Latest news with #Lobby
Irish Examiner
11-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Mundy: 'The Lobby in Cork was the first place you'd plant your seed'
MUNDY'S ties with Cork go back a long way. Over three decades, he's played more than a dozen venues, at all angles of the compass, in the county. One of his first performances was at a festival in Noel C Duggan's arena at Millstreet, but his strongest memory is from a gig at the Lobby Bar — an iconic live music venue in Cork City. 'In the early 2000s, there was a great Irish music revival with all these acts... The Frames, Damien Rice, Mic Christopher, Gemma Hayes; Josh Ritter and David Gray were a part of it, too,' he says. 'The Lobby was the first place that you'd plant your seed. It might have held 90 or a 100 people but your career grew from there by selling out the Lobby a few times and then you'd go to a bigger venue.' 'One night, I did my own gig. The Frames were playing at the Marquee, with other great artists supporting them. They all ended up down in the Lobby after my gig. We took to the streets busking then after it, around the corner from the Lobby, all out playing guitars, singing and drinking, having the craic. It was a special night. I went on to Ballycotton the night after, and half of them followed me out there as well.' Mundy, 50, shot to prominence in 1996 when a track, To You I Bestow, from his debut album featured on the soundtrack for the hit movie Romeo + Juliet, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. His second album, 24 Star Hotel, released in 2002, features probably his signature tune, July, an incomparable ode to summer. # Mundy. Picture: Anthony Mulcahy Over the years, he's supported giants of the trade, including REM, Bob Dylan, and a personal hero, Neil Young, with whom he shared a stage at Dublin's old Point Depot in 1996. 'I got the biggest guest list ever for that gig, something like a hundred people,' he says. 'I couldn't get rid of the tickets, as in I didn't know 100 people in Dublin that would go! I was a huge Neil Young fan. I grew up in Birr, CountyOffaly. We played songs from Harvest and After the Gold Rush nearly every time we'd do a session in my parents' pub. I invited all my mates from Birr that were around. The guts of them came — even a friend of mine whose wife was due to give birth that night. 'I had the same booking agent as Neil Young. I met him after the gig. I said, 'Listen, thanks so much for making a dream come true, but I'd love to meet Neil Young.' He said, 'OK, let's go look for him.' We went backstage, couldn't find him. Went into his dressing room, it was all incense burning and Indian rugs on the wall. We went back out to the stage, and there he was in the middle of all the crew with a pair of leather gloves on, lifting up gear, packing it away with the roadies. Getting his hands dirty... not a problem for him.' 'The same night, Michelle Smith was going for her last gold medal in the Olympics, and we went to the bar, and I sat with Neil Young, and I had a couple of pints of Murphy's with him, and we watched her swimming. His dad was there. His dad lived in Howth for a while.' In 2008, Mundy teamed up with Sharon Shannon on Steve Earle's song, Galway Girl, leading to another summer anthem and a long-running chart-topper. Mundy has been a long-time collaborator with Sharon Shannon. His Christmas-time performance from 2008 of Rainy Night in Soho with Shane MacGowan, during a Sharon Shannon Big Band with Special Guests live recording for TG4, is worth digging out on YouTube. MUNDY, along with Nick Cave and Camille O'Sullivan, was one of the performers at their old friend Shane MacGowan's funeral in December 2023, in Nenagh, County Tipperary, only half an hour's drive from Birr, his hometown. The funeral Mass had several resonances for him. 'One of the amazing things was that the priest, Fr Pat Gilbert, who did the service, was my religion teacher in school,' he says. 'He baptised my daughter. He also brought music, rock 'n' roll, to our school — he brought a drum kit, a bass amp, and electric guitar into the classroom. There were two other priests from Birr on the altar too, so I felt really supported that day.' Mundy will perform at The White Horse, Ballincollig, Cork, 8.30pm, Friday, August 15. See:
Otago Daily Times
28-07-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Where has 'Lobby' the giant crayfish gone?
