Or is it just the recession talking? Or maybe he says this to everyone and not just us?

One thing is for sure, we will follow up and find out.

A job applicant like him deserves a little bit of lovin’….

The current economic climate brings out the best, and worst, in marketing practices. A bold approach was taken by The Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles, where the management team decided to give away 200 complimentary stays over weekends in March and April. With a night averaging $250 and the hotel being associated with one of the largest hospitality brands in the world, Starwood, this counts as quite a big step which most traditional marketers and hoteliers would have immediately strayed away from. What Bonaventure understands is brand value. Their business is down 20%. The hotel most likely feels empty, even on weekends. Of course this marketing stint will bring in 400 guests who will be exposed to the brand and spend money on the property’s bars and restaurants, but more importantly thousands will try to score that free night, thousands will read about the promotion, and at the end of the low-cost, yet highly viral, campaign tens of thousands will be reminded of the fact that there is a forward thinking hotel in downtown L.A.. Maybe to keep in mind when relatives come to town, or for an in-town (=economic) weekend get-away, or to just check out and grab a drink at the bar, either way the brand is on your mind. The recession has all of us rethinking traditional approaches to brand marketing, and many more great ideas will be born. And we will see lots of in-your-face, nearly pathetic, approaches of small businesses trying to hang on to that one more sale that will drive them into the ground and make the ones who understand brand-strategic thinking stand out.

A little sarcasm never hurt anyone, especially when times are rough…

Original source unknown, but thanks to Dany for the heads-up.