Latest news with #guests
Times of Oman
37 minutes ago
- General
- Times of Oman
Oman Air flight to Bangkok turned around due to technical issue
Muscat: An Oman Air flight bound for Bangkok in Thailand, was turned around due to a technical glitch and landed in Muscat, the airline confirmed on Saturday. In a statement, the airline said, "Oman Air flight WY815, flying from Muscat to Bangkok on 31 May 2025, experienced a technical issue shortly after take-off and in accordance with safety and operational protocols, had to return to Muscat International Airport." The aircraft landed safely at Muscat without incident according to the airline. "Our guests were disembarked and taken back to the terminal. All guests were accommodated on a replacement flight shortly after. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused. As always, the safety of our guests and crew remains our top priority."
New York Times
3 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
The Times Confirms More Names on Trump's Crypto Dinner Guest List
They came from faraway spots, including Estonia and China, and closer locations, such as San Francisco and even Maryland, but one thing almost all of them had in common was some tie to the cryptocurrency industry. That is the common thread that emerges among the two dozen additional guests The New York Times has added to its list of those invited to President Trump's dinner last Thursday at his golf club in Virginia. The Times obtained a partial list of all 220 invitees, along with email addresses and phone numbers for many of them. But in some cases the names were common enough or the contact information was so incomplete that The Times could not immediately confirm the attendees' identities. Work toward confirming these details has continued since last week and The Times has now added another two dozen individuals invited to the dinner and in some cases also for a White House tour. Those additional names have been added to the more than 30 names that The Times published in the past week.
Japan Times
6 days ago
- General
- Japan Times
A moving meditation: Finding serenity in tea ceremony across space and time
Softly, a door slides shut. There's a faint rustle of silk and the whisper of feet clad in tabi (split-toe socks) over tatami. After a pause, a bamboo ladle taps a small stand, its slender handle inaudibly dropping to the floor. And it's here — crouched in the garden outside of the tea room, holding my breath, eyes closed in concentration — that I sense my signal to quietly roll up the slatted sudare (bamboo screens) hanging outside the paper-covered windows. I can't see what's happening in the tea room where the host and five guests are gathered, but it's my responsibility to know. At this formal chaji (tea ceremony), I'm a behind-the-scenes assistant making sure that things run smoothly. It's Rikka, the first day of summer according to Japan's traditional calendar, and everything about the event is planned to highlight the vibrant new season, from the motifs on the tea bowls to the fresh irises in the alcove. The sunken hearth of winter is now closed, replaced by a charcoal brazier for heating water. A hanging scroll selected for the occasion displays the kanji for seki — a Chinese character that signifies a literal gate, but also implies the threshold to a new chapter. For the guests seated inside, the timing of my actions brightens the space, shifting the atmosphere from in (yin) to yō (yang), just as the host begins to prepare tea — the main event. This task seems simple, but it took many years to get here. Only by playing a role on the other side of the window — whether practicing the same procedures as the host, or watching it all as a guest — was I able to eventually memorize the movements and timing. Weekly o-keiko (lessons) with my gracious teacher and a dedicated group of fellow students have given my life a reliable rhythm. While my career as a writer and strategist continues to evolve and I've changed addresses a few times since moving to Japan in 2017, I find a steadiness in studying tea. Chadō, the way of tea, puts life's ebbs and flows into a broader context of natural cycles, where even a fleeting microseason is something to be cherished. My journey began two decades ago in another Japanese garden, on the other side of the world. I was working as a journalist in the United States, but found myself traveling often to Tokyo for summer vacations, craving a deeper cultural connection after getting a degree in East Asian studies. Then I found out that Rohoen, the Japanese Friendship Garden of Phoenix, Arizona, was accepting volunteers. I started showing up early on Saturday mornings to help rake bamboo leaves, prune