Lobby, the iconic orange Kaikōura crayfish, has endured gales, storms, and a huge earthquake. But is time for the big orange cray, a landmark for many travellers on State Highway 1, and visitors to the town, to take a well-earned break and get some much-needed care and attention. Usually hanging two stories up on the outside of the Lobster Inn Motor Lodge tavern overlooking SH1/Beach Rd in Kaikōura, the 6.5m-long Lobby, as locals named it, recently suffered at the hands of someone who may have wanted to score themselves a souvenir. Staff noticed something was amiss back in the early hours of February 2 this year but, as yet, no one has been held accountable. That, and the long years Lobby had spent in the sun, enduring the often extreme Kaikōura winds and salty sea air, meant Lobby needed some immediate tender loving care and attention from the technicians at Hi-Tech Sheetmetals in Christchurch. Made of galvanised sheet iron, steel bars, mesh, papier-mâché and fibreglass, the iconic creature has long been a popular and photogenic sight for visitors to the town over many years. In 1992, the owner of the then Sun Trap Restaurant, Annette Painter (nee Paterson) and partner Lindsay Painter were looking for a way to attract customers to the restaurant, which specialised in crayfish. "We wanted something iconic, so we decided to build a large crayfish as a bit of fun." Lindsay started work in the basement, constructing it from papier-mâché and anything he could lay his hands on. The couple used real estate signs to fabricate the tail, plastic downpipes for the antenna, galvanised iron tubes for the legs, children's rubber balls for the eyes and broomsticks for the stalks. "He moved it all to his garage when it got too big for the basement, and then we covered it in several coats of fibreglass to stop the birds, who had started eating the papier mache." Local panel beater Tony Muir then painted the structure. To get the right shade of orange for the body, the couple drove to the Mitre-10 in Blenheim, placed a cooked crayfish on the counter and politely asked paint staff there to match the colour. Annette says Kaikōura mural artist Brett Pettit advised them on how to make it come alive and appear more realistic. "We gave him a cooked crayfish, and he knew what he had to do with the additions of the back knobs, the colouration and shading, etc." Once they had strengthened the structure, Lindsay then fixed it to the upper story of the building on July 22, 1992. "I have to admit it was a bit scary climbing up there, underneath it, sticking it to the wall," he says. Annette says he did an amazing job creating the attraction. The very next day, Kaikōura was hit by a mini typhoon, which caused a lot of damage to roofs in the area, but not to the new crayfish statue. The couple say it was a lot of fun making it, and soon everyone in the town had an opinion about it. Annette said initially some locals liked it, while others hated it. "Some children were afraid of the monster crayfish, and others asked why we hadn't put a whale up there, as Kaikōura was famous for its whales. "I simply replied that we don't sell whale meat, we sell crayfish." Unbeknownst to the couple, several days before they had mounted their now iconic crayfish a television documentary crew had passed through Kaikōura on their way to look at iconic town structures like Gore's trout. On their way back to Wellington, the crew stopped to include it in their documentary along with Ohakune's carrot and Paeroa's L&P bottle. "We made it onto TVNZ's Inside NZ programme and that helped create the national interest in our restaurant and Kaikōura," says Annette. Over the years, the Kaikōura crayfish has appeared in countless tourist photos, featured as a 40-cent stamp in 1998, adorned a $1 Lotto scratchie, and was also once painted black in support of the All Blacks. Annette sold the business in 1995 and moved to Christchurch with Lindsay. Julie and Neil Pablecheque bought the business and the buildings and developed the Lobster Inn Motor Lodge. They painted the signature crayfish black in 2011 to support the All Blacks during the Rugby World Cup. Neil Pablecheque said the 'Paint It Black' lobster was a great way to show the region was cheering for the All Blacks. "It also gave visitors a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see a giant black lobster." Tony Muir painted it black to match Ohakune's 'Paint It Black' signature carrot statue. He later returned it to its usual orange colour and says that over the years he has had to climb up a few times and fix the odd bit of rust, or broken bits caused by the infamous Kaikōura wind or sea storms. Today Lobby rests in Christchurch awaiting the verdict from insurers. Hi-Tech Sheetmetals' general manager, Trevor Dart, said it is a very fragile structure. "We specialise in bespoke custom builds and fabrications," Dart said. "Lobby is made of a mixture of materials and will be a challenge to fix, but we can't wait to start."
