NEW YORK—Dreaded Sundays are a thing of the past. For those looking for a quick getaway, Hilton is making Sundays fun this summer. More than 40 New York City Hilton locations introduced “Savor an NYC Weekend,” a promotion encouraging travelers to extend their weekend stay in the Big Apple. The promotion offers half-off Sunday stays plus VIP perks with local partners, and is available for guests now through Oct. 29 in Manhattan and surrounding borough locations. To receive the promotion, guests must book a minimum of three nights, and the stay must fall over a Saturday and Sunday. Participating locations include a wide variety of Hilton brands, from luxury at Conrad New York, to centrally located New York Hilton Midtown to the Hampton Inn Manhattan on 31st St. near Madison Square Garden.
“We’re constantly listening to guest feedback and making decisions based on their needs,” said Hilton’s Nicole Tilzer, director, destination marketing, New York City. In New York, especially, Tilzer saw that the culinary scene interested guests, giving rise to “Savor an NYC Weekend.” The promotion focuses heavily on F&B options, or “Sunday Funday” exclusive offers. According to Tilzer, since the launch of the promotion in April, the hotels are seeing strong pick up with more than 2,000 package room nights booked to date. For hotel partners, the value that they get in return comes from Hilton’s ability to expand its reach and grow brand awareness.
“We are targeting a mix of current and new Hilton guests in our key feeder markets or those with an interest in traveling to New York City,” Tilzer said. “Using our established local partnerships, we are able to cross promote to their audience and potential new Hilton guests whom we know have interest in food or in Broadway shows, which is the core of the Savor package offering.”
Hilton’s promotion includes restaurants ranging from high-end to more casual dining options and in different locations, giving guests a balanced taste of the metropolitan area. Some of the promotions include discounted three-course meals, complimentary cocktails or desserts, in-kitchen cooking experiences and more. “We decided to partner with some of New York’s best restaurants in order to provide our guests with a way to really experience the city and all that it has to offer,” Tilzer said. “Such a big part of traveling is experiencing cuisine or other critically acclaimed establishments.”
The promotion extends beyond food, too. Guests receive a $15 taxi credit via the taxi app Curb, helping guests navigate the city, and 15% off Roundabout Theatre tickets. Tilzer explained the goal of the promotion is to inspire guests to spend a long weekend in Manhattan while highlighting the different offerings across Hilton’s portfolio of 14 brands. According to Tilzer, with more than 40 participating hotels across Hilton’s portfolio, it’s easy to showcase all of its brands and encourage guests to experience different neighborhoods with a Hilton hotel as their home base. The promotion, according to Tilzer, is an all-encompassing campaign that aims to give guests a well-rounded New York experience.
“Our hotels are ingrained in the culture of New York City, spanning across neighborhoods, and are the ideal starting points for authentic New York experiences,” Tilzer said. “We expect guests to build their own weekend adventure based on which experiences are most intriguing to them, which restaurants they want to try, and which shows they might want to see. The partners that we are working with are located all around the area—from Manhattan to Brooklyn to Jersey City—encouraging our guests to explore new areas and take in more of what New York City has to offer.”
This isn’t the first time Hilton has collaborated with other New York-based brands. At the start of this year, Hilton partnered with Hornblower Cruises and New York Pass, allowing guests to build their own experiences while taking in city sights. “Our goal is to continue to build relationships with partners throughout the New York metro area, allowing us to craft unique and authentic opportunities for our guests and give them an unforgettable visit to New York City that they’ll want to repeat and share with others,” Tilzer said. “This is certainly not a package guests only need to book once; they can book multiple times and not have the same experience.”
Hilton has also run promotions similar to “Savor an NYC Weekend” with its “Long Weekender” campaign, which also allowed guests to save on Sunday-night stays. “Building off the brand’s success of ‘Long Weekender,’ we know that Hilton guests enjoy extending their stay for leisure weekends,” Tilzer explained. “Our Savor campaign is built around this interest, and combining it with authentic city experiences, which is a passion point of our guests. Our wide variety of partner offers make exploring New York City customizable, as it allows each to craft their own weekend based on their personal preferences.” HB