In tough times, there’s little shortage of creative hotel marketing programs to generate new business. Two of these include a popular movie and, even more unlikely, the horrible traffic in Washington, DC.
“So The Dupont Hotel recently launched the ‘Park and Play’ package to help make the streets of DC a little more accessible to guests,” says the hotel in a press release about one of the new offerings.
Available now through December 30, the “Park and Play” package not only saves guests from road-rage stresses, but also encourages them to “go green” during their stay by walking around the city instead of driving.
With rates starting at US$160 per night for a Superior Room, the “Park and Play” package includes, in addition to a room night:
—Complimentary valet parking.
—A US $25 gift card to Shell.
—And a DC Cruising Snack Pack containing bottled water, munchies and other gifts for the road.
The refurbished 327-room Dupont says it is the only hotel on the historic Dupont Circle.
In Florida, Elizabeth Gilbert’s best-selling novel "Eat, Pray, Love" that takes place in Indonesia, India, and Rome is the inspiration for a new “romantic, spiritual, culinary” package from the Sonesta Bayfront Hotel Coconut Grove. They teamed with the new Paragon Grove 13 movie theatre to offer a weekend package coinciding with the film’s release Aug. 13-15.
The package, starting at US$199 a person, includes
*EAT: Friday the 13, guests will watch the film in a private theater while indulging in an Italian picnic dinner’ with champagne or wine.
*PRAY: Saturday brings a trip to the Dharma Studio for meditation and general wellness stuff, followed by an Indian dinner (menu follows the flip) at Sonesta’s Panorama Restaurant.
*LOVE: Participants get to explore "the intimate corners" of Coconut Grove by bike, foot, or sailing around Biscayne Bay (though bike or sailing costs extra).
By David Wilkening
