From sitting behind a desk for days on end I know I’ve come down with these illnesses and you probably have too. Yellow Post-It Fever. Maybe Loner Toner Disorder. And I’ve definitely contracted Acute Retinal Monitoritis. In fact, I think I have that right now!
If you’re wondering what these mean and how to remedy them, not to worry because Hilton Hotels & Resorts has the answer: It’s called the Hilton Urgent Vacation Care Center, a lightweight, interactive, dust-buster to remind us that this is a good time of year to plan a vacation and that Hilton wants to be a part of that.
At the center, an online website, I took the short quiz to diagnose my vacation needs. I was asked questions like: what is my commute to work like; would I be willing to sacrifice 10% of my income for 10 more vacation days and have I ever checked my work email on a first date.
To provide me with the “appropriate prescription” I had to enter some of my vitals, like name, address and email, which also entered me into a sweepstakes for a chance at a “Be My Guest Certificate” for a free night at a Hilton Hotel. (Nice data collection tool, here).
In the meantime, I was diagnosed with a very serious case of Vacationitis and given a prescription to escape to New York City (I live 30 minutes from the city) for a day of sightseeing and shopping and of course, the suggestion to check into the Hilton New York for the night.
My experience could then be shared across social media and a Global Vacation Alert Level, or real-time interactive map shows varying vacation need levels by country based on the collective personal diagnoses of those who have come to the site. It doesn’t look good for America, since 85% of us reported not having taken a vacation within the last year.
Hilton is marketing the promotion to its loyalty members through HHonors email statements and travel offers. Loyalty members, as well as others, will find information about the program on Facebook and Twitter, in-room TV channels, the Hilton VIP weekly e-newsletter and through the hotel's on-hold recording, which is distributed to all hotels brand wide.
Half the fun of this promotion is looking at the humorous illustrations of the various illnesses that were developed by Onion Labs, the in-house creative team of “The Onion," which is also promoting the website through its social channels. The other half is that now Hilton does have me thinking about planning a vacation. Huummmmhh … the Caribbean? New Zealand? Perhaps Portugal, I heard there is a nice Hilton Hotel there.
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