Should I bring an umbrella to work today? Is there a good pizza place nearby? Is there a gas station on the way to Poughkeepsie, or should I fill up now? These are questions you’ll now longer have to answer on your own. 

Google’s fantastic personal assistant app, Google Now, just rolled out for the iPhone. Here’s what it does: it gives you answers without making you search. How amazing is that!?

This happens by integrating with your Google account, pulling calendar entries, restaurant directions, sports scores, and more into a tidy at-a-glance package.

And, according to Hugo Barra, director of product management for Android "Google Now is probably the first example of a new generation of intelligent software." 

What better way to get to the forefront of new technology than with an old fashion road trip?

We’re currently en route to Caesar’s Palace Windsor, Ontario, where we’ll attend Online Revealed, Canada’s biggest online marketing conferences for the travel and tourism industry welcoming professionals from all over the world.

Every year, attendance grows and we’re looking forward to meeting and mingling with over some attendees this year!

For the 2nd year in a row, we’ve been partnering with the creators of Online Revealed to bring Social Scale to the annual event....

We’ve just returned from Vancouver where we were exhibiting at the annual BUILDEX Vancouver; one of Canada's largest tradeshows and conferences with over 13,000 Design, Construction and Real Estate Management professionals! 

The Concierge Plus team met and mingled with property and strata management, construction and Condo and Strata industry folk.

It was such a thrill to see over 600 exhibitors under one roof and a great experience for us to get out and see not just how many condos there are in Vancouver, but apartment complexes as well. Vancouver is booming! 

From zero to hero (or villain?) Facebook’s new Social Graph is about to change the way we search—but at what cost to our privacy?

This week Facebook announced a new app that will change the way we search for practically everything on the Internet.

The $67 billion dollar company’s new Social Graph seems to have finally tapped into Facebook’s vast wealth of user data and is now encouraging users to be hyper-specific in their searches.

So many people make personal New Year’s resolutions; perhaps it’s time to look at making improvements to your company’s social media strategy.

At this time of year, why not take the opportunity to revamp and refresh your online presence with these six resolutions...

Whether casual tourist or avid business traveler, most people check-in with review sites before checking-in to the front desk of any hotel, especially for the first time.

Savvy bookers however, have become weary of user-generated sites due to the prevalence of falsified postings (usually by competitors or paid writers). Hotels know this and have evolved their strategy to go straight to the source: you.

Last year Starwood introduced “Guest Galleries”, a dynamic forum situated directly on a property’s site inviting guests to review their stay openly and honestly. Starwood was the first to launch the concept of hosting guest reviews online and it wasn’t long before other hotels were following their lead....

I am the first to admit that it took me a long time to wrap my head around the value of the Twitter hash tag. What is it? What does it do? Why is it taking up precious characters in an already miniscule forum for expression?

And then I remembered the most fundamental role of social media in the context of connecting with customers: Twitter is about stimulating dialogue and in doing so, brands are better able to understand and respond to customer patterns, comments, and concerns. And, if used correctly, hash tags can facilitate this crucial conversation.

Canadian Architect reports that Canada’s first efforts at imposing large-scale urban renewal are  beginning with Regent Park, Toronto… and Concierge Plus is proud to be a part of it!

Over the next ten to fifteen years, a massive redevelopment of the Regent Park neighborhood into a true mixed-use, mixed-income community for almost 13,000 residents.

The project's business plan is to use profits from the sale of over 3,000 market condominiums to help pay for the replacement of 2,083 new social housing units and contribute toward the construction of 700 new affordable rental units.

Concierge Plus, WebCanada’s online property management solution, is already playing a key role in this initiative.

By bringing condo developments like Paintbox and One Park West online, Concierge Plus will play a supporting role in communicating events and important information throughout the community. “We’re thrilled to be involved in a massive revitalization initiative such as this,” said Mike Little, Vice President of Business Development at WebCanada. “Concierge Plus is an online tool that organizes communities and makes them run greener, more efficiently, and with a true sense of connection among residents.”

We’re so excited about Foursquare Local Updates. Coming out next week, the new feature lets business owners send updates to their “best customers” when they’re nearby.

According to Mashable: “Customers nearby” can be anywhere between a one and ten mile radius while “best customers” are determined by a combination of how often they check in, how recently they’ve checked in, and whether they’ve liked the venue on Foursquare.

It’s back in the office and back in the shade after a beautiful cruise around Toronto’s harbor front with the Association of Condominium Managers of Ontario.

We were fortunate to be a part of ACMO’s nautical exploration of Lake Ontario and mingle with the industry’s leading residential community managers.

If hoteliers are the curators of life’s true style, then hotels are the canvas on which trends in dining, design, and wellness come to life. But times are changing. It’s hard not to notice that new hotels are decidedly under-styled and superfluous service and decadent décor are on the outs.

Whether it’s the natural swing of the trend pendulum or a stylistic reaction to current economic realities, it’s becoming undeniable that fancy schmancy is out and functionality is in....