Thursday, July 23, 2009

Bayside Hotel Starts 'Bay it Forward' Campaign

The Bayside Hotel in Santa Monica, Calif., has come up with a great way to promote itself while doing a good deed—all while using Twitter as a promotional tool. As part of its new “Bay It Forward” initiative, the hotel will randomly distribute 2,000 “Bayside Bucks”—reward certificates offering $50 off standard room rates—to Southern California’s firefighters, teachers and other unsung community heroes to say thanks for all they do to make the world a better place.

Inspired by the pay it forward concept, Bayside Hotel’s “Bay It Forward” campaign encourages recipients of the certificates to pass them along to individuals who go out of their way to perform good deeds, make people happy or perform common acts of courtesy. Those who follow the hotel’s Twitter feed at twitter.com/baysidehotel will receive tweets about special upcoming dates when the certificates can be applied for free stays at this beachside respite. Additionally, anyone who e-mails a personal story about someone whose actions are inspiring to the hotel at info@baysidehotel.com will have a chance to receive a certificate as well.

“We believe that treating people well and staying positive about life is what the world needs more of today,” said Ann Kleinhenz, manager of the Bayside Hotel. “We want to recognize random acts of kindness with more random acts of kindness and hope that it spreads!”

What a great idea.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I looked up Bayside Hotel on www.EnvironmentallyFriendlyHotels.com and they were not listed. They are my go to resource for information on what green amenities and programs a hotel has to offer. If you could list the green specifics on what Bayside Hotel is offering I'd be more apt to refer my fellow green travelers to "Bay It Forward" campaign. Most appreciative of the heads up and I look forward to hearing from you.

Glenn Hasek said...

My intention was not to position The Bayside Hotel as a property with a strong green program but to simply applaud the hotel for coming up with a marketing idea that benefits the community as well as the hotel itself. Going green is about more than environmental programs. It is about getting involved in the local community as well--making a positive impact and being socially responsible.