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HotelsDotCom
Hotels.com Join Black Friday Fray with a Four-Day Sale
November 24, 2008 at 3:01 PM | 0 Comments
If you aren't interested in banging down the doors at daybreak at Sears, K-Mart, Wal-Mart, Best Buy or any other store participating in a Black Friday extravaganza, then seek comfort in your favorite chair in your warm house and cuddle up with your laptop. Why? Because Hotels.com kicks off their second annual Four-Day Sale on Friday, featuring nearly 500 properties in more than a hundred cities at discounted rates.
Some examples of the savings are 30 percent off at the Omni Berkshire Place in NYC and a fourth night free at Caesars Palace in Vegas.
Also, anyone who books during the Four-Day Sale will be automatically entered to win one of four $500 prepaid debit cards from MasterCard. If you don't happen to book during the sale days, you are still eligible to win by emailing sweeps@hotels.com. Um...yes please? A $500 gift card would be great for the holidays.
Hotel Contests
Hotels.com Will Send Its Lucky Millionth-ish Reviewer to Bora Bora
November 18, 2008 at 9:18 AM | 0 Comments
Hotels.com has racked up almost one million user reviews to date — and to celebrate, they're giving you stuff (by the way, we're loving this trend of hotel companies celebrating major milestones by giving us presents. We hope you think of us on your next birthday).
Most notably: one lucky winner is going to get a totally free trip to the Bora Bora to check out the breathtaking InterContinental Bora Bora Resort and Thallaso Spa that we drooled over last week.
The "Millionth Review" sweepstakes, which started yesterday and runs through January 15, 2009, will gives five winners a three-night trip for two in the United States, and one winner will score a vacation for two to Bora Bora. You don't actually have to be the millionth reviewer (this is not a radio contest, after all) — all Hotels.com users who write and post a review during the sweepstakes entry period will be entered to win.
Halloween Hotels
Hotel News Briefs :: Wanna Stay Someplace Deadly?
October 14, 2008 at 5:50 PM | 0 Comments
There's tons of hotel news flying around this week and we don't have time to give each and every story the love and attention it may deserve, so you will have to settle for some news briefs.
· Deadly Hotels: Concierge goes grisly for their Halloween Hotel special, rounding up the hotel's with the deadliest past. Gulp. [Concierge]
· Nu Hotel Still Suffering from Bus Exhaust: Not only does the Nu Hotel guests have to see prisoners across the street, they also have to inhale bus exhaust. [Observer]
· Jumeirah Brand Expands to Glasgow: If you like the Jumeriah Hotel in London, you can stay at one in Glasgow too. It will open in 2011. [BBC]
· Xtina Checks Into Celeb Meltdown Hotel: We hope Christina Aguilera knows what she's getting into by shacking up for a few nights at the Dorchester Hotel. Celebs go kinda nuts here. [XtinaWeb]
· Hotels.com Improves iPhone Application?: While we bagged on the Hotels.com first foray into iPhone apps, this blogger thinks it's gotten better. [Geeky Traveller]
Hotel News
Using Visual "DNA" to Select A Hotel Warrants An Audible "WTF"
September 10, 2008 at 10:03 AM | 2 Comments
UPDATE: Right now, the Visual DNA feature is available for the UK site only.
Perhaps we are just overly-skeptical of all things that link image identification to deep untapped psychological desires (or whatever) because we're the type that tend to see phallic images in every one of those ink-blotter tests, but goodness: even we had never heard of "Visual DNA" before hearing about Hotels.com's latest scheme.
NMA is reporting that the site has launched "a social network to help users personalize their search for a hotel" that utilizes Visual DNA. That is, users are asked to select from a range of images -- like beaches, room decor and restaurant styles. From there, the site will produce hotel suggestions based on the images from Hotels.com's library.
Hotelsdotcom
Hotels.com Announces Half-Off Fall Sale
September 10, 2008 at 9:00 AM | 0 Comments
Our human race seems to be genetically wired to respond to "50% off" with an increased pulse, flushed skin and just a touch of panting. We can not resist a good bargain. So Hotel.com's Fall Sale, with 50% off hotels from Anaheim to Belize, Vail to Vancouver, has set our sale reflexes into a frenzy. Where should we go when it's all half off?
We all know it's lovely in New England this time of year (something about peeping at leaves?), so we could consider the Beverly Hills Suites Hotel for $102 a night in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. And fall or no fall, any time is perfect to take a dreamy trip to Hawaii, so maybe we'll choose the ResortQuest Kauai Beach at Makaiwa on Kauai Island for $120 a night. Or, maybe we could forget about fall altogether and head south to Cozumel and laze around at the El Cid La Ceiba Beach for a save-some-money-for-the-margaritas 66 bucks a night. How much is that in pesos?
Don't tarry too long over your choices. You've got to decide and book by October 13, then enjoy your bargain getaway by October 20, 2008. Of course nobody said you have to limit it to one.
Loyalty Program News
Loyalty Program News :: Hotels.com Launches welcomerewards
Where: United StatesJuly 23, 2008 at 3:44 PM | 0 Comments
Hotels.com has just launched a new rewards program that gives members quick rewards without a bunch of stupid restrictions -- and since it's Hotels.com and not a single hotel brand or chain, you can rack up points and redeem your goodies without sticking to one particular family of hotels.
Once you sign up for welcomerewards, here are the perks of the deal:
· Book any combination of 10 total nights with hotels.com, and receive a free night's stay.
· Earn and redeem rewards at more than 35,000 hotels.com partner properties
· No blackout dates or time restrictions - redeem rewards wherever, whenever
· Redeem free night for a value up to $400
Sounds easy enough -- and, again, it's perfect for those of us who like to bounce around brands (yes, yes, we know the whole purpose of the "loyalty" program is so we don't jump between brands but whatever).
More info about welcomerewards can be found here.
iPhone Travel Apps
The iPhone Application for Hotels.com Is Not All That
July 15, 2008 at 5:03 PM | 0 Comments
The new iPhone is out and it's gone totally application crazy by installing an Apps Store where you can download a ton of new applications for your phone. (Don't worry, old iPhone owners. The new applications are available once you do your 2.0 upgrade.)
Naturally, we had to check out the Travel category of apps where we found some pretty specific and pretty mainstream apps. You can read all about it over at Jaunted.
But on the hotel side, Hotels.com is one of the few hotel-centric apps available, along with TripAdvisor and booking site, Travelocity.
The good news? The application is free. The bad news? It kinda sucks. The application had 14 reviews as of this afternoon and they were all terrible.
Hotel Booking Tips
Everything You Wanted to Know About Booking Hotels :: The Hotels.com Edition
June 6, 2008 at 3:30 PM | 0 Comments
Here at HotelChatter we get all sorts of questions about booking hotel rooms such as where to book (boutique hotel or a place with a loyalty program?), how to book (phone or website?), how to get a cheap rate, how to get free upgrades and the always lovely "Can you hook me up with a free room?" (We can't.)
But we do realize that you have a lot of good questions about booking hotel rooms. So once a week we're running Everything You Wanted to Know About Booking Hotel Rooms where we will give you the latest news, advice, tips, and answers on booking a room. And just maybe we'll be able to hook you up with a free room after all.
This week we're chatting with Scott Booker of Hotels.com. With quite possibly the most perfect last name ever for someone in the hospitality industry, Scott is the Chief Hotel Expert and Guest Advocate at Hotels.com.
His responsibilities include making consumers aware of new deals which pop up on the site as well as highlighting guest reviews from Hotels.com customers. We put him through the ringer (sorta) on a bunch of other issues and as far as we know, he's still standing.
Keep reading for the full interview.
