Have you ever been rewarded by a company (brand, entertainer, etc.) for being a fan of their product or service? That happened to me today.
A hotel I love sent me an oversized, comfy zebra print bathrobe – the kind you always want to steal but even better – just because I follow them on Twitter and engaged with them.
Note says "Thanks for following us on Twitter. Congratulations!"
In June 2009, I traveled to California for the first time. After a weekend in San Diego, I headed to San Francisco a day early for my business trip just to hang out and explore the city.
I don’t choose my hotels when traveling on business because my office books my trips. Since I was booking for myself for my one free night, I wanted to stay in a fun but elegant hotel. I asked for hotel recommendations on Twitter because many of my connections are frequent travelers. Right away, three people recommended I check out the Kimpton family of hotels, and one person specifically mentioned Hotel Palomar.
I checked out the hotel’s website. The photos looked great, the site projected a fun and funky vibe and the reviews were overwhelmingly positive. I booked it.
As soon as I walked into the hotel, I felt pampered and truly welcomed. They had an ice cream social in the afternoon and a wine reception that evening. When I saw my room, the first thing I did was drop my bags and take pictures to later share with my friends.
Coolest modern color scheme, comfy bed
Beyond the funky color scheme, incredibly comfy bed and enormous bathtub . . . what really caught my attention were the bathrobes.
I love bathrobes. I especially love over-sized fluffy robes at hotels. And there, in the closet at Hotel Palomar, were two of the most fun, fluffy-looking hotel bathrobes I had ever seen!
Hotel Palomar gives you choices. Zebra or leopard?
After I checked out of the hotel, I was still so tickled about the robes that I even tweeted a picture of the one I wore. They really embodied the whole vibe of the hotel; fearless, classy, fun and funky.
I always try to learn more about companies that provide cool products or services, both for my own benefit and for the benefit of friends I constantly share with on Twitter, Facebook and on my websites. Before I checked in, I joined the hotel’s free loyalty program because you enjoy free wifi in room if you’re member.
After I checked in, I found Kimpton on Twitter, and followed them to stay updated on what’s going on with the brand. They have several hotels all over the country, and I enjoyed hearing the news on fun things they have going on at their properties.
After having followed their tweets for months, a fun one popped up last week when I was running an errand.
Oh my gosh! They're giving away the awesome robes!
I happened to be out and about and responded immediately. And I was one of the lucky 20.
@Kimpton Gives Away a Robe!
Today, it arrived, just like they promised.
Late night enjoying my new bathrobe.
Thank you, Kimpton.
Before you gave me a free robe, I had already recommended your hotels to an entrepreneur friend who flies all over the world for a good part of the year.
But thank you for taking a few minutes to reach out to your fans and do something cool for us. It’s things like that that make sure I will never forget your hotels no matter what city I end up in.
You’ve got a fan for life, and I bet the whole effort (between tweeting, tracking and shipping) took no more than a couple of hours to execute. I hope more brands start using social media like you do. You rock!
Friends: If you want a robe of your own but aren’t planning on traveling for awhile, don’t worry. You can buy your own fuzzy animal print robe on their website.
Dangerously Enthusiastic 
the awesome thing about a little story like this is that they’ve automatically got a new twitter follower from at least one reader of yours. i will most definitely keep the company in mind when traveling because not only is that one fine looking hotel, but they are engaging. and, also, that’s one fiiine robe!
Thanks, Emily! I really loved my time there and can’t wait to stay with them again.
that’s great! i’d had just stayed at the new hotel palomar in philadelphia a for few days before i went up to nyc. def, one of the better hotels — great atmosphere, decor, and staff. i’ll check out the ones in san francisco next time i’m there — if i can manage to pull myself away from the clift hotel (which is pretty amazing in its own right) :-)
I heartily recommend :)