hip. Obviously these M.J. tapes arrived via the black market. So M.J.’s reach around the world was vast and deep It crossed many borders, even to countries where pop music was illegal, and managed to strike a chord universally!
The world really loves M.J. His gifts and talents changed the direction of music forever and made people around the world very happy. The world will never be the same without him! He will be loved and admired by the world throughout eternity. We are all very sad that Michael is no more.
Although I saw parts of the “Thriller” video, I actually did not see the full 13.5 minutes until just now. It is pure genious entertainment! Loved every minute of it! Hopefully, you’ll enjoy it as well!
Michael, we’ll remember you for your inner beauty, talent, warmth, and love. The world will never be the same without you! May you be in a better place! Our thoughts and prayers go out to your children, friends and family!
Every girl wanted to be her. Every guy had her poster adorning their walls. Farrah’s style defined an era. She was the “it” girl in the seventies. Her flipped-back hair, her olive skin, her perfectly thin, athletic body, and who could forget her amazing smile? You know….the one that sold 16 million posters?
She lived a charmed life in Los Angeles and dated/married some of the hottest men in Hollywood - Ryan O’Neal and Bruce Majors. She was best known for her roles in “Charlie’s Angels,” where she played a sex symbol-detective, and “The Burning Bed,” where she won 3 Emmy’s in the critically acclaimed movie.
Farrah, we’ll remember you for your strength, class, charm, athleticism, beauty, and warmth. The world will never be the same without you! May you be in a better place! Our thoughts and prayers go out to your friends and family!
“Don’t cry for me Argentina!” and the image of Evita, and her love for her country, romanticize the image of Argentina in our hearts and minds. The latest romantic to fall victim to Argentina’s siren call is South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. Perhaps distance does make the heart grow fonder!
Mystery woman “Maria” is the Governor’s current love interest. Of course, everyone wants to see a photo of Maria, Mark Sanford’s mistress, but the best the press can do is this photo of her home in an upscale neighborhood of Buenos Aires.
Photo of Maria’s home in Buenos Aires - Angela Massette/MPT
Since Governor Sanford’s risked his career and family, I can only guess that this must be pretty serious. The email love letters, the long distance trips……and the mystery trips, where no one, not even his wife knew where he was! Not even on Father’s Day! Come on Governor! Didn’t you know that if you’re going to have an affair that you at least need to be home for family affairs, i.e. Father’s Day?
While the Governor’s political aspirations are over, it remains to be seen as to whether he will be forced to step down from the Governorship. Such scandals don’t bode well with public office, much less getting the affairs of the state done.
Is this the face of a cheater?
Now that the Governor’s got us curious about Argentina, let’s check it out on Viscape! Here is a snippet from destination research on Buenos Aires….
Tangojim snapper
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Buenos Aires, the glamorous capital of Argentina, is like an old-world cocktail with contemporary twist. Restrained and elegant on the surface, but underneath boils an unrelenting, sexy energy. It’s a beautiful city of broad, tree-lined avenues, neoclassical buildings, outdoor cafés, and a night life that just won’t stop. A wobbly economy has made Buenos Aires very affordable for travelers, but well-dressed porteños, as the residents of Buenos Aires are known, know how to keep up the good life even when the economy is down. Stroll the tree-lined boulevards of the upscale neighborhood of Recoleta and stop by the neighborhood cemetery where Evita is buried among marble angles and massive granite mausoleums. Walk the historic Avenida de Mayo, designed to rival Paris’ Champs Elysées…..
Ahhh….the tango! And Buenos Aires version of the “Champs E’Lysee” - Avenida de Mayo. We can see where Evita is buried. Our heart goes out to Argentina.
So with all that free time, perhaps the Governor will have time to visit Buenos Aires more often. And if so, he should explore the possibility of staying in a Buenos Aires vacation rental. Let’s check out a Buenos Aires vacation rental on the Viscape site.
Buenos Aires Apartment - Palermo Hollywood
Buenos Aires, Capital Federal, AR
Property #9680
Apartment
1 Bedroom apartment in Palermo “Hollywood”, in an area full of restaurants, bars, and cafes. Really cool place.
It is 10 blocks from Palermo Viejo and 10 from Las Cañitas.
The address is 5100 Santa Fe Ave. This is Santa Fe @ Carranza.
This place is very nice, well located and the price is right - $29 per night! So if you want to visit Argentina and romanticize away a drib-drab economy with a tango lesson or two in Buenos Aires, just “viscape” away! And don’t tell anyone where you’re going!
Although the Viscape website does not currently feature a large inventory of vacation rentals in Buenos Aires, we are inviting all property listers to list their homes on the Viscape website for rent, sale or swap. Its free to list and a great way to connect with others. so get started today!
Write a travel review about your favorite destination on Viscape and you will automatically be entered in our “Be a Travel Writer” contest to win a trip to Belize or Key West!
On day 9, Caroline and Dan passed through La Romana and Caso de Campo. Originally, Caroline and Dan planned to spend the night there, but in the spirit of adventure, they decided to drive right through to Santo Domingo! In this video, you will get a re-cap of Casa de Campo and the gated community of La Romana. Watch the video to find out more about the above destinations!
