“Open for the Holidays”: FREE marketing campaign for Maryland Hotels

The Maryland Office of Tourism is seeking hotel partners for a new campaign: “Open for the Holidays.”   They will use their media buying resources to determine the best digital platforms and manage all aspects including purchasing, optimization and reallocation.  All digital buys will be directed to www.VisitMaryland.org, where the holiday packages will be a prominent feature on the home page from early November through December. Consumers will click to the deals and the links will take them to your site for purchase.  The cost to participate is FREE!  Submissions are requested by November 3, 2020.

This is the third year of this promotion, which generated 4,180 room nights in 2019 generating nearly $500,000 in revenue.

The Open for the Holidays campaign encourages visitors to enjoy the holidays, then get cozy at a local hotel, where they can sleep in peace and enjoy the morning at their leisure.  And, generate revenue for your property. 

Help is needed from tourism partners, to help populate these holiday deals.  In an effort to make this easier and more flexible for partners, they are transitioning to a different format for collection.  The new “Deals” link will provide you the ability to input your information directly.  You can include a picture, special offers and remove any blackout dates from your offer.  In addition, you may also submit any special events, Holiday dinners and New Year’s parties in the “List Your Event” tab.

The Open for the Holidays section will include offers from lodging, dining, attraction or retail partners.  This may be for special lodging rates, discounted admissions, buy-one-get-ones, special restaurant discounts or the purchase of bonus gift certificates.  We encourage you to offer these specials November-December.  Discounted rates work, but also think about added-value incentives.  

Next Steps:  Please fill out your deal (https://mdyoda.milesmediagroup.com/PublicEditor.aspx).   If this is your first time using this section, you will need to register, using your email address and creating your own unique password.  Submissions are requested by November 3rd, 2020, but later requests may be honored after this date.
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If you have questions, email rgilbert@visitmaryland.org.