shrubs and sweep the walkways before the doors opened to the public. A joint project between Phoenix and its sister city of Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, the garden was (and still is) a surprising oasis of Japanese-ness in a desert metropolis surrounded by rugged, rocky mountains. Volunteering at Rohoen felt like a homecoming. I was especially drawn to the tea garden, with its tsukubai (stone wash basin) tucked inside of a bamboo gate and stepping stones scattered across the mosslike lawn, all leading to a low, square door on the side of the tea house. I knew you had to duck and kneel to enter it, but I had no idea what went on inside. Meanwhile, after months of volunteering — and noticing a group of women in kimono who faithfully visited each month for tea practice and public demonstrations — curiosity eventually got the best of me. All of my nervousness about joining the tea ceremony group dissolved when I received a warm welcome by my teacher and classmates for the first time. Someone even brought a spare kimono for me to wear and helped me put it on properly. Together, in the cozy 4½-tatami mat space, we learned to slow down and appreciate subtle things like the sound of water boiling in the kama (kettle), the delicate flavors of traditional wagashi (Japanese sweets) and, of course, the savory-sweet aroma of matcha. It was admittedly difficult and often painful to sit in seiza, the formal kneeling posture, but my senses were so engaged with all the other details that I was compelled to keep going. Even today, I have to put my mind over matter when sitting for a long time. I first began practicing tea at a time when I was focused on growing my career. Being busy at work felt like a badge of honor, but I was also starting to feel the strain of prolonged periods of stress. I didn't realize how my attraction to tea ceremony may have been a manifestation of my desire to attain balance — a balance that the ceremony itself instills through quiet moments of mindfulness and gratitude. When I learned that entering the rōji (tea garden) represents crossing into a different world — one where everyday concerns should be left outside the bamboo gate — the magnetic appeal of that garden suddenly made perfect sense. At times, practicing chanoyu — 'hot water for tea,' the literal meaning of the term for tea ceremony — feels like a moving meditation. As with many traditional artforms, there's plenty of repetition to refine each movement and sharpen one's focus. In my earliest lessons, I learned how to fold a silk fukusa cloth down into a palm-sized rectangle for wiping utensils. It's an essential technique for every ceremony, from the simplest to the most complex. I've practiced this countless times and will never tire of it. Since the items for preparing tea are already spotless to start with, it isn't about literal cleaning, but symbolic purification of the spirit. Michele Laudig (right) and fellow practitioners of tea ceremony perform at Ginchakai, an open-air event held in Ginza, in October 2024. | Courtesy of Michele Laudig For me, the initial allure of chadō was how it wove together many threads of my fascination with Japan into a bigger, richer picture. My interest in philosophy, literature and history gave me an appreciation of the names of utensils and the Zen-infused wisdom of hanging scrolls. Learning how to wear a kimono also taught me how to move differently. And finally, I learned the proper way to navigate those spaces that used to seem mysterious, appreciating the garden and traditional architecture with a different kind of awe. It was the ultimate way to connect the dots between so many different aspects of Japanese culture and aesthetics. Then, as it continued to pull me into its world, tea ceremony became more of a familiar, comfortable place. Even though I accepted it as a lifelong learning path, full of ever more topics to explore, I also got to a point where I had a solid foundation that would serve me anywhere I went. I could relocate to New York City and join an entirely different group of teachers and students, but still have a common language of movement and ritual. I could uproot again, move to Tokyo for a new job and still find the same sense of calm in folding my fukusa under the guidance of my current sensei. I could strike up conversations with absolute strangers and find kinship when we discover our shared devotion. All of these years, I didn't quite realize that I was following my passion as I navigated life's changes. In hindsight, perhaps it wasn't my career after all that precipitated my movements, but the desire for a deeper relationship with tea ceremony and Japan — through one gateway, and on to the next.