There’s something romantic about Greece that draws the soul to want to stick around a few months. Is it the culture? The food? The mythology? The gods? Or the real life Greek gods? Perhaps all the above! To take in Greek culture is to experience it fully by staying in Greece for a few months.
Here is a snippet from the Viscape site about Athens…..
………With the Parthenon topping the Acropolis like a sparkling white crown, and with archaelogical digs still in process across town, history feels very close in this sprawling this city of three million people. Learn more about Greek history in the newly built museum on the Acropolis, through the enormous holdings of the National Archaeological Museum near Omonia, and the wonderful collections of ancient and modern art of the privately-owned Benaki Museum on Koumbari Street. Check out the stadium built for the first Olympic Games in modern times, in 1896, and the structures built for the return of the games,……
There is no better way to experience Athens than to staycation at an Athens vacation home. The Greek people are extraordinarly friendly and full of life. There are events going on throughout the year in Athens that certainly make visiting worthwhile.
For years, I have dreamed of running the “real marathon” in Greece….ya know….the original 26.3 mile run from which a young Greek man died from so many years ago. The race starts from the real “Marathon” town in Greece, finishing at the Olympic Stadium in Athens. The race takes place on the first Saturday in November each year. Its supposed to be a really tough hilly run, so even for the experienced marathoner, its a pretty challenging run.
Althought the Viscape website does not currently feature any vacation rentals in Athens, we are inviting all property listers to list their homes on the Viscape website for rent, sale or swap. Its free to list and a great way to connect with others. so get started today!
Write a travel review about your favorite destination on Viscape and you will automatically be entered in our “Be a Travel Writer” contest to win a trip to Belize or Key West!
If you have an interest in running a Greek Marathon with me, or if you have run the “Real Greek Marathon” in Athens or anywhere else in the world, and can offer a few tips, I’d love to hear your thoughts/comments.
I attended the Caribbean Summit during Caribbean Week, which is the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s largest event of the year, bringing together all of the tourism ministers from across the Caribbean together in one place. The first half of the week was focused on policy in Washington DC and the second half was focused on marketing in New York.
The most interesting part of the Summit, in my opinion, was CEO of PhocusWright Philip Wolf’s talk about travel trends. If you know anything about PhocusWright, they are the premier thought leader on travel. Without going into great detail, the highlights of Wolf’s talk are as follows:
1) Travel 2.0 is mainstream. You either adopt now, spend a lot of money to catch up later, or render your company obsolete. Surprisingly when Wolf surveyed the room about how many people (from the Caribbean or covering the Caribbean) in the room were on social networks, there were less than 10 people who raised their hands. And this was out of a room of over 100 people. The room was in awe and shock as to Wolf’s assertions. And the general consensus was that people felt that social media wasn’t worth their time because no one was making money from it yet.
2) The size of your reputation matters more than your marketing budget. Wolf provided the example of a 20-room hotel in Paris that used reviews and the Internet to drive traffic to its hotel, which is consistently full due to its reputation for great service.
Wolf made a lot of assertions that validate what we are doing here at Viscape. We enable the little guy to establish their reputation through destination and property reviews and provide content via destination sponsorships that enables their clients to make renting and buying decisions.
While I agree that everyone needs to jump on the social media bandwagon today, the biggest issue with social media is that it feels an awful lot like “spray advertising.” The reason why people don’t view social media as generating revenues is because its still very challenging to reach targeted groups.
For the vacation second homes market, the demographic is the very formal 50+ age group, who are generally less engaged in social media networks. While this group has more financial resources to rent and buy vacation homes, they are generally suspicious of social networks. They do not want to be overly exposed online. If they engage at all, they limit the information they share online to the bare minimum. Unless their career (recruiter, realtor, social media guru, journalist, etc.) requires them to share more information, the 50+ age group generally minimizes the information they share online.
If social media outreach can be more targeted to reach the right people that represent your demographic group, then social media will return a much better ROI. Otherwise, Wolf is right on with everything he’s said.
Any thoughts about this blog post? Please comment below!
Have you ever dreamed about traveling the world and getting paid to write about your travels?
Have you ever wanted to share your travel stories, pictures and videos and get recognition from a global audience?
Have you ever wanted to go some place exotic like Belize or close to home like the Outer Banks? And stay in a cool vacation home?
If you answered “Yes!” to all the above, the we’ve got a really cool opportunity for you! This is your chance to win an experience of being a travel writer. Its your shot at winning a trip that you get to “write home about.”
vacation home
Plus, its easy and effortless! So here is what you need to do!
Watch the video to get the deets about the contest!
Share an experience! Write a review of a place where you have traveled on vacation in 250 words or less (word count was increased). You can be funny. You can tell a story, But most importantly, the experience should be yours. It must be authentic and told from your own point of view. We recommend including pictures and videos of your trip to help share your story, but this is not necessary to win.
Get started by going to Viscape and selecting a destination to write about.
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