Vail and RockResorts summer travel discounts expiring by Monday!

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Looking for a quick summer fix at a deep discount? The latest deals from Vail Resorts Hospitality and RockResorts will definitely turn you on. Book by Monday, May 24, 2010 at noon, and you can pick up a room at Keystone Resort for a mere $71 a night or spend only $79 a night for the newest RockResort, One Ski Hill Place in Breckenridge. If Colorado doesn’t tickle you, The Landings St. Lucia is offering a deal for $277 a night, and it’s good through November.

There’s one more catch: you need to book online.

Galley Gossip: 10 deep, dark, dirty, hotel secrets

by Heather Poole on

How dirty is your hotel room? Very. Surely you’ve seen those undercover news reports where investigators use a black light to show us things we never wanted to see like body fluids all over the walls and bedding. And what about the video clips of house cleaners unknowingly being filmed using the same rag they used to clean the toilet rim on the bathroom counter. One news team even caught a maid spraying Windex inside a drinking glass – and she didn’t wipe it off!

Now you understand why flight attendants never touch the duvet and wash out the mugs in scalding hot soapy water before drinking coffee! I have a flight attendant friend who covers the television remote with a shower cap and wouldn’t be caught dead walking around her bare feet. But hotels aren’t the only ones to blame. What about hotel guests?

Hotels are a lot like airplanes in that people do things they would never in a million years do at home, like leave wet towels all over the floor. Even I have a deep dark dirty secret that only happens at layover hotels. Two words. Tanning lotion. I’d hate to stain my own white sheets a slight shade of orange. I’ve heard rumors of flight attendants using coffee pots to clean pantyhose. Not so sure I believe that. But one flight attendant told me he uses the pot to heat up soup. I’ve tried using it to make oatmeal but it turned out completely inedible. Better doublecheck the bottom of the iron before pressing it against your nice white shirt since it may have been used to make grilled cheese sandwich. Did you know you can even heat up restaurant leftovers using an iron and a little tin foil? It’s true.

Well all of this got me thinking. Besides the obvious of course, I couldn’t help but wonder what other kinds of disgusting things people were doing in hotels rooms. So I sent out a tweet asking people to confess their deep, dark, dirty, hotel secrets. The responses came pouring in, many of which I’m unable to share here. We’re keeping it clean, people!Hotel patrons share 10 deep, dark, dirty secrets:

1. I let my kids run around without a diaper on. I’m a mother of three. Accidents happen.

2. I “borrow” the towels.

3. Bodily fluids and what not (toe jam) I’ve left on the underside of furniture, bottom of desk, and above top dresser drawer

4. Supergluing the toilet freebies to the counter and the hangers to the rack is fun.

5. Hide all the $5 water bottles in the closet. On the last day put them all back and then deny the charges at the front desk.

6. Towels under the door plus a hot shower equals a free sauna.

7. I don’t want any accidental stains in my home bathroom so I only color my hair in hotels.

8. Those huge mirrors with the bright lights are great for plucking, especially gray hairs. You can get a great back view with some of those door mirrors!

9. Booked a hotel room just so I could use the swimming pool for my daughters fifth birthday party. The hotel found out and was kind enough to let us use the conference room to eat cake and open presents.

10. I leave the bathroom a mess on purpose so the maids have to give it a good scrub for the next guest!


The Benjamin Hotel hosts matchmaking day for single guests

by Melanie Nayer on

Talk about the proper hotel hook-up (pun intended). The Benjamin Hotel in New York will offer a crash course on how to find “the one” on Sunday, May 16. Armed with a team of life coaches, fashion stylists, makeup artists and photographers, The Benjamin will help singles transform themselves into, well, not-so-single.

Here’s how the hook-up will happen:

The morning is devoted to guest speakers and coaches from The Handel Group, who will advise singles on how become their “best self” in the area of relationships. The afternoon consists of a series of optional 15 minute private sessions with guest experts who will help attendees put their “best self” forward.

Guest experts include:

  • Fashion Stylist: style, presentation, clothing and accessories consultation
  • Makeup Coach: advice and coaching on how to achieve the best looks with makeup (participants should bring their favorite makeup or the whole bag!)
  • Role Play: an effective and fun way to practice the lessons learned in the morning
  • Dating Profile Overhaul: bring online dating profiles and get pointers Photographer: attendees can get photographed by a professional so that their dating profile picture truly flatters them.