Otago Daily Times
28-07-2025
- Otago Daily Times
'Lobby' the giant crayfish takes a break
Lobby, the iconic orange Kaikōura crayfish, has endured gales, storms, and a huge earthquake. But is time for the big orange cray, a landmark for many travellers on State Highway 1, and visitors to the town, to take a well-earned break and get some much-needed care and attention. Usually hanging two stories up on the outside of the Lobster Inn Motor Lodge tavern overlooking SH1/Beach Rd in Kaikōura, the 6.5m-long Lobby, as locals named it, recently suffered at the hands of someone who may have wanted to score themselves a souvenir. Staff noticed something was amiss back in the early hours of February 2 this year but, as yet, no one has been held accountable. That, and the long years Lobby had spent in the sun, enduring the often extreme Kaikōura winds and salty sea air, meant Lobby needed some immediate tender loving care and attention from the technicians at Hi-Tech Sheetmetals in Christchurch. Made of galvanised sheet iron, steel bars, mesh, papier-mâché and fibreglass, the iconic creature has long been a popular and photogenic sight for visitors to the town over many years. In 1992, the owner of the then Sun Trap Restaurant, Annette Painter (nee Paterson) and partner Lindsay Painter were looking for a way to attract customers to the restaurant, which specialised in crayfish. "We wanted something iconic, so we decided to build a large crayfish as a bit of fun." Lindsay started work in the basement, constructing it from papier-mâché and anything he could lay his hands on. The couple used real estate signs to fabricate the tail, plastic downpipes for the antenna, galvanised iron tubes for the legs, children's rubber balls for the eyes and broomsticks for the stalks. "He moved it all to his garage when it got too big for the basement, and then we covered it in several coats of fibreglass to stop the birds, who had started eating the papier mache." Local panel beater Tony Muir then painted the structure. To get the right shade of orange for the body, the couple drove to the Mitre-10 in Blenheim, placed a cooked crayfish on the counter and politely asked paint staff there to match the colour. Annette says Kaikōura mural artist Brett Pettit advised them on how to make it come alive and appear more realistic. "We gave him a cooked crayfish, and he knew what he had to do with the additions of the back knobs, the colouration and shading, etc." Once they had strengthened the structure, Lindsay then fixed it to the upper story of the building on July 22, 1992. "I have to admit it was a bit scary climbing up there, underneath it, sticking it to the wall," he says. Annette says he did an amazing job creating the attraction. The very next day, Kaikōura was hit by a mini typhoon, which caused a lot of damage to roofs in the area, but not to the new crayfish statue. The couple say it was a lot of fun making it, and soon everyone in the town had an opinion about it. Annette said initially some locals liked it, while others hated it. "Some children were afraid of the monster crayfish, and others asked why we hadn't put a whale up there, as Kaikōura was famous for its whales. "I simply replied that we don't sell whale meat, we sell crayfish." Unbeknownst to the couple, several days before they had mounted their now iconic crayfish a television documentary crew had passed through Kaikōura on their way to look at iconic town structures like Gore's trout. On their way back to Wellington, the crew stopped to include it in their documentary along with Ohakune's carrot and Paeroa's L&P bottle. "We made it onto TVNZ's Inside NZ programme and that helped create the national interest in our restaurant and Kaikōura," says Annette. Over the years, the Kaikōura crayfish has appeared in countless tourist photos, featured as a 40-cent stamp in 1998, adorned a $1 Lotto scratchie, and was also once painted black in support of the All Blacks. Annette sold the business in 1995 and moved to Christchurch with Lindsay. Julie and Neil Pablecheque bought the business and the buildings and developed the Lobster Inn Motor Lodge. They painted the signature crayfish black in 2011 to support the All Blacks during the Rugby World Cup. Neil Pablecheque said the 'Paint It Black' lobster was a great way to show the region was cheering for the All Blacks. "It also gave visitors a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see a giant black lobster." Tony Muir painted it black to match Ohakune's 'Paint It Black' signature carrot statue. He later returned it to its usual orange colour and says that over the years he has had to climb up a few times and fix the odd bit of rust, or broken bits caused by the infamous Kaikōura wind or sea storms. Today Lobby rests in Christchurch awaiting the verdict from insurers. Hi-Tech Sheetmetals' general manager, Trevor Dart, said it is a very fragile structure. "We specialise in bespoke custom builds and fabrications," Dart said. "Lobby is made of a mixture of materials and will be a challenge to fix, but we can't wait to start."
