Cyber Monday: not just for retailers any more

by Tom Johansmeyer on

After four days off, the world will slide behind its desks again on Monday morning. They’ll try to get back into the swing of work life, but it won’t be immediate. So, as they ease back into productivity, many will push into the shopping world they dodged three days earlier on Black Friday. The hotels will be waiting for them, with more than 60 of them pushing deals to try to get in on the holiday shopping action.

Around 69 million people are expected to jump into the Cyber Monday fray, with workers aged 18 to 24 seen as the most likely to shop at work. Overall, 54 percent of people with internet access at work will start to take care of their holiday season obligations on Monday.

According to a Shop.org survey, 87 percent of the retailers surveyed plan to get deals out in front of online consumers this holiday season, up a tad from last year’s 83 percent. So, it’ll be tough for the hotels to stand out, but this won’t keep them from trying.

Fifty of Starwood‘s resorts will be offering deals during a three-day sale that starts on Monday, with discounts of up to 45 percent. But, you’ll need to travel between the beginning of January and the end of April. Seven Affinia Hotels properties are offering 15% off a 2010 stay at properties in New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C. The James Hotel in Chicago is offering a 100% bonus on gift cards purchased.

Gadling’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals guide

by Scott Carmichael on

Yes – Black Friday is almost here again, which means brave people will once again be out of bed at 3am so they can stand in line with 500 others, just to save $100 on a TV. Before I mock those people too much, I too will be one of them. Even though I don’t need any new gadgets, I enjoy being part of the madness that is Black Friday.

If you don’t get too excited by this concept, or you’d rather be shot than be part of this once a year event, then check out this massive lineup of great online deals we have collected for you. Shop from the comfort of your own home, without the risk of being trampled to death in a mass of slow moving shoppers.


Double your gift certificate with James Hotels

Gift certificate promotions are nothing new – but this deal from James Hotels is truly a great way to kick off our lineup. To celebrate Cyber Monday (Monday November 30), you can buy “James Credits”, and double your purchase for free.

James Credits can be applied towards a room, but also the restaurants and bars (only exception is for the spa and private events). James Credits can be purchased up to $500, which means a $500 investment gets you $1000 to spend at their hotels. One minor piece of fine print – the free credits need to be spent before March 31st 2010. Click here for the deal, and more details on James Hotels.

Callpod Black Friday / Holiday bundles

Callpod is one of my personal favorites – they make some of the best portable device chargers on the market. To celebrate the Holiday season, and kick off Black Friday, Callpod has put together three bundles of their products.

The Chargepod Uno is on sale for $39.95, the Chargepod Duo for $49.95 and the Chargepod multi-device charger is just $59.95, with three adapter tips and a voucher for three more. You’ll find the deals on their holiday special offers site.

25% off iBend artist series iPod and iPhone stands

iBend sells very simple cool looking iPhone stands. They normally retail for $7.99, but you can get one for 25% off. Head on over to myibend.com. The promotion begins today and ends December 25th 2009.

Portable grilling on the go – buy 2, get 2

Yeah, grilling season may be over for most, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of a great deal on a fun disposable grill. The EZ Grill can be stored until you need it, and when you are done (and it has cooled down), you simply throw it away. These normally retail for $19.95 per pack of 2. But between now and December 25th, when you order a pack of two “party grills”, you’ll get 2 for free. Head on over to ezgrill.com to order.

Moshi voice command alarm clocks – up to 40% off!

We took the Moshi voice command travel alarm clock for a spin on Monday – and proclaimed it ” the cure for the crappy hotel alarm clock”. Between the 27th and the 30th of November, you can get up to 40% off your own Moshi alarm clock. This means you can order a voice command travel alarm clock for just $19.99! Head on over to moshilifestyle.com to order.

ACES Black Friday shopaholic train + hotel discount for NYC shoppers

South Jersey shoppers who want to make their way to New York City for some Black Friday action can sit back and relax on the Aces Shopaholics train. The train leaves Atlantic City at 10:02 am on Friday the 27th. All passengers will receive a “signature ACES shopping tote”. Hardcore shoppers who want to spend the night in New York can stay at the Ace Hotel and enjoy a 10% discount by using coupon code “ACESTRAIN”. This code is valid on stays from November 27th through December 30th.