The hotel’s program promises you’ll walk away with a better understanding of where past relationships went wrong, and have a clearer picture of relationship ideals and goals.

Intrigued? So is your mother, who has been hounding you for grandchildren so you might want to stop by on Sunday and see who you might meet.

Details:
WHERE: Sunday, May 16, 2010 10am-4pm The Benjamin Hotel 125 East 50th Street, NYC
COST: $200 for Sunday workshop
REGISTER: Call (800) 617-7040 or email coach@handelgroup.com

Bonus: If you happen to meet your soul mate and want to fast-track the hookup, The Benjamin Hotel is offering a rate discount of 15% on a two-night stay (use PROMO CODE: HANDEL).

Travel startup giving away three nights at the Wynn

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Want to score three nights at the Wynn Las Vegas? Travel startup company Off & Away wants to put you between those luxurious sheets.

Off & Away hasn’t even launched yet, but it’s willing to offer up a spectacular travel package to a lucky winner: three nights at the Wynn, tickets for two to La Reve, $200 a day in dining credits at the hotel, three days of spa access and a round of golf for two. You’ll also pick up access to the Penske Wynn Ferrari Museum, two 50-minute massages and entry to Blush Boutique Nightclub.

So, what is this company all about? It’s a new travel site (or, it will be) that will focus on “exceptional travel experiences.” Details are thin, but we’ll know more in a few weeks. So for now, take advantage of the contest.

“We are excited to offer this amazing experience with one of our key partners as a sneak preview into the types of experiences you can expect from Off & Away when we launch,” said Doug Aley, CEO and Co-Founder of Off & Away.

The contest is open through May 23, 2010 at Off & Away’s website. Spread the word via Facebook or Twitter, and you could score up to 10 extra chances to win. The winner will be announced on June 30, 2010.

UPDATE:

Having seen the comments left by our readers about the viruses, I contacted Off & Away to see what was happening. Following is the company’s reply:

For those who were affected by the virus earlier this morning, please be assured this is something we take very seriously and are taking all necessary precautions to ensure it does not happen again. Off & Away is founded and run by former Amazon.com, Expedia, Alaska Airlines, Orbitz, and Farecast.com employees. We always strive for excellence are committed to providing our customers with the best experiences possible. This was not one of them, and for that, we sincerely apologize.

The site promoting the sweepstakes was compromised. It appears to have started in our hosting environment. We’re still investigating with that firm. Malicious code was entered into our website causing a redirect to the suspicious page people encountered. Since discovering this, we’ve pulled down the sweepstakes on our site, and are rebuilding in a different environment and with a different, more secure host. The new host is the same one we will be using when we launch.

We expect the sweepstakes to be live again in the next few hours once this work is complete. Thanks to our customers for discovering this and for your patience.

Sincerely,

Doug Aley and Michael Walton

Starwood’s scavenger hunt rewards players with free hotel nights

by Melanie Nayer on

You know the game – you love the game – you win the game, especially if it means going home with free travel perks! Scavenger hunts have been used for team building exercises, corporate functions and the bachelorette-parties-gone-bad, but this time, the scavenger hunts takes on a new prize: free nights at a Starwood hotel.

That’s right – Starwood Hotels is hosting a social media scavenger hunt that awards winners with free weekend nights at any Starwood hotel around the world. The best part? There are hundreds of prizes to give away.

The SPG(R) “Passport to Free Weekends” contest kicks off May 12 and will award a total of 200 free nights to 100 winners over the course of 10 business days. The hotel will offer clues via its Facebook and Twitter accounts, and each clue will send followers to one of 920 Starwood hotels around the world. That’s right – you could wind up in Dallas, or your friends in Dubai might win the scavenger hunt.

The winning location will rotate each day and each day, a different Starwood brand will be the object of the scavenger’s affection (Starwood currently has nine brands including W Hotels, Westin, Aloft and Sheraton). When the participant determines the identity of the designated hotel, he or she will approach the front desk to claim their prize. The first 10 winners will get their “passport” photo taken, which will then be posted on SPG’s Facebook and Twitter pages for winners to enjoy fifteen minutes of fame.

To participate in the contest and receive the clues, you must friend Starwood Preferred Guest on Facebook and follow @SPGInsider on Twitter. To learn more about contest terms and conditions, click here.