This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of DoubleTree by Hilton. All opinions are 100% mine.
Being nice is nice, and it’s also contagious. If you are surprised by a random act of kindness, it brings a lift to your day, a smile to your face, and makes you want to pay it forward. It has a ripple effect and shows that Nice Travels.
On National Pay It Forward Day (April 28), DoubleTree by Hilton kicked off its Nice Travels campaign, a movement to pay it forward to all those nice folks out there spreading the good feeling by rewarding them for being nice. This year, DoubleTree by Hilton is on a mission to prove that being nice is contagious, and is encouraging us to share our own real moments of #NiceTravels, and to pay it forward in our own ways- while traveling or at home.
When I travel, I tend to go with family or friends, and usually have at least one other person with me. I once traveled with my family and met an older woman, a widow, who was traveling alone. She was lovely and fun, but I noticed that during dinner time on our week-long tour she often sat alone, or with strangers who didn’t bother to engage her or speak to her at all.
We decided to make her our companion for the week (if she was interested) and invited her at every meal to sit with our family. She was happy to, and it was a great week, even more fun with the added company of a charming lady who traveled a lot through the years and had great stories and tips for us. We thought we were just being nice, but I think we got a lot more from her company than she got from ours!
And after we added a +1 to our party, we noticed others on our tour combining tables and meeting new people too. The entire week became more fun and friendly for our large group, and by the end of the week people were exchanging contact info and invites to visit each other in various countries. What a great way to keep those friendships growing!
The average person encounters about three strangers on a typical day. When they are traveling, that number drastically increases, leading to lots of opportunities to leave an impression- whether positive or negative. Doing something kind and leaving a positive impression has a ripple effect – it doesn’t just produce a smile, it produces the desire to make someone else smile too.
DoubleTree is known for warm hospitality and a welcoming smile as soon as you step up to their front desk (I speak from experience), and they want to reward folks who spread niceness in real time, starting with the April 28th National Pay It Forward Day launch of the Nice Travels campaign, and continuing throughout the year. DoubleTree by Hilton created the Nice Travels Index, a real-time social listening and measurement tool that tracks online travel conversation, and will identify, share and reward niceness via a new interactive #NiceTravels online photo mosaic. From snapping selfies to extending business trips for fun, people love travel. In fact, more than 600,000 people on Twitter identify as passionate travelers and about 1.6 million tweets about travel are sent every week!
Despite this widespread love for traveling, the Nice Travels Index reveals though that just 36% of the online conversation about travel is positive, so DoubleTree by Hilton will take insights from the brand’s Nice Travels Index to identify and reward travelers that are doing their part to bring the “nice” back to travel, including surprising travelers with sweet rewards like cookies and free one-night hotel stays. ♥︎
Share your #NiceTravels story for a chance to win
Share your #NiceTravels moments for the chance to win free stay at a DoubleTree by Hilton! Nice Travels isn’t just a random idea, it’s a movement in which random acts of kindness spread the good feeling, because nice is truly contagious! It has a ripple effect and keeps going… Nice Travels.
Share how you pay it forward on Instagram and Twitter with #NiceTravels #ContestEntry, or upload a pic directly to NiceTravels.com to enter. All the photos shared will be brought together online at NiceTravels.com to form an interactive mosaic in the form of a cookie, because niceness starts with a warm chocolate chip cookie at DoubleTree by Hilton. The contest is open through May 25, 2016.
To learn more about the program, Click here to see how Nice Travels.