Hospitality Net
10-06-2025
- Business
- Hospitality Net
EHL Innovation Rewind: Romy Abbrederis on AI Agents, Email Overload, and the Future of Hotel Workflows
During the EHL Open Innovation Summit, we spoke with Romy Abbrederis, Co-founder of Lobby, about how generative AI is reshaping hotel operations behind the scenes. Our conversation explored how Lobby tackles the complexity of reservation emails, why modular systems are key to adapting to different hotel needs, and how AI can support hospitality teams without replacing the human element. Which technology or innovation do you think will reshape our industry the most over the next 5 to 10 years? Definitely AI, especially generative AI. These agents can actually perform different actions—they can create recipes, book flights, access multiple sources, and reason through steps to reach a goal. Generative means they can execute, not just respond. We already know text-to-text, like ChatGPT, but now it's text-to-action or text-to-multistep execution. In the US, operator agents are already being used. Europe is still catching up. We are using US-based models like OpenAI's chatGPT, Google's Gemini, and Anthropic because of how fast they innovate, although there are promising European players like Mistral. Can I ask you which problem you're trying to solve and how? We are solving the problem of emails—specifically, reservation-related emails that overwhelm hotel teams. Some RFPs can take up to two hours to answer. What makes email complex is its lack of synchronicity. You can't just ask back and forth like in a chat. So we built Lobby to sit between the inbox and the reservation system. It pulls in the request, fetches data from the PMS, and can handle full reservation workflows—creating, modifying, and cancelling bookings. We focused on complex bookings, not the easy ones others tackle. What's different is our human-in-the-loop approach. That means the system prepares everything—rate plans, guest details, reply—and the staff approves or edits before it's executed. The AI doesn't just dump duplicate profiles into the CRM. It's precise and careful. We give hoteliers control, not replacement, and allow for full automation where appropriate—like with simple cancellations. Do you agree with the statement that the human will never be completely out of the loop in hospitality? It depends on the segment. If a hotel has a very simple rate setup—one category, one refundable and one non-refundable—it could be fully automated. But in many cases, especially premium properties, the service element matters. That's why we made Lobby modular. Some hotels want to create bookings with status inquiry first, some don't want to auto-book at all. Every hotel has its own logic, and we've built our tech to support that diversity. That's what makes it successful. It's also why we don't believe in a one-size-fits-all AI. Can you see Lobby evolving beyond emails, for example with voice or instant messaging? Definitely. We chose email because no one else is solving it at this level of complexity. But we are already planning for chat and voice. Voice is a bit different—you have less context, and it's real-time—but we are already deeply integrated with PMS platforms like MEWS and soon Oracle's Opera Cloud. So we are prepared. In the future, we believe there might not even be as we know it. You'll talk to your travel agent, who talks to Lobby's agent. Our agent will handle the complexity and book the trip, fully conversationally. That's the vision we're building toward. And because our system is modular, we're also exploring partnerships with other hospitality tech vendors who want to stay competitive but don't have the infrastructure to develop this in-house. About the EHL Open Innovation Summit 2025 This interview was recorded during the EHL Open Innovation Summit in Lausanne, where Hospitality Net joined as official media partner. The event brought together a global mix of thinkers and doers to explore the future of hospitality, food, and travel through open innovation. What made it special was the mix of ideas, formats, and people. It was not only about tech or talks. It was also about people showing up, working together, and sharing energy in real time. Key Figures 385 participants 48 speakers and contributors from more than 20 countries 7 innovation challenges collectively addressed 45 sessions 25 student volunteers 15 F&B startups letting us taste the future 1.5 days of connection, learning, and co-creation Key Insights from the Summit
See - Sada Elbalad
14-04-2025
- Business
- See - Sada Elbalad
Trump Stumbles... Will the Trade War with China End?
