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Our take on the Trump International Las Vegas at CES

I was lucky enough to tag along with a friend to CES recently and stay in her one bedroom suite at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas. I had extremely high expectations, as I think most people do, having been a fan of The Apprentice. My expectations were exceeded and yet, I found myself mentally noting quirky issues that I might have let slide at other properties. I was more fascinated with my hotel than the electronics at CES.

First, the one bedroom upgrade was reasonable for my hostess, so be sure to inquire the next time you are in town. Let them know you are a reader of my blog. The lobby has got some of the trademark Donald bling – crystal chandeliers and a piano bar, nice touches. It is refreshing to walk through a hotel in Vegas without wading through a casino, especially on a business trip when you are trying to get in and out quickly. It was also smoke free, a plus. The location is nice – you are walking distance, literally right across the street from the Fashion Show Mall where there are a number of restaurants as well as a food court. It’s convenient for going to the Strip. We walked home from the Mirage one night and it took less than ten minutes.

The room was furnished tastefully with a great view of the strip. It has two bathrooms. The master has a Jacuzzi tub and a shower with two jets and the second bath has a shower, making it ideally for two people to comfortably share a room. There’s a cool mirror with a television in the master. Incidentally I saw the company at CES. MBQuart was showing “Hidden Reflections” for consumers. You can get the same mirror with a television LCD screen and a waterproof remote control in your bathroom for only $700.00! Check them out.

Speaking of the bathrooms, another odd thing was that the second smaller bath didn’t have a towel bar for a hand towel. There’s just one rack on the outside shower door for a bath towel. So not only did I have to keep getting a hand towel from the master bath, but it kept ending up on the floor because there was nowhere to hang it. Weird. Don’t the designers wash their hands – how did they miss that? Is it cost savings? Can you say punch list? Also, they cleaned the room and never put a trash can back in the master bath during our entire stay.

There’s a pull out sofa in each standard room in the hotel, so we were surprised that we still had to ask for an extra comforter when we got to the room. Then we asked for some more hangers. The first person from Housekeeping didn’t have change, and he hadn’t gotten the message to bring the hangers. Then he went to go get them and another person arrived with the hangers pretty quickly. We still didn’t have change and now we had two people to tip. After they left we noticed we had no shampoo in either bathroom. It’s one thing when housekeepers deliberately leave burned out light bulbs to have a reason to service a room but shampoo? That seemed ridiculous. They must have a strict shampoo policy because even when we specifically requested bottles for each bathroom we still only received one bottle after the next cleaning.

The bathrobes in the room are one of the softest plushest robes we ever wore.

The first day I returned to the room after lunch. There were no signs of anything different so I almost jumped when a man from housekeeping walked out of the master bathroom a few minutes later. They might want to leave the door open or put a sign on the door if the supply cart is not going to remain outside the door.

The gym was furnished with top of the line equipment and outside there was a heated lap pool and two Jacuzzis. When we checked in, we asked what time the Jacuzzi was open until and we were told 5pm. We were shocked. Why is the Jacuzzi closed at night at the Trump hotel in Las Vegas? The next day in the gym they told me it actually closes at 4:30pm. This seems bizarre. What’s worse is the young guy who checked us in said (kind of flippantly to be honest) that we could use the Jacuzzi in our room. We’re in Vegas, dude – we don’t want to sit in our Jacuzzi in our room, we’re at your hotel - that’s the whole point.

When I went to the gym I couldn’t figure out how to change the television stations but there was no attendant. I called the hotel with my cell phone and got transferred to voicemail. Ten minutes later I called again and spoke to a concierge. Kevin quickly arrived from the spa and demonstrated the trick – you have to tap the TV with your fingernails, your fingers may not do it. My friend told me she couldn’t figure it out either and had to ask for help. Maybe a sign by the equipment would help let guests figure it out without making them feel stupid.

The Wolfgang Puck gourmet coffee offering in the room didn’t include decaf. It also would have been nice to find a tea option. However we were happily surprised to find complementary water bottles on a daily basis, a nice simple touch.

I think someone told us our model room was supposed to be for sale at some point. It was nice to find a water pitcher, blender, and a martini set in the kitchen along with a microwave and full refrigerator and oven although we weren’t able to take advantage of it all.

The black out shades would not come together all the way so the first morning I woke to a sliver of sunlight. The next few days I tried many different ways of keeping them closed – piling the couch cushions against them, etc. but I never could figure out how to keep the light out. Annoying.

The most surprising issue of all? Our cell phones didn't work very well in the room. In the elevator, another guest told us that the tint on the windows was cancelling out cell service. Hope they figure that one out pretty soon.

All and all we would recommend the hotel for a nice modest room in Vegas. Hopefully Bill, Donald and the Trump Organization can use the feedback to make some adjustments to take the hotel to the next level. Check out my quickie video for the tour. Peace!

launch flix at CES

We are here in Vegas at the Consumer Electronics Show to bone up on the latest technology and to talk to companies about producing their videos for investor road shows and their web sites as well as commercials. Ping us to talk about your project!

Early Holiday Treat from launch flix

Ignite Phoenix 5: Unforgettable Showcase of Phoenix Talents & Interests

Last night we went to Ignite Phoenix for the first time. I first heard about it from Kim over at Terralever several months ago. I applied and although I was in consideration I wasn’t invited to be one of 20 presenters. Then earlier this week Perri told our AZ Women in Media group about the event and we decided to show up early and get a free ticket to attend at the Tempe Center for the Arts.

