Vacation rentals! Have you utilized one?

Have you looked for or booked a vacation rental in the past 2 years? If so, would you mind taking 4 minutes to fill out a brief survey?

Click Here to take survey
We are augmenting some of our preliminary research before we go live.

If you know anyone else that has recently (within the past 2 years) tried to book or look for a rental I would greatly appreciate you passing it on.

Thanks
Mike

More to come www.thesociety.com

MBA Concierge. Should we have franchised?

A buddy from grad school, Rob Mittelman just sent me a note regarding a concierge company going to campuses. Well, for any of the MBA students at Oxford in 2005/06, you already know how successful this could be. I still think back and wonder if a group of us should have done our summer project on MBAconcierge and rolled out some franchises around the world. We could have been big! I guess we’ll just see have to see how Precious Time of NY does in Syracuse.

Forget the age-old tales of having to walk uphill both ways in the snow to get to class?¢‚Ǩ‚Äùcollege students at Syracuse University in New York don’t even have to coordinate their own grocery shopping, laundry or cleaning, thanks to a concierge service that aims to motivate them by giving them a taste of the good life.

Student-owned and operated Precious Time is a personal assistant, errand and concierge service just for college students. Students can become members by charging pre-paid accounts with a minimum of USD 50, and money is drawn from the account to pay for services as needed, plus a percentage for Precious Time’s own profit. Services include placement and delivery of take-out orders from local restaurants, grocery shopping, house cleaning, flower delivery and booking tutors.

While a concierge service for college students may seem over the top, education at top colleges comes with a high price tag. So it’s not surprising that some students are willing to buy extra time by outsourcing domestic chores, so that they can fully focus on their studies. The concept could also do well on other campuses, and Precious Time hints at franchise opportunities on their website. What about concierge services tailored to other busy demographics who struggle to find the time for all the items on their ?¢‚ǨÀúto do’ lists, like working parents or small business owners?
Website: www.precioustimeny.com
Contact: drewaustin@precioustimeny.com

source: http://www.springwise.com/life_hacks/concierge_goes_to_college/index.php

Coincidently I was reading last months Wired and they highlighted a service out of India. Yes, anyone can outsource now. You can get pretty much anything done from Your Man In India. Check it out: http://yourmaninindia.comYMII

YourManInIndia.com is a venture that caters to every conceivable service need in India of people all over the world. The company is uniquely positioned to be a Service Window for the world to get anything done in India. The venture is backed by a seamless technological backend, and best-in-class vendor support

Tom’s Shoes are now Mike’s shoes

I just bought my first pair of Tom’s Shoes!

Tomsshoes
Who is Tom and why do I want his shoes? Check out his cause and you’ll soon find out. In the meantime, take a look at the YOUTUBE video. It’s worth pointing out that Oprah, Time Magazine, Elle, Vogue and many others all think Tom’s Shoes are worth buying.

And yes they are comfortable. I’ll post again once I’ve worn them 20+ times.

Golf Enthusiasts: Lost in the Garden

Since writing my post the article in Golf Digest Index: The Emergency 9, I’ve had a number of great emails. One of which was from the author, Philip Beard, himself. I just picked up a copy of his most recent book – Lost in the Garden – and I’d recommend it to all golfers. The review below is available on amazon. I agree with most of it.

From Publishers Weekly
At first blush, 45-year-old attorney and golfer Michael Benedict seems a knowing, self-deprecatingly witty confidant as he details the breakdown of his long and happy marriage to a “mostly perfect” woman. When his wife, Kelly, announces she is pregnant with their third child at the age of 40, Michael, still traumatized by the miscarriage of their last baby, can only summon up a callous: “What are we going to do about it?” Predictably annoyed, Kelly soon refuses him sex, and heends up moving out of his suburban Pittsburgh house and back home with his wealthy, exasperated parents. There, he seeks out prostitutes and sex therapists, and sets his sights on breaking 70 in his golf game and making the PGA Senior Tour at 50. After a promising start, Beard doesn’t provide enough plot to keep the reader from losing patience with Beard’s self-absorbed mid-lifer and his games (sporting and otherwise).

Copyright ?Ǭ© Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

For those that know me, it’s tough to argue with a book based on a guy who loves golf married to a woman named Kelly. Can you ask for a better set up? Not to mention I’m not 40 yet; and I’ve been preparing my Kelly for my opportunity to go for the Senior Tour. So many similarities it’s uncanny.

Anyway, its worth picking up. Especially if you’re still trying to break 70 …

Best wishes, Mike

PS, I’ve attached Philip’s recent press release:

Dear Friends and Readers,
Amazon1

Just a quick update on current happenings:

* Just in time for Father’s Day, Plume has released the paperback of Lost in the Garden. It’s now available from all of your favorite online and bricks & mortar bookstores.

“What’s not to love about a book devoted to one man’s search for the sweet spots on both the golf clubs and the women in his life? Philip Beard is no less sublime writing about sex than he is writing about golf, and his golf writing soars like a Phil Mickelson five-iron. By turns rollicking, ribald, poignant and sweet, Lost in the Garden is a delightful gem of a book by a writer in complete control of his game.”

–Austin Murphy, Sports Illustrated

If you haven’t had the chance to read this one yet, I hope you’ll give it a look. It was nominated for the USGA’s 2006 International Book Award, but judging by the feedback I’ve gotten from many non-golfer females, it’s being enjoyed by all types of readers.

* Dear Zoe has recently been added to Penguin’s Literature and Language catalog (in the New Voices in Literature section) as a recommended classroom text for colleges and high schools. This is a really nice development that ensures Dear Zoe won’t disappear any time soon. Please pass this along to teachers or professors who might be interested. I’m always happy to try to arrange phone interviews or visits to classrooms that are reading it.

* For you golfers, I currently have feature articles in the June issue of Golf Digest (a short piece on Whistling Straits) and in the Spring issue of Golf Digest Index (about my good friend Eric Schmitt’s 29 on the front nine at Fox Chapel). Thanks to an enthusiastic blogger, the INDEX piece is now available online here: http://mcfaddenplace.com/blog/category/travel/golf/

That’s it for now. Please pass this e-mail along to friends, family and all who might be interested using the feature below. As always, thanks so much for your continuing support.

Philip
pbeardii@scbslaw.com
www.philipbeard.net
111 Brilliant Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15215