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Groom reveals common wedding tradition that offended his bride's 'unhinged' relatives - who compared the nuptials to a 'fundraiser'
A groom revealed his wife's wedding guests were 'offended' and felt 'cheap' during their big day because of a surprising detail. Taking to Reddit, the man, who is believed to be from the US, explained that he and his bride both make six-figure salaries and didn't ask for any gifts or money from their wedding guests. The newlyweds even went to the effort of writing 'gifts are not required, your presence is the greatest present' on the the invitations to ensure there was absolutely no misunderstanding. However, they did leave out a box for greeting cards on the reception table for any guests who wanted to wish them on their big day. However the bride's relatives misconstrued it to be a 'subtle way to ask for money' and felt obliged to put cash and cheques into the card box - saying the wedding felt like a 'fundraiser.' The post read: 'Relatives offended because our wedding made them feel "cheap". 'Just to give some context, my wife and I are very fortunate to both make six-figure (salaries). We had also lived together for a year before our engagement and wedding, so we already had all the household stuff we needed, and didn't really feel like we want to ask for more. 'So for our wedding, we purposely didn't have a registry, and, in our invitation, we specifically said "gifts are not required, your presence is the greatest present". 'We also did this to minimise the expenses for our guests, hoping as many of our friends and family would come and celebrate with us as possible. 'We do have a card box at the reception table, for guests to write [their wishes] and slide their cards in. He continued: 'Apparently some of my wife's relatives thought it was a subtle way to ask for money (it wasn't), so they felt obligated to put cash and checks in the envelopes. 'Afterwards, my wife and I overheard them complaining to my [mother-in-law] that it made them feel cheap, like the wedding was a fundraiser, or a transaction. 'My wife almost burst into tears, so I step over and clarified that money was not asked or wanted. I offered to give them their envelopes back so they could remove their money. 'They refused since "what's done is done". Made the entire wedding awkward (for us and them, other folks had zero idea). Made me feel like no good deeds go unpunished.' Many rushed to the comments to argue that a card box is 'very common' at weddings and does not mean you are asking for money. One person wrote: 'Putting out a card box for a wedding is extremely common. Almost every wedding I've been to has had one. 'Giving money as a gift instead of a gift is pretty common, and usually expected. Your wife's family is unhinged.' Another said: 'I was told by my venue I had to have one.' Someone else added: 'Yep, many venues actually require you to put out a card box for the liability reason: guests WILL bring envelopes with money in them and there needs to be a clear and safe place for them to put them. 'Often the area where the box is put on a welcome table has a security camera pointed at it, even.' A fourth added: 'Yup, I used to do event decor/floristry and we kept extra card boxes on hand for this reason. 'I think a lot of venues insist because it makes it less difficult to track down missing cards. It's kind of a "not very secure, but somewhat better than the alternative" security measure.' Another added: 'Every wedding I've been to has had a box of some sort for cards. At no point have I felt like I must contribute (although I always do). This is very much a them issue.' Others sugggested the couple should mail the money back to the guests or donate it to charity. One person said: 'When you open the cards, mail the money back to each and every one of them.' Another said: 'Yep just add a note saying you appreciate the thought but the box was for well wishes to be treasured in the future and not for the purpose they thought. 'That's it. I would have not clarified anything and done that as soon as I heard. oh you guys gave money ? 'Sorry that was for well wishes to keep. we misunderstood each other. with a big smile on top. I hope you had a great time and let's have other nice parties like that in the future! that's it!' Someone else added: 'That'll make them even more mad. You can't win. I would donate to a charity of OP's and wife's choice and send the cash-givers thank-you notes letting them know.'
Hospitality Net
22-05-2025
- Business
- Hospitality Net
Guest Segmentation Is Failing Hotels: 5 Ways to Do Better with Available Data
Breaking down your audience into different segments with specific messages and offers drives engagement, clicks, and bookings. Yet many hotels are still blanket sending the same messages to their entire database. And it's just not working. Segmentation can be simple and effective, capitalizing on the basic data you already own. With a shifting economic climate, now is the time to bolster your Find, Book, and Grow strategies. With marketing messages bombarding consumers across every channel, relevance is everything. People are increasingly immune to generic outreach. Research shows 81% of customers prefer to engage with companies that offer a personalized experience, both in-person and across digital channels. For hotels, segmentation is the key to delivering this level of personalization. By dividing a big audience into smaller, meaningful groups (segments) – based on booking characteristics, purchase preferences, and buying behavior – you can tailor communications that feel timely and personal, creating an instant connection with prospective guests. The best part? You don't need to ask for a vast amount of personal data to do it. Our new guide breaks down five simple ways to segment using the guest data you already collect. It's an easy way to improve engagement, boost conversions, and keep your emails out of the spam folder. Download the infographic and explore the full article to see what's working—and what's not—for hotels like yours. ABOUT CENDYN Cendyn is a global hospitality cloud-based technology company that enables hotels to drive revenue, maximize profitability, and create deeper connections with guests through its integrated solutions. Serving hoteliers for nearly 30 years, Cendyn drives commercial success for hotels through its Find, Book, Grow promise: find the right guests, drive them to book direct, and grow loyalty and revenue across the spectrum of digital guest interactions. Cendyn has over 35,000 customers worldwide in more than 150 countries generating more than $20 billion in annual hotel revenue. The company supports its growing customer base from locations across the globe, including the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Bangkok, and India. To find out more, visit View source
