Wyndham Gives 200,000 Points for Travel in Exchange for Advice

Wyndham Worldwide is running an essay contest to find 10 adventurous individuals who will travel twice in the next year and return with advice the hotel chain can put to good use.

Ten winners will each be given 200,000 points to use to take vacations. During the planning process and trip, the women will be tasked with using and critiquing as many Wyndham programs and services as possible. Upon their return, they will provide Wyndham with feedback on the experiences, booking processes, hotel stays and other products.

A “challenge” will be handed to each traveler that will help shape future content and conversations on Wyndham’s Women on Their Way Web site, a community for female business and leisure travelers.

For example, one challenge might be for the traveler to experience taking only one carry on-size suitcase—a plus at a time when many airlines are charging for checked bags. She will then report back on what she packed, what she actually used and what she wished she had taken with her. The answers and suggestions will be used as new topics for the Web site.

The contest, called The Local Nation, began Nov. 11. Participants enter essays of 350 words or less, plus a photo or video on why they should be selected as an advisor. The entries will be posted at the site and open for public voting beginning Jan. 4 and can be shared on social networking sites to encourage votes. The winners will be announced Feb. 15 and posted on the site.

The contest was marketed via Wyndham’s social media channels—twitter and Facebook—as well as an e-mail blast to Wyndham rewards newsletter subscribers, WomenOnTheirWay users and banner ads on Blogher.com, Alyson Johnson, the director of marketing communications for Wyndham Worldwide said. Wyndham has 7.5 million active members in its rewards program.

As advice begins to come in from the winners, a landing page will be developed called The Landing Nation to house all of the information from the travelers. In addition to the vacations, the 10 winners will also receive a Flip video camera, the opportunity to be a guest blogger on WomenOnTheirWay.com and two American Express gift cards worth $400 each.

The site provides visitors with advice on destinations, hotels, timeshare resorts and vacation rentals. It is billed as the longest running branded program entirely dedicated to female travelers, also includes special deals and packages.

Wyndham also plans to enhance the site with the addition of blogs and community bulletin boards.

The site launched in 1995 as a single hotel chain program. It was re-launched in 2008 and expanded across all Wyndham brands and business offering more than 70,000 hotels, vacation rentals and resorts in 100 countries.