By Ahmad El-Assasy As the clock ticks, the world watches closely to see the fallout of Trump's trade war and the losses each individual may bear—especially since rising tariffs could shrink global merchandise trade by up to 1% in 2025. The direct clash between the world's largest advanced economy, the United States, and its largest developing one, China, leaves no winners. Cooperation, with its global ripple effects, remains the only viable path. President Donald Trump's retreat from imposing tariffs on key Chinese imports—including smartphones, semiconductors, and computers—was a surprising revelation of the fragility of unilateral policies. This sharp turn highlights the strength, resilience, and strategic agility of China's economy. Trump's latest decision feels like a knockout punch from Beijing, proving it holds a winning hand in this trade war. China's technological dominance, fueled by doubling R&D spending to $560 billion annually, has achieved 78% self-sufficiency in advanced chip manufacturing. For instance: - 92% of laptops imported to the U.S. come from China. - 87% of smartphones in the American market are made in China. - 45% of semiconductor components rely on Chinese factories. This signals a potential shift in the balance of power in future conflicts. The Tech Lobby and Trump's Retreat Despite attempts to curb China's influence, U.S. dependence on Chinese tech—with $100 billion in annual imports—has made it the lifeblood of America's smart industries. This exposed the difficulty of finding quick, viable alternatives, shattering Trump's populist rhetoric. Reality showed that the entire global tech sector relies on Chinese manufacturing. Tariffs on Chinese components would have tripled operating costs for major U.S. tech firms, disrupting supply chains built on Chinese efficiency. Severing these ties would be prohibitively expensive and impractical in the short to medium term. A Yale University study warned that tariffs would: - Raise the U.S. Consumer Price Index by 2.1%. - Cost American households $1,300–$5,400 annually. - Shrink GDP by 0.8% in 2025. The Trump administration realized that passing trade war costs to consumers would weaken U.S. competitiveness at home and abroad. The Tech Lobby's Victory Over Politics With midterm elections approaching—including congressional seats, governorships, and local races—the tech lobby proved stronger than political slogans. Republicans feared losing key states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, where 23% of industrial jobs depend on Chinese components, and 68% of these jobs were at risk from tariffs. For the first time, China forced Washington to back down, proving that economic "soft power" can outmaneuver even the most hardened politicians. Will Washington Learn—Or Escalate? Trump's retreat left him reeling from China's counterblow. Will he learn that the global economy is not a wrestling ring—and that stepping back offers a chance to reassess interdependence and the value of dialogue? Or will he double down on "smart sanctions" while China strengthens alliances? Since the trade war began, China has: - Signed 17 new trade deals with EU and Asian nations. - Boosted New Silk Road investments by 42%. - Increased Asian exports by 34% in two years. China's Response: Calm and Strategic Beijing reacted with measured approval, calling Trump's move "a step in the right direction" but insufficient. It reinforced its stance with a white paper exposing contradictions in U.S. policy, emphasizing that the $688 billion trade volume makes the two nations indispensable partners. "Cooperation benefits both," it asserted. China proved that sustainable economic growth and a strong industrial-tech base are the best defenses against external pressures. 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