Ah, the good old days.
The economy has worsened significantly since then, making it more difficult to persuade consumers to take vacation trips. As a result, airlines, hotels, resorts and destinations are intensifying attempts to appeal to frugal, worried would-be travelers.
“Anything is a hard sell in this environment right now,” said Tony Cortizas, vice president for marketing in the Miami office of Sol Meliá Hotels & Resorts.
So to stimulate bookings for its ME by Meliá luxury resort hotel in Cancún, Mexico, Sol Meliá is spending on public relations what it would otherwise have been devoted to advertising, promoting that ME Cancún was the setting for the 22nd season of “The Real World,” which began on MTV on Wednesday.
Guests can now book “Suite ME,” where the cast members of “The Real World: Cancún” lived, for $15,000 a night. The rooms will even have their own Web site (www.realworldsuite.com).
The goal is to “creatively shine a light on your brand and put it in the forefront,” Mr. Cortizas said, and the series will “expose us to a major audience.”
“We couldn’t have a better way to relaunch a property,” he added, after travel to Mexico slackened because of swine flu.