Creator Jeff Moriarty (pictured below) and his friends put on this amazing community event where people can get up and talk for five minutes with slides. This was their 5th event.

We got in with no problem. It was great seeing Shawn V., Scott H., Joe R., and of course Dan S. was there, the Creative Connector himself chatting with Francine H. who promised to attend a future CC. Later we saw the guys from Gangplank and Forty and then we ran into Bill. S.

The event was a great showcase of Phoenix talent and personalities. We listened to everything from a presentation on bat poop to Bluetooth douchebags. I probably could have done without the lecture on public restroom cleanliness – TMI.

We shot a video of the first presentation, called “Use what you got to get what you want” by Nicholas DiBiase. See below.

I highly recommend you come out for the next Ignite and better yet, fill out an application to come present on something you are passionate about. I haven’t decided if I’ll reapply. My topic – Six Million for Six Million is a little heavy and not condusive to audience clapping and participation. But I might come up with something else..

Lindzon Wows MIT Enterprise Forum Group of Phoenix

It was fun and kind of surreal to listen to my friend and mentor, Howard Lindzon speak at the MIT Enterprise Forum at the Hilton Hotel in Scottsdale, and not just because he used the kind of colorful language on stage that would have been bleeped on public airwaves. I hadn’t seen How in awhile so I heard about some developments that wouldn’t be news to a regular Howard Twitter follower or reader of his blog. Apparently Inc. Magazine recently said his blog is a must read for entrepreneurs. (Sorry but I couldn’t pull up that quote online, please send me the link if you have it.) The other news – that Howard recently got to open the market and ring the bell for NASDAQ which he told me was a life long dream. I also heard that one of Howard’s many disciples, a guy named Cole, has help found DeedStreet.com, another Twitter application - for realtors. Now savvy agents will be able to instantly trade information on listings, buyers, and sellers. How smart is that?

So, Howard has already shared in his blog that he only got to about page 4 in his Powerpoint while addressing the group. (I think it was at least 12 pages; the MIT Enterprise Forum Group should be sharing the presentation in its entirety soon for anyone interested.) Instead of sticking to his slides, he got on tangents including an inspiring rant about how he has cold called many people, which has lead to a lot of big business for him including early investments from infamous local Life Lock to a lesser known but equally successful company called The Gripp.

He also shared some of the influencers he reads on a daily business making a good point that there’s so much out there on the Net, you definitely have to focus on your area of interest. He said the Internet is about filtering and discovery. His list includes:
Upside Trader
Fred Wilson
GigaOm
Seth Godin
Investors Business Daily
Brad Feld
Techmeme
Techcrunch

It’s always good to be reminded, as Howard said, that failure is part of the process. When I asked him during the Q&A what was his biggest mistake, he answered that he had been working with a partner in the nineties in his hedge fund. They were successful, and Howard said he had a big ego and in his own opinion was way too flamboyant, so his partner ultimately ended up stealing from him which was a very painful experience. Later at dinner we laughed as he recalled having to move out of that office and personally wheeling his leather desk chair across Camelback Road in the middle of the summer.

Howard also joked about his massive Twitter following. People get so mad at him for some of the things he writes, that they send emails to let him know that they are going to stop following him. He said, “I didn’t ask them to follow me!”

One of my favorite remarks of the evening?
How said, “I learned from Mark Pincus you can hate people and make a fortune on social networking.” This was after referring to Mark as a prick several times. Like my other favorite Howard (Stern), I can’t wait to see what he says next. Find out yourself by attending the upcoming Fourth Annual Entrepreneurship Conference November 12 at the Desert Willow Conference Center where Howard will be one of the main speakers.

Stocktwits’ Lindzon Talking at MIT Enterprise Forum Oct. 29

I recently learned about an upcoming event in Phoenix featuring my friend and advisor, Howard Lindzon. Howard is the CEO of StockTwits, one of the few companies I know where people are actually making real money from Twitter. If you want to turn your tweets into dollars, I highly recommend attending this engaging “real-time” discussion at the next signature MIT Enterprise Forum Phoenix event. Dee Harris, President of the Arizona Angels, another good friend and advisor, is one of the founding members of the group.) Best known for his start-up proficiency, Howard will share his perceptions on emerging technology and social trends intersecting communications, business, finance and media.

Get a singular insight on a vast array of current topics including:

* How the real-time web is transforming traditional business models
* What 'real-time' means for entrepreneurs
* Using social leverage to drive growth
* How to use trends to make money
* The key to surviving bear markets

This event is more than your standard TweetUp. It is a unique opportunity to join with emerging market enthusiasts, entrepreneurs and social media fanatics starting at 5:30pm. Learn how this start-up dealmaker assesses real time opportunities and the expected real time risks. An investor in Twitter, he will reveal how 140 characters is changing our world.

Date: Thursday, October 29, 2009
Time: Networking begins at 5:30PM and our featured guest will follow at 6:30PM.
Location: Hilton Scottsdale Resort & Villas
Registration Fee:
--$40 for Members, Students and Alumni
--$45 for Non-Members
--$55 at the door
Registration is required. Food will be served.