$25 rooms at the TradeWinds Sandpiper resort in Florida

What better way to enjoy Black Friday than booking yourself a relaxing $25 room at a luxury resort in Florida. The Tradewinds Sandpiper resort is offering these discounted rooms “as low as” $25 to early bird Tweeters and Facebook fans on the 27th, starting at 6am (EST). The rooms will be available for select dates in January and include the resort fee. The $25 rate is a discount of almost $200.

The only way to get the fantastic rate is to follow the resort on Twitter.com/TWResorts, or visit the property’s Facebook Fan Page Facebook.com/tradewindsislandresorts.Good luck!

20% off all purchases from booq bags

Booq bags are extremely popular – and once you see their lineup, you’ll see why. They make really good looking bags, with a very smart design. On Black Friday, you can order anything from their store with a sweet 20% discount and free shipping. You’ll need to use promo code SWEET during checkout.

40% off all Ten One Design products

Do you ever get annoyed by trying to type on your iPhone or iPod Touch? Did you know that there is actually a stylus that works with it? Ten One Design invented the Pogo Stylus, and is selling all their products with a 50% discount on Black Friday. In addition to this, the 50th customer to place an order on Black Friday will win a free iPod Touch! The discount is valid between the 27th of November and the 30th, which means you can sleep in on Friday (unless you want a chance at winning that iPod Touch!). Head on over to tenonedesign.com for their products.

50% discount on be.ez notebook bags

be.ez notebook bags and sleeves are on sale with a whopping 50% discount on Black Friday. The deal is only available through their Amazon storefront. In addition to this, all netbook sleeves are free with the purchase of any 10.2″ netbook on Amazon. The following bags ar
e on sale:

  • LA besace 13″ Addict Wasabi Messenger Bag (Black/Wasabi): 50% off MSRP
  • LA besace 15″ Lime Drop Messenger Bag (Grey/Lime): 50% off MSRP
  • LA besace 15″ Classic Messenger Bag (Black/Orange): 50% off MSRP
  • LA robe Sleeve for MacBook 13.3″ (Black/Pumpkin, Black/Wasabi, Black/White): 50% off MSRP
  • LA robe Netbook Sleeve 10.2″ (Black/White, 2Blue, 2Green, 2Pink, Red Kiss/White): Free with purchase of any 10.2″ netbook

Head on over to the be.ez bag store at Amazon for these deals. The promotion starts on November 26th, and lasts till December 30th.

Cyber Monday hotel deal – 15% off an Affinia hotel stay

Right after you recover from Thanksgiving and Black Friday, you can once again become immersed in deals on “Cyber Monday”. This new deal day was invented by online retailers as a way to get some of their own attention.

One of these deals comes from Affinia Hotels where you can book a room for 2010 with a 15% discount. The reservation can be made until Sunday November 28th 2010. In addition to the 15% discount, the first 50 people to create or update their “My Affinia” profile and book a room with a discount will receive a $50 Amex gift card when they check in.

The discounted rates are available at any Affinia hotel in Chicago, New York or Washington D.C. and can only be booked on Affinia.com on Monday November 30th between 12:00 EST and 11:59pm EST. To book a discounted room – be sure to use this special link.

Keystone offers a better alternative to holiday shopping

by Tom Johansmeyer on

The best travel deals don’t happen on Black Friday. Instead of rushing out to the nearest big box store to do battle with the other crazy shoppers, pull the trigger by November 20, and get a trip to Keystone, Colorado. Book your stay for between December 19 and 26, and you could score rates as low as $101 a night — 50 percent off the usual rate! The deal works at Keystone Lodge & Spa and the Inn at Keystone, not to mention the condos at Lakeside, Evergreen, Soda Ridge and Aspen Ridge (from studios to two-bedroom suites).

This is a sweetheart deal. For skiers, booking a room for Christmas week by November 20 is a no-brainer, and non-skiers can have a blast, too. Ice skating, dining and shopping are available, and the complimentary Adventure Passport provides free and discounted access to plenty of activities on and off the slopes.